Contents -- List of Tables and Figures -- Acknowledgements -- Notes on Contributors -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 The labour market flexibility debate -- 1.2 Overview of the chapters -- 2 Labour Institutions in the Developing World: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 What are labour institutions? -- 2.3 History of labour standards and the ILO -- 2.4 International labour standards: Are they relevant? -- 2.5 The debate on labour market flexibility -- 2.6 Conclusion -- 3 Measuring Labour Market Institutions: Conceptual and Methodological Questions on 'Working Hours Rigidity' -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 A review of the indicators -- 3.3 Methodological and conceptual questions on measuring working time 'rigidity' -- 3.4 Legal texts and actual hours: de jure and de facto regulation -- 3.5 Concluding remarks -- 4 Institutions and the Finance of General Skills Training: Evidence from Africa -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Strategic decision of firm and worker: a trust game -- 4.3 Evidence from Africa -- 4.4 Conclusions -- 5 The Origins of Unemployment Insurance: Lessons for Developing Countries -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 The different ways of compensating unemployment -- 5.3 The origins of unemployment insurance -- 5.4 Is unemployment insurance suitable for developing countries? -- 5.5 Is unemployment insurance the right approach? -- 5.6 Conclusions -- 6 The Revival of Minimum Wage Setting Institutions -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Minimum wage setting institutions -- 6.3 The minimum wage and collective bargaining -- 6.4 The minimum wage and poverty -- 6.5 Workers with no form of wage protection -- 6.6 The minimum wage and wage inequality -- 6.7 The minimum wage and employment -- 6.8 Conclusion -- 7 What Can the Labour Demand Function Tell Us About Wages and Employment? The Case of the Philippines -- 7.1 Introduction.

7.2 Derivation of the elasticity of demand for labour -- 7.3 A more parsimonious interpretation -- 7.4 Do minimum wages cause unemployment in the Philippines? -- 7.5 The Philippine labour demand function -- 7.6 Do increases in the minimum wage rate induce increases in the average wage rate in the Philippines? -- 7.7 Conclusions -- 8 The Impact of Trade Unions: What Do Economists Say? -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 You need three to tango: workers, employers and governments -- 8.3 Empirical evidence: microeconomic -- 8.4 Empirical evidence: macroeconomic -- 8.5 Summary and conclusions -- 9 Labour Standards and Informal Employment in Latin America -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Prior empirical evidence for Latin America -- 9.3 Employment data definitions, sources and overview -- 9.4 Labour standards and formal and informal employment -- 9.5 Concluding remarks -- 10 Legal Determinants of Labour Informality -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Concepts and definitions on informality at work -- 10.3 The legal framework of labour: the reality of the scope of labour law regarding inclusions, exclusions and exemptions -- 10.4 Attitude of states towards informality -- 10.5 Conclusion: policies to incorporate workers and informal activities into the formal economy -- 11 New Trends in Latin American Labour Reforms: The Law, its Reform and its Impact in Practical Terms -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.2 Main amendments to labour relations -- 11.3 Main amendments to collective labour relations -- 11.4 Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index -- List of Tables and Figures -- Tables -- Table 3.1 Rigidity of Hours Index, ILO standards and national laws -- Table 3.2 International standards on working time and the World Bank Rigidity of Hours Index -- Table 3.3(a) Statutory hours, observance and working hour regulation index.

Table 3.3(b) Statutory hours, observance and working-hour regulation index -- Table 3.4 Working hours by formal and informal employment (base: total average hours=100.0) -- Table 4.1 Apprenticeship fee in Togo -- Table 5.1 Dates of legislative enactment of unemployment compensation -- Table 5.2 Characteristics of original unemployment insurance systems -- Table 6.1 Minimum wage-fixing procedures -- Table 6.2 Categories of workers excluded from the principal legislation on the minimum wage -- Table 6.3 Impact of a 10 per cent minimum wage increase on employment amongst young people in the United States, 1954-1979 (percentages) -- Table 6.4 Effect of the minimum wage on employment in certain developing countries -- Table 7.1 Marginal revenue product of labour function, the minimum wage rate andthe accounting identity, the Philippines, 1980-2003 -- Table 7.2 The labour demand function and the accounting identity, the Philippines,1980-2003 -- Table 7.3 Impact of increases in the minimum wage rate on the average wage rate,the Philippines, 1980-2003 -- Table 8.1 Selected indicators of economic performance in studies assessing the effects of trade unions -- Table 8.2 Aspects of bargaining coordination -- Table 8.3 Externalities associated with decentralized wage setting -- Table 8.4 Country rankings based on alternative valuations of bargaining coordination -- Table 9.1 Types of labour standards -- Table 9.2 Non-agricultural employment shares and labour market and development indicators for 14 Latin American countries, 1990-1997 -- Table 9.3 Correlation coefficients (Pearson) for non-agricultural employment shares and labour market and development indicators for 14 Latin American countries, 1990-97 period averages -- Table 9.4 Trend regressions of employment shares on civil liberties indices and GDPper capita for 13 Latin American countries, 1990-97.

Table 9.5 Regressions of employment shares on lagged civil liberties indices and GDP per capita for 13 Latin American countries,1990-1997 -- Table 9.6 Trend regressions of employment shares on wage share and GDP per capita for 13 Latin American countries, 1990-97 -- Table 9.7 Difference regressions of employment shares on wage share and GDP for 13 Latin American countries, 1990-97 -- Boxes -- Box 2.1 Labour institutions -- Figures -- Figure 2.1 Determining labour institutions -- Figure 3.1 Proportion of workers working more than 48 hours per week -- Figure 3.2 Statutory normal hours by national income (total 138 countries) -- Figure 3.3 Observance rate and income by statutory working hour standards -- Figure 3.4 Working hour regulation index and national income -- Figure 4.1 Trust game in training -- Figure 4.2 Hostage training game -- Figure 5.1 Percentage of labour force employed in agriculture at year of enactment, select countries and territories -- Figure 5.2 GDP per capita when unemployment insurance was enacted, 2001 (US). -- Figure 5.3 GDP per capita in 2001 of selected countries without unemployment insurance -- Figure 7.1 Labour share, the Philippines 1980-2003 -- Figure 7.2 Real average and minimum wage rates. Philippines 1980-2003 -- Figure 7.3 Ratio minimum to average wage rates. Philippines 1980-2003 -- Figure 7.4 User cost of capital and profit rate. Philippines 1980-2003 -- Figure 9.1 Non-agricultural employment shares for 14 Latin American countries,1990-97.