Cheap Labor Research Articles

Population of Bolshederbetovskii Ulus of Kalmykia during Transition to Settled Life in Second Half of 19th Century

This article analyzes the economic state of Kalmyk society in the Bolshederbetovskii Ulus of Kalmykia during the intensive process of transition to settled life. This transition led to significant structural changes in the economic system of nomads. The author provides a comparative analysis of the changes in animal husbandry practices among the Kalmyks in the Bolshederbetovskii Ulus during the second half of the 19th century. The gradual development of agriculture in Kalmyk society is also examined. The main conclusion of this article is that throughout the second half of the 19th century, there was a gradual impoverishment of the nomadic Kalmyk population due to changes in their traditional way of life and a decrease in available grazing land, which was a crucial aspect of their economy. As a result, the majority of ordinary nomads became part of the rural proletariat and served as a source of cheap labor in the region. The expansion of the all-Russian market and the inclusion of the steppe regions of the North Caucasus, as well as the settlement of peasants on these lands, along with the active policies of the Tsarist government towards nomads and transition to settled life, shaped significant structural changes in the economic and social structure of nomadic society.

Trusts are accused of using foreign doctors as “cheap labour” in fellowship schemes

Trusts are accused of using foreign doctors as “cheap labour” in fellowship schemes

The influence of transnational corporations on the Ukrainian economy development in the post-war period

Transnational corporations, as a form of international business, currently significantly influence the development of strategies for developing Ukraine's economy, becoming the leading players in modern international relations. In modern realities, the transnationalization of enterprises in Ukraine can be an economic tool that forms new directions of social development, goals of foreign economic activity, and the specifics and conditions of the country's participation in the global division of labor and international trade. Today, transnational corporations are a significant element in many countries' economic systems, helping to increase economic efficiency. The article aims to study transnational corporations' influence on the country's economy in the post-war period. The results. The article analyzes aspects of the activities of transnational corporations in Ukraine and their impact on the country's economy. A classification of the main methods transnational corporations implement in their external expansion is presented. It was determined that the main activities of transnational corporations include investing funds through direct foreign investment (creating joint ventures, branches abroad, developing a corporate network), exporting products and services, selling licenses to foreign partners, and forming strategic alliances with other companies. It was determined that the activities of transnational corporations are based both on the use of their production resources and on cooperation with independent enterprises. Such corporations often exploit cheap labor and favorable tax conditions by locating their branches in countries with low taxes or other competitive advantages. Conclusions. The definition of the main characteristics of transnational corporations, which emphasize their significant contribution to forming the country's economic structure, has been clarified and expanded. It has been proven that due to their significant financial potential, transnational corporations often have advantages over local companies, as they provide the exchange of goods, services, information, and production resources necessary for the reconstruction of the country in the post-war period. Keywords: transnational corporations, investments, innovations, investment and innovation development, country reconstruction.

Job satisfaction and organizational commitment in Syrian refugee textile enterprises: A case study from Turkey

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Syrian refugee entrepreneurs operating in the Turkish textile industry on job satisfaction and organizational commitment of refugee employees. It is foreseen that refugees working informally may become permanent. This image shakes not only the social order but also the economic balance. A significant portion of refugees have a very low education level; also, Turkish society does not welcome them as they create a cheap labor force. Due to poor working conditions, they tend to change their jobs constantly. At this point, refugees’ attitude toward work and organization has been examined. The sample comprised 12 enterprises; 104 blue-collar employees, experts, and managers answered the questionnaires. All of the participants in the study were Syrian refugees. The results concluded that while there is a positive relationship between affective and normative organizational commitment and the perception of abstract talent management practice, there is a negative and weak relationship between continuance commitment with a strength of –0.169. The perception of tangible talent management practice is positively related to internal and external job satisfaction and negatively related to continuance commitment with a power of –0.157. Accordingly, Syrian refugees with a talent management perspective believe talented employees should be in their jobs to achieve their goals. Job satisfaction partially mediates between the abstract perception of talent management practices and organizational commitment.

GEOSTRATEGY IN CENTRAL ASIA

This article Central Asia has long been a geostrategic location because of its proximity to the interests of several great powers, great game location, raw materials base, cheap labor and regional powers.

ЕФЕКТИВНІСТЬ ІНСТИТУТУ ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНОСТІ У СФЕРІ ЗАХИСТУ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ КОНКУРЕНЦІЇ: АМЕРИКАНСЬКА ТА ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКА ДОКТРИНИ

The article examines the institution of responsibility in the field of economic competition protection, which is used in the American and European systems. It has been established that the issue of liability for offenses in the field of competition regulation and competition protection is a special issue on Ukraine's path to European integration. This problem is important because in the modern Ukrainian economy, its institutional support - in the form of rules, economic mechanisms and tools, as well as organizational forms - ensure the interaction of the market and the state, because neither the market nor the state, taken by themselves, with development along the line of progress, they are unable to cope. The issue of competition regulation and liability for violations in the field of competition protection is of particular importance for the European integration of Ukraine. After all, after the historical challenges faced by Ukraine, only mutually agreed and regulated relations in this sphere can become a guarantee of social and national development. It was determined that competitiveness in the modern world cannot be ensured only on a liberal basis, that is, on a purely market basis. Effective regulation of competition protection is necessary for understanding the main mechanisms of interaction of various participants in the market. Established rules that apply to different types of markets are inseparable from the economic mechanisms that underlie them. One of the violations in the field of protection of economic competition is the abuse of a monopoly position. It has been established that two doctrines are currently used as a basis for developing approaches to competition regulation: American and European. The article lists the categories of prohibitions in the anti-competitive behavior of the USA and the EU. It is proven that highly developed countries strengthen their dominant role due to the use of the latest knowledge and the introduction of innovations, which makes them more competitive. Other countries that do not possess this knowledge and skills become dependent on them. And this dependence consists in calculating the benefits of civilization with cheap labor, natural resources and other national wealth. Key words: competition, competitiveness, responsibility, enterprises, benchmarking, internationalization, protection.

Shadow Labor in Care Services: Why Do South Korean Women Care Workers Work Such Long Hours and Get Paid So Little?

Abstract Korea is a country with extremely long working hours and severe gender inequality in the labor market. Based on twenty-nine in-depth interviews with Korean women care workers, this study investigates key mechanisms that reproduce unpaid and unrecognized shadow labor in paid care services. Accordingly, it argues that the presumption that it is mostly Korean men who suffer from working long hours is incorrect. Women workers work long hours, and they often do so without compensation for overtime. They also engage in labor that is not included in their original job description. The Korean labor market supplies an unlimited number of women for cheap labor in the care service sector, meaning the government can depend heavily on private organizations and businesses to meet increasing care needs among the population. Because women care workers could not specify an employer who is responsible for their wages and working conditions, they could not see themselves as employees with basic labor rights. Instead, they take the familiar roles of dutiful daughters and caring mothers, consenting to the very situation that makes them susceptible to severe wage penalties and unrecognized and unappreciated long working hours.

Driving Growth and Innovation: Exploring Foreign Direct Investment in the Manufacturing Sector (The Case of Lithuania)

Recent geo-economic transformations have led to new challenges for countries in their economic development. The evolving global landscape has emphasized regional competitiveness and attractiveness in terms of capital, labor force, and information. Scholars widely agree that countries receiving foreign direct investment (FDI) gain new knowledge, management skills, and advanced production techniques, leading to increased competitiveness and economic growth (Bayar, et. al., 2020). Changing conditions have also influenced investors’ behavior. Globalization and digitalization have shaped international economic relations, focusing not only on resource acquisition, but also on leveraging human capital, knowledge, institutional structures, and networking for firm efficiency. This shift is reflected in changing investors’ preferences: the importance of natural resources, cheap labor, and the size of the national market has decreased, with greater attention given to service- and technology intensive manufacturing markets (Sadeghi, et. al., 2020).
 The aim of this study is to identify the factors that determine the attraction of foreign direct investment in the Lithuanian manufacturing sector and assess their impact. To accomplish this objective, several main tasks were formulated:
 1) Highlight the necessity for assessing FDI attraction in the manufacturing sector.
 2) Identify the factors that influence the attraction of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector.
 3) Provide empirical evidence of the impact of these factors.
 
 The article is structured as follows: Firstly, a review of the scientific literature was conducted to address the research problem, which is the lack of literature on foreign direct investment at the sectoral level. Based on this literature analysis, the factors influencing investment attractiveness at the regional and sectoral levels were identified and compared. Additionally, the factors that determine the attractiveness of the manufacturing sector for investment were also identified. 
 In the second part of the study, a research methodology was developed to assess the impact of these factors on foreign direct investment in the Lithuanian manufacturing sector. The results of the third part of the study indicated that although the Granger causality test did not reveal any causal relationship between FDI in Lithuanian manufacturing and variables such as exports, imports, gross domestic product, the number of educated individuals, government gross debt, government R&D expenditure in manufacturing, the number of FDI enterprises in manufacturing, the wage index, and labor productivity, the correlation analysis demonstrated that exports, gross domestic product, and labor productivity have a significant influence on attracting FDI to the industrial sector. These macroeconomic indicators were statistically significant both in the short term and in the long run.
 Empirical findings indicated that labor productivity has the greatest impact on the attractiveness of foreign direct investment in the Lithuanian manufacturing sector, both in the short and long term. To maintain the viability and promote the development of the manufacturing industry, Lithuania should focus on the factors that affect labor productivity in this sector.
 Keywords: investment attractiveness, foreign direct investment, manufacturing sector, sectoral determinants of investment.

Regional Investment Flows from Greece to Bulgaria in the COVID‐19 context: is there a halt trend?

AbstractThis paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the investment flows from Greek to Bulgarian regions against the context of COVID‐19. Employing a mixed research method, it investigates the initial impact of COVID‐19 on regional FDI flows from Greece to Bulgaria and intends to explore to which extent the pandemic acts as an impediment to firm relocation, by examining regional investment flows from 2013 to 2020. The effects of the COVID‐19 macroeconomic shock are placed in the context of the existing conditions shaped by the 2008 global economic crisis. The paper also attempts to provide a critical insight of factors underlying investment flows. The results indicate that there was a limited investment halt but no disinvestment from the Greek to Bulgarian regions in the first year of the COVID‐19 outbreak. Low and stable taxation, cheap labour and efficient regulatory regime attract Greek investments in Bulgaria.

Looking at the production chains from the uneven and combined development perspective: the Egyptian Qualified Industrial Zones Agreement

In the neoliberal era, the export-oriented industrialisation strategy has been promoted for its potential to transform the industry into an engine of growth for the rest of the economy. For this purpose, all developing economies are encouraged to join supply chains in order to upgrade their position in the hierarchical division of labour in the world economy. On the other hand, this has always been a thorny issue for the Southern economies. This paper investigates the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) Agreement concluded between Egypt, Israel and the United States in 2004, critically analysing the outputs of the export-oriented industrialisation model. In its analysis, the study relies on dialogues between the production chain literature and the uneven and combined development perspective. In this context, it claims that the factors endogenous to global capitalism, like low wages and massive labour reserves, play an important role in determining Egypt’s role in the Agreement. Likewise, participating in production chains does have a further polarising effect on global inequalities. Accordingly, the Agreement charges Egypt in line with its position in the global economy, and the Egyptian textile industry articulates to the world market as a source of cheap labour.

Factors Affecting Landowners’ Willingness to Sustain Hiring Foreign Farmworkers: The Case of Banana Producers in Mersin Province, Turkey

Turkey is a country with a migration route throughout history and has provided protection to more refugees than any other country. But, the secure deportation of refugees is stated by government officials. This research aims to determine the socio-economic characteristics of landowners who hire foreign farmworkers and the factors affecting their willingness to employ foreign farmworkers. In order to meet the objective, a survey study based on face-to-face interviews was conducted with 200 landowners producing bananas and employing foreign farmworkers in Mersin. The level of willingness to hire foreign farmworkers was calculated, and the ordinal logistic regression (OLR) model was executed to determine affective factors. According to the results, the landowners’ average age was 40.5 years, and their agricultural experience was 11.07 years, with 47% of them having a primary school degree. A total of 50% of the landowner farmers had a high willingness level, 29.5% had a medium willingness level, and 20.5% had a low willingness level. As for OLR, the factors of land size, continuity status of farmworkers, and the reasons to hire foreign farmworkers were significant (p < 0.05). Contrary to the general opinion, which is that the reason for the willingness to hire foreign farmworkers is to use them as a cheap labor force, this research found that the reason with the greatest impact is that landowner farmers have difficulty in finding local farmworkers. The shortage of agricultural labor has been filled with foreign farmworkers in Mersin province. Every foreign farmworker may be registered with one or more agricultural holdings so that the deportation of refugees does not cause a labor supply problem in agriculture; also, citizens seeking employment from other regions of Turkey may be supported to be farmworkers in regions with labor shortages. In order to avoid supply security problems in agricultural production, policymakers should urgently develop policies based on field data.

Rethinking destructive rumors as a legal means of solving the problems of intercultural interactions

The purpose of the study was to analyze situations of occurrence and spread of destructive rumors and, at the same time, to identify effective legal practices to counteract them in multicultural urban communities. In most cases, rumors do not reflect the factual situation, so they cannot be a tool for unbiased presentation of facts and, in the case of intercultural interaction, they can also provoke extreme and unlawful negative feelings about a certain group of people. The results of the study indicate that in the city Melitopol there are rumors about immigrants, refugees, ethnic groups, national communities or other groups, which are mostly negative. The analysis made it possible to identify the most common ethnic rumors: «Roma are thieves», «Jews are selfish»; confessional: «Muslims are terrorists»; socio-cultural: «IDPs live on state aid», «Ukrainians are cheap labor from Western Europe». Based on a qualitative analysis of social practices of Melitopol community members, in the conclusions the authors corroborate the effectiveness of ways of counteracting destructive rumors in multicultural urban communities as a legal means of solving the problems of intercultural interactions.

The necropolitics of expendability: migrant farm workers during COVID-19

ABSTRACT COVID-19 has made visible and deepened inequalities globally, while also manifesting the vital role of functional food, health, and care systems in a context of strong socio-ecological interdependencies. We here mobilize bio– and necro–politics to problematize the declaration of agricultural workers as ‘essential’ and the accompanying policies during the early months of the pandemic, focusing on the region of Lleida, Spain. We show how this proclaimed indispensibility was aiming mostly at securing cheap labor to agri-business while workers continued to be treated as expendable. An intersectionality lens allows us to understand discrimination and racism as health determinants, operating within and defining ‘glocal’ food necropolitics and COVID-19 biopolitics.

ASSESSING THE READINESS LEVEL OF RMG SECTOR OF BANGLADESH TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING INDUSTRY 4.0

Industry 4.0 is considered as the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and involves virtual and physical systems that are interconnected and collaborative in an autonomous way. The ready-made garments (RMG) sectors in Bangladesh have been undergoing a transition that encompasses the digitization of garment production processes. This research work provides the readiness assessment of the RMG sector of Bangladesh regarding industry 4.0 deployment. Industry 4.0 is a relatively advanced theory within the RMG factories, and it promotes the interest on how to make utilization of technologies included in the idea and take benefit from them as well. The study dilemma is that there is a limited amount of readiness assessments available that cover problems of interest. The research question has been created to assess the readiness level of the RMG sector in Bangladesh with regard to the application of Industry 4.0. The data collection and analysis techniques were adopted from the IMPULS model which is a foundation of the German Engineering Federation, VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau). The quantitative method of the IMPULS model was modified to address the study issue accordingly. The findings demonstrate that RMG factories are rated no higher than level two out of six levels (0-5). It indicates that they are in the emerging state of implementing Industry 4.0 and facing significant challenges, particularly in strategy formation and facility infrastructure to fulfill the demands of Industry 4.0. The conclusion is that a great portion of RMG factories of Bangladesh is at the beginner level. The beginner level is comparable to level 1, which indicates a low level of readiness. Lack of knowledge, limited government help, poor infrastructure, cheap labor availability, and high initial investment costs could all be the contributing factors toward a lower level of readiness.

Problems of rural areas of Ukraine in the context of European integration processes

Ukraine has favorable geographical, climatic, resource and other prerequisites for the development of rural areas, therefore it is potentially capable of becoming a state with priority development of the agricultural sector and one of the main suppliers to the world markets of ecologically safe food products. However, the problem of non-compliance of the level of development of the Ukrainian agricultural sector and rural areas with the world level and standards of the EU countries in general remains unresolved. The competitiveness of domestic agricultural products is achieved mainly due to cheap labor and ruthless exploitation of the land. The article analyzes the socio-economic and ecological state of rural areas of Ukraine and establishes that at the current stage rural areas are in a catastrophic state. The state of natural resources and the ecological situation are deteriorating, the engineering and social infrastructure, the system of social services (medicine, culture, preschool education) and the sphere of life are in decline, human potential is decreasing, unemployment and poverty are flourishing, which stimulates labor migration. The lack of work, medical care, social and infrastructure support does not encourage rural youth to actively give birth to children, as a result of which the rural population is aging at a very fast pace, there is no simple replacement of the population, mortality prevails over birth rate. The lifespan expectancy of the population in one or another country is precisely the indicator that characterizes well-being. In Ukraine, the average lifespan expectancy as of 2020 was 66.4 years for men and 76.2 years for women, which is an average 3.6–14.4 years for men and 1.3–9.3 years for women less compared to the countries of the European Union. During 32 years of independence, Ukraine, as a state, did nothing to improve the living conditions of the rural population, stop migration processes and the natural reduction of the population in general, and especially the rural population. As a result of such non-statistical attitude of the state of Ukraine towards rural areas, 435 rural settlements disappeared from the map of Ukraine during this period. The primary solution to the social and infrastructure problems of the rural population is one of the main conditions for Ukraine’s food security, its economic and social well-being, and therefore should become a priority direction for the state of Ukraine.

Child Labors in Ganjam District of Odisha: Exploring Livelihood

Child labor is a critical and sensitive issue globally. In India the percentage of labour force constitutes ‘child labor’ is very high. Serious attention is given to contentious issue of child labour by the Government, social activists and voluntary organizations. The Indian Constitution also guarantees protection of the rights of children. Regardless of several stringent dealings, in India the problem of child labor is gloomier and constantly increasing. Child labour cannot end overnight because its roots are very deep. Laws should be strictly implemented to prevent child labor. The intent of the current study was to learn the socio-economic condition of families whose children were engaged as child labors in major blocks in Ganjam district of Odisha. Poverty, parent unemployment, limited education resources, social backwardness and lure of cheap labor have been explored as driving factors for child labor creation. The study also assessed the working conditions and environment of child laborers and to determine their morbidity pattern if any. The child laborers were interviewed in their work places using a predesigned and pre-tested questionnaire. Data were collected and analyzed a total of 254 child laborers who participated in the study from selected blocks of the Ganjam district. As a consequence, the study can be a good example for law makers to devise better policies uplift the socio-economic lives of the children engaged as labors in the rural sectors nationwide.

Analysis of the safety impact of mobile rail hydraulic spreader on residential building machines under the system of building machines

The construction industry in China is a labor-intensive industry, but the cheap labor force has begun to change in recent years, with labor costs rising. In some labor exporting provinces, there has even been a "battle for talent.". Based on this, the "14th Five Year Plan" construction industry development plan issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development proposes to accelerate the coordinated development of intelligent construction and industrialization of new buildings, and promote digital design, intelligent production, and intelligent construction. With the continuous progress of science and technology, the construction industry has also made many technological innovations, and innovative changes have taken place in related technologies. The residential building machine has begun to replace the traditional climbing frame application. Through gradual improvement, the lightweight building machine applicable to this project is only 220T, and the combination of spreader and building machine makes the concrete pouring process more convenient and intelligent, significantly reducing the labor intensity of construction personnel. Based on this, the analysis of the impact of mobile rail hydraulic spreader on the safety of residential building machines is a key factor.

Technicians as teachers: the emerging role of technical staff within higher education teaching and learning environments

ABSTRACT Technicians and technical staff are making increasingly significant contributions to the teaching and learning of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the UK. This paper reports on a survey of 1766 technical staff regarding their roles within teaching and learning environments, and a series of follow-up focus groups with 44 technical staff further exploring the roles, visibility, and recognition of technical staff. Analysis suggests many technicians’ roles have transitioned to such an extent that traditional lines between academic and technical teaching responsibilities, expertise, and contributions are becoming increasingly blurred. This trend is particularly noticeable for disciplines within creative arts but is also found in other discipline areas. This is likely accelerated by a competitive higher education environment and global graduate job market which incentivise skills-based learning and graduate employability, with a general transition towards increased value of ‘know-how’ as well as ‘know-what’. Although this can greatly enhance students’ skills-based learning at the hands of experienced practitioners, there is a danger that under-valued ‘cheap labour’ could be used to replace under-resourced academic teaching communities, or that technical staff find expansion of their teaching responsibilities are not being matched with adjustments in value, recognition, or reward. Specific examples are explored, and the impact of COVID-19 related disruption is further used to highlight these overall themes. The authors advocate for common understanding and recognition of teaching roles throughout the higher education sector, regardless of job family.

Global Market Analysis for Welding Consumables and Welding Robot (Ⅱ)

This study analyzed the market trends of welding consumables and welding robots from international welding industries using data reported by SHIMPO CORPORATION. Recently established companies are planning to use automation to achieve high performance with cheap labor. In this context, welding robots are commonly used in manufacturing facilities to perform high-quality welds at a faster rate than with manual welding. In addition, most welding procedures exhaust welding consumables such as rods and wires. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the trends of the overall welding market and related application industry market through the market trends of welding robots and welding con- sumables. From 2009 to 2021, the sales of welding consumables grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.17%, whereas those of welding robots grew at a CAGR of 11.17%. The higher growth rates in developing countries have lifted up the overall market growth, whereas the rates in leading markets such as the US and China have tended to slow down. In conclusion, the increasing demands for manufacturing and construction in developing countries such as India and Southeast Asia are expected to drive the market growth in the coming years.

The Social Production of Industrial Heritage Spaces in the Background of Cultural Governance: A Comparative Study Based on Cases from Taipei and Hong Kong

This article borrows Heri Lefebvre’s space production theory to discuss the cultural governance of East Asian cities and how culture is used as a means of spatial organization in a structured way. Text analysis, field investigation, and comparative analysis are used as the main research methods to explore the specific social production process of Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Hong Kong’s The Mills. The social production processes of these cultural spaces took place in the same period, having some similarities, and they mostly involved transformation from old factories and old buildings in urban areas. However, the cultural governance strategies in Taipei and Hong Kong are different. On the one hand, the Taipei government’s continuous cultural policy has spawned diverse cultural spaces rooted in factory renovations and unified under the authorities’ imagination of “Creative Taiwan”. A benign model of cultural heritage protection has been formed in terms of community participation, industrial development, and ecological conservation in Taipei. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s cultural governance pays more attention to landmark cultural projects from the perspective of tourism development. Mainly driven by private capital, The Mills completed the transformation from a factory to a cultural space. The Mills’ transformation process is also the epitome of the decline of Hong Kong’s textile industry. In addition, different cultural governance strategies and cultural policies in Taipei and Hong Kong affect the dominant forces in the social production process of cultural spaces. The main driving force of cultural spaces in Taipei is the local government, while the production of cultural spaces in Hong Kong involves more stakeholders, such as private developers, non-profit organizations, etc., and presents the characteristics of a multi-path and multi-participant historic building activation process. Moreover, at the regional level, the abandonment and reuse of industrial buildings in Hong Kong and Taipei are rooted in the migration of local traditional manufacturing to mainland China with cheaper labor and the upgrading and transformation of local industries. This comparative study complements the global picture of cultural space production and also provides references for other areas.