IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/emeeco/v8y2016i1p35-59.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Surviving Chinese Competition in a Post-Multi-Fibre Arrangement World

Author

Listed:
  • Vinaye Dey Ancharaz
  • Harshana Kasseeah

Abstract

Mauritius is a small island economy where textile and clothing firms were previously benefiting from preferential access to the EU and the US markets under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) which imposed limits on the exports of big exporters. With the phasing out of the MFA, Mauritian textile and clothing firms now have to compete with Asian drivers, especially China, without any artificial support. This article studies post-MFA stabilization in a sample of clothing firms in Mauritius. Data are collected by means of face-to-face interviews with the senior management of 20 firms. Findings indicate that the firms have been involved in a series of changes after the phase out of the MFA. These changes include investment in technology, marketing strategies, production reorganization, rationalizing and closing down units of production, and increased specialization. Evidence also indicates that the competitive edge of Mauritian firms lies in their ability to accept small orders with short lead times, and delivering good quality on time. Institutions have also played a major role in ensuring the survival of the clothing industry through industrial policy and relevant support structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Vinaye Dey Ancharaz & Harshana Kasseeah, 2016. "Surviving Chinese Competition in a Post-Multi-Fibre Arrangement World," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 8(1), pages 35-59, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:emeeco:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:35-59
    DOI: 10.1177/0974910115613706
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0974910115613706
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0974910115613706?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeffrey Frankel, 2014. "Mauritius: African Success Story," NBER Chapters, in: African Successes, Volume IV: Sustainable Growth, pages 295-342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Dan Magder, 2005. "Egypt after the Multi-Fiber Arrangement: Global Apparel and Textile Supply Chains as a Route for Industrial Upgrading," Working Paper Series WP05-8, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    3. Kaplinsky, Raphael & Morris, Mike, 2008. "Do the Asian Drivers Undermine Export-oriented Industrialization in SSA," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 254-273, February.
    4. Aaditya Mattoo & Devesh Roy & Arvind Subramanian, 2003. "The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and its Rules of Origin: Generosity Undermined?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 829-851, June.
    5. Arvind Subramanian, 2009. "The Mauritian Success Story and its Lessons," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2009-36, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Madhavi Majmudar, 1996. "Trade Liberalisation in Clothing: the MFA Phase‐Out and the Developing Countries," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 14(1), pages 5-36, March.
    7. Mr. Arvind Subramanian & Mr. Devesh Roy, 2001. "Who Can Explain The Mauritian Miracle: Meade, Romer, Sachs or Rodrik?," IMF Working Papers 2001/116, International Monetary Fund.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Oleg Badunenko & Daniel Henderson & Romain Houssa, 2014. "Significant drivers of growth in Africa," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 339-354, December.
    2. Katsiaryna Svirydzenka & Martin Petri, 2017. "Mauritius: The Drivers of Growth – Can the Past Be Extended?," Journal of Banking and Financial Economics, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 2(8), pages 54-83, October.
    3. Peerally, Jahan Ara & Cantwell, John A, 2012. "Changes in Trade Policies and the Heterogeneity of Domestic and Multinational Firms’ Strategic Response: The Effects on Firm-Level Capabilities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 469-485.
    4. Jeffrey Frankel, 2014. "Mauritius: African Success Story," NBER Chapters, in: African Successes, Volume IV: Sustainable Growth, pages 295-342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Aaditya Mattoo & Devesh Roy & Arvind Subramanian, 2003. "The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and its Rules of Origin: Generosity Undermined?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 829-851, June.
    6. Mr. Antonio David & Mr. Martin Petri, 2013. "Inclusive Growth and the Incidence of Fiscal Policy in Mauritius: Much Progress, But More Could be Done," IMF Working Papers 2013/116, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Augustin Kwasi Fosu & Dede Woade Gafa, 2020. "Development Strategies for the Vulnerable Small Island Developing States (SIDS)," Working Papers 202073, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    8. Zenthöfer, A.F., 2011. "The Resource Curse - A Natural Experiment," Discussion Paper 2011-028, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    9. Keck, Alexander & Low, Patrick, 2004. "Special and differential treatment in the WTO: Why, when and how?," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2004-03, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    10. Arielle Joseph & Bernhard Troester, 2013. "Can the Mauritian Miracle continue? - The role of financial and ICT services as prospective growth drivers," Competence Centre on Money, Trade, Finance and Development 1301, Hochschule fuer Technik und Wirtschaft, Berlin.
    11. Sanjeev Sobhee, 2009. "The economic success of Mauritius: lessons and policy options for Africa," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 29-42.
    12. Olivier Cadot & Lili Yan Ing, 2016. "How Restrictive Are ASEAN's Rules of Origin?," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 15(3), pages 115-134, Fall.
    13. Garth Frazer & Johannes Van Biesebroeck, 2010. "Trade Growth under the African Growth and Opportunity Act," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(1), pages 128-144, February.
    14. Cherkashin, Ivan & Demidova, Svetlana & Kee, Hiau Looi & Krishna, Kala, 2015. "Firm heterogeneity and costly trade: A new estimation strategy and policy experiments," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 18-36.
    15. Jahan Ara Peerally & John Cantwell, 2011. "The Impact Of Trade Policy Regimes On Firms' Learning For Innovation From Suppliers," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 29-68.
    16. Kelly Ruth, 2010. "EU and U.S. Non-Reciprocal Preferences: Maintaining the Acquis," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-39, April.
    17. Konstantins Benkovskis & Julia Wörz, 2016. "Non-price competitiveness of exports from emerging countries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 707-735, September.
    18. Cooke, Edgar F A, 2011. "The impact of trade preferences on exports of developing countries: the case of the AGOA and CBI preferences of the USA," MPRA Paper 31439, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Ryan Saylor, 2012. "Probing the historical sources of the Mauritian miracle: sugar exporters and state building in colonial Mauritius," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(133), pages 465-478, September.
    20. José Anson & Olivier Cadot & Antoni Estevadeordal & Jaime de Melo & Akiko Suwa‐Eisenmann & Bolormaa Tumurchudur, 2005. "Rules of Origin in North–South Preferential Trading Arrangements with an Application to NAFTA," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 501-517, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:emeeco:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:35-59. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.emergingmarketsforum.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.