International Labour Office

GLOBALIZATION AND DECENT WORK IN THE AMERICAS

there has been increased unemployment, informal work, precarious employment, lack of protection, poverty and social exclusion.

Are the difficulties currently being experienced in the region the product of globalization? Or are they due rather to long-standing structural problems which globalization has not only failed to solve but has even aggravated?

The first has to do with the economic imbalances that existed just when economies opened up, and which, in large measure, countries have not overcome.

The second concerns the absolute priority given to policies of macroeconomic stability which, combined with the heavy burden of external debt in many of our countries, means that insufficient consideration has been given to the objectives and social effects of those macroeconomic policies.

During that time, interest rates were excessively high, and this, although helping to attract foreign capital (much of it volatile), prevented adequate financing in many businesses, led to the failure of others which were highly indebted and, as a consequence of bad debts, threatened the viability of the financial system itself.

The present situation in Argentina is a good example of this.