Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Secondly, the reality of the contemporary global economy is that the
majority of its workforce is employed in casual, contractual and unreg-
ulated work in all spaces of the economy, escaping government regula-
tions and social legislation. As a consequence of neoliberal strategies
that undermine workers' rights, commentators have argued that much
employment in the so-called formal global economy has become 'infor-
malized' with insecure work becoming the norm in both the global
North and South, a situation that weaves common bonds of vulnerabil-
ity and deregulation between many workers in the present decade.
Central to these debates is a growing body of research that examines
the relationship between sustainable development, livelihoods, labour
standards and social justice.
Thirdly, contemporary debates over the negative effects of globali-
zation have also drawn attention to increasing proportions of female
workers who are trapped in part-time, insecure, contractual or
home-based work linked to global supply chains. An emerging
body of work on the exploitative articulation of labour in the global
South highlights structural gender discrimination in many spaces of
the economy. Persistent gender inequality and discrimination are
still major obstacles to livelihood security throughout the global
South, and gender equity is a theme that runs throughout the
discussions.
In order to address the diversity of concepts and approaches that
have framed key debates on work and development in an era of globali-
zation, this section is divided into five interrelated chapters. Chapter 3.1
on rural livelihoods and sustainable communities provides an introduc-
tion to past and present approaches to understanding rural develop-
ment, agricultural change and sustainable livelihoods. This is followed
in Chapter 3.2 by a detailed critique of the impact of industrialization
and the New International Division of Labour on countries of the global
South, with a particular focus on the growth of export-oriented manu-
facturing, the cheap labour economy and Multinational Corporations
(MNCs). Chapter 3.3 then discusses the unprecedented growth of the
informal sector in the global South as labour force growth outpaces
employment opportunities, a trend that is predicted to continue over
the next twenty-five years. In light of recent debates over decent work
and risk, the chapter explores the ways in which new gendered
perspec-
tives have informed policy and practice in the contemporary informal
sector. The impact of the ITC and digital revolution on shaping livelihood
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