United States Department of Labor

Contract Research Reports (Funded Fiscal Years 2007 to present)

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s). They are offered for the purpose of discussion and contribution to research. They are not statements of official Department of Labor or Bureau of International Labor Affairs policy.

Fiscal Year 2011

• Overview of New ILAB-Sponsored Research Papers on Worker Rights and Livelihoods (PDF)

Sustainable Livelihoods in Developing Countries

• “Isolation or Opportunity? Experimental Analysis of a Housing Program for Urban Slum Dwellers in India” by Sharon Barnhardt, Erica Field, and Rohini Pande, Harvard University, 2012. (PDF)
• “Experimental estimates of the impact of malaria treatment on agricultural worker productivity, labor supply and earnings” by Andrew Dillon and Pieter Serneels, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2012. (PDF)
• “Preventive or Curative Treatment of Malaria? Evidence from Agricultural Workers in Nigeria” by Andrew Dillon, Oladdele Akogun, Pieter Serneels, and Francis Smart, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2012. (PDF)

The Relationship Between Working Conditions and Product Quality

• “Working Conditions and Product Quality: Evidence from Carpet Industry in Pakistan, India, and Nepal” by Eric Edmonds and Nina Pavcnik, International Child Action Research and Evaluation, LLC, 2012. (PDF)

Fiscal Year 2010

Sustainable Livelihoods and Consumption Smoothing Strategies

• Overview of the ILAB-OTLA Contract Research Program on Livelihoods and Consumption Smoothing (PDF)
• "Designing Microfinance to Enable Consumption Smoothing: Evidence from India" by Erica Field, Rohini Pande, and Y. Jeanette Park, Harvard University, 2011 (PDF)
• "Do Community-Based Interventions Improve Risk Sharing? Evidence from Malawi" by Emla Fitzsimons, Bansi Malde, and Marcos Vera-Hernández, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2011 (PDF)
• "Longer Run Effects of a Seasonal Migration Program in Bangladesh" by Mushfiq Mobarak, Yale University, 2011
  • Author's update — December, 2011 (PDF)
• "Why do Households Fail to Engage in Profitable Migration?" by Mushfiq Mobarak, Yale University, 2011
  • Author's update — December, 2011 (PDF)

Impacts of Trade Preference Programs on Labor Rights

• "Comparative Case Analysis of the Impacts of Trade-Related Labor Provisions on Select U.S. Trade Preference Recipient Countries" by Bama Athreya, International Labor Rights Forum, 2011 (PDF)

Fiscal Year 2009

Refining the ILAB-NAS Matrix

• "Formulating and Aggregating Indicators of Labor Rights Compliance" by Mark Barenberg, Columbia University, 2011.
  • Literature Review (PDF)
    • Appendix A (PDF)
    • Appendix B (PDF)
    • Appendix C (PDF)
  • Executive Summary (PDF)
  • Report (PDF)
    • Appendix A — Assessment Indicators (PDF)
    • Appendix B — Diagnostic Indicators (PDF)
    • Appendix C — Probative Indicators (PDF)

International Trade and Labor Rights

• "The Impact of Core Labor Rights on Wages and Employment in Developing Countries: the Rights to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining" by James Heintz and Stephanie Luce, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2010 (PDF)
• "Trade Agreements and Labor Standards: The Impact of Trade Negotiations on Country Adoption of Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining" by James Heintz and Stephanie Luce, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2010 (PDF)

Fiscal Year 2008

The Labor Market Impacts of Trade in Services

• "Analyzing the Impact of Trade in Services on the U.S. Labor Market: The Response of Service Sector Employment to Exchange Rate Changes" by J. Bradford Jensen, Georgetown University, 2010 (PDF)
• "Employment Impacts of Globalization (The Impact of Service Offshoring on Displaced Workers Post-displacement Outcomes)" by Ivan T. Kandilov, North Carolina State University, 2010 (PDF)
• "Trade in Services and U.S. Service Industry Employment and Wages" by Robert E. Lipsey, 2010 (PDF)
• "FDI, Trade in Services, and Employment and Wages in U.S. Service Industry Firms" by Robert E. Lipsey, 2010 (PDF)

Fiscal Year 2007

Evaluation of the ILAB-NAS Matrix for Monitoring International Labor Standards

• "Evaluation of the NAS-ILAB Matrix for Monitoring International Labor Standards" by Lawrence S. Root and Ada A. Verloren, University of Michigan, 2009 (PDF)