ABSTRACT
The first part of this chapter reviews current debates about labour standards and international trade. It is useful to start by revisiting these rather narrowly based debates, because one is drawn to the conclusion that a broader framework of the relationships between work, employment and development is a better guide for policy. It is argued here that decent work offers such a broader framework, and one which can capture both social and economic goals of development. To illustrate this, the chapter first reviews how development objectives have changed over time, and then discusses the concept of decent work and its value as an objective in different development situations. It treats a couple of troublesome issues in a little more detail – first, whether there are trade-offs between the quantity of employment and how decent that employment is, and second, the relevance of decent work in the informal economy. The chapter concludes by returning to the international scenario, suggesting that the goal of decent work can guide action at the global level.
