SPORTSWEAT GLOBALIZATION

The famous Nike swoosh and Adidas’ three stripes are synonymous to cool sportswear and lucrative sports sponsorships all around the world. But since the past decade, the famous swoosh and three stripes became famous for a less favorable reputation, which was Sweatshops. This infamous trend was widespread during the beginning of the 20th century and was widely practiced all over developing countries. Labor was much cheaper in those areas as opposed to most parts of Europe or the USA, which was seen as a golden opportunity to maximize profits as well as expand production. The labour market in Europe and the USA at the time was productive and there was enough supply of labour, but there was one problem, which was the wage rate. Trade unions are powerful organizations in Europe and the USA, and with that create imperfections in the labour market by securing wages for its members above the equilibrium wage rate, which would in turn increase costs for firms. Researchers also showed that although the population growth in Europe was to increase in the next 20 years, there would be a change in the age structure of the population, which was a decline in the younger segment and an increase in the older segment of the working age population. Therefore, with a longer-term decline in the working age population in Europe, an ageing work force and ageing population and increasing elderly dependency ratios combined with a resistance to larger scale immigration, the logical question to ask was if there would be an increase in the demand for labor in Europe?

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