Labour in Global Value Chains in Asia (Development Trajectories in Global Value Chains)

This book brings together a set of studies on labour conditions in global value chains (GVCs) in a variety of sectors, ranging from labour-intensive sectors (garments, fresh fruits, tourism), to medium and high technology sectors (automobiles, electronics and telecom) and knowledge-intensive sectors (IT software services). The studies span a number of countries across Asia - Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This book stands out for its grounded and detailed examination of both what is working and what is not working as Asian labour gets more embedded in global value chains. In trying to identify spaces for progressive action and policies in the current GVC-linked global work environment, the book goes against the grain in searching for an alternative to laissez faire forms of globalisation.

Dev Nathan is Visiting Professor at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, and Visiting Research Fellow at the Center on Globalisation, Governance and Competitiveness at Duke University, North Carolina. As an economist, his main research interests are global value chains, labour conditions, rural and indigenous peoples' development, and gender issues. Some of his recent publications, co-authored or co-edited, are Aadhaar: Gender, Identity and Development (2015) and Markets and Indigenous Peoples in Asia: Lessons from Development Projects (2012). A frequent contributor to Economic and Political Weekly, he has also published in journals such as Science, Current Sociology and Oxford Development Papers.

Meenu Tewari is Associate Professor of Economic and International Development at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on the political economy of development, industrialization, and on institutional reform in the public and urban sectors. She is particularly interested in the changing nature of work in rapidly urbanizing low-income economies, and in the challenge of skill formation and upgrading within regional and global production networks. Her work has been published in several journals including World Development, Competition and Change, Environment and Planning, Oxford Development Studies and the Global Economy Journal.

Sandip Sarkar is Professor at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi. Previously, he has worked in several research institutes including the Institute of Economic Growth and the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development. His main areas of research interest include industry, poverty, labour, and employment, on which he has experienced over two decades. Of late, he has also been working in the areas of information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Global Value Chain (GVC). He has authored a number of titles and he has also contributed a large number of research articles in both national and international reputed journals.