Local outcomes of the changing international division of labour: the emergence of the offshore service sector in Baguio City, the Philippines
Brown bag lecture by Mitch Hendriks
Speaker: Mitch Hendriks
Work-in-progress
Since the early 1990s, the ‘tradability revolution’ in services has added new dimensions to the world economy. Driven by the logics of capitalism and rapid advancements in telecommunication technologies, a myriad of service sector jobs (call centre work, transcription, software development, architectural design etc.) have been offshored to the Global South. This so-called ‘second wave of globalisation’ encompasses a reorganisation and deepening of the international division of labour, as global ‘production’ networks of services emerge and increase the interdependence between developed and developing economies. For developing countries, acting as nodes in internationally operating value chains offers new opportunities for (economic) development. The Philippines is one of the main beneficiaries of service offshoring. Within the country, the sector is already starting to move from Metro Manila to lower-tier cities. Building on empirical evidence collected in the offshore service sector of Baguio City, this seminar seeks to contribute to an improved understanding of the local outcomes of this global economic shift. It is argued that Baguio’s offshore service sector shows early indications of being caught up in a low-road development trajectory, while simultaneously reshaping local labour market structures with a strong degree of labour market segmentation ingrained within this process.
About the Brown Bag Lecture Series
IIAS is pleased to introduce the 2011 Brown Bag Lecture Series. Every second Tuesday of the month one of the IIAS researchers will present his/her work-in-progress in an informal setting to their colleagues and other interested attendees. The brown bag lectures are organized to give the research community the opportunity to freely discuss ongoing research and to exchange thoughts.
Please bring your own lunch. IIAS will provide coffee, tea, cold drinks, and possibly a snack. Reservation is not required, but space is limited.