OBJECTIVES Growing numbers of people are migrating outside their country for work, and many experience precarious conditions, which have been linked to poor physical and mental health. While international dialogue on human trafficking, forced labour and slavery increases, prevalence data of such experiences remain limited. METHODS Men from Dolakha, Nepal, who had ever migrated outside of Nepa...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine whether experimental pain tests (EPTs) using heat, pressure, and i.v. cannulation before induction of labour reliably predict epidural analgesic use and pain intensity during labour. METHODS Fifty healthy women with singleton, term pregnancies admitted for scheduled induction of labour comprised the study population for this prospective case-c...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has grown far more rapidly than trade during the last two decades. As with the other prominent features of globalisation, FDI is controversial. The impact of FDI on labour markets has been of growing concern, particularly, for source countries. The deterioration of labour market conditions for unskilled workers in many OECD countries during the 1980’s and 1990’s ...

BACKGROUND Worldwide there has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in women of childbearing age. Growing evidence suggests that maternal overweight and obesity is associated with poor maternal and perinatal outcomes. This study evaluated the impact of maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity on pregnancy, labour and delivery outcomes in a cohort of women wi...

This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected labour market, social policy and migration studies prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal writers are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language – English or French – with a summary in the other. The opinions expressed and arguments employed here are...

BACKGROUND Fetal blood sampling for lactate estimation may be considered following identification of an abnormal or non-reassuring fetal heart rate pattern. The smaller volume of blood required for this test, compared with the more traditional pH estimation, may improve sampling rates. The appropriate use of this practice mandates systematic review of its safety and clinical effectiveness prior...

For subsequent births, women who have experienced previous caesarean section face a choice between elective caesarean section and trial of labour. The study reported in this paper utilises Australian hospital data to compare birth outcome and health system costs of these two options. Although trial of labour is more expensive if the result is an emergency caesarean section, high rates of succes...

Child labour is a global practice and has many negative outcomes. According to International Labour Organization, child labour is the important source of child exploitation and child abuse in the world today. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has estimated the number of Pakistani working children to be around 11-12 millions, out of which, at least, half the children are under the age of t...

This paper attempts to explore the connections between expanding female education and the participation of women in paid employment in Japan, China and India, three of Asia’s largest economies. Analysis based on data and literature shows that despite the large expansion in educational access in these countries in the last half century women lack egalitarian labour market opportunities. A combin...

We estimate the e¤ect of child home care allowance to parents’ labour supply. A municipal supplement to home care allowance in Finnish child care system provides exogenous variation to labour supply. The supplement allows us to compare labour outcomes of similar families that receive di¤erent home care allowances because they live in di¤erent municipalities. The results for mothers indicate a l...