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Trade and Employment in the Global Crisis

By Marion Jansen and Erik von Uexkull

In many low- and middle-income countries, the global financial crisis has led to significant losses of jobs and pressures on real wages. Based on the findings of ILO-sponsored country studies of employment impacts, this book analyzes how crossborder trade has acted as a transmission channel, spreading the crisis to developing states.

Key topics covered include how changes in trade flows affect the labor market, the role of price volatility and demand shocks in the recent crisis, and how export concentration makes countries more vulnerable. The book also takes an in-depth look at the strategies households have developed to cope with the crisis and on the effects of the crisis on inequality and bargaining power. Finally, the study reviews how policy instruments designed to protect workers have fared and makes recommendations for responses to future crises.

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