Industrial Hubs and the Industrial Labour Force in Africa and Asia

Oya, Carlos; Schaefer, Florian

Abstract

Industrial hubs can take a number of institutional forms and vary greatly in size, sectoral composition, and degree of internal coordination. What all such hubs have in common, though, is that they concentrate industrial workers in great numbers and therefore play a key role in opening up new possibilities for organizing and negotiating industrial relations. In this chapter we examine the role of industrial hubs for light manufacturing in creating and maintaining an industrial labour force in Africa and Asia. We critically review theories for understanding industrial hubs as spaces of both job creation and labour control, and show how outcomes are in part determined by incorporation into global production networks. Drawing on a wide range of empirical evidence, we provide an overview of wages and working conditions in industrial hubs in Africa and Asia, and examine the causes and consequences of gendered labour dynamics in these spaces.

Citation

Oya, C., & Schaefer, F. (2020). Industrial Hubs and the Industrial Labour Force in Africa and Asia. In A. Oqubay, & J. Y. Lin (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Hubs and Economic Development (381-400). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198850434.013.20

• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Nov 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 27, 2020
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 381-400
• Book Title: The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Hubs and Economic Development
• ISBN: 9780198850434
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198850434.013.20
• Keywords: jobs, wages, working conditions, trade unions, gender, special economic zones, Asia, sub-Saharan Africa