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Short video interview (3m) with Jayati Ghosh

World Bank note (May 2012) on wage and poverty alleviation trends linked to the garment sector. "A radical shift in apparel production between countries over the last few years has had mixed results in wages and poverty reduction across the developing world. This is particularly true since the end of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) and the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) in 2005, which abolished export and import quotas. While most people predicted that China would gain, because of low wages, and all others would lose, many other Asian apparel exporters in fact benefited, such as Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and Pakistan. And not just because of low wages -salaries tended to increase in most exporting countries-but because of domestic policies supporting the textile industry. On the other hand, countries like Honduras, Mexico, Morocco and Sri Lanka experienced falling apparel employment, something that would appear to be bad news as jobs for women and workers most likely to be closest to poverty, were lost. But Mexico's experience suggests that shifting out of apparel may not be necessarily negative news when the country is moving up the value chain into more advanced manufacturing. In fact, this would be a sign of economic development as long as the shift into higher-value goods and services is possible. What matters is for countries to have policies that focus on improving competitiveness in the long-run, but also workforce programs to help workers make the transition. Increasing apparel exports is a good thing for poverty reduction in developing countries but moving up the ladder is an inevitable step in the quest for prosperity. Let's allow the textile industry to keep moving across borders and to help countries lift themselves out of poverty."

Sample survey of 2000 garment workers conducted by Banglaore University. 72.8% are women; 63.4% are from lower castes; 76.4% continue to visit their villages; over half paid in cash. High rates of attrition and absenteeism; workers prone to wide range of health risks. Researchers conclude that urban migration is a survival strategy for these workers that doesn't enable them to acquire permanent assets or lift themselves out of poverty.

EPW article, June 2012 Describes a programme to provide women living below the poverty line with maternity benefits.

Report on Nepalese migrant workers in Qatar. in wake of Amnesty International report on working conditions