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Fair Trade – Is It Really Better for Workers? A Case Study of Kaisa Grass Baskets in Bangladesh

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  • Poe, Keith
  • Kyle, Steven C.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the extent to which fair trade organizations increase wages for rural poor women in Bangladesh. Fair trade is a fusion of market-oriented business with grass-roots activism attempting to reduce poverty through market mechanisms by creating trading partnerships between poor artisans and rich consumers. The intent of fair trade organizations is to return a greater share of value-added to the artisans as wages or other non-monetary benefits. Information for this study was collected through interviews with a variety of fair trade organizations, staff and artisans in Bangladesh over the summer of 2005. To test the hypothesis that fair trade organizations increase incomes for the rural poor, particular attention was given to an NGO, a Non-Profit company, and a For-Profit business that export nearly identical kaisa grass baskets. Worker incomes hover around subsistence levels and are not very different from what agricultural day laborers in the surrounding areas receive. The For-Profit business pays more in wages than the NGO and Non-Profit company, bringing into question the effectiveness of Fair Trade as a mechanism for raising incomes of the poor in low income countries such as Bangladesh .

Suggested Citation

  • Poe, Keith & Kyle, Steven C., 2006. "Fair Trade – Is It Really Better for Workers? A Case Study of Kaisa Grass Baskets in Bangladesh," Working Papers 127061, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:cudawp:127061
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.127061
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Branko Milanovic, 2005. "Can We Discern the Effect of Globalization on Income Distribution? Evidence from Household Surveys," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 21-44.
    2. repec:wbk:wbpubs:12426 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. William Young & Karla Utting, 2005. "Fair trade, business and sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(3), pages 139-142.
    4. World Bank, 2005. "World Development Indicators 2005," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 12425, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leutgeb, Anita, 2014. "Fair Trade, better lives? An assessment of Fair Trade's contribution to improve Turkana basket weavers' livelihoods," ÖFSE-Forum, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE), volume 59, number 59.

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