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Global apparel production and sweatshop labour: can raising retail prices finance living wages?

Author

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  • Robert Pollin
  • Justine Burns
  • James Heintz

Abstract

This paper provides some empirical evidence on issues raised by the global antisweatshop movement. We first consider the relationship between wage and employment growth, finding no consistent trade-off between them. We then measure the share of labour costs in the production of garments in the US and Mexico. We find that the retail price increases necessary to absorb the costs of raising wages substantially are small, well within the range of price increases that polls suggest US consumers are willing to pay. We close by considering some implications of these results. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Pollin & Justine Burns & James Heintz, 2004. "Global apparel production and sweatshop labour: can raising retail prices finance living wages?," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 28(2), pages 153-171, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:28:y:2004:i:2:p:153-171
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. James Heintz, 2011. "Global Labor Standards: Their Impact and Implementation," Chapters, in: Jonathan Michie (ed.), The Handbook of Globalisation, Second Edition, chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Michael Maloni & Michael Brown, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: An Application in the Food Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 35-52, September.
    3. Luis N. Lanteri, 2013. "Determinantes económicos del nivel de empleo. Alguna evidencia para Argentina," Ensayos Revista de Economia, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Economia, vol. 0(1), pages 73-100, May.
    4. Christina Niforou, 2015. "Labour Leverage in Global Value Chains: The Role of Interdependencies and Multi-level Dynamics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 301-311, August.
    5. Carlos Guerrero Medina & Myriam Martínez‐Fiestas & Maria I. Viedma‐del‐Jesus & Jessica Alzamora Ruiz, 2020. "Living wage in the framework of corporate social responsibility: Analyzing its impact on consumer response," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2060-2070, September.
    6. Günseli Berik & Yana Van Der Meulen Rodgers, 2010. "Options for enforcing labour standards: Lessons from Bangladesh And Cambodia," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 56-85.
    7. Nursel AYDINER‐AVSAR & ÖZlem ONARAN, 2010. "The Determinants Of Employment: A Sectoral Analysis For Turkey," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 48(2), pages 203-231, June.
    8. Robert Pollin & James Heintz, 2003. "Informalization, Economic Growth and the Challenge of Creating Viable Labor Standards in Developing Countries," Working Papers wp60, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    9. Mathew Coakley & Michael Kates, 2013. "The Ethical and Economic Case for Sweatshop Regulation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 553-558, October.
    10. Gordon G. Sollars & Fred Englander, 2018. "Sweatshops: Economic Analysis and Exploitation as Unfairness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 15-29, April.
    11. Ozlem Onaran, 2004. "Life After Crisis For Labor And Capital in the Era of Neoliberal Globalization," Working Papers geewp43, Vienna University of Economics and Business Research Group: Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness.
    12. Rouge Jean-François, 2016. "Sweet Sweatshops - A Reflexion about the Impact of Sweatshops on Countries’ Competitiveness," Economics, Sciendo, vol. 4(1), pages 7-36, June.
    13. Mair, Simon & Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2019. "Higher Wages for Sustainable Development? Employment and Carbon Effects of Paying a Living Wage in Global Apparel Supply Chains," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 11-23.
    14. J R Clark & Benjamin Powell, 2013. "Sweatshop Working Conditions and Employee Welfare: Say It Ain’t Sew," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 55(2), pages 343-357, June.
    15. Paharia, Neeru & Vohs, Kathleen D. & Deshpandé, Rohit, 2013. "Sweatshop labor is wrong unless the shoes are cute: Cognition can both help and hurt moral motivated reasoning," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 81-88.
    16. Benjamin Powell, 2018. "Sweatshop Regulation: Tradeoffs and Welfare Judgements," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 29-36, August.
    17. Lollo, Niklas & O’Rourke, Dara, 2018. "Productivity, Profits, and Pay: A Field Experiment Analyzing the Impacts of Compensation Systems in an Apparel Factory," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt31c4j2hz, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    18. Ryo Makioka, 2021. "The impact of anti‐sweatshop activism on employment," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 630-653, May.
    19. Benjamin Powell & Matt Zwolinski, 2012. "The Ethical and Economic Case Against Sweatshop Labor: A Critical Assessment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(4), pages 449-472, June.

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