Handbook of the International Political Economy of Production

The Handbook of the International Political Economy of Production offers a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of the changing world of global production. The book explores the topic in a range of directions, including the human material 'used' in production across the globe and alternatives proposed from different quarters. Chapters cover the geography of why and where jobs are moving in both manufacturing and services. The doubling of the world's available labour supply after the opening up of the planned economies in Europe and Asia has sharply tilted the balance of power towards giant corporations. Labour and the politics of work is analysed in a number of key countries. Possible signs of a recovery of organized labour's negotiating power on this vastly expanded playing field are discussed in separate chapters, and a complete overview is provided of labour research networks currently active. This important volume addresses topics relating to the human and natural basis on which production rests, from the consequences of the exploitation of the body and mind to sex work, biotechnology, and the prospects for ecological re-balancing. Written by a team of authors from fourteen different countries and comprising some of the biggest names in contemporary social science as well as topical specialists, this Handbook will prove a critical resource to political economists at all levels, trade unionists and NGO activists in the labour and human rights sphere, politicians and journalists.