ABSTRACT
The world is more globally integrated than it was in the middle of the twentieth century but it is still far from fully globalized. Globalization processes ‘involve not merely the geographical extension of economic activity across national boundaries but also – and more importantly – the functional integration of such internationally dispersed activities’ (Dicken 1998: 5). These processes are unevenly distributed, complex and volatile. Technological changes in the production process have allowed it to be fragmented into separate parts, which do not have to be done in the same location. Standardization and increased automation of production have led to a deskilling of work in manufacturing, opening up jobs for less skilled workers. Changes in transportation and communications technologies have enabled a new flexibility in the geographical location of the production. Much manufacturing has
become ‘footloose’, moving from country to country in search of the cheapest labour.
