Ready Made Garments
GARMENT EXPORTS FROM BANGLADESH: AN UPDATE AND EVALUATION
Munir Quddus
Professor of Economics and Chair
University of Southern Indiana, USA
Salim Rashid
Professor of Economics
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA Journal of Bangladesh Studies: on-line Articles published in the Journal of Bangladesh Studies will be available on-line a year after publication. Current issues are available only in paper form to subscribers. Here are the articles contained in the first issue of the JBS which was published in December 1999. Journal of Bangladesh Studies Vol. 1 No. 1
ABSTRACT
The success of readymade garment exports from Bangladesh over the past two decades has surpassed the most optimistic expectations. The paper reviews the literature on this industry, presents recent data on the sector's performance, and evaluates future trends in the international and domestic clothing industry. More specifically, the paper evaluates the negative impact of the 1998 floods on the industry. It concludes that although the impact of the flood was unexpectedly benign, the entrepreneurs face important challenges from the health of the domestic banking sector, the East Asian economic crisis, and the deregulation of the global clothing business as a result of the phasing out of the Multi-fibre agreement in the year 2005.
Introduction
The tremendous success of readymade garment exports from Bangladesh over the last two decades has surpassed the most optimistic expectations. Today the apparel export sector is a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and export industry in the country. The overall impact of the readymade garment exports is certainly one of the most significant social and economic developments in contemporary Bangladesh. With over one and a half million women workers employed in semi-skilled and skilled jobs producing clothing for exports, the development of the apparel export industry has had far-reaching implications for the society and
Munir Quddus
Professor of Economics and Chair
University of Southern Indiana, USA
Salim Rashid
Professor of Economics
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA Journal of Bangladesh Studies: on-line Articles published in the Journal of Bangladesh Studies will be available on-line a year after publication. Current issues are available only in paper form to subscribers. Here are the articles contained in the first issue of the JBS which was published in December 1999. Journal of Bangladesh Studies Vol. 1 No. 1
ABSTRACT
The success of readymade garment exports from Bangladesh over the past two decades has surpassed the most optimistic expectations. The paper reviews the literature on this industry, presents recent data on the sector's performance, and evaluates future trends in the international and domestic clothing industry. More specifically, the paper evaluates the negative impact of the 1998 floods on the industry. It concludes that although the impact of the flood was unexpectedly benign, the entrepreneurs face important challenges from the health of the domestic banking sector, the East Asian economic crisis, and the deregulation of the global clothing business as a result of the phasing out of the Multi-fibre agreement in the year 2005.
Introduction
The tremendous success of readymade garment exports from Bangladesh over the last two decades has surpassed the most optimistic expectations. Today the apparel export sector is a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and export industry in the country. The overall impact of the readymade garment exports is certainly one of the most significant social and economic developments in contemporary Bangladesh. With over one and a half million women workers employed in semi-skilled and skilled jobs producing clothing for exports, the development of the apparel export industry has had far-reaching implications for the society and