Communicating Policy – GPP 509. 

Policy Brief #1:

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—travail/documents/publication/wcms_156071.pdf

1. Author:  International Labour Organization.
2. Topic:  Labour policies – Domestic work policies.
3. Purpose of the brief:  The brief purpose is to show a method of how to measure the economic value of domestic work.  This document challenge traditional economical approaches which says that domestic work it does not has a value in capitalist terms.
4. Table of content: Introduction, Conceptual framework, Proposed measure of value for domestic workers and their families, Proposed measures of value for employing households, Proposed measures of value for the country, Proposed measures of global value, Conclusion, References.
5. Evaluation: In my opinion, this brief it is an interesting summary of the ´state of arts´ about how to measure its value. First, the author frames the core concepts around this debate in terms of theoretical and methods. So that, it challenges the capitalist idea of human work as just those activities limits to wages earns, and go beyond analyzing how human work is much more than just to perceive a wage. The next step of this brief is to argue of the non-monetary value of domestic work, for instance, its social effects in helping to reduce poverty. On the other hand, the brief pointed out how important is to collect data in every country to make an adequate measurement. In this line, the brief shows different methods for achieving to value domestic works emphasizing which social goals the research need to meet. I think this is also the most important part of the brief due to stress out the importance of political economy and political theory that must underline every public policy.

Policy Brief #2:

http://www.unhcr.org/publications/operations/594b824a4/policy-brief-on-hiring-refugees.html

1. Author: OECD and UNHCR.
2. Topic: Labour policies – Refugee Labour rights – Refugee Hiring policies.
3. Purpose of the brief: The document is aimed to show the challenges which face both corporate sectors and refugees in the hiring phase at OECD countries.
4. Table of content: Introduction, The business case, Challenges in hiring asylum seekers and refugees, Emerging findings, References.
5. Evaluation: In my opinion, the brief fulfilled its purposed in assessment what the main legal, institutional and social barriers are for asylum seekers and refugees to obtained a job at OECD labour systems. At the same time, the Brief make several recommendations to all the actors: corporations, Government, and refugees communities. According to the Brief I find the most important policies to be take are (i) to remove any legal barrier that prevent Refugees to obtain a job, especially those related to asylum seekers; (ii) to promote a cost- benefit approach in order to show what could gains corporations from hiring people under international protection; (iii) to work on public information campaigns for mitigate negative public opinion regarding this issue.

Policy Brief # 3: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08a5ced915d622c0006d1/120316_ECO_ExtIndLanUse_BRIEF4_0.pdf

1. Author: ELLSA- UK Government.
2. Topic: Environmental policies – Extractive industries – Conservationist policies.
3. Purpose of the brief: The brief purpose is to show the impact among extractive industries of Yasuni ITT conservationist policy made by Ecuador as an alternative to climate change, wich consist in refraining to extract the oil from this area asking for a compensation to developed world (co-responsibility principle).
4. Table of content: Summary, The Context: Conservation vs Extraction, The Case: Ecuador´s Yasuni-ITT Initiative, Contextual Factors.
5. Evaluation: In my opinion, this brief it is incomplete in terms to discuss all the challenges that Yasuni ITT initiative faces. In this line, there is not analysis of how great powers fail to funding the initiative despite their great rhetoric around fighting climate change.  The brief just made an overview of this proposal just from a technical perspective, yet with totally absent of an international power relations dynamics.