Open AccessDigitalization and change in the global division of labor
Author(s) -
Martin Krzywdzinski
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista brasileira de economia social e do trabalho
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2674-9564
DOI - 10.20396/rbest.v3i00.15864
Subject(s) - division of labour , scope (computer science) , german , production (economics) , automation , technological change , work (physics) , business , wage , industrial organization , labour economics , economics , economic geography , economic system , market economy , engineering , computer science , geography , macroeconomics , mechanical engineering , archaeology , programming language
The contribution discusses the impact of digitalization approaches in industrial companies and their implications for the global division of labour and work. It proceeds by investigating the scope and character of automation and its impact on the relationship between production locations in high and low wage countries. Contrary to expectations frequently voiced in public discourse the author does not identify a major push in automation in manufacturing industries (that would make a reshoring of production viable), because digitalization strategies rather concern new paths of flexibilization than automation. The effects on the geographies of production of technological change, however, result in new strategies of specialization and modifications of industrial governance, namely a refined division of labour between innovation-intensive production sites and their counterparts in the periphery.
(The contribution is submitted in German language)