Welfare state, labour market inequalities and health. In a global context: an integrated framework

Abstract

Since the nineteen seventies, high- and low-income countries have undergone a pattern of transnational economic and cultural integration known as globalization. The weight of the available evidence suggests that the effects of globalization on labor markets have increased economic inequality and various forms of economic insecurity that negatively affect workers’ health. Research on the relation between labor markets and health is hampered by the social invisibility of many of these health inequalities. Empirical evidence of the impact of employment relations on health inequalities is scarce for low-income countries, small firms, rural settings, and sectors of the economy in which "informality" is widespread. Information is also scarce on the effectiveness of labor market interventions in reducing health inequalities. This pattern is likely to continue in the future unless governments adopt active labor market policies. Such policies include creating jobs through state intervention, regulating the labor market to protect employment, supporting unions, and ensuring occupational safety and health standards.