Working in the global production era: Corporation ownership origins and labor conditions in China.

摘要

In this study, I examine whether there exists a connection between corporation ownership origins and labor conditions in China. The study is intended to answer the question of whether corporation ownership origins affect labor conditions for Chinese workers. Instead of distinguishing the corporations as state or privately owned entities, I sort them according to the country of origin and compare their performance and effect on the global economy with respect to labor rights, treatment, and the condition of the labor force within those corporations. Rather than solely describing the labor conditions affected by the global economy, I approach the issue through how the country origins of corporations influence their treatment of workers. The empirical evidence of this study comes from an examination of corporate codes of conduct and employment policies proposed by leading electronic manufacturing corporations in China. Additionally, I also include three case studies in order to explore the real labor conditions and its connection with corporation ownership origins in China. My analysis of both corporate codes of conduct and case studies of three factories supports the idea that national, institutional and ideological structure remains the deciding factor, and thus corporation ownership origins are related to labor conditions. The home countries of corporations exert influence on the corporations' treatment of labor rights and shape their behavior in practicing their corresponding policies.