Edited by Jose Antonio Ocampo and Jono K.S.

While the international community has made a commitment to achieving full employment and decent work for all, this goal seems ever more distant in view of recent trends such as the growing unemployment and underemployment, the phenomenon of ‘jobless growth’, the growing ‘casualization’ of employment relations, the promotion of labour flexibility at the expense of welfare security, de-industrialization and the continued decline of peasant agriculture.

Revisiting some familiar terrain with new lenses, this book also breaks new ground in seeking fresh solutions. Employment creation is the key link in ensuring that economic growth contributes to poverty reduction, with management of technological change crucial. While the recent trend towards greater labour flexibility seems irresistible, recent experience suggests some options for also ensuring decent work and economic security. Although recent financial liberalization has exacerbated employment problems, alternative macroeconomic policy priorities can make a difference. New approaches to social security, the informal economy, the welfare state and rural employment in Africa are explored.

Several chapters directly address the informal sector and the informalization process, which are closely connected to the question of decent job creation in emerging economies. Chapters include: ‘Labour market flexibility and decent work’; ‘Rethinking the informal economy: linkages with the formal economy and the formal regulatory environment’; and ‘Modernizing the informal sector’.