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Moving Beyond Cheap Labour? Industrial and Social Upgrading in the Garment and LED Industries of the Pearl River Delta

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  • Florian BUTOLLO

Abstract

Based on field studies in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in 2010 and 2011, specific paths of industrial upgrading in the garment and IT industries are identified. The analysis reveals that there exists a multiplicity of upgrading trajectories, all of which have different implications for skill development and the character of work. While the modernization of industries relies on the input of higher skilled work, primarily in the fields of R&D and marketing, this barely is the case with regard to manufacturing. While labour intensity in the examined cases is diminishing in absolute or relative terms, internal divisions between low-skilled and high-skilled work are reconfigured rather than overcome.

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  • Florian BUTOLLO, 2013. "Moving Beyond Cheap Labour? Industrial and Social Upgrading in the Garment and LED Industries of the Pearl River Delta," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 42(4), pages 139-170.
    • Handle: RePEc:gig:chaktu:v:42:y:2013:i:4:p:139-170
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    File URL: http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jcca/article/view/695/693
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    Cited by:

    1. Bowei Cai & Jiangmin Yang & Gengzhi Huang, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics in Economic, Social, and Environmental Upgrading in China: Coupling Coordination and Influencing Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Dünhaupt, Petra & Herr, Hansjörg & Mehl, Fabian & Teipen, Christina, 2020. "Opportunities for development through integration in global value chains? A cross-sectoral and cross-national comparison," IPE Working Papers 140/2020, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    3. Peter S. Hofman & Bin Wu & Kaiming Liu, 2014. "Collaborative Socially Responsible Practices for Improving the Position of Chinese Workers in Global Supply Chains," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 43(4), pages 111-141.
    4. Nardy Antunes, Davi José & Tunes Mazon, Marilia & Cardoso de Mello, João Manuel, 2023. "The Economic Possibilities of Technological Progress: Business Restructuring and the Labor Market in the 21st Century," MPRA Paper 120397, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Chris King-Chi CHAN & Khalid NADVI, 2014. "Changing labour regulations and labour standards in China: Retrospect and challenges," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(4), pages 513-534, December.

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