Worker Empowerment Through Private Standards. Evidence from the Peruvian Horticultural Export Sector

In this paper we analyse the impact of a variety of private standards on worker empowerment in the horticultural export sector in Peru. Empowerment is defined as workers’ knowledge of their own rights and workers’ perceived agency to improve employment conditions. We use data from a company and a two-round employee survey, and difference-in-difference propensity score matching methods. We find positive effects of private standards on worker empowerment, with core labour standards having a more pronounced effect than standards with a small focus on labour, and thus complement previous evidence on the effects of standards on tangible employee wellbeing.