Internationalization of employment: Notes on Latin American countries

ADRIANA MARSHALL (GOLDSCHVARTZ)

Annecy

Simposio; Offshoring and the internationalization of employment; 2005

International Labour Organization y Ministerio de Trabajo de Francia

In these notes I discuss some evidence on the employment outcomes of trade liberalization and foreign direct investment (FDI), with reference to Latin American countries, paying special attention to the effects of outsourcing under traditional and new forms. I look successively into the impacts of international trade, foreign direct investment, the specific cases of outsourcing and free zones, and the more recent outsourcing in the service sector. It is concluded that apart from investigating the degree of introduction of advanced technologies and work organisation methods, and their diffusion to other sectors in the host country, and the impacts on exports and on economic growth, research is needed on the employment effects of all types of FDI, that have only occasionally been investigated. How conditions in foreign firms (including free-zone firms) compare with similar sectors in the same country, and the extent up to which they are stipulated by ad hoc labour regulations, requires more systematic investigation with reference to Latin America. Research on the employment impacts of FDI in general, and in free zones or Export Processing Zones in particular, should look specifically at least into: volume of net employment creation and share of total employment; structure of skills demanded; comparative employment conditions in terms of quality dimensions including work effort; comparative wages; compliance of standards; and training offered.