Open AccessOne world of labour regulation, two worlds of trade: examples of Belgium and Brazil
Author(s) -
Michael Huberman
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european review of economic history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.606
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1474-0044
pISSN - 1361-4916
DOI - 10.1093/ereh/hes021
Subject(s) - productivity , economics , context (archaeology) , world trade , international trade , international economics , labour economics , macroeconomics , geography , archaeology
Supposedly, labour regulation makes firms less competitive in international markets. This paper studies the adoption of labour laws in Belgium before 1914 and Brazil in the 1920s. In the two countries, regulation induced investments in new plant and equipment. The rise in labour productivity made Belgian firms better exporters in the context of expanding world trade. Brazil did not reap similar gains because international trade was collapsing. Copyright , Oxford University Press.
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