Dissertation Reseach: The Global Apparel Industry and Transnational Production Networks: North American Economic Integration and the Southern California-Mexico Connection

20世纪90年代，服装生产的地理位置发生了戏剧性的变化，从东亚转向西半球。这一变化对该行业中举足轻重的民族国家层面的经济发展产生了重大影响，但对跨国/地区层面的影响更为重要。本博士论文项目考察了自北美自由贸易协定（NAFTA）通过以来很少受到实证关注的全球服装生产的关键跨国网络。南加州/墨西哥服装生产网络是由洛杉矶的制造商、设计师、零售商以及墨西哥的承包商和企业家组成的集群。本研究解决了五个主要问题：1)在过去五年中，哪些类型的生产活动转移到了墨西哥，转移的程度如何？2)北美自由贸易协定的通过和/或1994年12月墨西哥货币崩溃是否加速了迁移？3)东亚服装企业家是否通过北美自由贸易协定的“后门”进入北美市场？如果是，是如何进入北美市场的？4)生产活动的地理变化如何影响南加州服装工业和墨西哥的相关生产区域？5)墨西哥在服装“商品链”中地位的变化，在多大程度上使其能够遵循东亚路径，通过向链条上附加值更高的“节点”移动来增强出口竞争力？为了回答这些问题，该研究将利用调查数据、二手数据以及来自边境双方公司、承包商和顾问的选定案例研究的数据。除经济政策影响外，研究结果应有助于发展商品链分析，作为了解全球生产格局转变的地方后果的一种方法。

In the 1990s, the geographical location of apparel production has witnessed a dramatic shift away from East Asia and toward the western hemisphere. This change has significant implications for economic development at the level of the nation-states that figure prominently in this industry, but even more important consequences at the transnational/regional level. This doctoral dissertation project examines a critical transnational network of global apparel production that has received little empirical attention since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The southern California/Mexico apparel production network is a cluster of greater L.A. manufacturers, designers, and retailers, and Mexico-based contractors and entrepreneurs. This study addresses five overarching questions: 1) What types of production activities have shifted to Mexico over the past five years, and to what degree? 2) Was relocation accelerated by the passage of NAFTA and/or the December 1994 Mexico monetary collapse? 3) Are East Asian apparel entrepreneurs penetrating the North American market through NAFTA's "back door," and if so, how? 4) How have geographical changes in production activities affected both the southern California garment industry and related production regions in Mexico? 5) To what extent will Mexico's changing position in the apparel "commodity chain" enable it to follow the East Asian path of enhanced export competitiveness by moving up to the more higher-value added "nodes" on the chain. To answer these questions, the study will utilize survey data, secondary data, and data from selected case studies of firms, contractors, and consultants on both sides of the border. Aside from economic policy implications, the results should contribute to the development of commodity chain analysis as an approach to understanding the local consequences of shifting patterns of global production.