scholarly journals Governance of Eswatini Apparel Regional Value Chains and the Implications of Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pasquali ◽  
Shane Godfrey
Keyword(s):  
Global South ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Private Governance ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social Upgrading

AbstractThere is a growing literature on the impact of Covid-19 on commercial and labour conditions at suppliers in apparel global value chains (GVCs). Yet much less is known about the implications for suppliers operating in regional value chains (RVCs) in the global South. In this article, we focus on Eswatini, which has grown to become the largest African manufacturer and exporter of apparel to the region. We draw on a combination of firm-level export data and interviews with stakeholders before and after the Covid-19 lockdown to shed light on the influence of private and public governance on suppliers’ economic and social upgrading and downgrading. We point to the coexistence of two separate private governance structures: the first characterised by direct contracts between South African retailers and large manufacturers (direct suppliers); the second operating through indirect purchasing via intermediaries from relatively smaller producers (indirect suppliers). While direct suppliers enjoyed higher levels of economic and social upgrading than indirect suppliers before Covid-19, the pandemic reinforced this division, with severe price cuts for indirect suppliers. Furthermore, while retailers provided some direct suppliers with support throughout the crisis, this was not the case for indirect suppliers, who remain comparatively more vulnerable. In terms of public governance, the negative consequences of the lockdown on firms’ income and workers’ livelihoods have been compounded by the state’s ineffective response. Our paper contributes to the research on RVCs in the global South, enhancing our understanding of how different governance structures and external shocks affect firms’ and workers’ upgrading and downgrading prospects.

scholarly journals Understanding regional value chains through the interaction of public and private governance: Insights from Southern Africa’s apparel sector

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pasquali ◽  
Shane Godfrey ◽  
Khalid Nadvi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Private Governance ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Trade Regimes ◽  
Private And Public

Abstract Regional value chains (RVCs) and South–South trade are increasingly considered key features of 21st-century globalisation. This article investigates how RVCs are shaped by the interaction of private and public governance. It evaluates how this interaction unfolded in Southern Africa’s apparel RVCs, exploring trade, investment and labour regimes across three levels of analysis: national, regional, and global. The paper draws on trade data, secondary literature, and interviews with suppliers and institutions in Eswatini and Lesotho (the largest exporters to the region), and lead firms in South Africa (the largest regional importer). The findings underline the critical role of public governance in shaping retailers’ and suppliers’ participation in RVCs through: (i) regional ‘trade regimes’ protecting regional exporters from global competitors, and recent shifts in global trade regimes; (ii) national and regional ‘investment regimes’ facilitating investment flows from South Africa to Lesotho and Eswatini, and the more recent shift of US-oriented suppliers towards regional markets; and (iii) ‘labour regimes’, including lower wages, less comprehensive labour legislation and weaker trade unions in Lesotho and Eswatini compared to South Africa. The article concludes by considering the policy implications of the interaction of private and public governance for existing and future RVCs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals New trends and competition in the market of higher education services in the context of digitalization

2021 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 01024
Author(s):  
Galina V. Astratova ◽  
Tatyana K. Rutkauskas ◽  
Natalya V. Parushina ◽  
Natalya A. Suchkova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Global Competition ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Education Development ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Impact

The aim of the study was to analyze new trends, competition and structural changes in higher education in the context of digitalization. The main directions of higher education development in the XXI century are identified. It is shown that by 2020, new trends in the market of higher education services have appeared and fully manifested themselves, due to three key factors: 1) increased global competition; 2) the active introduction of digital technologies in higher education; 3) the impact of the global COVID pandemic on educational technologies. It is shown that the coronavirus pandemic was a powerful incentive for the transition to digital technologies in higher education. Thanks to digitalization, the structure of the market has changed, and the number of players has increased significantly, and the market consists of private and public institutions, ministries of education and government agencies, educational, consulting and test (rating) companies, etc. Moreover, the global competition of universities for quality is becoming more organized and technically equipped; it increasingly relies on impersonal methods of assessing quality using digital technologies. At the same time, the authors draw a number of conclusions about the negative consequences of distance education. It is shown that competitiveness and accessibility of educational services for different categories of citizens in the difficult conditions of global challenges and threats, the wave pandemic, is ensured through high-quality interaction of all participants in the process, the activity of scientists and practitioners around the world, and state support for teaching initiatives in all regions of the country.

scholarly journals The ‘factory manager dilemma’: Purchasing practices and environmental upgrading in apparel global value chains

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 766-789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahwish J Khan ◽  
Stefano Ponte ◽  
Peter Lund-Thomsen
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Global South ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Global Value Chain ◽  
Social Upgrading

Economic and environmental upgrading in global value chains are intertwined processes. The existing global value chain literature has so far articulated the relationships between economic and social upgrading but has only recently started to explore the challenges of environmental upgrading from the perspective of suppliers in the Global South. In this article, we examine the ‘factory manager dilemma’ as a way of conceptualising the purchasing practices and environmental upgrading requirements faced by suppliers in their dealings with lead firms in global value chains. Specifically, we analyse the environmental upgrading challenges experienced by Pakistani apparel firms. We conclude that Pakistani apparel suppliers are required both to absorb the consequences of global buyers’ unsustainable purchasing practices and to reduce their own profitability – all in the name of sustainability.

scholarly journals A Research Background of Global Value Chains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sourish Dutta
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Or Economics ◽  
Economic Upgrading ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social Upgrading

Purpose of this background note is to present some relevant research issues about India’s GVC, such as degree of India’s GVC linkages, by sector, by industry (preliminary analysis by GVC measures as well as in-depth econometric analysis), consequences of GVCs for economic prosperity i.e. industrial or economic upgrading (including trade-oriented upgrading and adaptation), the impact of GVCs on social upgrading, such as reflection on labour market dynamics (because social upgrading is not immediately associated with industrial or economics upgrading).

scholarly journals Sanctions, cooperation, and innovation: Insights into Russian economy and implications for Russian firms

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-26
Author(s):  
Andrey Panibratov
Keyword(s):  
Innovation Activity ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
New Markets ◽  
International Firms ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Value ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this paper is to reveal the effects of sanctions at the firm level, with the special attention to cooperation and innovation activity of sanctioned firms. Specifically, the differences between domestic and international companies in their ability to adapt to the sanctions in terms of their cooperation with partners and capability to innovate are discussed. The study argues that firms operating in international markets tend to prioritize product innovation and entering new markets to overcome negative consequences of sanctions. In addition, they are more likely to improve their products and to find new markets to compensate for losses and fill their unused capacities. An important finding having both managerial and political value is that operating in the international market may not necessarily provide an advantage in terms of new partners in the local market but rather facilitate the search for new foreign markets. Inviting the government to provide assistance for Russian domestic and international firms on an equal basis, we admit that with varying degrees of control and interest in national firms, the Russian government can help sanctioned companies in different ways, regardless the scale of their internationalization. The study contributes to the literature on the impact of economic sanctions at the firm-level and in the context of the domestic market of the sanctioned country.

Smallholders and Farmworkers in Agricultural Value Chains: No Upgrading Without Collective Action and State Support

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Ismail Doga Karatepe ◽  
Christoph Scherrer
Keyword(s):  
Field Studies ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Labor Laws ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Economic Upgrading ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social Upgrading

Abstract This article presents findings from field studies of smallholders and farmworkers producing coffee, mangoes, and rice in several countries in the global South. It is one of the few comparative studies of the constraints and opportunities for social upgrading in global agricultural value chains (gvcs). We argue that the ease with which new suppliers can be found gives highly concentrated global wholesalers and retailers enormous leverage over smallholders. As a result, opportunities for social upgrading tend to be limited. Even in successful cases, it is accompanied by fewer employment opportunities. Cooperatives, which enjoy government support and enforced labor laws, are an exception. The article begins with a discussion of problems in measuring the impact of gvc participation and a theoretical explanation of why economic upgrading is not sufficient to ensure social upgrading. Special attention is given to the role of the state in promoting social upgrading.

scholarly journals Global Value Chains and Productivity

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (117) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang Banh ◽  
Philippe Wingender ◽  
Cheikh Gueye
Keyword(s):  
Small Firms ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Aggregate Productivity ◽  
Large Firms ◽  
Potential Growth ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Exporting Firms ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented collapse in global economic activity and trade. The crisis has also highlighted the role played by global value chains (GVC), with countries facing shortages of components vital to everything from health systems to everyday household goods. Despite the vulnerabilities associated with increased interconnectedness, GVCs have also contributed to increasing productivity and long-term growth. We explore empirically the impact of GVC participation on productivity in Estonia using firm-level data from 2000 to 2016. We find that higher GVC participation at the industry level significantly boosts productivity at both the industry and the firm level. Frontier firms, large firms, and exporting firms also benefit more from GVC participation than non-frontier firms, small firms, and non-exporting firms. We also find that GVC participation of downstream industries has a negative correlation with productivity. Frontier firms and large firms benefit more from GVC participation of upstream industries, while non-frontier firms and small firms benefit more from GVC participation of downstream industries. Our results suggest that policies designed to promote participation in GVCs are important to raise aggregate productivity and potential growth in Estonia.

The enforcement of diverse labour standards through private governance

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Christina Stroehle
Keyword(s):  
Private Governance ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Institutional Variables ◽  
Footwear Industry ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Economic Upgrading ◽  
Audit Reports

The effectiveness of private governance on global labour standards remains extremely difficult to assess, let alone measure. Debates surrounding relevant factors focus on two areas: contextual variables regarding social and economic upgrading, and firm-specific characteristics. This article contributes to both debates, looking at characteristics of buyer companies, while also taking institutional variables into account. It examines structural and environmental features of cases encoded in a data set derived from over 1000 audit reports compiled by the Fair Labor Association. Focusing on the apparel, sports- and footwear industry, the article highlights the importance of regulatory quality, economic performance and social freedom in sourcing countries for the success of private governance. The analysis statistically underlines the importance of public governance specifically for process rights, such as anti-discrimination and freedom of association. Complementarity between private and public governance programmes may therefore be particularly important for these standards.

Development aid and the governance of global value chains the case of the Bangladesh accord on fire and building safety

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-117
Author(s):  
Laurence Beierlein
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Private Governance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Social Upgrading

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relevance and contradictions of development aid in crafting governance responses for enabling long term social upgrading in global garment value chains. Since governance responses are multilevel, we propose to analyse the interrelation between the global and the local level through the case study of a private regulatory initiative of a new type: the Accord on Fire and Building Security in Bangladesh, operationally run like a development aid programme. We aim at explaining the reasons why it has been banned from operating in the country. Design/methodology/approach We use the framework of the Global Value Chain (GVC) approach since it is operationally used in development aid and has broadened its focus to investigating the link between economic and social upgrading. It further helps to understand multilevel and multiactor governance responses. Using multiple secondary sources we describe the context in which the Accord emerged, explore its provisions and operations, and analyse the contestation pertaining to its termination. We analyse the Accord both as a global governance tool and a field-level development aid actor that addresses social issues in GVCs. Findings As an ILO led operational programme, the Accord, since its inception, has proven globally effective at improving workplace safety for many workers. However it has been resented for being hegemonic and, as a governance tool, it has neither succeeded in addressing the flaws of private regulatory initiatives nor changed existing power relationships in GVCs. Originality/value The early termination of the Accord has not yet been analysed. In light of this, we propose new insights on the rising role of development aid in private governance responses.

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