Recent events in Bangladesh have brought moral questions surrounding sweatshops into the spotlight again. And many consumers are wondering whether they might be doing something wrong by purchasing goods that are made in Bangladeshi textile firms. Some are calling for a boycott of clothing companies like Joe Fresh that outsource production there.

In response, people like Matt Yglesias and Richard Epstein have argued that a boycott is exactly the wrong idea, and have defended the lower labor standards employed by Bangladeshi firms. Others are not convinced.

Given the high heat and low light these debates often generate, this NPR Planet Money podcast is a nicely balanced look at the issue. It discusses the opportunities sweatshop jobs provide to Bangladeshi women, the reasons why Bangladesh seems to be stuck in the “t-shirt phase” of development, and how it might get itself out. And there’s more to come. Thanks to Jonathan Anomaly for the pointer.

More BHL on sweatshops:

• A summary of work on my sweatshops here.
• Roderick Long’s left-libertarian critique here.
• My critique of the left-libertarian postion here and here.