Sectoral Analysis of Late Development - The Sectors Project

The Sectors Project is a collaborative research project involving CGSD faculty with faculty from Central European University in Budapest and Yale. The project is an effort to develop a general theoretical explanation for the diverse development trajectories of the post-socialist states of Eastern Europe and the CIS and by extension to propose a general theory of late develop. It is our contention that it is the attributes of the leading sectors through which the national economy has been tied to the global economy that shape countries chances for efficient restructuring and sustainable development. Our framework builds on the earlier work, for example, of Frieden, Hiscox, Karl, Rogowski and Shafer, but substantially revises earlier definitions of sectors to incorporate the marked changes in the organization of production, firms, markets and the character of competition among states seeking to improve their global positions. Equally important, we are developing datasets that permit combined quantitative and qualitative research designs. This is critical both to our immediate desire to understand the post-socialist experience in a broader context and in the longer term to develop a general theory of late development.

Current Project: Labor Database

The sectors project team’s current undertaking is the construction of a labor data set. The Labor dataset (Data Set II) will be a compendium of workforce statistics and labor union strength indicators drawn from over 100 countries from 1980 to the present. The data collection will derive primarily from statistics compiled by individual countries and from organizations such as the ILO and the World Bank. However, since much additional research is needed to augment the previously complied statistics especially in terms of labor union strength, additional in-depth research will be carried out by CGSD research assistants. Indicators that will be included in the dataset range from number of union members as percentage of the nonagricultural workforce, union density and number of ILO treaties ratified to percentage of unemployment and percentage of female workers employed in formal sector. This data set is unique in its goal of providing possibly the most exhaustive collection of indicators of both workforce and union strength statistics from across the globe.

Data Set I

Dataset I is now online! Check the Data page for details.