International Trade and Labor Standards: A Proposal for Linkage

Christian Barry and Sanjay Reddy

June, 2008
Cloth, 232 pages, 3 tables
ISBN: 978-0-231-14048-5
$35.00 / £24.00

"An impeccably reasoned and convincing argument in favor of labor standards as part of trade agreements . . . Highly recommended." — Choice

"a thoughtful, interesting, and generally well written account of a contentious

subject." — Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Development Policy Review

"required reading as one of the most important books of recent years" — Michael Pollak, Left Business Observer

"Barry and Reddy also make innovative moral arguments that subvert standard economic assumptions." — Lisa Fuller, Ethics & International Affairs

"the book is a refreshingly controversial contribution." — Miriam Ronzoni, Global Justice

"International Trade and Labor Standards makes a cogent, interdisciplinary case for a fair system of norms and rules that link labor standards worldwide to trade policy. The volume provides an excellent basis for serious discussions concerning the use of multilateral institutions to improve the conditions of many of the world's least-advantaged people." — Robert O. Keohane, professor of international affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

"Written by a numerate philosopher and a morally reflective economist, this work brings much illumination to the previously cloudy dispute about linkage. Focusing on the practical task of reforming the international trade regime to improve conditions for the poor, this book is also a substantial contribution to the current debates about global justice." — Thomas Pogge, professor of philosophy, Yale University, and professorial fellow, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, The Australian National University

"Barry and Reddy have made a contribution to the alliance of reason with hope. They exemplify a principle that should be rendered radical and universal: the reinvention of the institutional forms of the market and an open world economy. The method in this book is to turn the tables on the abusers of economics, impaling them on their own weapons." — Roberto Mangabeira Unger, minister for strategic affairs in the government of Brazil, and Roscoe Pound Professor of Law at Harvard Law School

Related Subjects

• Business
• Economics & Finance
• Ethics
• International Affairs
• Political Theory

About the Author

Christian Barry teaches philosophy in the School of Humanities and is a senior research fellow at the Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University, and his research interests include international ethics, global justice, and the philosophy of action. Sanjay G. Reddy is an assistant professor of economics at Barnard College and at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, and his research interests include development economics, international economics, and economics and philosophy.

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