Liberalising labour mobility under the GATS
This publication is an analysis of negotiations concerning the temporary movement of workers from developing to developed economies, taking place under the auspices of the GATS negotiations which cover the trade in commercial services. It focuses on the temporary movement of unskilled and semi-skilled workers and considers the benefits of easing the restrictions on the temporary movement of labour. The main theme underlying the paper is the mutual benefit to both developed and developing countries in permitting a temporary movement of workers in these categories. In the next 20 years developed economies will experience an increasing shortage of labour at the lower end of the labour market due to an ageing population and a more educated workforce. The paper constructs a model to analyse the effects of easing the restrictions and its impact on the labour market in developed countries and details some proposals which developing countries should use in the Service Negotiations. This paper is particularly
Print Book, English, ©2002
Commonwealth Secretariat, London, ©2002
vii, 67 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm.
9780850927450, 0850927455
52064779
Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2. Why Labour Mobility Matters 2.1 Trade 2.2 Factor Mobility 3. Some New Estimates of the Gains from Temporary Movement 3.1 The Model 3.2 The Date and Experiments 3.3 Results 3.4 Sensitivity Analysis 3.5 Conclusions 4. What the GATS Says - and Doesn't Say 4.1 Service Supply vs. Employment 4.2 The Connection between Mode 4 and Other Modes of Supply 4.3 Transparency and Recognition 4.4 The Terminology of Services 4.5 Financial Services 4.6 A Summary of the Schedules 5. Current Polices and Proposals on Temporary Movement 5.1 Accession Negotiations 5.2 Negotiating Proposals, 1999-2001 5.3 Current Schemes for Temporary Movement 6. Ways Forward on Less Skilled Workers 6.1 Employment vs. Service Provision 6.2 Subcontracting Schemes 6.3 Five General Considerations 6.4 Procedural Issues 7. Conclusion References