Globalization, industrialization and labour markets

While mainstream accounts of globalization are telling us that liberalization is essential for engendering the conditions of prosperity across the world, we argue that selective interventions are necessary to ensure that these processes open the path to the high road to industrialization. While recognizing the importance of relative surplus appropriation through technological deepening as the engine of capitalist accumulation, the extant evidence suggests that a proactive state focusing on enhancing labour is pertinent to ensure sustainable long-term industrialization and structural change so that the material conditions of workers improve over time. Hence, this article provides the introduction to globalization, industrialization and labour market experiences in selected East and South Asian economies.