IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/b/wbk/wbpubs/2654.html
   My bibliography  Save this book

Globalization, Wages, and the Quality of Jobs : Five Country Studies

Author

Listed:
  • Raymond Robertson
  • Drusilla Brown
  • Gaëlle Pierre
  • María Laura Sanchez-Puerta

Abstract

The country studies in this volume analyze the link between globalization and working conditions in Cambodia, El Salvador, Honduras, Indonesia, and Madagascar. These countries vary significantly in population, economic circumstances, region, history, and institutions. All have experienced liberalization and globalization in the last 20 years. The heterogeneity of these countries provides the basis for a useful comparison of the effects of globalization on working conditions. As suggested in the framework, each country study has three main components: a description of the country's experience with globalization, a qualitative part that analyzes country-specific aspects of working conditions, and an analysis of changes in interindustry wage differentials (IIWDs) that can be compared across countries. In general, globalization has been characterized by export-driven foreign direct investment (FDI) concentrated in relatively few sectors. Export-driven FDI in the apparel sector plays a prominent role in each country, although to varying degrees. In Cambodia, apparel made up 82 percent of all merchandise exports in 2003. Nearly two-thirds of that total was destined for the U.S. market. Virtually all factories in the Cambodian garment sector are foreign owned. Honduras rose from being the 34th largest supplier of apparel to the United states (U.S.) market in 1990 to fourth place in 2003. In 2003, two-thirds of all Honduran exports to the U.S. were garments and more than 82 percent of all Honduran workers worked in foreign-owned factories. A similar pattern emerges for El Salvador. For Madagascar, apparel exports from the Zone Franche were the primary force behind the country's remarkable export growth and its transition from exporting primary products to exporting manufactured products between 1990 and 2005. By 2001, Madagascar had become the second most important clothing exporter in Sub-Saharan Africa as measured by total export value.

Suggested Citation

  • Raymond Robertson & Drusilla Brown & Gaëlle Pierre & María Laura Sanchez-Puerta, 2009. "Globalization, Wages, and the Quality of Jobs : Five Country Studies," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2654.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbpubs:2654
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/2654/499160PUB0Glob101Official0Use0only1.pdf?sequence=1
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank & International Finance Corporation, 2006. "Doing Business in 2006 : Creating Jobs," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7421.
    2. Manning,Chris, 1998. "Indonesian Labour in Transition," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521594127, September.
    3. Sjoholm, Fredrik & Lipsey, Robert E, 2006. "Foreign Firms and Indonesian Manufacturing Wages: An Analysis with Panel Data," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(1), pages 201-221, October.
    4. Asep Suryahadi, 1999. "Wage Inequality Between Skilled and Unskilled Labor in Indonesian Manufacturing Received," Economics and Finance in Indonesia, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, vol. 47, pages 271-288, September.
    5. Arnold, Jens Matthias & Javorcik, Beata Smarzynska, 2005. "Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign acquisitions and plant performance in Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3597, The World Bank.
    6. Sjoholm, Fredrik & Lipsey, Robert E, 2006. "Foreign Firms and Indonesian Manufacturing Wages: An Analysis with Panel Data," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(1), pages 201-221, October.
    7. Robert Lipsey & Fredrik Sjöholm, 2004. "FDI and wage spillovers in Indonesian manufacturing," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 140(2), pages 321-332, June.
    8. Cox Edwards, Alejandra, 1996. "Labor regulations and industrial relations in Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1640, The World Bank.
    9. Pangestu, Mari & Hendytio, Medelina K., 1997. "Survey responses from women workers in Indonesia's textile, garment, and footwear industries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1755, The World Bank.
    10. Papola, T S & Bharadwaj, V P, 1970. "Dynamics of Industrial Wage Structure: An Inter-country Analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 80(317), pages 72-90, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robertson, Raymond & Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys & Savchenko, Yevgeniya, 2018. "Globalisation and the Gender Earnings Gap: Evidence from Sri Lanka and Cambodia 1992-2015," IZA Discussion Papers 11821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Mari Kangasniemi & Jukka Pirttilä, 2013. "Trade unions in the south and co-operation between unions in the South and in the North: A survey of the economics literature," Working Papers 285, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    3. Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys & Robertson, Raymond, 2012. "The Promise and Peril of Post-MFA Apparel Production," World Bank - Economic Premise, The World Bank, issue 84, pages 1-4, May.
    4. Haas, Levi & Schenk-Hoppé, Klaus R., 2019. "International Trade: Smarten up to talk the talk," MPRA Paper 99096, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Raymond Robertson, 2022. "Pioneering a new approach to improving working conditions in developing countries: Better Factories Cambodia," Chapters, in: Handbook on Globalisation and Labour Standards, chapter 20, pages 359-381, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Khorana, Sangeeta & Caram, Santiago & Biagetti, Marco, 2021. "Developmental relevance of Everything but Arms: Implications for Bangladesh after LDC graduation," MPRA Paper 116258, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Savchenko, Yevgeniya & Acevedo, Gladys Lopez, 2012. "Female wages in the apparel industry post-MFA : the cases of Cambodia and Sri Lanka," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6061, The World Bank.
    8. Scherrer, Christoph & Beck, Stefan, 2016. "Trade regulations and global production networks," GLU Working Papers 43, Global Labour University (GLU).
    9. Robertson,Raymond & Kokas,Deeksha & Cardozo,Diego & Lopez-Acevedo,Gladys C., 2020. "Short and Long-Run Labor Market Effects of Developing Country Exports : Evidence from Bangladesh," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9176, The World Bank.
    10. Johannes Schwarzer, 2016. "Trade and Employment. An Overview," Discussion Notes 1601, Council on Economic Policies.
    11. Phan, Trang Hoai, 2022. "Working Conditions, Export Decisions, and Firm Constraints-Evidence from Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 133903, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    12. John Pickles, 2012. "South African horticulture: opportunities and challenges for economic and social upgrading in value chains," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2012-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    13. Robert J. Flanagan & Niny Khor, 2014. "Globalization and the Quality of Asian and Non-Asian Jobs," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 31(1), pages 163-185, March.
    14. Raymond Robertson, 2018. "Effects of regulating international trade on firms and workers," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 439-439, June.
    15. Juan Chaparro & Eduardo Lora, 2017. "Do Good Job Conditions Matter for Wages and Productivity? Theory and Evidence from Latin America," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 12(1), pages 153-172, March.
    16. Richard M. Locke & Ben A. Rissing & Timea Pal, 2013. "Across Boundaries: The Global Challenges Facing Workers and Employment Research 50th Anniversary Special Issue," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(3), pages 519-552, September.
    17. Fukunishi, Takahiro & Yamagata, Tatsufumi, 2013. "Slow and steady wins the race : how the garment industry leads industrialization in low-income countries," IDE Discussion Papers 412, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    18. Jabbar Ul-Haq & Hubert Visas & Seyedrohollah Ahmadi & Ahmed Raza Cheema, 2020. "Female Earnings in the Apparel Industry Post-MFA: Evidence From Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    19. Raymond Robertson, 2020. "Lights On: How Transparency Increases Compliance in Cambodian Global Value Chains," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 939-968, August.

    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. Ramstetter, Eric D., 2014. "Exporting, Education, and Wage Differentials between Foreign Multinationals and Local Plants in Indonesian and Malaysian Manufacturing," AGI Working Paper Series 2014-03, Asian Growth Research Institute.
    2. Eric Ramstetter, 2009. "Firm- and Plant-level Analysis of Multinationals in Southeast Asia: the Perils of Pooling Industries and Balancing Panels," Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series gd09-106, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    3. Maria Bas, 2012. "Foreign ownership wage premium: Does financial health matter?," Working Papers 2012-24, CEPII research center.
    4. Ramstetter, Eric D. & Haji Ahmad, Shahrazat Binti, 2013. "Do Multinationals Use Water and Energy Relatively Efficiently in Malaysian Manufacturing?," AGI Working Paper Series 2013-16, Asian Growth Research Institute.
    5. Elisa Giuliani & Chiara Macchi, 2014. "Multinational corporations’ economic and human rights impacts on developing countries: a review and research agenda," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 38(2), pages 479-517.
    6. Ramstetter, Eric D. & Narjoko, Dionisius, 2013. "Foreign Ownership, State Ownership and Energy Efficiency in Indonesia's Private Manufacturing Plants," AGI Working Paper Series 2013-17, Asian Growth Research Institute.
    7. Lay, Jann & Tafese, Tevin, 2020. "Promoting private investment to create jobs: A review of the evidence," PEGNet Policy Studies 02/2020, PEGNet - Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    8. Ramstetter, Eric D. & Kohpaiboon, Archanun, 2013. "Foreign Ownership and Energy Efficiency in Thailand’s Local Manufacturing Plants," AGI Working Paper Series 2013-15, Asian Growth Research Institute.
    9. Nguyen, Dao Thi Hong, 2019. "Inward foreign direct investment and local wages: The case of Vietnam’s wholesale and retail industry," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. Dao Thi Hong Nguyen, 2021. "Are local workers better‐off from foreign presence? A firm‐level panel data analysis of a service industry," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(2), pages 276-294, April.
    11. Eric D. Ramstetter, 2014. "Wage Differentials between Foreign Multinationals and Local Plants and Worker Quality in Malaysian Manufacturing," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 31(2), pages 55-76, September.
    12. Mihalache-O'Keef, Andreea S., 2018. "Whose greed, whose grievance, and whose opportunity? Effects of foreign direct investments (FDI) on internal conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 187-206.
    13. Ramstetter, Eric D. & Narjoko, Dionisius, 2013. "Wage Differentials between Foreign Multinationals and Local Plants and Worker Education in Indonesian Manufacturing," AGI Working Paper Series 2013-23, Asian Growth Research Institute.
    14. an de Meulen, Philipp, 2011. "Labor Heterogeneity and the Risk of Expropriation in Less Developed Countries," Ruhr Economic Papers 298, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    15. Andrea Gauselmann & Philipp Marek, 2012. "Regional determinants of MNE’s location choice in post-transition economies," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 487-511, November.
    16. John Weche Gelübcke, 2013. "The performance of foreign affiliates in German manufacturing: evidence from a new database," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 149(1), pages 151-182, March.
    17. Ausloos, Marcel & Eskandary, Ali & Kaur, Parmjit & Dhesi, Gurjeet, 2019. "Evidence for Gross Domestic Product growth time delay dependence over Foreign Direct Investment. A time-lag dependent correlation study," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 527(C).
    18. Asep Suryahadi, & Wenefrida Widyanti & Daniel Perwira & Sudarno Sumarto, 2001. "The Impact of Minimum Wage Policy on Wages and Employment in Developing Countries: The Case of Indonesia," Economics Study Area Working Papers 38, East-West Center, Economics Study Area.
    19. Suyanto & Harry Bloch & Ruhul A. Salim, 2012. "Foreign Direct Investment Spillovers and Productivity Growth in Indonesian Garment and Electronics Manufacturing," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(10), pages 1397-1411, October.
    20. John Devereux & Zadia M. Feliciano, 2013. "Robert E. Lipsey," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59(2), pages 375-380, June.

    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:wbk:wbpubs:2654. 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: Tal Ayalon (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    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.