IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirc/v21y2003i1p71-88.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Once More into the Sunset? Asian Clothing Firms after the National Minimum Wage

Author

Listed:
  • Monder Ram

    (Department of Strategy and Management, Faculty of Business and Law, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, England)

  • Mark Gilman

    (Canterbury Business School, The University, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7PE, England)

  • James Arrowsmith
  • Paul Edwards

Abstract

Intense global competition and the advent of a raft of employment regulations (notably, the national minimum wage, or NMW) have placed the UK garment industry under severe pressure. The prospects for a significant segment of this sector—ethnic-minority-owned businesses—appear to be extremely gloomy, although earlier predictions of its demise proved to be unduly pessimistic. Drawing on case studies of eighteen firms, we present an examination of longitudinal change in the Asian-dominated West Midlands clothing industry. In particular, the aim is to examine the responses of manufacturers to market and regulatory change (in particular, the NMW). The findings clearly illustrate that the sector is in decline, with firms finding it increasingly difficult to cope with cheap imports, labour shortages, and employment regulations. A range of responses was evident and included firms that resorted to operating in ‘grey’ markets; manufacturers that ‘retrenched’ their operations; ‘work intensification’; and businesses that attempted to move ‘up-market’. Finally, potential policy responses are considered. In particular, the case of the Coventry Clothing Centre is examined. The Centre worked with the grain of employment legislation, and appeared to have experienced some success in encouraging local firms to accommodate the NMW and improve working practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Monder Ram & Mark Gilman & James Arrowsmith & Paul Edwards, 2003. "Once More into the Sunset? Asian Clothing Firms after the National Minimum Wage," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 21(1), pages 71-88, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:21:y:2003:i:1:p:71-88
    DOI: 10.1068/c0136
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/c0136
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/c0136?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. Prais,S. J., 1995. "Productivity, Education and Training," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521556675, September.
    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. Valerie Jarvis & S. J. Prais, 1997. "The Quality of Manufactured Products in Britain and Germany," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 421-438.
    2. Paul Ryan & Howard Gospel & Paul Lewis, 2007. "Large Employers and Apprenticeship Training in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(1), pages 127-153, March.
    3. repec:lan:wpaper:4769 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Martina Dieckhoff, 2008. "Skills and occupational attainment: a comparative study of Germany, Denmark and the UK," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(1), pages 89-108, March.
    5. John Sawkins, 2002. "Examination performance in Scottish secondary schools: an ordered logit approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(16), pages 2031-2041.
    6. RODOKANAKIS, Stavros & VLACHOS, Vasileios, 2010. "A Non-Experimental Evaluation Of Education And Training In Greece: The Cases Of Northern Aegean And Crete," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 10(1).
    7. Aurora Amélia Castro TEIXEIRA & Pedro COSME DA COSTA VIEIRA, 2010. "Why Do Firms hire so Few Top Skilled Workers? A Model of Knowledge Transfer Within Firms," EcoMod2004 330600138, EcoMod.
    8. Bob Morgan, 2002. "Higher Education and Regional Economic Development in Wales: An Opportunity for Demonstrating the Efficacy of Devolution in Economic Development," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 65-73.
    9. J. R. Shackleton, 1997. "Skills and Unemployment," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 11(4), pages 299-316, February.
    10. Ryan, Paul., 2003. "Lifelong learning : potential and constraints with special reference to policies in the United Kingdom and Europe," ILO Working Papers 994096163402676, International Labour Organization.
    11. Steedman, H., 1997. "Recent trends in engineering and construction skill formation - UK and Germany compared," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20331, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Bryl Łukasz, 2020. "Long-term Development of National Human Capital. Evidence from China and Poland," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 12(3), pages 30-66, September.
    13. Paul Lewis, 2020. "Developing Technician Skills for Innovative Industries: Theory, Evidence from the UK Life Sciences Industry, and Policy Implications," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 617-643, September.
    14. Rodokanakis, Stavros, 2010. "Comparing the Probability of Unemployment in Northern Greece vis-à-vis the Entire Country," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 137-174.
    15. Richard P. Phelps, 2011. "The Effect of Testing on Achievement: Meta-Analyses and Research Summary, 1910–2010. Source List, Outcomes, and References for Qualitative Studies," Nonpartisan Education Review, Nonpartisan Education Review, vol. 7(4), pages 1-30.
    16. Geoff Mason, 2014. "Skills and training for a more innovation-intensive economy," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 431, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    17. Barry, Frank, 2005. "Future Irish Growth: Opportunities, Catalysts, Constraints," Quarterly Economic Commentary: Special Articles, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), vol. 2005(4-Winter), pages 1-25.
    18. Anna Vignoles & Fernando Galindo‐Rueda & Leon Feinstein, 2004. "The Labour Market Impact of Adult Education and Training: A Cohort Analysis," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(2), pages 266-280, May.
    19. Frank Barry, 2001. "Openness, the Phillips Curve and the cost of relinquishing the currency," Working Papers 200105, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    20. Niall O'Higgins, 1997. "The challenge of youth unemployment," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(4), pages 63-93, October.
    21. Hilary Steedman & Alison Wolf, 1998. "Basic Competence in Mathematics: Swedish and English 16 Year Olds," CEP Discussion Papers dp0385, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:envirc:v:21:y:2003:i:1:p:71-88. 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: .

    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.