Made in China: Labor Rights in a Global Economy (2009)
Undergraduate: Nathaniel Wong
Faculty Advisor: Thomas Oatley
Department: Business Administration
Globalization has always been a controversial topic that has divided many into two sides; those in favor of globalization and those against. It seems that many of those who disagree with it come up with biased, uneducated conclusions pertaining to effects of globalization. Generally, when people think of globalization in a negative light, they imagine the sweatshops in China where workers are exposed to unthinkable working environments. This common picture for many leads to unfavorable conclusions on the effects of globalization. Yet, it would take much further research in this controversial subject in order to truly form more substantial conclusions on its effects.
My research will try to see the effects of globalization on labor rights, specifically in the apparel industry in China. Globalization can be measured by FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and trade openness. I will try to find a correlation between the number of law violations pertaining to both excess overtime, health/safety, and wages and FDI inflows/GDP. An increase in globalization can be measured by the increase in FDI inflow/GDP and trade openness for my country.