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1. The Struggle Below the Surface: Declining Working Conditions 1. - Part I: Examining the Contentions Feeding Inaction . - 2. The Argument that Humane Working Conditions lead to Higher Unemployment 23. - 3. The Contention that Countries Can't Complete if they Protect Working Adults 46. - 4. The Myth that Labor Laws Do Not Make a Difference 70. - Part II: Requirements for Change . - 5. Achieving Global Consensus 89. - 6. Addressing Where the World Lags Behind 121. - 7. Moving from Evidence to Action: Raising the Floor of Working Conditions and Equity 147

The United States does not guarantee families a wide range of supportive workplace policies such as paid maternity and paternity leave or paid leave to care for sick children. Proposals to provide such benefits are invariably met with the complaint that the costs would reduce employment and undermine the international competitiveness of American businesses. In this article, Alison Earle, Zitha Mokomane, and Jody Heymann explore whether paid leave and other work-family policies that support children's development exist in countries that are economically competitive and have low unemployment rates. Their data show that the answer is yes.

Using indicators of competitiveness gathered by the World Economic Forum, the authors identify fifteen countries, including the United States, that have been among the top twenty countries in competitiveness rankings for at least eight of ten years. To this group they add China and India, both rising competitors in the global economy. They find that every one of these countries, except the United States, guarantees some form of paid leave for new mothers as well as annual leave. And all but Switzerland and the United States guarantee paid leave for new fathers.

The authors perform a similar exercise to identify thirteen advanced countries with consistently low unemployment rates, again including the United States. The majority of these countries provide paid leave for new mothers, paid leave for new fathers, paid leave to care for children's health care needs, breast-feeding breaks, paid vacation leave, and a weekly day of rest. Of these, the United States guarantees only breast-feeding breaks (part of the recently passed health care legislation).

The authors' global examination of the most competitive economies as well as the economies with low unemployment rates makes clear that ensuring that all parents are available to care for their children's healthy development does not preclude a country from being highly competitive economically.

Resumen.Es necesario que los poderes públicos nacionales que acarician la posibilidad de implantar o reformar la licencia remunerada por enfermedad conozcan los métodos que se usan para costear esta prestación. Basándose en datos mundiales sobre la legislación al respecto, los autores infieren que el tipo de régimen vigente—responsabilidad del empresario, seguro social, asistencia social o una mezcla de ellos—influye mucho en la duración y cuantía de la prestación. Sin embargo, no hallan ninguna relación estrecha de la duración y la generosidad de la licencia por enfermedad con indicadores económicos como el PIB por habitante, la tasa de desempleo o la competitividad nacional. Por último, los autores estudian los instrumentos capaces de garantizar una licencia eficaz y un rendimiento económico óptimo.

Résumé.Les responsables politiques qui envisagent d'instituer ou de réformer le congé de maladie ont besoin d'en comprendre les mécanismes de financement possibles. Partant de données mondiales, les auteurs observent que la durée et la générosité de l'indemnisation dépendent du modèle utilisé– responsabilité de l'employeur, assurance sociale, assistance sociale, ou une combinaison des trois –, mais ils ne relèvent aucun lien significatif avec les indicateurs économiques tels que PIB par habitant, taux de chômage ou compétitivité nationale. Ils envisagent aussi les mécanismes politiques propices à l'efficacité du congé de maladie et à la solidité des résultats économiques.

Abstract.Decision‐makers in countries considering adoption or reform of paid sick leave policies need to understand the mechanisms used to finance sick leave provision. Using global data on sick leave legislation, the authors find the type of model used – employer liability, social insurance, social assistance, or a combination thereof – has significant implications for the duration and generosity of sickness benefits. However, they find no significant relationship between the duration or generosity of sick leave and economic indicators such as per capita GDP, unemployment rates, or national competitiveness. Potential mechanisms enabling both effective sick leave policies and strong economic outcomes are discussed.

PurposeNearly every country has committed to protect children from work that could be harmful or interfere with their education by ratifying the International Labour Organization Minimum Age Convention (C138). Yet there is little transparency and accountability around whether countries have followed through on these commitments by passing legislation to protect children from work. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports on analyses conducted of child labor legislation from all 193 United Nations member states to determine whether countries that have committed to ending child labor have taken the first step by passing legislation to protect children and youth from: work that is likely to be hazardous, work that is likely to interfere with their education and work that is harmful to their healthy development.FindingsFindings show one in five ratifiers legally allow children to do hazardous work, and a similar number permit admission to employment at a young age. Moreover, legislative loopholes significantly undermine the protections that do exist in many countries.Originality/valueExisting reporting mechanisms sometimes obscure whether central legal protections are in place, make cross-country comparisons difficult and impede the analysis of possible relationships between policies and outcomes across countries. This paper illustrates a novel approach to provide transparency and accountability on whether countries are meeting child labor commitments by using quantitative, globally comparable policy indicators.