ABSTRACT
This book is a detailed investigation into the causes of the deterioration in the relative economic fortunes of less-skilled workers across various countries, with a focus on the role of globalisation. Over the past thirty years, the decline in the wages and employment of less-skilled workers relative to skilled workers in Europe and North America has coincided with an acceleration in ‘globalisation’. As described by Greenaway and Nelson (2000), the rapid pace of globalisation is indicated by the strong growth in both world trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) which, in turn, have been stimulated by various factors such as: reductions in trade barriers; drastic declines in the costs of communication and transportation; and the internationalisation of production.
