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Worker Empowerment Through Private Standards. Evidence from the Peruvian Horticultural Export Sector

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  • Monica Schuster
  • Miet Maertens

Abstract

In this paper we analyse the impact of a variety of private standards on worker empowerment in the horticultural export sector in Peru. Empowerment is defined as workers’ knowledge of their own rights and workers’ perceived agency to improve employment conditions. We use data from a company and a two-round employee survey, and difference-in-difference propensity score matching methods. We find positive effects of private standards on worker empowerment, with core labour standards having a more pronounced effect than standards with a small focus on labour, and thus complement previous evidence on the effects of standards on tangible employee wellbeing.

Suggested Citation

  • Monica Schuster & Miet Maertens, 2017. "Worker Empowerment Through Private Standards. Evidence from the Peruvian Horticultural Export Sector," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 618-637, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:53:y:2017:i:4:p:618-637
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2016.1199858
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    Cited by:

    1. Jan Orbie & Lore Van den Putte & Deborah Martens, 2017. "The Impact of Labour Rights Commitments in EU Trade Agreements: The Case of Peru," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 6-18.
    2. Gansemans, A. & D'Haese, M., 2018. "Flying under the radar: The impact of plantation workers job insecurity on perceived labour agency," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277742, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Meike Wollni & Sophia Bohn & Carolina Ocampo‐Ariza & Bruno Paz & Simone Santalucia & Margherita Squarcina & Françoise Umarishavu & Marlene Yu Lilin Wätzold, 2025. "Sustainability Standards in Agri‐Food Value Chains: Impacts and Trade‐Offs for Smallholder Farmers," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 56(3), pages 373-389, May.
    4. Curzi, Daniele & Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet & Olper, Alessandro, 2020. "Standards, trade margins and product quality: Firm-level evidence from Peru," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Jan Orbie & Lore Van den Putte & Deborah Martens, 2017. "The Impact of Labour Rights Commitments in EU Trade Agreements: The Case of Peru," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 6-18.
    6. Evans Appiah Kissi & Christian Herzig, 2024. "Labour relations and working conditions of workers on smallholder cocoa farms in Ghana," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(1), pages 109-120, March.
    7. Khadija Anjum & Leonora Angeles, 2025. "Farm workers’ food security during food price hikes: a political economy of landless rice-wheat farm labourers in Pakistan’s Punjab," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 42(3), pages 1361-1378, September.
    8. Dong Hoang, 2019. "Labour Standards in the Global Supply Chain: Workers’ Agency and Reciprocal Exchange Perspective," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-25, May.
    9. Anna Fabry & Monica Schuster & Miet Maertens, 2024. "Decent and equal work in agri‐food systems: Evidence from Peru," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(2), pages 803-830, June.
    10. Annelien Gansemans & Marijke D’Haese, 2020. "Staying under the radar: constraints on labour agency of pineapple plantation workers in Costa Rica?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(2), pages 397-414, June.

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