The Politics of Code Enforcement and Implementation in Vietnam’s Apparel and Footwear Factories

Jee Young Kim

World Development, 2013, vol. 45, issue C, 286-295

Abstract: What happens when transnational private regulation of labor standards is put into practice on the factory floor? This article addresses this question with field research data on Vietnam’s apparel and footwear industries. The Vietnamese case shows that code enforcement and implementation are highly political processes fraught with conflicts and attempts at evasion. The consequences, moreover, contradict the conventional wisdom of low regulatory effectiveness; heightened legal awareness and strengthened labor law enforcement may result from these processes. This study illustrates two mechanisms (conflict and ritualistic compliance) that can raise the effectiveness of private regulation.

Keywords: private regulation; labor standards; codes of conduct; social audits; Vietnam; Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:45:y:2013:i:c:p:286-295

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.12.004

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