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OECD Workers in the Global Economy: Increasingly Vulnerable? Presentation: Martine Durand OECD Deputy-Director, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Discussant: David A. Smith House Financial Services Committee

Event Description:

Martine Durand, Deputy-Director of the OECD Directorate of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, presents the findings of one of the chapters in OECD Employment Outlook 2007 that investigates the impact of globalization on OECD labor markets. David Smith will provide comments on the report.

While the expansion of trade and FDI continues to be a powerful force for raising living standards, the evidence presented in this chapter shows that the expansion of trade is a potentially important source of vulnerability for workers. This is particularly true for the labor force groups most exposed to import competition or least prepared to navigate in labor markets characterized by intensive restructuring, rising skill requirements and employers who are increasingly sensitive to differences in labor costs.

In her presentation, Ms Durand will touch on a number of issues, including:

• Does globalization, notably the integration of China and India in the world economy, render workers less secure or reduce their bargaining power?
• What are the implications of offshoring for employment and earnings?
• What can policy-makers do to ensure that workers receive their fair share of the gains from globalization?

Biographies:

Martine Durand has been Deputy-Director of the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affiars since 2002. She is responsible for overseeing the Directorate’s work on employment and labour market policies, social policies, health and international migration. Prior to that, she was Deputy-Head of the OECD Secretary-General’s Private Office and Senior Economist in the OECD Economics Department. Martine Durand has published extensively while at the OECD, including works on competitiveness, trade and general assessments of OECD member countries’ economic policies. Ms Durand holds degrees in mathematics, statistics and economics from the University Paris VI, the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Économique (ENSAE) et the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

David A. Smith is the Chief Economist of the House Financial Services Committee. Smith has experience handling a range of domestic and international issues, with an emphasis on economics. Most recently, Smith was Senior Fellow at Demos, a think tank focusing on public policy issues such as income inequality and corporate governance. Prior to that, Smith was Director of Public Policy and senior advisor to President John J. Sweeney at the AFL-CIO. In addition, he has held positions as senior deputy budget director and Commissioner of Business Development for the City of New York, and also served as a Senior Economist at the Joint Economic Committee and as an advisor to Senator Edward Kennedy. Mr. Smith has also held positions as a fellow at the Century Foundation, and has taught at the University of Massachusetts and the New School.