Over recent years, there has been some criticism of both the methodology and outcomes of the World Bank’s Doing Business Report. In particular, many commentators have questioned the way in which it appears to rank a country’s performance on labour standards only on the basis of the flexibility of the labour market and legislation, with no consideration of the quality of protections for workers and implementation of core ILO standards.

The United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “The Fight against Global Poverty and Inequality: the World Bank’s Approach to Core Labor Standards and Employment Creation,” which focused on the Doing Business report.

Witnesses before the Committee included:

• Peter Bakvis, Director of the Washington Office of the International Trade Union Confederation/Global Unions
• Eric Miller, President, Millers Rock Consulting, LLC
• Sandra Polaski, Senior Associate and Director of the Trade, Equity and Development Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Thea M. Lee, Policy Director, AFL-CIO
• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Distinguished Fellow, Global Economy and Development Program, The Brookings Institution
• Suellen Lazarus, Senior Adviser, ABN-AMRO

Most of the testimony before the Committee can be downloaded from the following internet link, as can full video streaming of the hearing (click on “click here to watch archived hearing” for the video).

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht100307.shtml