Making a Global Poverty Chain: Export Footwear Production and Gendered Labor Exploitation in Eastern and Central Europe

Review of International Political Economy

Europe

This article shows how the Eastern and Central European export footwear sectorhas experienced economic and social downgrading and immiserating growth overthe last three decades. Based on interviews with 209 workers from 12 factoriesacross six countries, it analyses how intense gender-based labor exploitation—entailing dangerous working conditions and poverty pay—underpins the sector’s expansion and extra-regional integration. It draws upon and contributes to the glo-bal poverty chain (GPC) approach by (1) showing how the concept is relevantbeyond the global south, and (2) providing a gendered political economy perspec-tive from which to conduct GPC analysis. It concludes by suggesting that GPC’s arequite common throughout the world economy, and that their existence requires amore critical approach to much global value chain analysis.

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Selwyn Benjamin