Is Mobility Good? Firm Mobility and the Low Wage-Low Productivity Trap

Seguino, Stéphanie

doi:10.2139/ssrn.721602

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…For example, in Tanzania, a reduction of women's time burdens in providing basic commodities to their households was found to raise cash incomes 10 percent, labor productivity 15 percent, and capital efficiency 44 percent on smallholder farms (Blackden and Bhanu 1999). 26 For empirical evidence consistent with this phenomenon, see Seguino (2005). 27 We are grateful to Nilufer Cagatay for this point.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Gender equity and globalization: macroeconomic policy for developing countries

Seguino

Grown

2006

J of Intl Development

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This paper reviews the evidence of gender effects of globalization in developing economies. It then outlines a set of macroeconomic and trade policies to promote gender equity in the distribution of resources. The evidence suggests that while liberalization has expanded women's access to employment, the long-term goal of transforming gender inequalities remains unmet and appears unattainable without regulation of capital, and a reorientation and expansion of the state's role in funding public goods and providing s a social safety net. This paper sets forth some general principles that can produce greater gender equality, premised on shifting economies from profit-led, export-oriented to wage-led, full-employment economies. The framework is Kaleckian in its focus on the relationship between the gender distribution of income and macroeconomic outcomes.

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Gender equity and globalization: macroeconomic policy for developing countries

Seguino

Grown

2006

J of Intl Development

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“…Heintz (2006, 11) points out that the global commodity chains reflect a flexibility in sourcing decisions that 'mimics the effect of capital mobility, by limiting the scope for subcontractors to raise production costs without triggering a loss of economic activity'. Capital mobility can thus be a proxy for the expansion of the global commodity chains that induce highly competitive conditions in which producers in developing countries struggle to maintain unit labour costs low (Seguino, 2007). The deterioration of the developing countries' terms of trade is consistent with the competitive pressures associated with these asymmetric market structures in global value chains.…”

Section: Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Export sophistication and the terms of trade of the developing and emerging countries

Saadi¹

2012

International Review of Applied Economics

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The question of the terms of trade has not yet been studied by the new empirical literature on the export sophistication, which focuses only on its effect on economic growth. The contribution of this paper is to investigate whether the increase in the export sophistication is terms of trade worsening or improving for the developing and emerging economies. Importantly, we find that the increase in the sophistication of the developing countries' exports is accompanied by a deterioration of their terms of trade.

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“…Such segmentation can undermine women's bargaining power with respect to paid employment. Since women are often employed in globally mobile industries, an expansion of employment in these sectors may not raise women's bargaining power relative to men working in less footloose sectors (Seguino 2002). These gender dynamics could cause total employment income to decline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even China, a champion of low-wage production for the global market, is facing a burgeoning problem of unemployment (Xuejin 2000). However, the argument that the proliferation of extremely low-wage, export-oriented jobs is an egalitarian force in the 17 Preliminary empirical estimates by Seguino (2003) suggest that higher levels of capital mobility reduce productivity growth. Although Seguino focuses on foreign direct investment and capital mobility instead of commodity chains and subcontracting, her work provides some evidence that supports the idea of a lowwage/low-productivity trap along the lines described here.…”

Section: Consumer Demand Employment and Wagesmentioning

confidence: 99%