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

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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.