ABSTRACT
Proponents of sweatshop jobs draw on economic arguments about labor costs, business arguments about comparative advantage, and moral arguments about workers' choices and employers' discretion. Sweatshop labor, they say, is a way out of poverty and a step toward cultural advance. It respects the workers as individuals who can choose how to improve their lives. This chapter addresses the background of low-wage labour in the developing world. It considers current policies and practices regarding working conditions and surveys some leading candidates for additional measures. Public policy may yet increase opportunities for minimally acceptable working conditions. The chapter discusses some ethical stakes framing the controversy and indicates how the economics of some proposed policy reforms matter. It also considers policy options and challenges. The chapter highlights the potential pitfalls in making moral progress without harming those one most wishes to help.
