SUNY Travels of A T Shirt in A Global Economy Part IV & Conclusion Discussion Hi, I uploaded the instruction file for you. Pls, take a look at it and let m
SUNY Travels of A T Shirt in A Global Economy Part IV & Conclusion Discussion Hi, I uploaded the instruction file for you. Pls, take a look at it and let me know if you have any questions. Travels of a T-Shirt in a Global Economy Part IV and Conclusion
Rivoli (2008) writes “It is only in this last chapter of the T-shirt’s life that world trade patterns are
fashioned by economics rather than politics” (p. 178).
Assignment:
Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
Also, share your impressions to the book, what did you like the best and the least.
Your paper must be a minimum of 300 words and incorporate the course material. Show/ prove
the evidence from the two textbooks. You can also use reliable outside sources. Dont forget to
include citation from two textbooks & outside sources. Write college level English and
grammatically.
Textbook:
Rivoli, P. (2008). Travels of a t-shirt in a global economy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken,
NJ. This is the textbook link:
Read Part IV
https://epdf.pub/travels-of-a-t-shirt-in-the-global-economy.html
AN INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS New Perspectives on the World
Economy KENNETH A. REINERT.
Read Chapters 14 and 18.
This is the textbook link:
http://docshare04.docshare.tips/files/24429/244299892.pdf
This is the example discussion for you. Dont copy.
I 100% agree with this quote about the last chapter of a t-shirts life being more about economics
than politics. We saw how the textile and apparel industry in America are barely holding on by a
thread, and that thread is basically just the money from Washington. We also saw how political
the cotton producing industry was, but the last chapter of the t-shirts life is very different. It was
almost disgusting to learn that we, as Americans, throw away so much clothing, that it is creating
a whole other business in another country. I myself am guilty of this, because as soon as I dont
like a piece of clothing anymore, and am so quick to cast it away. At the same time, it is also
heartwarming that our castaways are not just sitting in a landfill, but bettering the lives of so many
people who may not otherwise have a chance. It was interesting to learn all the different ways our
clothing is used, aside from mitumba in Africa. On page 225, Rivoli said that 30% of the clothing
is destined to become wiping rags, and on page 226, she spoke about t-shirts becoming shoddy,
which is just shredding it up to use in automobile doors and roofs, carpet pads, mattresses,
cushions, insulation, and caskets, and can even be spun back into low grade yarn and turned into
cheap clothing again. However, Rivoli reiterates that the heart of the business lies in Africa, where
the exploding supply of castoffs from the rich meets the incessant demand for clothing from the
poor (226). It was heart breaking to read in chapter 14 that children under the age of 5 in Tanzania
die at approximately 20 times the rate of babies in the US, the life expectancy is only 46 years old,
and more than 40% of adults cannot read (228). However it was awesome to learn that our cast off
clothing, which is generally still in good condition is changing their lives. The last chapter, chapter
15 dealt with creative destruction again, as Rivoli included that the African textile industry has
lost to the high-wage workers of America who live in a land of such plenty that clothing is given
away for free (240). However, Rivoli also highlighted that while Mitumba does destroy some jobs,
it creates others such as traders, importers, sorters, launderers and tailors. Because Africa lacks the
software like effective police and courts, enforceable rights and laws and transparent regulatory
frameworks that are necessary for factories to operate effectively on top of unreliable and
expensive infrastructure, the cost and availability of materials, outdated capital stock and lack of
access to credit, and inadequate training an management skills (241), their textile industry would
not succeed anyway. Rivoli solidifies on page 245 that without effective software to govern formal
markets, African entrepreneurs rely on the relationships, trust and social networks that have been
created by the mitumba trade. So yes, the last chapter of a t-shirts life consists of world trade
patterns fashioned by economics rather than politics, and this is creating a better life in one of the
worlds poorest countries.
Part 4 and the conclusion of The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy related well to this
weeks chapters, about exchange rates and purchasing power parity and crises and responses. The
United States has one currency, while Africa has another, and the nominal exchange rate would be
the relative price of those two currencies expressed as the number of units of one currency that are
required to buy a unit of the other. As for the PPP model, this means that the nominal exchange
rate will adjust to make the purchasing power the same in every country. This is important,
especially in poor countries like Africa, so they can remain competitive. In relation to chapter 18
and crises, any type of crisis, whether it be hyperinflation, balance of payments and currency crises,
asset price deflation, banking crises external debt crises, domestic debt crises or some combination
of these could happen in any country, so knowing the ways to deal with them or respond to them
is important. Maybe it will be market-friendly capital controls, or better data on sovereign debt
and asset prices, either way, this will help make future crises less likely.
As far as the book as a whole, I really enjoyed going on this journey of learning about every step
along the path that a t-shirt follows throughout its life. I liked how Rivoli used real conversations
with real people connected to the t-shirt at each point during its life, because this made the story
easier to follow and more interesting. She also showed both sides of every argument made
throughout the book, making it less one-sided, and the reader could choose a side for themselves.
There were some parts of the book that were very confusing and seemed to include information
that was not necessary to tell the story, but otherwise I really liked it!
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