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Though a great deal of research has examined the economic and political consequences of natural resource wealth, its implications for labor remain empirically under-examined. In this article, we contend that resource abundance undermines labor rights due to the inelastic demand for resource-intensive products, which serves to insulate these states from internal and external pressures to protect these rights. In addition to this direct linkage, we posit that resource wealth indirectly undercuts labor rights through its adverse impact on civil society and bureaucratic capacity. Examining these linkages across 148 countries for the years 1994–2010, we find that resource wealth has a negative and significant impact on labor rights practices, though not on labor rights laws. Results from a causal mediation analysis show that resource wealth also undermines labor rights through its negative impact on labor organizations and bureaucratic capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'resource curse' associated with natural resource abundance has long been a subject of study across multiple disciplines. Though much research has focused on possible effects of resource wealth on the formal economy, little is known about how such wealth affects the informal sector, a substantial portion of global economic activity. We posit that resource windfalls directly contribute to growth in the informal economy, as investment and spending patterns associated with such revenues limit opportunities within the formal sector and thus channel more labor and businesses into the informal sector. We test these claims across a panel of over 120 countries for the period 1985 to 2012. Across multiple model specifications, we find that resource wealth growth is associated with increased informal economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is a compelling and persistent problem that has attracted a great amount of attention among political leaders, government institutions, NGOs, and nonprofit organizations. While there is consensus that trafficking necessitates a multipronged policy response commonly known as the "3Ps" (prosecution, protection, and prevention), anti‐trafficking policies diffused across U.S. states in a piecemeal fashion. In this paper, we explore the fragmented diffusion of the different types of anti‐trafficking laws. Drawing from social constructivist approaches, we posit that the differential diffusion rates depend on the social construction of the target population and policy intention of the law. Using event history analysis, we examine the diffusion of 14 types of human trafficking laws throughout the U.S. during 2003–2013. We find strong support for our hypotheses and show substantial differences in the rates at which prosecution, protection, and prevention‐related laws diffuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of economic globalization including access to information, trade, foreign investment, etc on the intensity of conflict across developing countries is analyzed. The conflict and globalization of economy are found to be negatively correlated by using a two-stage Heckman model.

Preferential trading arrangements, in the form of regional blocs, have emerged as a popular policy tool for the United States. Blocs are viewed by some policymakers and scholars as an effective defensive measure for shoring up declining U.S. economic power. Others view blocs as a more practical first step toward multilateral liberalization. Critics of blocs view them as a suboptimal solution to economic problems which at best diverts time and resources better spent working toward multilateralism and at worst encourages protectionism, distrust, and confusion among states. This study seeks to examine the consequences of such policies for U.S. trading behavior. More specifically, U.S. trading patterns are examined, within the context of the global trading order, to determine the extent to which the U.S. is a regional or a global actor. Covering the period from 1950 to 1990, this study employs asymmetric multidimensional scaling to spatially place U.S. trading patterns in the world trading order. Results indicate that U.S. trading patterns are 'global' with respect to developed states.

The structure of the world-economy is a central issue in world-systems research. Empirical structural analysis, however, has generally focused on a single structural aspect of the world-system: delineation of the core, periphery, and semiperiphery. This study examines another important structural facet of the word-system - blocs within the world trading order. The existence of blocs within the world-economy, as well as their configuration, have implications for states at all structural positions of the world system. Analysis of blocs which exist among core states can provide insights into issues of hegemonic cycles and decline. Outside of the core, the character of clusters can provide evidence regarding peripheral mobility, fragmentation, or subimperialism. Employing two complementary network methods, asymmetric multidimensional scaling and clique detection, this study examines blocs within the world-economy at three points since World War II: 1955, 1975, and 1994. Results indicate a somewhat multipolar, though not necessarily antagonistic, core and a somewhat fragmented periphery.