The Garment Industry in Low-Income Countries : An Entry Point of Industrialization

List of Tables vii 4.4 Weighted average unit prices and decomposed sources 4.5 Key characteristics of different garment suppliers ## Preface and Acknowledgements Preface and Acknowledgements xiii countries such as Kenya and Madagascar are studied in great detail. Because the garment industry in sub-Saharan Africa does not perform as well as that in Asian countries, scrutiny of the background to this is critically important to devise effective development strategies for these countries by drawing lessons from the experiences of Asia. We obtained a research grant under the title of "Dynamics of Garment Industry in Low-income Countries after the MFA Phase-out" from the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO) during 2010-12. This book is the main outcome of the grant, although the firm-level data used intensively in this book have been collected by the authors since 2003. We are indebted to the many people who have played a role in publishing this book. First, we truly appreciate the managers and workers in garment-producing factories, and the staff members of industrial associations and related government offices for sparing valuable time for our interviews and surveys. Our counterpart research institutions in each country gave us indispensable support for our fieldworks. Without their kind cooperation, we would not have been able to undertake any investigations of our research questions. We have greatly benefited from the work of Raymond Robertson at Macalester College, who kindly visited IDE to discuss the main results of this research. He provided us with his insights on the working conditions of garment-producing factories. We are grateful to John Thoburn at the University of East Anglia for his thorough and insightful comments on our drafts based on his rich experience in researching Asian economies. Kazunori Sakae, a former president of JUKI Sewing Research Institute, demonstrated the technical aspects of garment assembly. Miyo Tsuji at University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences shared her knowledge about the Chinese garment industry. Tomoyuki Morita at ITOCHU Corporation kindly explained the apparel trade from the buyers' perspectives. We are very obliged to them for their kind cooperation. Discussion with our colleagues Mayumi Murayama, who has rich research experience of garment workers in South Asia, and Hiroyuki Kobayashi, as well as with participants of the seminar at IDE, were very useful. We thank our anonymous referees for their detailed and constructive comments, which were helpful during the course of revision. Special thanks go to This book explores the means through which the garment industry contributes to industrialization, poverty reduction, empowerment of undereducated workers, in particular female laborers, and shared growth in contemporary low-income countries. The diversification of economic structure is a central issue in economic development particularly for low-income countries. In the past many countries began industrialization with labor-intensive industries, typically the textile and garment industry. This study examines increasing concerns over the sustainability of growth and the degradation in working conditions throughout the ongoing globalization and trade liberalization. It explores the means through which the garment industry contributes to industrialization, poverty reduction, empowerment of undereducated workers, in particular female laborers, and shared growth in contemporary low-income countries. Through seven in-depth studies of countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, Madagascar, Myanmar, Pakistan, Vietnam and a cross-country study - it demonstrates dynamism in the industry which successfully leads to growth under the trade liberalization. The Garment Industry in Low-Income Countries provides evidence against the argument that the garment industry is a static and non-innovative activity, and even a 'dead-end sector of industrialization.' It demonstrates heterogeneity within and across countries in terms of growth performance, productivity, and product upgrading. It also explores conditions of the labor market with respect to wages and female labor participation, access to the export markets and business environment across different countries. By incorporating the diverse experiences in seven countries, this text provides a broader range of implications of the development of the garment industry on industrial dynamism in low-income countries Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction: The Dynamism of the Garment Industry in Low-income Countries....Pages 1-37 Cambodia: Growth with Better Working Conditions....Pages 38-76 Bangladesh: Market Force Supersedes Control....Pages 77-104 Vietnam: Upgrading from the Export to the Domestic Market....Pages 105-131 Pakistan: Challenges for Women’s Labor Force Participation....Pages 132-176 Myanmar: Promised Growth with Restored Market Access?....Pages 177-212 Madagascar: Unyielding Growth amid the Political Turmoil....Pages 213-242 Kenya: Stagnation in the Liberalized Markets....Pages 243-282 Cross-country Comparison of Firm Performance: Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Madagascar....Pages 283-307 Back Matter....Pages 308-316