International Employment Competition
In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 492, S. 109-123
ISSN: 0002-7162
As countries assume more & more the character of regions within one integrated world economy, the conditions & the level of employment in the individual nation-state become increasingly dependent on the country's competitiveness. The wealth of nations becomes a matter of securing for the country -- & the population that is confined to the national territory -- a favorable position in a worldwide spatial hierarchy of market chances. The industrialization of formerly backward, labor-abundant regions in the South threatens to displace high-wage Northern labor. This threat can perhaps be kept in check for the time being through an increasing destandardization of industrial production, which, in turn, gives rise to increasing intra-North competition. In this context, which in itself means more displacement & less job security, national employment goals are largely sacrificed to the priority goal of international competitiveness. National employment becomes the hostage of the country's success in the struggle for high-technology market shares. HA