Is There an Aceptable Future for Workers Under

8/13/2019 Is There an Aceptable Future for Workers Under

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Is there an aceptablefuture for workers under

capitalism?The mexican case

Alejandro Valle Baeza


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Overview

Mexican economy panoramic view

Landmarks from the 1950s to the 1980s

The 90s

Current situation

Situation of Mexican workers

Toward an explanation of workerssituation


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GDP 14th, GDP per capita 51th

Upper middle income country WB


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The country is being left behind by

other nations similar to it


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Evolution of labor productivity


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Backwardness found in many

social indicators.


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Inequality of income or expediture

0

5

10

15

20

25

Rich est 20% to poo rest 20%

Finland

United States

Spain

Denmark

Mexico

Bulgaria

Brazil

Turkey


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Workerssituaton


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Top 10 emigration countries

Mexico,

Russia,

India,

China,

Ukraine,

Bangladesh,

Turkey, United Kingdom, Germany,Kazakhstan.


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Top 10 remittance recipients in

2007

India ($27.0 bn),

China ($25.7 bn),

Mexico ($25.0 bn),

Philippines $17.0 bn),

France ($12.5 bn),

Spain ($8.9 bn),

Belgium ($7.2 bn), United Kingdom ($7.0bn), Germany ($7.0 bn), Romania ($6.8bn)


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Precarious employment huge

problem

Mexican unemployment was 3,9% in2005 fairly lower than the 7,7%Latin American average.

However: 9,6% of Mexican workers are not

looking for a job.

60% do not have fringe benefits (healthcare, etc)

A huge share of workers havenutritional problems


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Hence, the country with less unemployment inLatin America Shows higher labor problems than advanced countries.

Mexico is just an example of common labor

problems in middle or low income countries: Increasingly over the 1990s, a number of jobs

came also to be characterized by theirprecariousness. Changes in labour legislationmade it possible for employers to hire workers

within the formal economy but under conditionsthat mirrored those faced by workers in theinformal economy.


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Toward an explanation

Employment problems results fromcapitalist increasing of productivity:

Rising productivity Y/L implies

increasing of K/Y ( a proxy for organiccomposition of capital).

Backward countries have higher K/Y inadvanced industriesbecause an

important share of K is imported payingwith exporting merchandises producedwith low productivity


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An example

1960 GM 14371dol/ worker.

2005 GM 1453468dol/ worker.

Despite inflation itrequires much morecapital now perworker

0

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1400000

1600000

GM

1960

2005


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USA K/Y manufacture

1947-2000

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1947

1949

1951

1953

1955

1957

1959

1961

1963

1965

1967

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

C it l St k W k (1985


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Capital Stock per Worker (1985

international prices) 1992

Norway47118.0

France37460.0

Mexico13697.0 Colombia12742.0

Poland11811.0

Chile11306.0
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On the average in price termsNorway had 3.4more capital perworker at 1992 than Mexico.

However in labor time terms thisratio is much lower: 1.74times because capital is more

expensive in Mexico than in Norway.

Such average shows that in specificindustries K/L in value terms could belarger in Mexico than in Norway


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Short conclusion

Labor problems: unemployment,underemployment, precarious jobsare caused by increasing organic

composition of capital (a proxy isK/Y).

Backward countries have additionallabor problems because means ofproduction cost more in value termsthan capital in advanced countries.

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Is There an Aceptable Future for Workers Under