Browsing by Author "Reed, Lyn"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    The changing dynamics of the South African clothing value chain and the role for industrial policy : a case study of the China quotas
    (2012) Reed, Lyn; Morris, Michael
    In 2001 the South African clothing sector was reintegrated into the global economy and became exposed to the icy winds of globalisation. The fundamental changes from developments that had been playing out in global clothing markets and from which, as an import - substitution economy with high levels of protection, it had previously been shielded, were brought heavily to bear on the South African clothing industry. By all accounts, it did not adjust well to the new globalised environment. The once thriving industry withered under the combined impact of domestic and international factors . The negative impact of this transformation was manifest in a declining relative contribution to total manufacturing output, falling productivity levels, lack of capital investment, a large and significant contraction in sector employment and stagnant export performance, all of which occurred in the context of rapidly expanding domestic demand for clothing, which was increasingly fed by imports.
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    Clothing and textiles
    (HSRC Press, 2009) Morris, Mike; Reed, Lyn
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    Review of the Impact of the China Restraint Agreement on the Clothing and Textile Industry in South Africa
    (2008) Morris, Mike; Reed, Lyn
    Following China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, cheap Chinese garments have flooded clothing markets worldwide bringing to fruition the prophecy of Chinese hegemony in a liberalised global clothing market (Kaplinsky 2005; Nordas 2004; and Kaplinsky et al 2006). South Africa’s domestic market has, unexceptionally, also been adversely affected by rising Chinese imports evidenced by i) a falling relative contribution of apparel to total manufacturing output and ii) persistent job loss in the sector (Kaplan 2003; Barnes 2004). China has significantly increased its footprint in the South African clothing market over the past decade.
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    A sectoral analysis of skills gaps and shortages in the clothing and textile industry in South Africa
    (2008) Morris, Mike; Reed, Lyn
    The SA clothing and textiles industries have undergone difficult restructuring over the past ten years due to the combined impact of domestic and international factors. The negative impact of this transformation is manifest in the declining contribution of the sector to total manufacturing output, its falling export share and significant contraction in sector employment. This outcome might have been different had this process of restructuring been pre-empted and accompanied by a concerted effort to up-skill remaining workers and promote innovation in the sector. This could have enabled the sector to pursue a skills-led competitiveness strategy and assist a move toward higher-cost, high quality items. Paradoxically, underinvestment in both human and physical capital in the South African clothing and textiles sector has deepened the crisis precipitated by globalisation and currency weakness and the sector has been incapable of dealing with rising import penetration. Government policy designed to address the effects of liberalisation on the sector has largely been regressive and reinforces the perception of global trade as a threat rather than opportunity. Instead of creating a paradigm shift up the value chain, evidence from this and other studies suggests that interventions, like the China quotas, are driving local firms in the opposite direction, that is, down the value chain toward basic, low value-added garments.