Canada and the Developing World -A comparative framework Thesis on children/youth: Increasing global corporatization has integrated children/ youth in the Core and Peripheral countries into a global commodity chain. Most children/youth in the Core help extract a major share of surpluses (corporate profits) through their consumption within a stable political economy. Thus, a majority of the children/youth in the affluent Canada (Core) have been transformed into conspicuous consumers or service sector commodities, while a minority of them (1 in 10 (circa 2010)) live in poverty

Thesis (contd) In contrast, through poorly paid or unpaid household labour children/youth in the Peripheries are exploited through surplus extraction for profit for and consumption in the Core. In the Periphery, those children/youth who are from the rich and middle classes, become comprador consumers. But most of the peripheral countries children are absolutely poor and must work for their livelihood. Thus they become labour commodities

Comparative arguments using WST: 1.Global corporatization has integrated children/ youth in the Core and Peripheral countries into a global commodity chain. 2.Most children/youth in the Core help extract a major share of surpluses (corporate profits) through their consumption within a stable political economy. Thus, a majority of the children/youth in the affluent Canada (Core) have been transformed into conspicuous consumers or service sector commodities, while a minority of them (1 in 10 (circa 2010)) live in poverty 3.In contrast, through poorly paid or unpaid household labour children/youth in the Peripheries are exploited through surplus extraction for profit for and consumption in the Core. In the Periphery, those children/youth who are from the rich and middle classes become comprador consumers. But most of the DWs children are absolutely poor and must work for their livelihood. Thus they become labour commodities

WST concepts that explain the reasons for the increase in child poverty in the Core and in the Peripheries: Neoliberalism: Declining role of the State Deregulation results in Financial Meltdown (2008) Global Commodity Chain (GCC)

Neoliberalism & its result: GCC in Core: Declining role of the State Financial Deregulation Dismantling of Social Welfare Privatization of child care Youth integration into GCC Weakening of social policy towards children State is unable to compensate the impact on child poverty generated by the shocks Declining funding for youth programs & educ. Youth unemployment

WST concepts that explain the reasons for the increase in child poverty in the Core and in the Peripheries: Neoliberalism: Declining role of the State Deregulation resulted in Financial Meltdown (2008) Global Commodity Chain (GCC)

1.Global corporatization has integrated children/ youth in the Core and Peripheral countries into a global commodity chain. CHILD LABOR/SLAVERY: NIKE, APPLE, GAP, MICROSOFT -- CHINA, INDIA, PAK min

Single division of labor: core accumulates capital as periphery supplies labour

WST & Global Commodity Chain (GCC): Commodity Chain Research HD Core:Capital rich MNCs corporate Head Office: R&D Product design Customization Market distribution Products Retail Ads

Inequitable Impacts of global Commodity Chains on workers in Canada ( Core): Wilma A. Dunaway, Economic Costs Educational & cultural costs Critical individual costs Wealth & Capital Concentration In Commodity Production, lower wages for the workers Low Remuneration for Non-Wage Labor (e.g. household work) Health Civic freedoms Discrimination: gender & Age Human rights Law & Order (prejudice against the poor) Conspicuous Consumption Devaluation of Arts & Humanities Commodification of Youth, child, women as Ads, Logo

GCC Peripheries: Labour surplus Production process: Vertically integrated GCC

Vertically integrated Model: MNCs GCC Foreign subsidiary or Subcontracting local company Manufacturing factories or Sweatshops Extract raw materials from resource rich areas Extract surplus from labour Household labour of the poor (low/no wage or slavery): Men, Women, Youth & Children

GCC (contd.) Peripheries: Labour surplus Production process: Vertically integrated GCC

Hidden Inputs of the Peripheries child & women in the global Commodity Chain Typical Production Node of a Capitalist Commodity Chain Cheap Labor Working class child & women subsidize the Production Process Capitalist Costs that are Externalized to Households Inequitable Impacts on children & women Surplus extraction from labour: No-wage, Unpaid & Low-wage subsidize commodity production Economic Costs to the Periphery State Subsidies: in providing societal Infrastructure of maintaining stable social order State Subsidies to Capitalist Enterprises External costs: costs: (7.39min)

Inequitable Impacts of global Commodity Chains on Children/youth workers: in the Periphery : Wilma A. Dunaway, Economic costs: Negative impact of loss of education years on a countrys development Country loses skill development in its future population Health costs Children in hazardous work: Life span, health and welfare irrecoverably affected Social costs Cycle of Poverty – destitution becomes endemic

Comparative conceptual arguments: 1.Global corporatization has integrated children/ youth in the Core and Peripheral countries into a global commodity chain. 2.Most children/youth in the Core help extract a major share of surpluses (corporate profits) through their consumption within a stable political economy. Thus, a majority of the children/youth in the affluent Canada (Core) have been transformed into conspicuous consumers or service sector commodities, while a minority of them (1 in 10 (circa 2010)) live in poverty 3.In contrast, through poorly paid or unpaid household labour children/youth in the Peripheries are exploited through surplus extraction for profit for and consumption in the Core. In the Periphery, those children/youth who are from the rich and middle classes become comprador consumers. But most of the DWs children are absolutely poor and must work for their livelihood. Thus they become labour commodities

Canada: Core countrys children/youth: Most are higher or middle income classes (80% all children in Canada): Children at school Youth at school/work Consumers: Conspicuous Consumption

Canada: Child/youth are transformed into: Conspicuous consumers (endless consumption) Service sector commodities

Conspicuous consumers Rich Kids for Romney 50sec 2012http:// Creation of artificial wants Persuaded to consume endlessly Ads & Peer pressure lure the young

Cores Child/ Youth conspicuous consumption: manufactured and manipulated by: Adult-led army of advertisers Marketing consultants Youth researchers

Child/youth in the Core transformed into: Conspicuous consumers (endless consumption) Commodified in the Service sector

Core: youth work is: Low-end service work Low in status, value and skill Not real work Corporations view youth work as hobb y

Consumerism - Commodification Link: Circularity in youth employment Service sector employers: Hire young workers because youth sells product Youth/child often is the real product being sold e.g.: Ads of child/youth in jeans or t-shirts, sneakers or snowboards, soft drinks or CDs Youth as consumers

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e.g.: Retail and food service companies: Exploit the sexuality of young workers (esp. women) to attract customers and increase sales Staff stores by hiring youth as workers with the right look Hire by screening for an appearance, attitude and demeanor based on age, gender, race and cla ss

The company hires brand representatives: Not cashiers or clerks Exhibiting the A&F Look (to experience Abercrombie & Fitch stores) Selling an experience for customer to experience again and again through the Brand

Commodification of Youth Youth workers: wear brand name perfumes as directed. But, in Starbucks: no colognes and perfumes – only the romance of coffee aroma Faces freshly scrubbed with Body Shop Blue Corn Mask Apartments furnished with Ikea self-assembled bookcases and coffee tables

Circularity in youth employment: MNCs created mass consumerism (in post-WW II era) Commodification of youth in mass advertising Demand for youth as service sector workers Canadian youth want stable economy: why? (Jobs & MNCs profits will remain stable)

Globally Integrated conspicuous consumption Kinkos, Starbucks and Blockbuster clerks buy their uniforms of khakis and white or blue shirts at the Gap Hi! Welcome to the Gap! greeting cheer is fueled by Starbucks double espressos Résumés that got them the jobs were designed at Kinkos on friendly Macs, in 12-point Helvetica on MS Word.

Why Commodity Chains are created by global corporation? How does it work? NDL: International division of labour (post colonial) Endless accumulation: economic growth to maximize profits Commodification of everything; Global search for surplus extraction Repeated cycles of innovation, change, and expansion

Nike World Headquarters in Oregon Profits & Patents Research Lab: tests in biomechanics, physiology, sensory Customise to suit the interest of clients geography, age, gender e.g., Runners - in the United States prefer hard surfaces - in Europe prefer trails Ads (consumerism): e.g.: 2001 the Nike Goddess outlets Profit percolates up Commodification of the Young: child & youth workers consumers

Extraction of Raw materials (mostly from peripheries): Rubber, leather and plastic Extracted from places located in close proximity Household labour Women Youth Children

Sent to the factories or Sweatshops for manufacturing Peripheral states: Subcontracts the production process: 900 contract factories Independent private contractors in China, Indonesia and Vietnam Vertically integrated model

Comparative conceptual arguments: 1.Global corporatization has integrated children/ youth in the Core and Peripheral countries into a global commodity chain. 2.Most children/youth in the Core help extract a major share of surpluses (corporate profits) through their consumption within a stable political economy. Thus, a majority of the children/youth in the affluent Canada (Core) have been transformed into conspicuous consumers or service sector commodities, while a minority of them (1 in 10 (circa 2010)) live in poverty 3.In contrast, through poorly paid or unpaid household labour children/youth in the Peripheries are exploited through surplus extraction for profit for and consumption in the Core. In the Periphery, those children/youth who are from the rich and middle classes become comprador consumers. But most of the DWs children are absolutely poor and must work for their livelihood. Thus they become labour commodities

Peripheral states: MNCs Subcontractors (owner class): Upper income class (global Elite class) luxury goods consumer household Rich Kids Gone Wild? min 2011 Who made our shirt child lab in china 3min 2009http:// Educated & skilled workers: Middle income class (White or Blue collar) Children & youth at school Formal sector: Working men/women Consumer household (beyond basic goods)

Peripheral states: Lower income and Poorer classes: Working Men Working Children Working youth Working women

Fourth World: Indigenous population: Unemployed & discriminated men Children exploited in boarding schools Culturally alienated youth Working and abused women

Child/youth Poverty in Peripheral countries: International Labor Organization (ILO) reports: 2010 Global total of Children (age 5-17): billion 20 mil. more than in 2004 (1.3% increase) In the Developing World (2010): Working children. (age ): 306 mil. Child labour (5-17): 215 million Source for 2004:

Child labourers are defined as those: Under the minimum age for work, or Engaged in work that poses a threat to their health, safety or morals, or are subject to conditions of forced labour. Source: Child Labour: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty 2010 (5 min) *Child Labour min 2006

Children in hazardous work: 115 million : 20% Increase in child labour in the years age group: (from 52 million to 62 million)

India: children working (pop:363 m. (31%) Age<14) (2009) factbook/print/in.html) 13.6 million (Indian census) in million children in hazardous condition (Labour Ministry) in million computed on basis of # below poverty line in 1995 (Commission on Labour Standards) Mexico: children working (pop: 32m. (29%) Age <14) (2009) 8-11 million children under the age of 15 years are working in Mexico in 1994 ( US Dept of Labor, Sweat and Toil of Children, 1994, citing US Dept of State, Human Rights Report, 1993) 16 % of children (age 5-14) -15% of male & 16% female - in child labour ( ) s.html

India (contd) : million (Human Rights Watch) (1996) Child Economic Activity rate: 13.5% (Male) 10.3% (Female) Largest number of working children in the world - Child labour productivity accounts for 20% of Indias GNP L Am (Mexico) (contd) 40 million children (total pop. 500 mil in LAm) living or working on the streets of Latin America 20% begging to survive 24% by selling goods rest by doing subcontracting work. (Xinhua: Comtex, 2000) Working Children

India (contd) 85% of rural child laborers work in cultivation and agriculture, e.g., tea plantations, 40% of urban child laborers work in manufacturing and repair Also in carpet making, gem polishing, fireworks oitation/ oitation/ (acc. April 09) L.Am (Mexico) (contd) (2000) L.Am children working in the streets, markets, tourist & other areas of 108 cities - 70% are boys and 30% girls work as cart-pushers, kitchen help, and vendors children in the age group of 7 to 14 make up 30% of day laborers in the agriculture sector re/world/mexico.pdfhttp:// re/world/mexico.pdf (acc. Ap 09)

Why is child labour bad for the children? Four-year-olds tied to rug looms to keep them from running away - Working at rug looms, for example, has left children disabled with eye damage, lung disease, stunted growth, and a susceptibility to arthritis as they grow older Work prevents the child from going to school Work long hours, often in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, are exposed to lasting physical and psychological harm

… bad for children: Children work for too many hours and too many days, for too little, or no pay subject often to physical abuse exposed to dangerous pesticides work with dangerous tools What did World Bank and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation do? financing sericulture projects dependent on child labor ( Human Rights Watch, 2004)

… bad for children: Children making silk thread in India dip their hands into boiling water that burns & blisters breathe smoke and fumes from machinery handle dead worms that cause infections guide twisting threads that cut their fingers Children harvesting sugar cane in El Salvador: use machetes to cut cane for up to nine hours a day in the hot sun injures their hands and legs medical care often not available

2012: (source: stats Number of children in the world2.2 billion Number in poverty1 billion (every second child)

Total Global/ Regional Children/Youth in 000 (March 2012) Countries<18<5 Africa 477, ,135 Middle East and North Africa 156,444 47,524 Asia 1,151,806316,151 Latin America and Caribbean 195,713 53,461 Industrialized countries 203,008 57,212 Developing countries 1,953, ,545 Least developed countries 389, ,520 World 2,201, ,933 accessed jan26,2013

Core: Canada & children in poverty Affluent country Child benefits Social institutions & financial support for children Poorer countries Child poverty leads to child labour Basic needs not met Periphery: Mexico & India: Child Poverty Concepts Comparing on Children & poverty

Childrens poverty in DW: million Absolute poverty Lack basic needs Hunger and death AIDS & blindness Severe disabilities Violence and orphans Childrens poverty in Canada: million Relative poverty Generational welfare trap Poverty cycle Social Security Publicly funded schools Universal medical care Contrasts between Canada & DW

Affluent Canada (2005): Child poverty 1.2 million children, or (1 in 6) children live in poverty. # in poverty- 20% rise ( ) 18% increase in (rate of) poverty % users of food banks, are children Child Poverty in Canada: Why are 10 percent of kids poor? 1hr April Income Inequality and Child Poverty in Canada: from Poor No More, a Canadian fe 2.53min oct Peripheries or DW (2004) Child poverty : 674 million in poverty (2005) 70% poor in rural (agriculture) Gordon, D, et al (2003) "Child poverty in the developing world" Child labour (2004) 250 million working 120 million work full time 61% in Asia, 32 % in Africa, 7% in Latin Am accessed oct 2010 Canada: accessed Jan 2010http://

Canada (contd) (groups that are in worse situation) Child poverty rates for Aboriginal, immigrant & visible minority groups are more than double the average of that of all children First Nation Children are Living in Poverty 5.16 min Support for First Nations' Children min child poverty rate among children with disabilities is 28% Developing countries (contd) (work) work as domestics work in trade & services work in manufacturing & construction

Canada: 2009 Child Poverty: declined since ,000 children live in poverty Poverty rate: 9.5% Youth unemployment 14.1% unemployment rate Aged 15-24: 408,000 youth unemployed in Oct weekly wage $ $ less than those aged 25 and over 30% of these youth find themselves in precarious jobs REVISITING FAMILY SECURITY IN INSECURE TIMES 2011 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada Peripheries or DW (2011) Child poverty : 1 out of 6 infants are born with a low birth weight in developing countries. A third of all childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa is caused by hunger. Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases. 22,000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty bout_hunger_and_poverty Know Your World: Facts About Hunger and Poverty 2011

Canada: Child poverty is defined in the 2011 Society report as The proportion of children 17 years and under living in households where disposable income is less than half of the median in a given country.2011 Society report Ref: 2011 Society report (2011). The Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa2011 Society report Child poverty in BC min April 2011http://

Child Poverty in Canada LIC: Low income cut-off LIM: low income measure Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada

Canadas Children in Poverty

Child/youth Poverty in Peripheral countries: International Labor Organization (ILO) reports: 2010 Global total of Children (age 5-17): billion 20 mil. more than in 2004 (1.3% increase) In the Developing World (2010): Working children. (age ): 306 mil. Child labour (5-17): 215 million Source for 2004:

Children in hazardous work: 115 million : 20% Increase in child labour in the years age group: (from 52 million to 62 million)

% Children in Poverty in OECD: Impact of States decline? (2000) Poverty

INDIA (2004): Conditions of real poverty (worse than monetary measure) – 26% of children are education poor; (cf. 52 % of adults) – 70% of children <13 years old are undernourished, 44% severely; – 7% of individuals aged 7 to 59 suffered from chronic illness. hdr.undp.org/.../presentations/2004/topic_3/Approaches%20to%20Measuring%20poverty,%20Fran ces%20Stewart.ppt

PERU: (2004) Condition of poverty (better than monetary measure) –7 % of children are education poor.(cf. 20 % of adults –29 % of children < 5 years were undernourished. (10 % of adults were health poor). hdr.undp.org/.../presentations/2004/topic_3/Approaches %20to%20Measuring%20poverty,%20Frances%20Stew art.ppt