Beyond Sweatshops: Foreign Direct Investment and Globalization in Developing Countries

(Paperback)

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Images of sweatshop labour in developing countries have rallied opponents of globalization against foreign direct investment (FDI). The controversy is most acute over the treatment of low-skilled workers producing garments, footwear, toys and sports equipment in foreign-owned plants or the plants of subcontractors. Activists cite low wages, poor working conditions and a variety of economic, physical and sexual abuses among the negative consequences of the globalization of industry. This volume examines the impact of FDI in manufacturing on growth and welfare in developing countries, and explores how host governments can take advantage of the contributions of foreign investment while avoiding hazards to lower-skilled workers.

Reviews

"The great strength of [Moran's] book is its large quantity of solid, detailed, and up-to-date empirical evidence.... 'Beyond Sweatshops' should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in the reality rather than the rhetoric of globalization." Guy Pfeffermann, Chief Economist and Director of Econ. Dep., IFC, Finance & Development, 12/1/2002

"The book is really quite good. Moran's style is clear, precise, and extraordinarily well researched and well organized.... [Moran's] style, reminiscent of a well-written judicial decision, allows the reader to feel as though he or she is part of an objective, fact-finding mission with no preconceived answers.... eminently readable, clear, and... interesting." Alex Robbins, Stanford University, Stanford Journal of International Relations, 1/1/2003

"Well written and thought-provoking, Theodore Moran's Beyond Sweatshops offers a comprehensive introduction to critical issues of labor standards in global commerce, especially in connection with foreign direct investment (FDI). Beyond Sweatshops is an important contribution to labor rights literature." Carol Pier, Labor Rights and Trade Researcher, Human Rights Watch, Industrial and Labor Relations Review

Author Bio

Theodore H. Moran is a nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development and holds the Marcus Wallenberg Chair at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He is founder and director of the Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy. His recent books include Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Development (CGD and IIE, 2005) and Beyond Sweatshops: Foreign Direct Investment and Globalization in Developing Countries (Brookings, 2002).