International Employment Competition

Abstract

As countries assume more and more the character of regions within one integrated world economy, the conditions and 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—and the population that is confined to the national territory—a favorable position in a worldwide spatial hierarchy of market chances. Therefore the industrialized countries today face a double challenge. 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 and 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.