What Jobs Do Workers Want? Worker Preferences in Global Value Chains

Abstract

ABSTRACT What do workers in global value chains (GVCs) consider a good job? Research on work in GVCs largely studies compliance with standards set from the top‐down rather than worker preferences. Understanding worker preferences is crucial because workers are the intended beneficiaries of governance institutions; policies better aligned to their preferences could enjoy greater legitimacy and effectiveness. To explore what GVC workers want, we embedded an experiment in an original survey of 2500 workers in 50 formal Moroccan apparel factories integrated into GVCs. These workers highly valued jobs with characteristics that reduced their exposure to physical risks and provided job stability. They also had strong preferences for jobs with supervisors that treated workers respectfully. By contrast, worker preferences for wage increases available in the Moroccan context were weak, especially when compared with non‐wage features. Our results suggests that when wages are compressed and extended working hours is the main way to increase earnings, preferences for non‐wage attributes may dominate. We also find more similarities than differences between men and women workers; although women place greater value on respectful supervision, safety and childcare benefits, their overall preferences closely track those of men. These findings provide novel evidence to inform efforts to improve jobs in GVCs.