« Sen. Kennedy on the Role of Courts | Main | To Sinclair: Ain't that the Dickens?!» Don Boudreaux
August 02, 2005
On Sweatshop Wages
Don Boudreaux
Benjamin Powell – a fine economist who earned his PhD in Economics at George Mason University and who now serves on the faculty at San Jose State University – wrote, with his student Dave Skarbek, this excellent op-ed on sweatshops in developing countries. It appears in today's Christian Science Monitor.
Here’s the crux of Powell’s and Skarbek’s findings (a fuller version of which will be published in the Journal of Labor Research):
We examined the apparel industry in 10 Asian and Latin American countries often accused of having sweatshops and then we looked at 43 specific accusations of unfair wages in 11 countries in the same regions. Our findings may seem surprising. Not only were sweatshops superior to the dire alternatives economists usually mentioned [such as working on subsistence farms], but they often provided a better-than-average standard of living for their workers.
The apparel industry, which is often accused of unsafe working conditions and poor wages, actually pays its foreign workers well enough for them to rise above the poverty in their countries. While more than half of the population in most of the countries we studied lived on less than $2 per day, in 90 percent of the countries, working a 10-hour day in the apparel industry would lift a worker above - often far above - that standard. For example, in Honduras, the site of the infamous Kathy Lee Gifford sweatshop scandal, the average apparel worker earns $13.10 per day, yet 44 percent of the country's population lives on less than $2 per day.
Powell’s and Skarbek’s lesson is straightforward and important. But it's a lesson too often ignored by "activists" who would rather pose and prance as moral crusaders than analyze situations in ways that might actually help people. The lesson is summarized by what I call "The Economist’s Question: "As compared to what?"
In and of itself, situation A is neither good nor bad; it is good or bad only in comparison with it's real alternatives. This lesson is a hard one, perhaps -- it's certainly an unromantic one -- but it's indispensable for sound analysis.
Posted by Don Boudreaux in Standard of Living | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834518ccc69e200d83459e3d069e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference On Sweatshop Wages:
» More Sweatshops, Please from The Agitator
Benjamin Powell and David Skarbek in the Christian Science Monitor:We examined the apparel industry in 10 Asian and Latin American... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 2, 2005 6:37:30 PM
» More Sweatshops, Please from The Agitator
Benjamin Powell and David Skarbek in the Christian Science Monitor:We examined the apparel industry in 10 Asian and Latin American... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 2, 2005 6:38:04 PM
» Falsehoods, “Sweatshops,” Socialists, et al … from EXISTENCE IS IDENTITY
Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek has a link to an interesting article by economists Benjamin Powell and David Sharbeck who did recent research on so called “sweatshops.” The following is the fundamental point of the article.
The Christian Scien... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 3, 2005 10:59:21 AM
» Why feminists should support sweatshops from New Economist
There have been some recent blog posts about sweatshops, citing Powell’s and Skarbek's piece in Tuesday's Christian Science Monitor (hat tips: PSD, EconLog, Cafe Hayek). This is a thorough analysis of the economic dimensions of garment working. But wha... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 5, 2005 9:33:33 AM
» Globalization: We should really "do something" ab from EU Rota
The New Economist points to several positive opinions on 'sweatshops' operating in developing countries across the world. TNE nicely itself points to the positive social aspects for women in developing countries being able to take steps to emancipate... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 5, 2005 10:10:11 PM
» Get A Free Catalog from Online Catalog
Phrase Search Catalog Quick Add Request a Free Catalog ...
[Read More]
Tracked on Mar 26, 2006 6:04:28 AM
» Links Catalog Search Results For: oysco from Public Library - Health - Drugs & Medicines
Search the Web:. OneBigVillage Home! Search the Web! Check Your Village Mail! Chat Now! ... Over the Counter (0). Prescription Drugs (0) Painkillers ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 7, 2006 9:05:18 AM
» Cell Phones from mobilebum.info
News and ... Sep News of Safety phones, new cell phone phones Cell time ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 8, 2006 2:34:25 AM
» Furniture search by phrase: Storage Units from Searching the Catalog
Modern furniture design store : Contemporary lighting, cool accessories and ... with the exact phrase. with at least one of the words. without the words ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 9, 2006 6:19:56 AM
» Most popular words 2006: from Reader's Favorites at Scientific American
The articles includes Editor's Favorites, top e-mailed stories, and most popular articles. ... Babies Can Learn Words as Early as 10 Months ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 12, 2006 8:24:05 PM
» Drugs & Supplements from Drug Information and Supplement Information
Search: Enter a drug name ... LEGAL CONDITIONS AND TERMS OF USE APPLICABLE TO ALL USERS OF THIS SITE. ANY USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES YOUR AGREEMENT TO ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 13, 2006 7:50:35 PM
» Finance Search Online: commonwealth life insurance company from Business Finance Online
Business Finance Online Product/Service Directory. Search for business finance related products and services by browsing the directory of business finance ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 28, 2006 1:38:21 AM
» Europages, European directory from Open Directory Project
Multilingual european business directory, 600000 european companies, european company directory and business opportunities, trade leads, ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 28, 2006 3:00:30 PM
» The Interactive NGC Catalog Online from Official Catalog
The Interactive NGC Catalog Online. This is the interactive NGC (and IC, and Messier) catalog at SEDS, based on the famous NGC 2000.0 by RW Sinnott of Sky ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 30, 2006 12:45:23 AM
» Aspirin Prevents Antibiotic-Linked Hearing Loss from Antibiotic-Linked
News Created: 4/27/2006 1:58:00 AM Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2006 1:57:38 AM [Read More]
Tracked on May 2, 2006 4:44:32 AM
» Bulls' Surge Means Little as Heat Comes Calling from into the playoffs.
writes, There is a lot to be said for a team on a roll, one that carries a lot of momentum into the [Read More]
Tracked on May 4, 2006 9:32:44 AM
» National Institutes Of Health Funds $13.7 Million For Texas Tuberculosis Study from said the team
Experiment Station.Sacchettini said the team will examine three-dimensional structures of a large number of proteins in the TB genome... click link for [Read More]
Tracked on May 7, 2006 3:50:23 PM
» Job Search from Directory with Free People Search
Perform a quick job search using Job Bank USA's powerful job search engine. ... Thank you for using Job Bank USA's employment search services and job search ...
[Read More]
Tracked on May 7, 2006 4:26:20 PM
» Marion, Odom Fill Vital Roles for Suns, Lakers from responsible for
series than Shawn Marion and Lamar Odom, if Sunday's Game 1 is any indication. [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2006 8:40:39 PM
» PFPC Launches Integrated 22c-2 Solution That Will Offer Direct Access to Over 90 Million Accounts from announces comprehensive
May 15, 2006)
Trackback URI: http://www.prweb.com/dingpr.php/WmV0YS1Qcm9mLVBpZ2ctQ3Jhcy1IYWxmLVplcm8=
[Read More]
Tracked on May 16, 2006 12:45:52 PM
» Jewelry Shop from Jewelry making, Tips from The Jeweler's bench - Jewelry making
The Gem and Jewelry World's foremost Resource on The Internet. ... The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography. Add Ganoksin Power Search to your website ...
[Read More]
Tracked on May 19, 2006 8:42:28 PM
» Study: Stressed Vets Not Getting Help from who show signs
war veterans who show signs of post-traumatic stress are referred for additional mental health treatment or evaluation, [Read More]
Tracked on May 21, 2006 12:32:53 PM
» Williams Shows Heat's Depth from and suspended
a 2-0 lead against the Bulls in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. [Read More]
Tracked on May 26, 2006 11:13:35 AM
» Die Schweizer Suchmaschine from dir.pogovorim.com
Suchmaschine fr die Schweiz mit regionaler Volltextsuche (im domain und in weiteren Sites mit... [Read More]
Tracked on May 27, 2006 5:24:03 AM
» Hollywood Creative Directory from Directory Map
Contact information for the film, television and new media industries.
[Read More]
Tracked on May 27, 2006 10:23:52 AM
» Guantanamo Bay Hunger Strike Grows from joined a hunger
their indefinite confinement joined a hunger strike, raising the number of those refusing food to 89. Six of the hunger [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 2, 2006 12:00:12 PM
» News Online from JapanHorse
Features weekly articles, archives to past issues, and timelines of scientific importance. [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 4, 2006 12:23:29 AM
» ESRI Careers, Job Spotlight: Software QA Product Engineer from process. As a
responsible for preparing software product for release and identifying [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 7, 2006 4:41:57 AM
» Medical Dictionary from Bestbarrel
Searchable dictionary created by Dr. ALFRED. [Read More]
Tracked on Jul 25, 2006 4:30:24 AM
» ALL Themes from Invision Power Board
He has set up a test blog so you can check it out - it’s great work. ... Note to all theme authors: In order to be considered for the competition, ... [Read More]
Tracked on Jul 25, 2006 2:29:41 PM
» Internet Statistic: loop magazine from Words 2006
Most Popular Words 2006... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 1, 2006 1:12:42 AM
» Wiki: Search Results from MostDor
Search Results · WelcomeVisitors . . . . . . WhatIsWiki WhatIsWiki . . . . . . WhatIsWiki. 2 pages found out of 22 pages searched. ... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 4, 2006 6:00:57 AM
» Unefon posts US$10.7mn Q2 loss from operator Unefon
mobile operator Unefon posted a net loss of 117mn pesos (US$10.7mn) in the second quarter compared to ... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 8, 2006 2:02:48 AM
» Search Results Page - a from ondmd
Your search results page is packed with information. ... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 10, 2006 8:26:16 AM
» Search Results Page - d from much.kiev.ua
Your search results... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 15, 2006 1:38:46 PM
