Journal de l'économie mondiale

The Rising Flow of FDI in Ethiopia: A Critical Perspective on the Textile and Apparel Industry

Abstract

Gifawosen Markos

This article analyses the increasing flow of Foreign Direct Investment in the Textile and Apparel sector in Ethiopia arguing that it has been mainly motivated by the promise of profit to accumulate wealth at an unprecedented scale. The main findings of the article reveal that Ethiopia provides cheap labor with the lowest pay in the world, easy access to land, and privileged access to high-income markets around the globe. Besides, the labor policy regime, cheap electricity-power supply, and tax-related benefits sum up the supplementary policy milieu for capital accumulation in the Ethiopian textile and apparel sector.