Cover -- Preface -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- PART I Major trends in wages, 1995-2007 -- 1. The economic context -- 1.1. Strong economic growth, but a gloomy outlook -- 1.2. Continued global economic integration -- International trade -- Foreign direct investment -- Labour migration -- 1.3. Inflation -- 2. Aggregate wages -- 2.1. Defi nitions and statistics -- 2.2. Average wages -- Wages and productivity -- Wage forecasts for 2008 and 2009 -- 2.3. Changes in the wage share -- 3. The distribution of wages -- 3.1. Does wage inequality matter? -- 3.2. Trends in wage inequality -- 3.3. Wage inequality and economic development -- 3.4. Wage inequality and gender -- PART II Minimum wages and collective bargaining -- 4. Recent trends -- 4.1. The revival of minimum wages -- 4.2. Contrasting developments in collective bargaining coverage -- 5. The effects of institutions on wage outcomes -- 5.1. Collective bargaining, productivity and wages -- 5.2. Institutions and wage inequality -- 5.3. Findings from the literature -- 6. Designing coherent wage policies -- 6.1. Using the minimum wage as an effective and decent wage floor -- What is a decent wage floor? -- Uprating minimum wages -- Keeping it simple -- Compliance, coverage and coherence -- 6.2. Promoting collective bargaining alongside minimum wages -- Promoting a coordinated approach -- Examples of measures to activate collective bargaining -- Monitoring collective bargaining and collecting wage statistics -- PART III Summary and conclusions -- 7. Main findings and policy implications -- 8. Emerging issues and the way forward -- Technical appendix I: The wage share -- Technical appendix II: Institutions and inequality -- References -- Statistical appendix -- Tables -- Table 1 Share of wage and salaried workers (% of total employment) -- Table 2 Trends in minimum wages.

Table 3 Collective bargaining coverage, 2007 or latest year -- Table 4 National and sectoral minimum wages (% of total countries with a minimum wage) -- Table 5 Minimum wages and domestic workers (selected countries) -- Figures -- Figure 1 Economic growth: Annual changes in GDP, 1980-2007 (2000 constant prices US, %) -- Figure 2 Economic growth and stability: Comparing the periods of 1980-94 and 1995-2007 -- Figure 3 Trade (imports + exports) as a percentage of GDP, 1980-2006 -- Figure 4 Net inward inflows of FDI as a percentage of GDP, 1980-2006 -- Figure 5 Inflation: GDP defl ators, 1980-2006 (annual changes, %) -- Figure 6 Food prices: A. Food price index, 2000-08 -- B. Outlook for cereal prices, 1996-2017 -- Figure 7 Real wage growth -- Figure 8 GDP per capita growth and change in real wages -- Figure 9 Level of GDP per capita and level of wages (purchasing power parity, PPP) -- Figure 10 Comparative estimates of global wage elasticity -- Figure 11 Relationship between changes in consumer price index (CPI) and nominal wages, 1995-2007 -- Figure 12 Poorest households' expenditure on food(latest years when data were available, percentage of total expenditure) -- Figure 13 Trends in wage share: Differences between the periods 1995-2000 (average)and 2001-07 (average) -- A. Countries with adjusted wage shares -- Figure 14 Wage inequality, D9/D1 ratio: Differences between the periods 1995-97 and 2004-06 -- Figure 15 Growing inequality in different types: An illustration -- Figure 16 Decomposition of wage inequality in selected countries:Changes in D9/D5 and D5/D1 (1995-2000 and 2001-06) -- Figure 17 Wage inequality and economic development, 2006 or latest years:A. Gini index (overall wage inequality) -- B. D9/D1 ratio -- Figure 18 Changes in gender pay gap, 1995-2007.

Figure 19 GDP per capita change and real wage growth in countrieswith lower coverage of collective bargaining ( 30%) -- Figure 20 GDP per capita change and real wage growth in countrieswith higher coverage of collective bargaining (>30%) -- Figure 21 Wage differentials (D9/D1) and collective bargaining rate (2005), EU countries -- Figure 22 Minimum wages relative to average wages -- Figure 23 Nominal minimum wages and infl ation in Latin America, 1996-2007 -- Boxes -- Box 1 The ILO's October Inquiry -- Box 2 China: Trends in collective bargaining -- Box 3 Uruguay: Reactivating collective bargaining and wage policy -- Box 4 Cambodia: The minimum wage as a foundationfor collective bargaining -- Technical appendix tables -- Table A1 Panel regression results on the change in wage share -- Table A2 Wage inequality and institutional factors -- Statistical appendix tables -- Appendix table A1: Average wages and the "wage share" -- Appendix table A2: Minimum wages -- Appendix table A3: Inequality -- Appendix table A4: Background indicators.