Rocco Macchiavello
Dr Rocco Macchiavello holds a PhD in Economics from LSE, where he is currently an Associate Professor in Management.
Dr. Macchiavello’s research interests lie at the intersection of development, organisational and industrial economics. His research covers several topics (relational contracts, vertical integration, supply chain, lending models, risk management, management and productivity), countries (Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan and Rwanda), and sectors (coffee, flowers, dairy and garments).
For his research, he has collaborated with numerous government agencies, international organizations, social enterprises and large companies.
His current research studies industrial zones and policy in emerging markets, sustainable sourcing and supply chains, markets and firms in weakly institutionalised environments.
Content by Rocco Macchiavello
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Project
Quality upgrading in Myanmar's rice sector
Linking developing countries’ agricultural producers to foreign markets often requires upgrading product quality (Gereffi (1999), Verhoogen (2008), Atkin et al. (2017)). Typical interventions seek to target a single point along the chain, such as improving fertiliser access to farmers or providing processors credit to upgrade technology. For agricultural goods, achieving...
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Project
Trade research and capacity building
Myanmar is strategically located between India and China, two of the largest economies in the world. To take advantage of this position, the Government of Myanmar needs to implement trade policies and guidelines that are evidence driven, as well as maximises the national employment, domestic products and productivity. The constraints for the Ministry of Commerce to fully...
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Project
Reducing language frictions in Myanmar
Language barriers hinder operational efficiency, for instance, meetings take longer to complete, there are frequent misunderstandings between foreign and domestic managers and communications are poor. The IGC project 'Spillovers from Special Economic Zones: Micro-evidence from the Myanmar' revealed that, on average, Myanmar managers spend 34% of conversation time on...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Improving coffee farmer welfare with innovative credit solutions in developing countries
Most poor people in developing countries work in agriculture. Many sell to cooperatives and agro-processing enterprises. Improving these firms’ access to credit has the potential to unlock demand and raise farmers’ incomes. Providing sustainable access to working capital loans in agricultural chains has proven difficult due to poor contract enforcement,...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Myanmar’s emerging coffee sector: Opportunities and constraints
Myanmar is home to ideal conditions for coffee cultivation, but the sector is still in its infancy. Growing demand in the region and increasing interest in high-quality coffee in developed markets presents a significant opportunity for expanding cultivation. Exports of coffee from Myanmar have increased in recent years. However, much of what is exported is sold to...
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Publication - Working Paper
Industrial relations and workplace communication in Myanmar garment sector
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Data Item
Data: Training productivity, and upgrading: Pilot of evaluation of female and supervisor training programs in the Bangladesh apparel sector
We marketed a training program for lower level managers (line supervisors) to large factories in the Bangladeshi ready-made garment industry. Take-up of the program (even for a free slot) was low, due to intense production pressures, fire-fighting and concerns over retention of trained workers. Take-up is quite insensitive to pricing. There was higher interest and demand in...
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Publication - Working Paper
International buyers’ sourcing and suppliers’ markups in Bangladeshi garments
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Publication - Policy Brief
Learning from Thilawa Special Economic Zone (Burmese version)
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Publication - Policy Brief
Learning from Thilawa Special Economic Zone
Firms in Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) have created around 5,000 jobs inside the zone as of 1 February 2018. Analysis suggests that the most important benefit for workers in the zone is the knowledge and skills they acquire on the job. This benefit is even more important among managers, suggesting that knowledge transfers from workers transitioning to companies...
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Multimedia Item - Video
Rocco Macchiavello: The coffee chain - Linking farmers to the global market
How can smallholder farmers in Africa overcome barriers and export their produce to valuable Western markets? Rocco Macchiavello (LSE), Lead Academic for IGC Myanmar, discusses his research on coffee value chains.
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Publication - Working Paper
Strategic default in the international coffee market
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Project
Spillovers from Special Economic Zones: Micro evidence from Myanmar
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are becoming an increasingly popular policy tool to spur job creation and economic development in Myanmar. However, there is little knowledge on how to best leverage their unique advantages. This IGC project evaluated the performance of the only operational SEZ in Myanmar, the Thilawa SEZ. With the Thilawa SEZ management team, it also...
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Project
Organisational structure of trade unions in Myanmar
Healthy industrial relations, or peaceful negotiations between workers and employers based on mutual benefits, is a key factor for sustained productivity growth. In developing countries, industrial relations are relatively immature, and issues of industrial disputes and strikes are becoming huge political concerns. However, little is known about industrial relations and...
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Publication - Working Paper
Understanding productivity in the Pakistani garment sector
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Publication - Working Paper
The effect of political and labour unrest on productivity: Evidence from Bangladeshi garments
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Project
Assessment of the Myanmar garment sector
Improving trade performance and international competitiveness requires both ease of doing business, with regulation a key factor, and also information for governments and firms to make strategic policy decisions. In this project, researchers digitised the import licensing system for garment factories in Myanmar. This new system was rolled out to 350 factories...
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Publication - Project Memo
Gender empowerment and productivity in the garment sector (Project Memo)
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Publication - Project Memo
Fully washed coffee exports in Rwanda: Market structure and policy implications (Project Memo)
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Project
A comparative analysis of the coffee value chain
The vast majority of the world’s poor are employed in agriculture (see, e.g., World Bank (2008)). Promoting exports of agricultural products and linking farmers to global markets, therefore, has the potential to reduce poverty. At the same time, it is argued by many that market imperfections along agricultural value chains and unfair conditions in global market prevent...
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Multimedia Item - Audio
Africa Growth Forum 2015: Rocco Macchiavello
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Project
Gender empowerment and productivity in the garment sector
Within Bangladesh’s garment sector, women make up 80% of workers but less than 10% of managers. Researchers piloted a study that provided training to employees and evaluated their rates of promotion and performance as managers. They found female trainees are as or more effective managers than the male trainees, but promotion rates for the female trainees...
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Publication - Project Memo
Coffee Washing Stations in Rwanda (Project Memo)
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Project
Fully washed coffee exports in Rwanda: Market structure and policy implications
By doubling the proportion of coffee exported as fully washed, Rwanda could increase coffee exports by 10-20% The study surveyed farmers and washing station owners, to understand constraints to the washed coffee sector The researchers suggested a system of value chain financing to relieve finance constraints The paper informed the revision of the...
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Publication - Working Paper
Development Blossoming: Industrial Policy and Flower Exports in Ethiopia (Working Paper)
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Project
Measuring productivity in multi-product firms
New IGC study will collect data on productivity in ready-made garment factories across the world Information will be compared against international standards to accurately compare factories in ten countries (including five IGC partner countries) Will be the most comprehensive data ever collected Sustained increases in income are not possible without...
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Project
Understanding productivity in the Pakistani garment sector: Comparisons with Bangladesh
Textiles account for over half of Pakistan’s exports, with knitted and sewn products more than half of the textile exports. Data from the Ministry of Commerce indicate that exports of RMG and knitwear products increased by 12% and 6%, respectively, between FY 2012 and FY 2013. Pakistan faces an opportunity in these sectors as increasing wage rates in China lead buyers...
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Project
Managing Shocks: Worker’s Well-being and Firm Productivity in the Bangladeshi Garment Sector
We examine the interaction between worker well being and productivity in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh. A central characteristic of manufacturing in low-income countries is the need to adjust to continued and varied shocks. These shocks cause output to fall behind the production plan, leading to pressure to increase output and stress in factories. Individual...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Development Blossoming: Industrial Policy and Flower Exports in Ethiopia (Policy Brief)
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Project
Value Chain Upgrading, Management and Productivity: Evidence from Bangladesh Woven and Knitwear Sectors
In recent years the Bangladesh knitwear sector has witnessed extremely rapid growth. The volume of exports, however, is currently very concentrated in a handful of products and destination markets. Given Bangladesh’s increasing export experience and increases in wages in the sector in China (the world’s largest garment exporter) there is an opportunity for the sector to...
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Project
Development Blossoming: Industrial Policy and the Evolution of the Kenyan and Ethiopian Floriculture Export
The non-traditional agricultural exports (NTAE) sector offers African countries an opportunity to diversify export earnings away from the traditional agriculture exports (TAE) sector, further stimulating job creation for the low educated and asset-poor in rural areas, especially women. It is generally accepted that the private sector should take a lead in developing the...