The general idea that a New International Division of Labor is forming with the global economy

This is a paper that I turned in for my Human Geography class. Hope it can be of help.

The economic changes are interconnected by the global awareness that China has more of a population and can charge lower prices for the same type of work. They have the communication, technology available for them to speed up and connect to the world. By being interconnected and interdependent to the global clothing market they can control the market place. They have the resources to underpriced and move merchandise. China is promptly free trade with all open markets. By globalization, this is giving them more room to spread out, not only to the United States, but to other countries in need as well. China’s organizational system of government and politics aid to utilizing their resources that is available to them.

With the global industrial shift happening in the world, many of the jobs are being lost in search of the cheapest location to manufacture and assemble as many as components as possible. The new international division of labor is an outcome of globalization.  This is supported, but not confined everywhere. Companies will hire the cheapest labor cost, and intensive parts for manufacturing. These manufacturing companies in China take advantage by their communication technology and transportation in the global market. If developing countries can do as many parts as possible to produce, assemble, package and ship, then it has a better chance of them staying in business and surviving the global market; especially with China as the paper states.

If a person were to give their view point from the developmentalist point of view, they would say that it is their own fault for not having unions to help from preventing shut downs of the plants and benefits for their works. El Salvador may have helped their country in the past from a level of poverty by using factories after war, but did not contend to upgrade technology, therefore remained in a level of poverty, because there are many different levels of poverty.  The people there have a lower educational level and therefore, never desire or show willingness to increase education and improve their situation. It is if they want time to stand still and nothing to change. If they would assist themselves with their technologies, transportations and communications systems they may be better off.

The world system theory point of view is that they (Central America) are a peripheral region and that this country will always be at the bottom of the totem pole as the economic hierarchy goes. They are connected as a means when they are needed they can be used. An uneven economic country has weak political competition. They have no resources to battle against.

The information used in this article used to justifying the global shift to China from Central America is in the dollar. As with all things in economics, money is the answer. El Salvador takes on the dollar currency trying to move up from being a peripheral region to hopefully a semiperipheral region, but does not realize the increase in labor costs and transportation. While China on the other hand is from a region that can mass produce and move resources globally.


Lorraine H. Emory, RN