Soc 222 5

SOC 222Globalizing Developments

PhD Fatma Altınbaş Sarıgül

The Development Project Reconstructs a World Market

□Cold War Rise of U.S.-centered world economy □Military and economic largesse secured informal

empire□Freedom of enterprise□U.S. Dollar as international currency

□U.S. Federal Reserve System led central banks in regulating international monetary system

□Military and financial aid assisted Third World national development targets

©SAGE Publications, 2011.

Shift from Development to Globalization Project

□“Economic nationalism” an ideal, not a guarantee□Some domestic production converted to

exports

□Deepening integration of production relations across (not within) nation states:□Growing gap between First and Third World

living standards□Differentiation among states within the Third

World (i.e.: NICs)©SAGE Publications, 2011.

Export-oriented Industrialization (EOI) and

NICs□ EOI relocated manufacturing of consumer goods,

machinery, and computers to the Third World

□ 1960-1979: Third World manufacturing exports increased in share of world trade from 6 to 10%

□ Widespread EOI signaled a significant change in strategies of industrialization, organized by transnational corporation investments.

□ For First World firms, EOI became a means of relocating the manufacturing of consumer goods, and then machinery and computers.


The World Factory□NICs’ strategy of EOI sparked “World Factory”

phenomenon□Spread of manufacturing export platforms

□Definition: “World” products produced in steps distributed among geographically dispersed sites like an assembly line at single/multiple sites□Aided by the technologies of the “information age”

□Transnational Corporations (TNCs) try to reduce production costs to be more globally competitive


The Global Production System

□ Japanese relocated production in East Asia□ Mexican Border Industrialization Program (BIP)

□Implemented by Mexican government in 1965 □Foreign-owned labor-intensive assembly plants

(maquiladoras) produce garments, electronics, toys□Government grants concessions to firms

□Wages at fraction of U.S. rates□Minimal taxes and import duties□Avoid strict environmental laws

□Severe environmental contamination and health hazards/chronic illnesses


Strategic Role of Information Technologies

□Semiconductors: the integrated computer chip - Key to new information technologies (IT)

□Accelerates globalization of economic relations and proliferation of export-processing zones (EPZs)□Electronic production dispersed to global export

platforms□Electronic products enable global dispersion and

coordination of production/circulation in other industries


Export Processing Zones□ Specialized manufacturing export areas

□ Minimal customs controls□ Usually exempt from labor laws and domestic taxes□ By 2006: 3,500 EPZs in 130 countries employed 66 million

workers (40 million in China)□ Favor export markets over domestic market

development□ Global corporations profit from lower wages□ Third World governments gain investment and foreign

currency□ Serve as enclaves

□ Physically separate □ Receive imported materials and components□ Deny workers civil rights and working conditions


Women in EPZs□Women regarded as best suited for “natural

patience,” “manual dexterity,” “small hands”□1980s: 80-90% of workers were women, ages 16-25 □EPZs “defeminize” if they upgrade beyond simple

assembly□Super-exploitation, forced overtime□Frequent turnover and retirement from failing

eyesight□EPZs contribute little to host economies

□Dead-end jobs; foreign currency via export taxes


New International Division of Labor (NIDL)

□ Relocation of deskilled tasks to low-wage regions□ Creation of global labor force caused by

□Depeasantization □(But depeasantization doesn’t create global labor force

alone)□1950-1997: World’s rural population decreased by 25%,

creating “planet of slums” in cities□Simplification and de-skilling of 1st World manufacturing

work□Relocation of routine tasks as low-cost jobs

□ NIDL results in bifurcation of global labor force□Skilled labor in First World, unskilled labor in Third


New International Division of Labor (NIDL)

□ Decentralization of industrial production from the First World to the Third World.

□ The conditions for this movement were defined as endless supplies of cheap Third World labor, the

new technical possibility of separating and relocating deskilled manufacturing tasks offshore,

and the rise of transport and informational technologies to allow coordination of global

production systems.


From NIDL to Global Labor Force□Rise of global subcontracting transformed tidy

NIDL bifurcation into “bifurcation everywhere”□East Asian NICs “upgraded” to specialize in more

skilled, more male labor (e.g., semiconductors)□Spread of global and regional sourcing□Global subcontracting threatens organized labor in

Global North □New bifurcation: separation between stable,

well-paid work and casual, low-cost labor□No specific geography


Unprotected Labor

□Global subcontracting system eliminates and/or weakens regulation of work conditions□20 million bonded laborers worldwide□80 million children under 14 working in

hazardous conditions□Often 14-hour days


Rise in Post-Industrial Work□1970-1994: Manufacturing jobs fell in U.S,

Britain, France, Germany (many “low-tech”)□50% of clothing market in U.S. is cheap imports

from Asia and Latin America□In 1990’s, footwear worker in Indonesia earned

$1.03 per day vs. $6.95 per hour in U.S.□Post-industrial work partially fills the gap

□Example: retail, health care, security, finance, restaurants

□Migrant labor, temporary, part-time employment, and multiple jobs are common

□Manufacturing labor lost organizational and numerical power


Global Sourcing□Strategy used by TNCs and host

governments to improve market position and secure predictable supplies of inputs□Substitute flexible for standardized mass

production□Using smaller and less specialized labor

forces□Flexible production allows segmentation

of consumer markets, based on social class incomes


Agricultural Globalization: The World Farm

□Shift from agriculture as domestic industry to agriculture as world industry

□First green revolution: A public initiative geared to national markets

□Second green revolution: A private initiative geared to global markets□Specialized high-input agriculture for high-

value markets, food processing and agro-chemical firms


The Second Green Revolution□ Globalization of markets for high-value off-season fruits

and vegetables□ “Cool chains” keep products (fruits and vegetables)

chilled in transit□ Coordinate to get produce year-round from different climatic

zones□ Subcontract with smallholders for specialty crops and export-

processing□ An increasingly feminized industry

□ Women produce most food consumed worldwide□ Women’s lack of land rights and security erodes control of food

production□ Destabilizing small farming means they must work in

agribusiness and adds to their workdays©SAGE Publications, 2011.

New Agricultural Countries (NACs)

□Export agro-industrialization promoted by governments□Produce nontraditional exports: high-value foods

(animal protein products, fruits and vegetables) or low-value feed grains

□Thailand is a model NAC- Asia’s supermarket□Agro-industry grew as food processing firms

contracted rural smallholders□A base for regional and global export production

□NACs serve global rather than national markets


Summary□ A global production system has emerged□ Specialization in world economy is new criterion for development□ NICs and NACs increasingly serve as export platforms for TNCs

as “world factory” and “world farm” proliferate□ Formation of global labor force

□ Labor casualization□ Unravel social compact with First World labor □ Cycle Third World labor into sweatshops□ Women predominate in low-skill, low-pay jobs□ “Defeminization” as labor organizes, wages rise or upgrading takes

place□ Displaced ideal of national market replication for a global labor

hierarchy and regional divisions of labor□ Debt crisis laid the foundations for the globalization project


Soc 222 5

Education

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