Suchergebnisse

The prospects for labor rights in light of globalization of production & increasing privatization of regulation that represents a third of the world's productive assets is examined to question how labor can fight back against oppressive & exploitation conditions. The explosion in the globalization of industry over the last 20 years has resulted in a system of retail dominance that places contractors as powerless price-takers rather than partners, & results in a race to the bottom forcing prices & wages down & anti-unionization drives. The gains for labor that can be achieved through consumer pressure are related to the challenge to retail dominance by the rise of global contractors in the cases of Korea & Taiwan. Three approaches to advancing the interests of workers are examined in weakened if not dismantled state centric enforcement, non-existent internationally binding labor laws, & privatized mechanisms that are replacing & weakening enforcement. Although buyers clearly have an important role to play in the commodity chains at the global production system, consumer driven efforts can only be absent of workers organizing that is combined with legislative & regulatory remedies. It is between consumer action & unionization that the state must create bilateral trade agreements containing social causes mandating labor standards, practices & accountability, & global institutions are needed to implement universal standards. References. J. Harwell

On January 1, 2005, the Multifiber Arrangement (MFA), which establishes quotas on different categories of apparel and textile imports to the US and the EU, will be fully phased out. The quota system, which has been in force for nearly thirty years, has resulted in the global dispersion of textile and apparel production, by restricting imports from countries that – based on market conditions – would have a larger volume of exports were they not constrained by their quota allocations. There is concern among many developing countries that the elimination of quotas will result in a loss of apparel and textile exports to a relative handful of countries that will have a competitive advantage. This research addresses these questions, in an effort to better understand the dynamics of global sourcing in the textile and apparel industries. It is based primarily on a review of existing research, both macro-level research that simulates world trade patterns, and case studies of individual countries. It also examines World Bank data on textile and apparel exports. The study shows that large retailers play an increasingly important role in determining the nature apparel production, including a preference for "lean retailing" that favors Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Korean, and Chinese suppliers. The changing nature of production is discussed, including the importance of well-established relationships between Asian suppliers and U.S. and EU buyers – relationships that enable the Asian suppliers to operate effectively across many different countries. The impact of MFA phase-out is discussed, with special emphasis on several sub-Sahara African countries, for which some information is available concerning the role of foreign suppliers. The paper concludes with a number of policies that might mitigate the anticipated effects of MFA phase-out.

On January 1, 2005, the Multifiber Arrangement (MFA), which establishes quotas on different categories of apparel and textile imports to the US and the EU, will be fully phased out. The quota system, which has been in force for nearly thirty years, has resulted in the global dispersion of textile and apparel production, by restricting imports from countries that – based on market conditions – would have a larger volume of exports were they not constrained by their quota allocations. There is concern among many developing countries that the elimination of quotas will result in a loss of apparel and textile exports to a relative handful of countries that will have a competitive advantage. This research addresses these questions, in an effort to better understand the dynamics of global sourcing in the textile and apparel industries. It is based primarily on a review of existing research, both macro-level research that simulates world trade patterns, and case studies of individual countries. It also examines World Bank data on textile and apparel exports. The study shows that large retailers play an increasingly important role in determining the nature apparel production, including a preference for "lean retailing" that favors Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Korean, and Chinese suppliers. The changing nature of production is discussed, including the importance of well-established relationships between Asian suppliers and U.S. and EU buyers – relationships that enable the Asian suppliers to operate effectively across many different countries. The impact of MFA phase-out is discussed, with special emphasis on several sub-Sahara African countries, for which some information is available concerning the role of foreign suppliers. The paper concludes with a number of policies that might mitigate the anticipated effects of MFA phase-out.

In this paper I challenge the notion that an emerging global legal culture modeled on US legal practices will necessarily come to dominate global legal practices in the economic sphere. Rather, I argue that the ascendance of Asian economic power will have significant implications for the sorts of legal as well as business institutions that are likely to dominate in the next century. Specifically, I argue that Chinese busi ness culture, with its emphasis on informal relationships and flexible organization, has a strong affinity for the new forms of flexible production that characterize an important and growing portion of the world economy. Drawing on world-systems theory, research on Chinese business organization and culture, and my own field- work, I argue that the 'legal convergence' hypothesis may well be premature: that the rise of the East Asian economies, linked together through the Chinese business diaspora, may well herald not only the decline of North American and European global economic dominance, but along with it the hegemony of their associated legal forms

This article examines Swedish housing policy during the postwar period. It looks at the extent to which Social Democratic housing goals have been met, and some reasons for the successes and failures of Swedish housing programs. Of particular interest is the effort to steer housing production toward nonmarket alternatives, by means of "socialist market" mechanisms. Some of the problems created by this hybrid approach are identified and current efforts to resolve them are discussed.