Publication: Bringing HOPE to Haiti's Apparel Industry : Improving Competitiveness through Factory-level
Loading...
Date
2009-11-01
ISSN
Published
2009-11-01
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
In October 2008 the United States Congress enacted legislation that gave the Republic of Haiti expanded, flexible access to the U.S. market for its apparel exports. The Second Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement act of 2008 (HOPE II, updated from the original legislation passed in 2006) was welcomed for its potential to revitalize a decaying industry, attract new foreign investment, expand formal sector employment, and jumpstart growth and opportunity for Haiti's people. The purpose of the analysis of Haiti's apparel value-chain in this report is to provide a comprehensive view of the advantages and challenges of manufacturing in Haiti relative to manufacturing in the Caribbean and Central America and elsewhere. It situates Haiti's attributes and suggests priorities for improving its competitiveness relative to that of other suppliers. An apparel buyer in the United States today juggles an impressive list of potential suppliers from China and elsewhere in Asia and from Latin America and beyond. Each country offers a unique combination of workforce skills, business environment, costs, 'full-package' services, proximity to raw material or to end markets, preferential access to the U.S. market, and thus competitiveness. This report helps readers to see how Haiti fits into this ever-changing global apparel market kaleidoscope.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2009. Bringing HOPE to Haiti's Apparel Industry : Improving Competitiveness through Factory-level. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3168 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication How to Sustain Export Dynamism by Reducing Duality in the Dominican Republic(Washington, DC, 2015-03-02)This report analyzes export competitiveness in the Dominican Republic drawing from the Trade Competitiveness Diagnostic methodology (Farole and Reis, 2012). Dominican exports fare well in terms of performance, sophistication, and survival in Special Economic Zones. Three main challenges are identified: 1) quality issues and rejection of agro exports in the US border; 2) the role of Special Economic Zones in the new decade and the lack of backward linkages; and 3) excessive concentration in terms of markets that is not addressed by a fragmented institutional setup.Publication Africa's Silk Road : China and India's New Economic Frontier(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)As illustrated in Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier, the new South-South economic relations present real opportunities-as well as challenges-to African countries. They also highlight the need for complementary reforms by China and India to support more vigorous African development. In analyzing Africa's intensifying relationships with China and India, Africa's Silk Road examines the trends to date and considers the implications of these developments for the economic future of the African continent. The diagnosis cautions that the opportunities engendered by China and India's trade and investment with Africa will not necessarily be converted into growth and poverty reduction in the region. A critical finding of the study is that it is not just the quantity of these trade and investment flows that matters-it is also the quality of the overall commercial relationships underlying as well as shaping these flows. This paper contains the following headings: connecting two continents; performance and patterns of African-Asian trade and investment flows; challenges at the border - Africa and Asia's trade and investment policies; behind-the-border constraints on African-Asian trade and investment flows; between-the-border factors in African-Asian trade and investment; and investment-trade linkages in African-Asian commerce - scale, integration, and production networks.Publication Incentives, Exports and International Competitiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa : Lessons from the Apparel Industry(Washington, DC, 2011-05-09)This country-level analysis of international trading patterns examines all sub-Saharan (SSA) countries for which trade data exist. Firm-level analysis is restricted to five countries: Kenya, Mauritius, Madagascar, Swaziland, and Lesotho, for which enterprise surveys are available from the period just before or after the elimination of the final quotas in 2005, under the Agreement for Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Comparators were selected from Asia (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam), and North Africa (Morocco, Egypt), as benchmarks for the SSA countries, and also to examine their performance relative to normal world trading patterns and volumes. The findings, along with corresponding policy recommendations, are summarized, and key issues are addressed, including which countries adjusted to this with lowest cost; what lessons can the SSA countries draw from this episode in their negotiation and exploitation of trade preferences offered by the US, EU and other potential markets; and how does an SSA country create or attract an export-ready apparel firm. Does the poor performance of sub-Saharan African (SSA) exporters in the period since the removal of quotas in 2005, imply that SSA countries do not have a comparative advantage in apparel, and thus should focus development efforts on other sectors? This report focussed on the evolution of the apparel trade with the removal of ATC quotas. It is important, though, to recognize that African apparel exporters have now been through two negative shocks, the end of trade diversion with the ending of the ATC quota system, and the trade elimination through demand reduction in the US and EU in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008.Publication Trade Reform in Vietnam : Opportunities with Emerging Challenges(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-06)In 1986 Vietnam initiated a transition from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented economy where the government would keep playing a leading role. These renovation (doi moi) policies were successful at generating economic growth and reducing poverty. In the ten-year socioeconomic strategy endorsed by the Ninth Party Congress in April 2001, the authorities further articulated their development objectives in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. To reach these objectives, the government indicated that its structural reform priorities were to change Vietnam's trade and financial policies, liberalize the climate for private investment, increase the efficiency of public enterprises, and improve governance. The author argues that the pace of implementation of trade reform-which has been impressive so far-is raising new challenges. On one side, fast liberalization of trade reform may soon conflict with the slow pace of implementation of other reforms, including restructuring of state-owned enterprises and state-owned commercial banks. On the other side, Vietnam would greatly benefit from fast implementation of trade reform and particularly fast accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), especially after China's recent WTO accession. Auffret concludes that implementation of trade reform will be a testing ground to reveal the extent of Vietnam's commitment to a market-oriented economy.Publication Vertical and Regional Integration to Promote African Textiles and Clothing Exports : A Close Knit Family?(Washington, DC, 2007-07)Apparel production is especially labor intensive, with low start-up investments and easily transferable technology. Furthermore, the labor requirements can be easily met with low and semi-skilled workers, especially women. As a result, many countries with competitive labor costs, especially in South and East Asia, have captured significant shares in the world market during the last four decades. Despite the potential development benefits and their various sources of comparative advantage, few African countries have managed to establish a presence in the global textiles and apparel markets until recently. As a result, Africa as a whole remains a net importer of textiles and clothing even though it is a net exporter of cotton. The future of apparel exporters in sub-Saharan Africa is, however, rather uncertain as they face two major challenges for their products: i) increased competition from large, low-wage producers such as India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan following the phase-out of quotas after the expiry of the ATC; and, ii) the expiration of the third-country fabric derogation under AGOA scheduled for 2013. This study explores the potential for regional and vertical integration to overcome these challenges and identifies obstacles to this. Timing is important since both the EU and the US have recently imposed trade restrictions on China (until 2008) to protect their domestic textiles and clothing industries. These safeguards provide a brief opportunity for sub-Saharan African producers to integrate their textiles and clothing industries both domestically and regionally.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Remarks to the Annual Meetings 2020 Development Committee(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-16)David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, announced that the Board approved a fast track approach to emergency health support programs that now covers 111 countries. Most projects are well advanced, with average disbursement upward of 40 percent. The goal is to take broad, fast action early. The operational framework presented back in June has positioned the Bank to help countries address immediate health threats and social and economic impacts and maintain our focus on long-term development. The Bank is making good progress toward the 15-month target of 160 billion dollars in surge financing. Much of it is for the poorest countries and will take the form of grants or low-rate, long-maturity loans. IFC, through the Global Health Platform, will be providing financing to vaccine manufacturers to foster expanded production of COVID-19 vaccines in both part 1 and 2 countries, providing production is reserved for emerging markets. The Development Committee holds a unique place in the international architecture. It is the only global forum in which the Governments of developed countries and the Governments of developing countries, creditor countries and borrower countries, come together to discuss development and the ‘net transfer of resources to developing countries.’ The current International Financial Architecture system is skewed in favor of the rich and creditor countries. It is important that all voices are heard, so Malpass urged the Ministers of developing countries to use their voice and speak their minds today. Malpass urged consideration of how we can build a new approach to debt restructuring that allows for a fair relationship and balance between creditors and debtors. This will be critical in restoring growth in developing countries; and helping reverse the inequality.Publication World Development Report 2011(World Bank, 2011)The 2011 World development report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development. The key messages are important for all countries-low, middle, and high income-as well as for regional and global institutions: first, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion-the likelihood of violent conflict increases. Second, investing in citizen security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence. But there are major structural gaps in our collective capabilities to support these areas. Third, confronting this challenge effectively means that institutions need to change. International agencies and partners from other countries must adapt procedures so they can respond with agility and speed, a longer-term perspective, and greater staying power. Fourth, need to adopt a layered approach. Some problems can be addressed at the country level, but others need to be addressed at a regional level, such as developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity Fifth, in adopting these approaches, need to be aware that the global landscape is changing. Regional institutions and middle income countries are playing a larger role. This means should pay more attention to south-south and south-north exchanges, and to the recent transition experiences of middle income countries.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Doing Business 2014 : Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2013-10-28)Eleventh in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2014 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts, Closing a business, Employing workers. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2013, ranks economies on their overall “ease of doing business”, and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. The Doing Business reports illustrate how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. Doing Business is a flagship product by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies use the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 870 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.