New Points of Production: Homework and Shoemaking in Asia

Abstract

Globalization—and the manner in which it has been governed during the last decade—has harmed various public policy infrastructures of developing nations, but especially those in health, social, and environmental sectors. The poorest population suffers the most severe consequences, as production takes place in the “informal” economy and in homes. Work safety and health in the informal economy has not gained the attention it warrants and requires, considering that this “sector” constitutes the majority of the world's labor force. The purpose of this article is twofold: (i) to describe the working environment in home-based shoemaking—based on Indonesian and Philippines experience by Markkanen [1]; and (ii) to examine the research framework proposed by Levenstein and Tuminaro in The Political Economy of Occupational Disease [2] and further developed in Wooding and Levenstein, The Point of Production, 1999 [3]. The field investigation by Markkanen employed this approach to explore how hazardous working conditions and inadequate health protection are the product of complex, converging relationships among diverse “actors” or agents at international, national, community, and shoe industry levels.