Global Value Chains
Since the early 1990s, Global Value Chains (GVCs) have come to dominate international trade. GVCs have created millions of jobs in developing countries – many of these for women – that contribute to economic development. Nevertheless, GVCs have been criticized for poor working conditions, including low pay, long hours, and dangerous working environments. My work helps illustrate the benefits of GVCs and demonstrates effective ways to help improve working conditions in developing countries. Much of my work focuses on apparel and textiles, since these are often the gateway for women moving from agriculture into formal sector employment.
Journal Articles
Robertson, R.; Brown, Drusilla; Dehejia, Rajeev (2020) “Working Conditions and Factory Survival: Evidence from Better Factories Cambodia”, forthcoming, Review of Development Economics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rode.12719
Robertson, Raymond. (2020). Lights On: How Transparency Increases Compliance in Cambodian Global Value Chains. ILR Review.73(4): 939-968. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793919893333
Alder, Paris; Brown, Drusilla; Dehejia, Rajeev; Domat, George; and Robertson, Raymond (2017) “Do Factory Managers Know What Workers Want? Worker Information Asymmetries and Pareto Optimal Human Resource Management Policies” Asian Development Review 34(1): 1-23.
Drusilla Brown, Rajeev Dehejia, Raymond Robertson (2014) “Factory Decisions to become Noncompliant with Labor Standards: Evidence from Better Factories Cambodia” in Arianna Rossi, Amy Luinstra, and John Pickles (eds.) Toward Better Work: Understanding Labour in Global Apparel Supply Chains, International Labour Organisation and Palgrave Macmillan.
Drusilla Brown, Rajeev Dehejia, Raymond Robertson (2014) “Is There a Business Case for Improving Labor Standards? Some Evidence from Better Factories Cambodia”, in Bair, Jennifer (eds) Workers’ Rights and Labor Compliance in Global Supply Chains, Routledge.
Ang, Debra, Drusilla Brown, Rajeev Dehejia, Raymond Robertson (2012) “Public Disclosure, Reputation Sensitivity, and Labor Law Compliance: Evidence from Better Factories Cambodia" Review of Development Economics 16(4), (November): 594-607.
Books
Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys and Raymond Robertson (eds.) (2016) Stiches to Riches Apparel Employment, Trade, and Economic Development in South Asia, World Bank Directions in Development, Washington D.C.
Kotikula, Aphichoke; Milad Pournik; and Raymond Robertson (2015) Interwoven: How the Better Work Program Improves Job and Life Quality in the Apparel Sector, The World Bank, Washington, D.C.