Description
Book SynopsisHow NAFTA has reshaped the production of clothing in North America
Trade Review"Free Trade and Uneven Development is a superb collection of essays that seeks to understand the process of globalization through an intensive geographical focus on North America and a sectoral emphasis on the apparel industry, all in the context of examining the impact of an important regional trade agreement. This rich, complex micro look illuminates broad trends shaping globalization and defines the costs and consequences of various trajectories. This book is an exceptionally important and unique contribution to the burgeoning literature on globalization."-Harley Shaiken, Professor of Social and Cultural Studies and Geography, University of California, Berkeley "There are no books that I know of that provide such a comparative analysis of the garment industry in light of NAFTA. The chapters all break new ground in their topics, yet are unified by the common theme of North American apparel integration, and the common theoretical framework of global commodity chains. The editors have assembled an impressive array of scholars, and the topic could not be more timely."-Richard Appelbaum, Professor of Sociology and Global and International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara "What the reader gets from this book is a subtle and nuanced picture of the effects of trade liberalization and NAFTA on the interfirm linkages, profitability, and employment prospects in the apparel industry...the overall quality of the contributions to this volume is very good."-Work and Occupations "[P]rovides an innovative model for analyzing a global industry, and will be very useful to students of international development, industrial relations, and economic sociology."-Contemporary Sociology
Table of ContentsList of Tables and FiguresPart I: Analytical Overview1. Introduction: The Apparel Industry and North American Economic Integration - David Spener, Gary Gereffi, and Jennifer Bair2 . NAFTA and the Apparel Commodity Chain: Corporate Strategies, Interfirm Networks, and Industrial Upgrading - Jennifer Bair and Gary GereffiPart II: The Changing Face of the Apparel Industry in the United States3. Subcontracting Networks in the New York Garment Industry: Changing Characteristics in a Global Era - Florence Palpacuer4. The Impact of North American Economic Integration on the Los Angeles Garment Industry - Judi A. Kessler5. The New Sweatshops in the United States: How New, How Real, How Many, and Why? - Robert J. S. Ross6. Labor's Response to Global Production - Edna BonacichPart III: The U.S.-Mexico Border Region7. The Unraveling Seam: NAFTA and the Decline of the Apparel Industry in El Paso, Texas - David Spener8. Tex Mex: Linkages in a Binational Garment District? The Garment Industries in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez - Robert van Dooren9. Commodity Chains and Industrial Organization in the Apparel Industry in Monterrey and Ciudad Juarez - Jorge Carrillo, Alfredo Hualde, and Araceli AlmarazPart IV: Interior Mexico10. Torreon: The New Blue Jeans Capital of the World - Gary Gereffi, Martha Martinez, and Jennifer Bair11. Learning and the Limits of Foreign Partners as Teachers - Enrique Dussel Peters, Clemente Ruiz Duran, and Michael J. Piore12. Knitting the Networks Between Mexican Producers and the U.S. Market - Ulrik Vangstrup13. Fragmented Markets, Elaborate Chains: The Retail Distribution of Imported Clothing in Mexico - Jorge Mendoza, Fernando Pozos Ponce, and David SpenerPart V: Central American and the Caribbean14. When Does Apparel Become a Peril? On the Nature of Industrialization in the Caribbean Basin - Michael Mortimore15. Can the Dominican Republic's Export-Processing Zones Survive NAFTA? - Dale T. MathewsPart VI: Conclusion16. NAFTA and Uneven Development in the North American Apparel Industry - Jennifer Bair, David Spener, and Gary GereffiAbout the ContributorsIndex
