Competition, co-operation and subcontracting : lessons from the clothing industry in Thailand

A close examination of the organisation of the clothing industry in Thailand exhibits a rather paradoxial situation: although the structural features of the sector - breaking down of the production process, high labour intensity, low asset specificity, unskilled labour - seem to legitimise a market co-ordination mechanism, it is a close, durable and multiform co-operation which cements the relations between contractors and subcontractors, as well as between the subcontractors themselves. (DSE/DÜI)