June 2003 Insights Issue
#47
Globalisation and employment: working for the poor?
Globalisation is one of the most controversial development issues of
the day. ‘Globaphobes’ attribute most of the ills of the
world to globalisation. The anti-globalisation movement has focused attention
on the extent to which decisions affecting the lives of millions of the
world’s poorest people are made in international fora – at
which the poor have no voice. Globalisation is seen as marginalising
a large part of the world’s population and contributing to increased
international inequality.
More...
Other articles in this issue:
A crucial way in which increased integration with the global economy
can potentially reduce poverty is through the creation of new jobs in
export industries. However, greater openness also brings increased competition
from imports for previously protected industries. This can lead to job
losses in certain sectors, with workers falling into poverty as a result
of retrenchment.
Garment producers in developing countries face key global challenges,
including changing trade regimes, international standards, new competitors
and demands from buyers for higher quality, lower prices and faster delivery.
Against such global challenges, who wins and who loses in Bangladesh
and Vietnam?
Do poor women gain from globalisation? A comparative study of women
workers in the ‘traded’ and ‘non-traded’ sectors
in Bangladesh and Vietnam sought to answer this question through an exploration
of the women’s backgrounds, working conditions and reasons for
working.
The production of fresh fruit and vegetables for European markets has
become big business in Africa. In Kenya and South Africa, horticultural
exports comprise 20-30 per cent of the total agricultural export trade,
creating substantial opportunities for earning wages and self-employment.
Export horticulture has grown rapidly in Kenya. Would a shift away from
smallholder production undermine the overall poverty reduction impact
of this export success?
The textile industry in developing countries provides a striking example
of the opportunities and threats from globalisation. While textiles are
a potential export to global markets, the industry is having to adjust
to increased competition as tariffs and other restrictions against imports
are reduced under policies of trade liberalisation. How does this affect
local incomes and employment?
Latin American countries began to open up to trade and foreign direct
investment (FDI) in the mid 1980s. This led to a dramatic increase in
FDI in the region until the late 1990s. Inequality in Latin America has
remained consistently high and progress in poverty reduction has been
slow in the last decade.
Since 1990, South Africa has experienced substantial changes in its
composition of formal employment. Between 1990 and 1998, formal employment
of semi-skilled and unskilled labour declined by 19 per cent (700 000
jobs), while employment of highly skilled professional and managerial
labour rose by 12 per cent (80 000 jobs). Is this a consequence of the
ambitious tariff liberalisation programme embarked upon or other factors
such as skill-biased technological change?
Further web resources.
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