Labor-intensive Industries Research Articles

Determinants of location changes in the clothing industry in Poland

Abstract The clothing industry is often perceived, particularly in the European context, as a declining, traditional, labour-intensive industry. Nonetheless, in recent years in Poland, after over three decades of steady shrinkage, though the average scale of operations has continued to decline, the number of firms in the sector has been much more stable. In their analysis of the locations of apparel producers on the national level, the authors point to the changing geography of the sector in terms of its increased or diminishing relative presence in some areas. The links between location tendencies among firms in the clothing industry and other fashion-related institutions and initiatives are noted, as are new firms in the creative sector. The spatial patterns observed point to the ability of the resized sector to leverage emerging market opportunities and upgrade selectively, and to its broader evolution from a traditional towards a creative industry.

TOGAF Utilization for Revolutionizing Enterprise Architecture at Labor Intensive Industry

Labor-intensive industries face challenges in optimizing information systems and technology. Disconnected business processes cause scattered data and poor application integration. A structured approach is required to design an enterprise architecture aligning business and IT strategies. This study explores TOGAF implementation in a labor-intensive business in Jakarta, focusing on creating a more efficient architecture. The research provides design recommendations, including human resource management portal enhancements. Using TOGAF and UML, the study successfully created an enterprise architecture addressing business, application, data, and technology needs, improving departmental integration, overall business performance, and service delivery. It effectively bridges IT and business strategies.

The Impact of Minimum Wage System on Low-Income Groups

The minimum wage system sets a legal floor on the income of workers. It provides economic security for low-wage workers and ensures that their basic needs are met, thereby reducing poverty. For low-income workers, increasing the minimum wage directly enhances their earnings, living standards, and financial stability. As a research focus, the primary area of examination would be the precise effect of minimum wage adjustments on the income levels of those in low-paying jobs: analyze the changes in the real income of low-income workers after the augement of minimum salary and the improvement influence of family economic conditions. Second one is exploring the impact on this system changes employment sector: Examine whether raising the minimum wage causes employers that reduce hiring or layoffs, and the potential impact of such changes on low-skilled labor markets. The last one is analyzing the impacts of minimum wage policies of psychological and low-income groups’ social wellbeing: Using questionnaires to understand changes in the perception of low-income workers about their job satisfaction, quality of life, and social status. The rise in this system significantly rose the income level of low-income workers, helped to alleviate poverty, and raised the basic standard of living of these families. In the short term, that increase may have a certain negative impact on some labor-intensive industries, in the form of a small number of job losses; But over the longer term, the job market stabilizes as companies adapt to increased costs and improve efficiency through technological innovation.

To What Extent Did the Chinese Banking Industry Affect Chinas Economic Growth in Past 50 Years?

Currently, the Chinese economy is encountering a period of stagnation in its development. Sustaining the rapid growth rate of the economy has become a challenge, as there is a lack of adequate momentum for continuous high-speed advancement. The nation is edging closer to the middle-income trap, and the conventional approach of relying on investment, exports, and consumption to propel economic growth is proving to be unattainable. It must be achieved through the transformation of economic structure, and the transformation of the financial industry is the most important part of it. The research question of this article is how commercial banks affect economic growth and how China's banking system has developed. The WTO's entrance into China has been a major catalyst for the banking industry and its system to be built. The literature review section delved deeply into economic growth, examining the concept of it, how it is achieved in China, as well as any factors that may influence it. More importantly, the study reviewed what the banking industry is and the development stages of China's banking industry. The banking industry's development was examined in the concluding part of the literature review, examining pertinent studies on the effect of economic expansion. In the discussion section of the research, we analyzed how the banking industry affects economic growth through its impact on capital allocation, banking services, and currency. Ultimately, we drew corresponding conclusions and proposed countermeasures and suggestions for the future development of the banking industry. Due to the fact that the industrial structure of developing countries is usually dominated by labor-intensive industries, clarifying the interrelationship between China's banking structure, capital allocation efficiency, and economic growth has universal significance and reference value for relevant financial arrangements in developing countries.

Globalisation and Performance of Manufacturing Sector in Punjab and Tamil Nadu: Implications for Employment and Wages

The present study is a comparative analysis of the performance of the organised manufacturing sector of Punjab and Tamil Nadu. The aggregate and the disaggregate picture reveals that globalisation-led growth of the manufacturing sector in Tamil Nadu has transformed its economy to a highly industrialised economy in Indian Union, and Punjab remained far behind in this context. However, the implications of the performance of the manufacturing sector on employment and wage share have shown common characteristics in both states. The increased capital intensity in the globalisation era has widened the gap between labour productivity and wage share in both states. Since 1991, the emoluments (capitalist share) have increased at a higher rate than the real wages. The decomposition analysis of wage share shows that the falling labour–capital ratio and increased contractualisation of the labour market are some of the important reasons behind the low growth of employment and fall in the wage share. Moreover, the disaggregated analysis reveals a secular increase in the use of capital per unit of labour in labour-intensive industries that has further reduced the employment elasticity of gross value added (GVA) in both states. It also highlights that regional heterogeneity plays an important role in the performance of a particular industry with respect to employment and wage share. JEL Codes: F60, J24, L60

ASEAN Four’s middle income trap dilemma: evidence of the middle technology trap

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are defined by the World Bank as countries that failed to overcome the "middle income trap". The four Southeast Asian countries (hereinafter referred to as the "ASEAN Four") entered the ranks of middle-income economies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and achieved rapid economic development throughout the 1980s and 1990s. However, since the early 2000s, the competitive advantages of these countries’ labor-intensive industries have started to decline, while the process of industrial transformation and technological improvement has been stagnated due to the lack of innovation resources. With limited R&D input and insufficient indigenous tech innovation, these countries’ manufacturing industry show a trend of "deindustrialization" and the "middle technology trap" phenomenon emerged. As the manufacturing sector failed to generate value-added that promotes economic growth and national income increase, ASEAN Four have so far yet to enter the high-income ranks. Drawing from the cases of ASEAN Four, this paper argues that the "middle technology trap" is a key contributing factor to the “middle income trap,” and countries fallen into the “middle income trap” often experience the "middle technology trap" as a concomitant phenomenon. The paper first introduces the industrialization process of ASEAN Four while analyzes the challenges they faced in industrial structural transformation and technology advancement. It then discusses major reasons that these countries failed to step over both the "middle technology trap" and the “middle income trap”, including limited technology spillovers from FDI, R&D investment shortages and insufficient industrial policies, low-quality education system, deficient intellectual property protection and underdeveloped regional capital markets. The paper concludes with some implications for China and discussion on potential future research on distinctions of the “middle technology trap” phenomenon between upper middle-income and lower middle-income countries.

Korean human resource management as number one: lessons for the Asia Pacific

ABSTRACT Despite the devastation caused by Japanese colonial rule and over three years of the Korean War, the Korean economy has created the Miracle on the Han River over the past half-century, joining the ranks of advanced nations. Although it started with low-wage and labour-intensive industries, the accumulation and utilization of human capital have prepared companies like Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Naver and Coupang for a new leap forward. However, global issues such as the climate crisis and sustainability, the dual labour market, adversarial labour relations and low birth rates with rapid ageing are new challenges for Korean-style HRM. This is a collection of articles dealing with the question of Korean HRM as a success factor of Korean development and a seed for problems destabilizing the Korean economic perspective in the 21st century.

Current Status of Patent Research on Picking End Effector

Background: Fruit and vegetable picking, as the most important part of fruit and vegetable production, is a labor-intensive industry. Fruit and vegetable picking robots can effectively improve the efficiency of picking and reduce labor requirements. As the most important part of the picking robot, the picking end-effector effectively plays a key role in improving the picking efficiency and ensuring the wholeness of the fruit. Therefore, the development trend of picking end effectors has received more and more attention. Objective: The study aimed to solve the problems of high labor consumption and low picking efficiency of manual picking; thus, the grasping method of the picking end effector has been continuously improved. Methods: This article has presented various representative patents related to the picking end effector, such as the suction end effector, multi-finger end effector, and bionic end effector. Results: Through the investigation of a large number of picking end effector patents, the current problems, such as low accuracy and large clamping damage, are summarized and analyzed. In addition, the future trends of fruit and vegetable picking end effectors are discussed. Conclusion: The optimization of the picking end effector is conducive to reducing manual labor and improving the picking rate of fruits and vegetables. More relevant patents will be invented in the future.

Beneath the kiln: The unyielding spirit of women shaping rural India's brick tale

The brick industry, characterized as an informal and unorganized sector in India, has witnessed growth concurrent with urbanization across various states. This labor-intensive industry relies significantly on the widespread exploitation of women and children and heavily depends on migrant workers for production. This study aims to shed light on the current socio-economic conditions of women in the brick industries of Falta and Budge Budge-II C.D blocks in the South 24 Parganas District of Indian state West Bengal. The variables considered for this study encompass gender, age, marital status, nature of work, experience, education, income, benefits, and challenges —these factors serve as indicators of the socio-economic status of women in these manufacturing units. Environmentalists have identified the brick industry as one of the hazardous sectors with adverse implications for the health and physiological well-being of women and children. The present study is based on both primary and secondary data. The findings reveal that women in this field experience various forms of suffering, and the prevalence of child labor is notably high for both boys and girls in the brick kilns of these two blocks.

The North-South divide and everything that gets left out in-between: conceptualizing Central and Eastern Europe to explain its positioning on climate change

The North-South divide forms the central axis along which scholars study the contemporary global order. Yet many countries fall in-between the cracks of a world divided into core and periphery. This paper develops a structural account to understand the position of countries in this space of in-betweenness. The focus is on Central and Eastern Europe. I draw on already existing scholarship on liminalities, the varieties of capitalism and transition studies to argue that a liminal identity of in-betweenness goes hand-in-glove with a domestic logic of transitioning, as the state seeks to move somewhere else. Furthermore transitioning dynamics position the state in the semi-periphery, as the transition to the civilizational core requires capital and know-how from abroad. The resulting semi-peripheral position further underlines the liminal identity. The paper uses this apparatus to understand why CEE countries are typically climate change laggards within the EU. Their continuing liminal identity results in frustration over and resistance against the schooling tendencies of Brussels and Western European capitals. The dynamics of a sense of imposition of climate change mitigation policies stem from CEE’s liminal positioning as apprentices, but the reasons for the perceived alienness of such policies are located in domestic societal dynamics, and CEE countries’ economic structure. The specific political structures of communism and the communist transition have strengthened particularistic personal ties of friendship and family between individuals and the localities they live in, while simultaneously weakening general and abstract conceptions of the public good. Accordingly initiatives for preserving specific localities can be strong, but conceptions of protecting an abstract, global climate, are not well developed. Additionally, the material costs of protecting the climate are higher in post-communist economies due to their comparative advantage in resource and labour intensive industries, their reliance on foreign capital, and a lack of domestic innovations.

The impact of ESG performance on corporate sustainable growth from the perspective of carbon sentiment

With the increasing importance of environmental and economic sustainability concerns, the concept of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) has gained significant attention. In the era of digitalization, a research approach called carbon sentiment analysis has emerged as an innovative method. This study aims to explore the connections between carbon sentiment, ESG, and corporate sustainable growth within the context of the green economy. By using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis and establishing a panel data model of ESG performance and sustainable growth for Chinese listed companies, a notable positive correlation between the two variables was observed. Endogeneity was addressed using the two-stage instrumental variable method (2SLS) and the dynamic panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model, with the results remaining robust both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Carbon-related news and textual information were collected and analyzed using advanced deep learning methods in Natural Language Processing (NLP), specifically Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models. This analysis enabled sentiment analysis and identification of the sentiment orientation of carbon news. The obtained sentiment scores were then integrated with company data to establish a moderation effect model. The findings of the study reveal that carbon sentiment significantly and positively moderates ESG performance in relation to corporate sustainable growth. Furthermore, the construction of a mediation effect model showed that carbon sentiment can moderate ESG performance by reducing environmental uncertainty, enhancing social trust, and alleviating financing constraints, thereby influencing corporate sustainable growth. The results of the heterogeneity group regression analysis demonstrate that the impact of ESG performance driven by carbon sentiment on sustainable growth is more pronounced in carbon market pilot regions, non-heavily polluting industries, and labor-intensive industries. This research provides a fresh perspective for understanding the dynamics of ESG, online carbon sentiment, and their implications for corporate sustainable growth. Additionally, it contributes to the development of the green economy and the formulation of environmental management policies.

Integrating Building Management Systems in High-Rise Structures using Building Information Modeling

Rapid industrialization and population growth in urban areas has resulted in scarce land resources thus changing builtform tremendously. Complex construction such as high-rise structures are becoming an essential requirement in urbanareas. Efficient Building Management System (BMS) such as fire safety, heating ventilation and air-conditioning,security, and surveillance along with the operation and maintenance is crucial for high-rise construction projects. Theconstruction industry is one of the most labor-intensive industries in the world with a human centric managementapproach. With the advent of computer technologies, planning and management of building systems in a constructionproject have become easier. The concept of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to manage building managementsystems in construction projects is gaining popularity. In this study, an integrated framework is proposed that includesnumerous aspects of building management systems in high-rise structures with a dynamic BIM model. This proposedframework was explored with a case illustration of a multi-story building. Preliminary results of the model arepresented herewith.

Ethical gamified health communication intervention to prevent Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) in Myanmar migrants at Thailand's seafood factory: A study protocol

Background Thailand's seafood industry heavily depends on Myanmar migrant workers, who face significant occupational health issues, including an increase in work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs). Due to linguistic and cultural limitations, traditional health communication strategies often fail to reach this population. This study explores the effectiveness of a culturally and linguistically tailored gamified health communication intervention aimed at preventing WMSDs in Myanmar migrant workers in a Thai seafood factory. Methods The intervention is developed and then implemented in two phases. The objective of the study is to develop, implement, and evaluate a gamified health intervention for Myanmar migrant workers that will prevent WMSDs. The intervention is customized to the workers' cultural background and work natures through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and expert reviews. The intervention then consists of a set of 12 exercises designed to prevent the WMSDs. The Intervention’s impact is assessed through pre- and post-intervention evaluations measuring changes in knowledge, awareness, and self-reported musculoskeletal health. Results Since this is a study protocol, precise findings are not yet available. The target audience is expected to adopt safe work practices more frequently, have better physical health, and have a greater understanding of WMSDs. Conclusions This protocol describes a novel way to use a culturally-tailored and ethically appropriate gamified health communication intervention to address the health issues (such as WMSDs) experienced by Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand's seafood industry. This technique may serve as a model for comparable health promotion initiatives in other labour-intensive industries and migrant worker groups, promoting better awareness and prevention of WMSDs. Registration Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR) (TCTR20240515003, Registration Date: 15 May 2024).

Nowcasting economic activity with mobility data

We develop high-frequency indices to measure sales in service industries and production in the manufacturing sector using GPS mobility data from mobile applications. First, by utilizing the point of interest data, we develop indicators to capture sales in amusement parks, shopping centers, and food services. Second, we construct indicators for nowcasting production based on the foot traffic in factory areas that are identified by using the Economic Census and mobility patterns. We find that the mobility data allow us to nowcast sales in the service sectors and have the potential to be used to nowcast the production in labor-intensive industries.

The impact of director network distance on enterprise investment returns

We use A-share listed firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen between 2011 and 2021 as a sample, and analyze the impact of director network distance on enterprise investment returns. The results show that the smaller the director network distance is, the more it helps to enhance enterprise investment returns. The inhibitory effect of director network distance on enterprise investment returns is significantly stronger in capital-intensive industries, resource-intensive industries and non-state-owned enterprises compared to labor-intensive industries and state-owned enterprises. Informal information channels play an intermediary role, which means that informal information channels can improve the return on enterprise investment returns.

Human Capital and the Quality of Foreign Direct Investments

The purpose of this study is to analyse to what extent the difference between the quantity and quality of Human Capital (HC) is relevant to the quantity and quality of inward Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). Most developing economies keep attracting multinational enterprises (MNEs) with short-term goals in labour-intensive industries, with little or no embodiment in the local environment. As such, low-valueadding investments erode the national HC base, leading to the vicious cycle of lowquality investments. The legitimate policy question is whether countries are unable to attract high-quality investment due to the low quality of HC. This study, which combines traditional and more advanced proxies of HC, considers a sample of 54 developed and developing countries. It is found that the role of HC quality in FDI attraction is industry-specific and that it varies depending on the country’s level of development. The quality of HC seems to matter relatively more for high-quality FDI than for overall FDI.

The Impact of Capital Structure on the Firm Performance

This paper mainly studies the impact of capital structure on enterprises. To gain a deeper understanding of this issue, this paper chose different sectors, such as capital-intensive and labor-intensive industries, which rely heavily on debt financing but face higher financial risks during a recession. This is in stark contrast to labor-intensive industries. In labor-intensive industries, equity financing may be more conducive to the operational flexibility and adaptability of enterprises. Find out the corresponding literature analysis, and summarize the commonness through concrete examples. The paper discusses the characteristics of capital structure of developed and developing countries and compares the differences of capital structure in different economic environments. Through the study of relevant literature, the characteristics and differences of capital structure in different industries and countries are summarized. Identifies areas for improvement, pointing out limitations in the current understanding of capital structures, such as industry-specific differences and changing market dynamics. At the same time, according to the characteristics of the industry, market conditions and risk tolerance, to provide constructive advice for enterprises to optimize the capital structure.

The Impact of Industrial Characteristics on the Capital Structure

This paper investigates the relationship between industrial characteristics and capital structure. The author selected three industries with totally different features as examples and discussed how their particular industrial functions can make a significant difference in leverage ratio. These industrial characteristics are only related to the industry, such as business model and financial statements structure, regardless of the firms size, business performance, and profitability, which can be calculated and measured. Using high-tech-driven, asset-intensive, and labor-intensive industries as samples to analyze their influences on firms leverage ratios. Their industry characteristics can explain the difference in leverage, as asset-intensive companies have the highest average level of debt while labor-intensive has the lowest one. However, the industries cannot account for all diversities in capital structure, and there are difficulties in discovering the perfect capital structure that can meet all requirements and has the lowest cost under current literature. It is necessary to ascertain all factors that will affect the capital structure and evaluate the extent of their influences in future research.

Corporate social responsibility and labor investment efficiency: evidence from China

PurposeWe expect to provide a complete theoretical framework and large sample evidence on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the efficiency of labor investment. We also hope to provide micro-evidence based on labor investment behavior for the two-sided impact of corporate CSR behavior.Design/methodology/approachThis paper measures labor investment efficiency by estimating the difference between actual and expected net hiring of enterprises. CSR is measured on the basis of the CSR score of Chinese listed companies published by Hexun.com. A regression model is constructed to analyze the relationship between CSR and labor investment efficiency. Possible endogeneity problems are controlled by lagging independent variables, propensity score matching method and difference-in-difference method.FindingsResults show that CSR can improve labor investment efficiency by reducing over-hiring and under-hiring in emerging markets. The existence of the mediating effect of agency cost, information disclosure quality and employment fluctuation confirms that CSR improves labor investment efficiency through two mechanisms of corporate governance and labor market friction. The improvement effect of CSR on labor investment efficiency is more significant in non-state-owned, high CEO shareholding ratio and high-average urban wage enterprises.Originality/valueIn conclusion, our study is an important supplement to the existing research on the factors affecting labor investment efficiency. Our research conclusions will be helpful for enterprises in developing countries or enterprises in labor-intensive industries to improve labor investment inefficiency. The conclusion of the mechanism analysis in this paper provides more complete and reliable microscopic evidence for accurately identifying the specific path of CSR's impact on labor investment efficiency. This paper verifies the positive impact of CSR from the perspective of labor investment efficiency in the context of a developing country, which provides evidence for the theoretical conflicts related to CSR based on the effectiveness of enterprise labor investment decisions.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF FERTILISER SPRAYING AGRICULTURAL ROBOT

Modern agriculture is ensured by the development and dissemination of agricultural automation and intelligence. The current focus of agricultural robot research is autonomous navigation, which can significantly improve labor productivity while effectively reducing labor requirements. It is the most successful robot in the agricultural field. The main functions of the robot are chassis control, navigation control, and mechanical design for fertilization and spreading. The main theme of robots is to reduce work, workload, burden and stress. Agriculture is an extremely resource- and labor-intensive industry. Therefore, farmers are increasingly turning to technology and automation to address this problem. Future recommendations include making agricultural robots fully autonomous. Key Words: Fertilization, agricultural robots modern agriculture, autonomous navigation.