Economic & Social Affairs DESA Working Paper No. 99 ST/ESA/2010/DWP/99 October 2010 Labour Markets Trends, Financial Globalization and the current crisis in Developing Countries Rolph van der Hoeven Abstract The current wave of globalization has profound labour market effects, accentuated, in many cases, by the current financial and economic crisis. This paper reviews general labour market trends and country examples, arguing that the current globalization process makes labour’s position more precarious, a trend magnified by the current crisis. This is consistent with the policy reactions to the crisis: governments have (rightly) acted as a banker of last resort to avoid the collapse of the financial system, but, despite stimulus plans and monetary easing and some labour market policies, have not really acted as an employer of last resort. JEL Classification: E24 (Employment, Wages and Unemployment), E64 (Incomes Policy), F42 (International Policy Coordination and Finance), J21 (Labour Force and Employment) Keywords: Globalization, Financial Globalization, Employment, Income inequality, Financial Crisis Rolph van der Hoeven is Professor of Employment and Development Economics at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. Comments should be addressed by e-mail to the author:
[email protected] Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Labour market trends ..................................................................................................................