Summary lecture 4, Global Political Economy

Division of labour: the roles individuals occupy and the tasks in which they specialize in the production of goods and services. Dimensions: rural/urban, race/ethnicity, gender (the social norms about the roles and most appropriate form of employment based on gender.

Countries specialize in the production of particular goods and services for export, those are typically based on geography.

Features of division of labourà transnational production, splitting up the production in different countries, jobs and tasks are not confined to particular statesà activities are now in very different types of states for example.

Liberal perspective: the greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour and the greater part of the skill, dexterity and judgement with which is anywhere directed or applied, seem to have been the effects of division of labour. Division labour is a natural process. Increase efficiency and productivity through dexterity and speed, not switching tasks (time-saving), simplification of tasksà tools and machinery can be applied (innovation).

Smith: division of labour has 3 sources:

1. People’s natural proclivity to want new products which they cannot produce themselves, so they to truck, barter and exchange
2. People’s self-interest in furthering their own position
3. Differences in skills, education and upbringing

The more advances the society, the greater the division of labour. Government should enlarge the size of markets (will lead to more and better types of products and services. The benefit of division of labour will trickle down the poorest and what is needed for progress is free markets, trade and opening up to economies (underpinning neoliberal ideas)
 

Critiques of the liberal view:

1. Dependency theory (Marxism): division of labour is not natural: the importance of power relations (poor countries stuck in a role of suppliers of raw materials; rich countries producing manufactured and high-tech goods and services). Division of labour was not an agreement between equal parties (transatlantic triangular trade). Poor countries powerless to change the global division of labour and are victims of imperialist expansion.
2. Economic nationalist: states must shape the division of labour to ensure that the state maintains control of strategic economic sectors.
3. Feminist: gendered division of labour is not natural, but is caused by patriarchy and unequal distribution of power between man and woman à woman typically concentrated in poorly paid, unpaid or insecure forms of work and that is neither natural or the outcome of negotiation.

Major developments/key issues:
 

1. Changes in the production process: the industrial revolution, new forms of production and labour organization. Modern factory management techniques. Taylorism= scientific management (managers closely supervise and control workers results, workers executors of simplified tasks. Fordism: assembly line, paid workers more than competitors, allowed mass consumption) combined mass production with mass consumption. Role of organized labour in negotiating wage increases, state for providing welfare, healthcare, education and old-age pension. By the 1980s Fordism challenges by flexible specialization (Toyotism, just in time inventory systems and teams should learn a variety of skills.
2. Automation: workers performing routine tasks are most at risk, however these are concentrated among individuals with low levels of education and skills, who belong to the most disadvantaged segments of society. Countries with higher risk experienced higher employment growth, therefore automation contributes to labour productivity, lower consumer pricesà more demand à higher employment. But occupations at high risk of automation experienced lower or declining employment. Automation had worsened the outcomes of some workers (implies for inequality), low educated worker have not bee disproportionately affected, but they are more likely to work in high-risk occupation.
3. Gig work: short term work done by freelancers who are paid for one-off jobs. Two explanations:

• Business require flexible and agile models, increase in demand for freelancers
• Workers demand more freedom, independence and not bureaucracy/ hierarchy.

Two views:

• Eploitation: Mmarx): precariously employed gig workers who have bad working conditions, no benefits and lower wages than salaried workers
• Freedom: (liberals) highly-educated freelancers who earn more and enjoy more freedom than salaried workers

4. Internationalà global division of labour. Up until the 1970s, developing countries supplied raw materials while developed countries specialized in manufacturing. But since the 1970s, rise of the newly industrialized countries (Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea). Technological change+ improved transport made it possible to split up the manufacturing process and locate different operation in different countries. Labour migration (benefits costs to sending and receiving countries. Migration labour addresses skills shortages in developed countries. Migrants send back remittances, which have high development implications in poor countries. But immigrant workers may face poor working condition in the host countries. Growing cost of production in developed states and low costs of production in developing states, but this created incentives to keep wages in developing countries low. Lowered workers bargaining power in developed countries, plants either closed or workers were forces to accept low wages.
5. Rise of China and India: china is the world’s assembly plant. Chinese labour in competition with blue-collar employment in Western states. Special economic zonesà Aa source of growth, largest rural-urban migration in human history. But also exploitation of worker and miserable working conditions for Chinese workers in the cities. Rising economic power, leverage to negotiate with transnational corporation such as google. India has international business services, but also high skilled It services. Indian labour in direct competition with white and pink collar employment in Western states
6. Globalization and workers rights and well­-being. Globalization and transnational production coincide with low labour standers, poor working conditions and child labour, often in developing countries. Opposition to develop and enforce international labour rights from liberals, leaders in developing countries and businesses. International efforts to implement labour standers through the WTO have largely failed. Some limited success through the ILO, bounded all states to respect core labour standers, but lacked enforcement power. Consumer demand for products free of child/sweatshop/forced labourà Companies and CSR policies. But why care about workers rights? Labour unrest and global order, if workers feel that they are excluded from national politics, they will look internationally for assistance or vote for populists. Marxism: international workers revolution are inevitable because of the flaws of capitalism. Liberalism: organized labour can make international cooperation difficult.
7. Corona virus caused:

• Massive job losses worldwide
• Some experts have predicted re-shoring of jobs and the beginning of the end of global value chains and the global division of labour
• Reliance on robots/automation to mitigate impact of workers who may get sick in developed countries
• Unprecedented social protection in developing countries (informal workers are not covered and are suffering)

Gender:

• Reveals hidden conceptual nuances about the role of power, inequality/inequity, the origins of poverty etc.
• Gender role shape production, distribution and consumption within and across countries
• Gender inequality is correlates with lower economic growth.
• Closing labouR gap, could increase the GDP

Gender and IPE theories:

Historically all three perspectives have ignored gender dimensions because:

1. Nationalism: concerned with nationstates and not individuals groups or social relations of power
2. Liberalism, concerned with the interactions between state and markets and not with gender issues
3. Marxism: focus on class conflict but not necessarily female vs male workers

For gap between female and man income, work share etc. see graphics on the slides

The quantity of jobs and womens participation in the labour force are not the only thing that matters. Equal access to education for girls is a problem in many countries. Also job quality beyond wages is often worse for women when it comes to autonomy, permanent/temporary contracts, job security, supervising other, career advancement and prospects. Examples: trade liberalization, impact of neoliberal economic policies

The corona crisis and gender:

1. More job losses and increased care burdens for woman
2. Increases in domestic violence
3. More unemployment for woman
4. For girls for example: child labour, early pregnancies