Previous large-N research suggests that globalization could have either positive or negative consequences for labor rights in developing nations. This article examines the ways in which domestic political institutions and interests conditions the effects of economic globalization. It develops several hypotheses regarding the impact of domestic factors on labor rights outcomes and uses the case of Costa Rica to assess these hypotheses. The result is that although segments of the Costa Rican economy and labor force have benefited from industrial upgrading in recent years, the enclave nature of the export-oriented economy and the historical repression of organized labor render difficult the achievement of some internationally recognized core labor rights. The article concludes by discussing some of the issues for future research that are highlighted by the Costa Rican case.
Adserá, A., & Boix, C. (2002). Trade, democracy, and the size of the public sector: The political underpinnings of openness. International Organization , 56, 229-262.
2.
Aggarwal, M. (1995). International trade, labor standards, and labor market conditions: An evaluation of the linkages (Working Paper No. 95-06-C) . Washington, DC: U.S. International Trade Commission.
3.
Aidt, T., & Tzannaos, Z. (2002). Unions and collective bargaining: Economic effects in a global environment. Washington, DC: World Bank.
4.
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations. (2001). Petition to remove Costa Rica from the list of beneficiary developing countries under the general system of preferences and from the list of beneficiary countries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (manuscript submitted to the U.S. Trade Representatives). Washington, DC: Author.
5.
Arnold, Wayne. (2006, February 28). Not all roads lead to China. New York Times, p. C1.
6.
Avelino, G., Brown, D.S., & Hunter, W. (2005). The effects of capital mobility, trade openness, and democracy on social spending in Latin America, 1980-1999. American Journal of Political Science, 49, 625-641.
7.
Basinger, S.J., & Hallerberg, M. (2004). Remodeling the competition for capital: How domestic politics erases the race to the bottom. American Political Science Review, 98(2), 261-276.
8.
Bauer, R.A., de Sola Pool, I., & Dexter, L.A. (1963). American business and public policy: The politics of foreign trade. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
9.
Blanton, S.L., & Blanton, R.G. (2007). What attracts foreign investors? An examination of human rights and foreign direct investment. Journal of Politics, 69(1), 143-155.
10.
Böhning, W.R. (2005). Labour rights in crisis: Measuring the achievement of human rights in the world of work. London: Palgrave.
11.
Boyenge, J.S. (2007). ILO database on export processing zones (Working paper). Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization.
12.
Braumoeller, B. (2004). Hypothesis testing and multiplicative interaction terms. International Organization, 58, 807-820.
13.
Breznitz, D. (2007). Innovation and the state: Political choice and strategies for growth in Israel, Taiwan and Ireland. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
14.
Brooks, S.M. (2002). Social protection and economic integration: The politics of pension reform in an era of capital mobility. Comparative Political Studies, 35(5), 491-525.
15.
Brooks, S.M. (2005). Interdependent and domestic foundations of policy change: The diffusion of pension privatization around the world. International Studies Quarterly, 49(2), 273-294.
16.
Brooks, S.M., & Kurtz, M.J. (2007). Capital, trade and the political economies of reform. American Journal of Political Science, 51(4), 703-720.
17.
Brown, D.K., Deardorff, A.V., & Stern, R.M. (2003). The effects of multinational production on wages and working conditions in developing countries (Working Paper No. 9669). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
18.
Buitelaar, R., & Perez, R.P. (2000). Maquila economic reform and corporate strategies . World Development, 28(9), 1627-1642.
19.
Busse, M. (2003, Spring). Do transnational corporations care about labor standards? The Journal of Developing Areas, 36, 39-57.
20.
Castro, R.C. (2003). Legal, political and practical obstacles to compliance with the Costa Rican Labor Code. Unpublished manuscript, Consulting Group for ASEPROLA. Retrieved December 27, 2007 , from http://ilrf.org/publications/costarica_laborlaws.pdf
21.
Clark, M.A. (1997). Transnational alliances and development policy in Latin America: Nontraditional export promotion. Latin American Research Review, 32(2), 71-98.
22.
Compa, L., & Diamond, S.F. (1996). Human rights, labor rights and international trade . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
23.
Coppedge, M. (1998). The dynamic diversity of Latin American party systems. Party Politics, 4(4), 547-568.
24.
Cortázar, R., Lustig, N., & Sabot, R. (1998). Economic policy and labor market dynamics. In N. Birdsall, C. Graham, & R. Sabot (Eds.), Beyond trade offs: Market reform and equitable growth in Latin America (pp. 183-212). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
25.
Elliott, K.A., & Freeman, R.B. (2003). Can labor standards improve under globalization?Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics.
26.
Evans, P. (1979). Dependent development: The alliance of multinational, state and local capital in Brazil. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
27.
Frundt, H.J. (1998). Trade conditions and labor rights: U.S. initiatives, Dominican and Central American responses. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
28.
Frundt, H.J. (2002). Central American Unions in the era of globalization . Latin American Research Review, 37(3), 7-53.
29.
Gallagher, M. (2005). Contagious capitalism: Globalization and the politics of labor in China. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
30.
Garcia-Johnson, R. (2000). Exporting environmentalism: U.S. multinational chemical corporations in Brazil and Mexico. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
31.
Garrett, G. (1998). Global markets and national politics: Collision course or virtuous circle? International Organization, 52(4), 787-824.
32.
Garrett, G. (2000). The causes of globalization. Comparative Political Studies, 33, 941-991.
33.
Gereffi, G. (1999). International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain. Journal of International Economics , 48, 37-70.
34.
Gereffi, G., Humphrey, J., & Sturgeon, T. (2005). The governance of global value chains. Review of International Political Economy, 12(1), 78-104.
35.
Graham, E.M. (2000). Fighting the wrong enemy: Antiglobal activists and multinational enterprises. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics.
36.
Hafner-Burton, E. (2005). Right or robust? The sensitive nature of repression to globalization. Journal of Peace Research, 42(6), 679-698.
37.
Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (Eds.). (2001). Varieties of capitalism: The institutional foundations of comparative advantage. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
38.
Hatem, F. (1998). International investment: Towards the year 2002 . Paris: United Nations/ Invest in France Bureau.
39.
Haufler, V. (2000). A public role for the private sector: Industry self-regulation in a global economy. New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
40.
Hays, J. (2003). Globalization and capital taxation in consensus and majoritarian democracies. World Politics, 56, 79-113.
41.
Henderson, J., Dicken, P., Hess, M., Coe, N., & Yeung, H.W. (2002). Global production networks and the analysis of economic development. Review of International Political Economy , 9(3), 436-464.
42.
Henisz, W.J. (2000). The institutional environment for multinational investment. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 16(2), 334-364.
43.
Henisz, W.J., & Macher, J.T. (2004). Firm- and country-level tradeoffs and contingencies in the evaluation of foreign investment: The semiconductor industry, 1994-2002 . Organization Science, 15(5), 537-554.
44.
Henisz, W.J., & Mansfield, E. (2006). Votes and vetoes: The political determinants of commercial openness. International Studies Quarterly, 50(1), 189-211.
45.
Hiscox, M. (2002). International trade and political conflict: Commerce, coalitions and factor mobility. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
46.
Huber, E., Nielsen, F., Pribble, J., & Stephens, J.D. (2006, March). Politics and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean. Paper presented at the Meetings of the Latin American Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
47.
Huber, E., & Stephens, J.D. (2001). Development and crisis of the welfare state. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
48.
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. (Various years). Annual survey of violations of trade union rights . Brussels, Belgium: Author.
49.
International Labour Organization. (2003). Fundamental principles and rights at work: A labor law study. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
50.
International Labor Rights Fund. (2005, April). Testimony regarding the Central American Free Trade Agreement (prepared by Bama Athreya, deputy director). Retrieved December 27, 2007, from http://www.laborrights.org/publications/CAFTA%20Testimony%20April%202005.pdf
51.
International Trade Union Confederation. ( 2007, April). Internationally-recognised core labour standards in Costa Rica (Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of Costa Rica). Brussels, Belgium: Author.
52.
Iversen, T., & Wren, A. (1998). Equality, employment and budgetary restraint: The trilemma of the service economy. World Politics, 50(4), 507-546.
53.
Jensen, N. (2006). Nation states and the multinational corporation . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
54.
Kobrin, S.J. (1987). Testing the bargaining hypothesis in the manufacturing sector in developing countries. International Organization , 41, 609-638.
55.
Kucera, D. (2002). Core labour standards and foreign direct investment . International Labour Review, 141(1-2), 31-69.
56.
Lall, S. (2000). The technological structure and performance of developing country manufactured exports, 1985-98. Oxford Development Studies, 28(3), 337-369.
57.
Li, Q. (2006). Democracy, autocracy, and tax incentives to foreign direct investors: A cross-national analysis. The Journal of Politics, 68(1), 62-74.
58.
Li, Q., & Resnick, A. (2003). Reversal of fortunes: Democratic institutions and foreign direct investment inflows to developing countries. International Organization, 57, 175-211.
59.
Lipsey, R., & Sjöholm, F. (2002). Foreign firms and Indonesian manufacturing wages: An analysis with panel data. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 55, 201-221.
60.
Madami, D. (1999). A review of the role and impact of export processing zones. Washington, DC: World Bank .
61.
Madrid, R. (2003). Labouring against neoliberalism: Unions and patterns of reform in Latin America. Journal of Latin American Studies , 35(1), 53-88.
62.
Mahoney, J. (2007). Qualitative methodology and comparative politics . Comparative Political Studies, 40(2), 122-144.
63.
Mares, I. (2003). The sources of business interest in social insurance: Sectoral vs. national differences. World Politics, 55, 229-258.
64.
Markusen, J.R. (1995). The boundaries of multinational enterprises and the theory of international trade. Journal of Economic Perspectives , 9(2), 169-189.
65.
McGuire, J.W. (2005). Compiler: Development indicators for 1995 database . Retrieved April 1, 2007, from http://condor.wesleyan.edu/jmcguire/Data.html
66.
Milner, H. (1987). Resisting protectionism: Industries for free trade . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
67.
Moran, T.H. (2002). Beyond sweatshops: Foreign direct investment and globalization in developing countries. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
68.
Morici, P., & Schulz, E. (2001). Labor standards in the global trading system. Washington, DC: Economic Strategy Institute.
69.
Mosley, L. (2007). Foreign investment decisions and labor rights. Unpublished manuscript, University of North Carolina.
70.
Mosley, L., & Uno, S. (2007). Racing to the bottom or climbing to the top? Economic globalization and collective labor rights. Comparative Political Studies, 40(8), 923-948.
71.
Murillo, M.V. (2001). Labor unions, partisan coalitions and market reforms in Latin America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
72.
Murillo, M.V. (2005). Partisanship amidst convergence: The politics of labor reform in Latin America. Comparative Politics, 37(4), 441-458.
73.
Murillo, M.V., & Schrank, A. (2005). With a little help from my friends? Partisan politics, transnational alliances, and labor rights in Latin America. Comparative Political Studies, 38, 971-999.
74.
Mutti, J.H. (2003). Foreign direct investment and tax competition . Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics.
75.
National Research Council. (2004). Monitoring international labor standards: Techniques and sources of information . Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
76.
Navaretti, G.B., & Venables, A.J. (2004). Multinational firms in the world economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
77.
Neumayer, E., & de Soysa, I. (2006). Globalization and the right to free association and collective bargaining: An empirical analysis. World Development , 34(1), 31-49.
78.
O'Donnell, G. (1988). Bureaucratic authoritarianism: Argentina, 1966-1973, in comparative perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press.
79.
Oman, C. (2000). Policy competition for foreign direct investment: A study of competition among governments to attract FDI. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Center.
80.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2000). International trade and core labour standards . Paris: Author.
81.
Pinto, P.M., & Pinto, S.M. (2006, April). The politics of investment: Partisanship and the sectoral allocation of foreign direct investment. Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association , Chicago.
82.
Poe, S.C., Tate, N., & Keith, L.C. (1999). Repression of the human right to personal integrity revisited: A global gross-national study covering the years 1976-1993. International Studies Quarterly, 43, 291-313.
83.
Porter, M.E. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. New York: Free Press.
84.
Procomer. (2006). Balance de las Zonas Francas: Beneficio neto del régimen para Costa Rica, 1997-2005 [Assessment of the Free Trade Zones: Net benefits of the system for Costa Rica, 1997-2005] (PROCEMER/COMEX Estudio EE-IE-02-2006). Retrieved November 8, 2007, from http://www.procomer.com/regimen/Docs-07/ZF/PDF/ZF%20EE-IE-02-06.pdf
85.
Richards, D.L., Gelleny, R.D., & Sacko, D.H. (2001). Money with a mean streak? Foreign economic penetration and government respect for human rights in developing countries. International Studies Quarterly, 45, 219-239.
86.
Roberts, K.M. (2002). Social inequalities without class cleavages in Latin America's neoliberal era. Studies in Comparative International Development, 36, 3-33.
87.
Roberts, K.M., & Wibbels, E. (1999). Party systems and electoral volatility in Latin America: A test of economic, institutional and structural explanations. American Political Science Review, 93(3), 575-590.
88.
Rodríguez-Clare, A. (2001). Costa Rica's development strategy based on human capital and technology: How it got there, the impact of Intel, and lessons for other countries (manuscript for the UNDP Human Development Report). Retrieved December 27, 2007, from http://www.econ.psu.edu/~aur10/Papers/CRDevelopmentStrategy.pdf
89.
Rodrik, D. (1997). Has globalization gone too far?Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics .
90.
Rodrik, D., & Rodríguez, F. (2001). Trade policy and economic growth: A skeptic's guide to the cross-national evidence. In B. Bernanke & K. S. Rogoff (Eds.), Macroeconomics annual 2000 (pp. 261-325). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
91.
Rudra, N. (2002). Globalization and the decline of the welfare state in less developed countries. International Organization, 56, 411-445.
92.
Rudra, N., & Haggard, S. (2005). Globalization, democracy and effective welfare spending in the developing world. Comparative Political Studies , 38(9), 1015-1049.
93.
Rueschemeyer, D., Stephens, E.H., & Stephens, J.D. (1992). Capitalist development and democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
94.
Sambanis, N. (2004). Using case studies to expand economic models of civil war. Perspectives on Politics, 2(2), 259-279.
95.
Santoro, M.A. (2000). Profits and principles: Global capitalists and human rights in China. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
96.
Schneider, F. (2006). Shadow economies and corruption all over the world: What do we really know? (Institute for the Study of Labor Discussion Paper No. 2315). Retrieved April 14, 2007, from http://ftp.iza.org/dp2315.pdf
97.
Schrank, A., & Piore, M. (2007). Norms, regulations and labor standards in Central America (CEPAL Estudios y Perspectivas No. 77). Mexico City, Mexico: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe.
98.
Scruggs, L., & Lange, P. (2002). Where have all the members gone? Globalization, institutions, and union density. Journal of Politics, 64(1), 126-153.
99.
Seligson, M.A. (2002). Trouble in paradise?Latin American Research Review, 37(1), 160-185.
100.
Simmons, B.A., & Elkins, Z. (2004). The globalization of liberalization: Policy diffusion in the international political economy. American Political Science Review, 98(1), 171-189.
101.
Spar, D. (1998). Attracting high technology investment: Intel's Costa Rican plant (Foreign Investment Advisory Service Paper No. 11). Washington, DC: World Bank.
102.
Spar, D. (1999). Foreign investment and human rights. Challenge, 42, 55-67.
103.
Surowiecki, J. (2007, April 16). The financial page: India's skills famine . The New Yorker, p. 54.
104.
Tsebelis, G. (2002). Veto players: How political institutions work . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
105.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2004). World investment report. Geneva : Author.
106.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2006). World investment report. Geneva : Author.
107.
U.S. State Department. (various years). Country reports on human rights practices. Washington, DC: Author.
108.
Weeks, J. (1999). Wages, employment and workers' rights in Latin America, 1970-1998. International Labour Review, 138(2), 151-170.
109.
Wibbels, E. (2006). Dependency revisited: International markets, business cycles, and social spending in the developing world. International Organization, 60, 433-468.
110.
Wibbels, E., & Arce, M. (2003). Globalization, taxation and burden-shifting in Latin America. International Organization, 57, 111-136.
111.
Wilson, B. (1994). When social democrats choose neoliberal economic policies: The case of Costa Rica. Comparative Politics, 26(2), 149-168.
112.
Wilson, B. (1999). Leftist parties, neoliberal policies, and reelection strategies: The case of the PLN in Costa Rica. Comparative Political Studies, 32(9), 752-779.
113.
Wilson, B., & Rodríguez Cordero, J.C. (2006). Legal opportunity structures and social movements: The effects of institutional change on Costa Rican politics . Comparative Political Studies, 39(4), 325-351.
114.
Working Group of the Vice Ministers Responsible for Trade and Labor in Countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic (Vice Ministers). (2005, April). The labor dimension in Central America and the Dominican Republic. Building on progress: Strengthening compliance and enhancing capacity (Report submitted to the Ministers responsible for trade and labor in the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic) . Retrieved December 27, 2007, from http://www.iadb.org/trade/1_english/pub/labor-CADR.pdf
115.
World Trade Organization. (2005). World trade report. Geneva: Author .
