1. 1 ‘Measuring’ job quality with labour law indicators

2. 2 Globalization Winners and loosers Impact on Employment and Labour

3. 3 Globalization Increased competition More pressure to reduce labour costs Impact on the quality of jobs

4. 4 How to capture changes in job quality? 1.Conventional Way = Labour Force Surveys 2.‘Measuring’ changes in labour legislation

5. 5 Statistical Indicators: Legislation regarding firing workers Selected indicators Can an employer terminate the employment contract without cause? Yes (= 0), No (= 1) Does the law establish a list of ‘fair’ grounds for dismissal? Yes (= 0), No (= 1) Most employers notify a third party before dismissing a redundant employee? Yes (= 0), No (= 1) Does the law mandate retraining or replacement before dismissal ? Yes (= 1), No (= 0) What is the length of the legally mandates notice period? ( 0-24 weeks)

6. 6 Job Security Index measures the protection of rules governing the termination of an employment contract as the average of: – Protection of grounds for dismissal (3 indicators) – Protection of dismissal procedures (7 indicators) – Notice and severance payments (4 indicators) – Right to job security embedded in the constitution ( 1 indicators)

7. 7 Firing Regulation Index (2003) Canada 0 USA 10 Denmark 10 Italy 30 France 40 Germany 40 Netherlands 40 Spain 60 Ukraine 80 India 90 Mexico 90 Source: World Bank, ‘Doing Business’ database website.

8. 8 Trend of firing regulation index (1997-2003) (Sample of 60 countries) Less regulation39 More regulation12 Unchanged9 Total60

9. 9 Advantages -Avoid ‘overcharging’ labour force surveys -Less costly than labour force surveys

10. 10 Disadvantages -Not all workers covered by labour legislation -What is labour law is violated? -Problem of indexing (standardising, weighting)