Dependency meets commodity chains
On the overexploitation of labour in the global south
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v50i198.1860Keywords:
Global commodity chains, Southern labour, exploitation, North-South relations, geographical transfer of value, unequal exchangeAbstract
This article critically examines the assumptions of mainstream research on global commodity chains. It questions the social upgrading and employment effects from the integration of southern locations into global value chains which is expected by mainstream research. The highly selective spatial configuration and concentration of relocation processes is also shown. Based on critical development theories and global labour history, the author substantiates the thesis that labour in the global south is overexploited and identifies various forms of how value is geographically transferred from the global south to the global north.
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