Chowdhury, Mamun (2014): Market Forces and Exploitation: Causes for Faster Growth and Competitiveness of Bangladesh Ready-made Garments Industry. Published in: Jagannath University Journal of Social Sciences , Vol. 3, No. 1-2 (15 November 2015): pp. 46-59.
Preview |
PDF
MPRA_paper_127637.pdf Download (206kB) | Preview |
Abstract
This paper explains the market mechanism and exploitation as a key source of growth and competitiveness of Bangladesh RMG sector. Market force is the key as it relates in the determination of wage and also in the stability of demand in global apparel market. On the other hand, exploitation is marked as a viable source of profit maximization for the factory owners. Labor abundance, as the paper unveils, is hereby responsible to empower factory owners as it weakens bargaining power of workers over their legal rights. In this backdrop, the paper examines the way of market manipulation by factory owners to accelerate their profit. Nevertheless, the paper interrogates the role of international buyers as they behave likely by overlooking workers welfare. The article is relied on both primary and secondary data. The study is based on qualitative method while statistical techniques like frequency distribution and frequency percentage are used to analyze data.
| Item Type: | MPRA Paper |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | Market Forces and Exploitation: Causes for Faster Growth and Competitiveness of Bangladesh Ready-made Garments Industry |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | Market Force, Exploitation, RMG Sector, Working environment, Wage, Bangladesh |
| Subjects: | E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E21 - Consumption ; Saving ; Wealth E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E24 - Employment ; Unemployment ; Wages ; Intergenerational Income Distribution ; Aggregate Human Capital ; Aggregate Labor Productivity J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor |
| Item ID: | 127637 |
| Depositing User: | Mr. Mamun Chowdhury |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Feb 2026 11:21 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Feb 2026 11:21 |
| References: | Absar, S. S. (2001). Problems Surrounding Wages: the Ready Made Garments Sector in Bangladesh. Labor and Management in Development Journal, Vol. 2, No. 7, P. 6. Afrin, S. (2014). Labor Condition in the Apparel Industry in Bangladesh: Is Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 Enough? Development Country Studies, Vol. 4, No. 11. Ahmed, F. (2013). Background of History of Bangladesh and Ready-made Garment Industry: Key challenges in the RMG Industry. Middle East Journal of Business, Vol. 8, Isssue 1, p. 39. Ahmed, N. & Nathan, D. (2014). Improving Wages and Working Conditions in the Bangladeshi Garment Workers: The Role of Horizontal and Vertical Relations. Working Paper 40, Capturing the Gains, Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Production Networks, ISBN: 978-1-909336-79-7, p. 4. Ahmed, M. N. & Hossain, M. S. (2006). Future Prospects of Bangladesh’s Ready-made Garments Industry and the Supportive Policy Regime. Policy Note Series: PN 0702, Policy Analysis Unit, Bangladesh Bank, p. 6. Alam, M. S. & Natsuda, K. (2013). The Competitive Factors of the Bangladeshi Garment Industry in the Post-MFA Era. RCAPS Working Paper Series (RWP 13003), Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Japan, p. 1. Alam, M. S. (2012). The Competitive Factors the Garment Industry During the Post Multi-Fibre Arrangement Period: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh. A Thesis submitted to Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Online: rcube.ritsumei.ac.jp/bitstream/10367/4725/1/51210605.pd Akhter, S., Salahuddin, A. F. M., Iqbal, M., Malek, A. B. M. A. & Jahan, N. (2010). Health and Occupational Safety for Female Workforce of Garment Industries in Bangladesh. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. ME 41, No. 1, June 2010, p. 71. Asgari, B. & Hoque, M. A. (2013). A System Dynamic Approach to Supply chain Performance: Analysis of the Ready-made Garment Industry in Bangladesh. Ritsumeikan Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, Vol: 32, p. 51 BGMEA (2013). Trade Statistics, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association: Dhaka. BKMEA (Bangladesh knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association), (2014). Development and Evolution of Bangladesh Knitwear Industry: Looking Beyond the Horizon. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Dhaka.Bhattacharya, D. & Rahman, M. (1999). Female Employment Under Export- Propelled Industrialization: Prospects for Internalizing Global Opportunities in the Apparel Sector in Bangladesh. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Occasional Paper, Geneva, p. 10. Bhuiyan, M. I. (2013). Reasonable Wages for Workers to Eliminate Unrest in Bangladesh's Ready-made Garments (RMG) Sector. Bangladesh Development Research Working Paper Series, BDRWPS, U.S.A Center for American Progress (2013). Global Wage Trends for Apparel Workers, 2001-2011.Workers Rights Consortium, July, 2013, p. 8, The document is available at; justjobsnetwork.org/wp-content/pubs/reports/RealWageStudy.pdf CPD (Centre for Policy Dialogue) (2013). Revision of the Minimum Wage in the RMG Sector in 2013. Proposal as Regards, Definition, Method of Determination and the Levels. Dhaka. Chowdhury, N. J. & Ullah, M. H. (2010). Socio-Economic Conditions of Female Garment Workers in Chittagong Metropoliton Area- An Empirical Study. Journal of Business and Technology, Dhaka, Vol. V, Issue 2, July-Dec. 2010, p. 54, 59. Clean Clothes Campaign (November, 2012). Hazardous Workplaces: Making the Bangladesh Garment Industry Safe. p. 1. Farhana, K., Syduzzaman, M. & Munir, M. S. (2015). Present Status of Workers in Ready Made Garments Industries in Bangladesh. European Scientific Journal, Vol. 11, No. 7, ISSN 1857-7881, p. 556. Hasan. J. (2013). The Competitiveness of Ready Made Garments Industry of Bangladesh in Post MFA Era: How Does the Industry Behave to Face the Competitive Challenge. British Journal of Economics, Management and Trade, Science Domain International. p. 29. Huq, A. F. (2014). Social Sustainability Implementation in Global Supply Chains. Phd Thesis Paper, Submitted to Lancaster University, United Kingdom, p. 2, The Article is Available at: eprints.lancs.ac.uk/74427/1/2014huqphd.pdf IMF (International Monetary Fund) (2005). Bangladesh: Selected Issues. Country Report no. 05/242, Washington, D.C. ITUC (International Trade Union Conference) (2012). Internationally Recognised Core Labor Standards in Bangladesh. Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of Bangladesh, Geneva, 24 and 26 Sept. 2012, p. 1. Islam, M. K. & Zahid, D. (2012). Socio-economic Deprivation and Garment Workers Movement in Bangladesh: A Sociological Analysis. American Journal of Sociological Research.Scientific and Academic Publishing, pp. 85-86. Islam, M. M., Khan A. M. & Islam, M. M. (2013). Textile Industries in Bangladesh and Challenges of Growth. Research Journal of Engineering Sciences, Vol. 2. (2). Joarder, M. A. M., Hossain, A. K. M. N., & Hakim, M. M. (2010). Post-MFA Performance of Bangladesh Apparel Sector. International Review of Business Research Paper, Vol. 6, No.4, p. 141. Mottaleb, K. A. & Sonobe, T. (2011). An Inquiry into the Rapid Growth of the Garment Industry in Bangladesh. GRIPS Discussion Paper, Japan: National Graduate for Policy Studies, p. 8. Murshed, M. M. (2007). A Study on Labor Rights Implementation in Ready-made Garment Industry in Bangladesh: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practices. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for Masters of Social Change and Development, University of Wollongon. Razzaque, A. & Yusuf, A. (2007). Trade development and Poverty Linkage: A Case Study of Ready-made Garment Industry in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Unnayan Shamannay, p. 7-8, Rahman, M. A. & Hossain, M. S. (2010). Compliance Practices in Garment Industry in Dhaka City. Journal of Business and Technology (Dhaka), Vol. 5, Issue 2. Sharif, P. A., Islam, M. E., & Kabir, R. A. (2015). A Study on Occupational Health and Safety Practices in RMG Factories of Bangladesh in Accordance with Compliance after Rana Plaza Incident. The International Journal of Business and Management, p. 215. Sikdar, M. M. H., Sarker, M. S. K. & Sadeka, S. (2014). Socio-Economic Conditions of the Female Garment Workers in the Capital City of Bangladesh. International Journal of Humanities and Social science, Vol. 4, No 3, p. 176 Salam, M. A. & Mclean, G. N. (2014). Minimum Wage in Bangladesh’s Ready-made Garment Sector: Impact of Imbalance Rates on Employee and Organization’s Development. The paper is available at: www.ufhrd.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/.../Abdus-Salam.pdf Saxena, S. B. (2010). Competitiveness in the Garment and Textiles Industry: Creating a Supportive Environment: A Case Study of Bangladesh. Occasional Paper No:1, July, 2010, The Asia Foundation, p. 4. Yunus, M. & Yamagata, T. (2012). The Garment Industry in Bangladesh. Chapter 6, Dynamics of the Garment Industry in Low-Income Countries: Experience of Asia and Africa (Internal Report), IDE-JETRO, 2012, p. 10 |
| URI: | https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/127637 |

