INDUSTRIALIZATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT WORLD : PROCESS CYCLES AND THE NEW GLOBAL DIVISION Of LABOUR

The rapid diffusion of technology and manufacturing processes to less developed nations has been one of the most significant devel­ opments in the interaction between advanced and less developed countries in recent years. Industries that were almost exclusively concentrated in the most advanced nations less than three decades ago are now commonplace in many developing countries. Thus, while technology transfer has been limited in many cases, and research and development activities have been mostly nonexist ­ en t, the internationalization of manufacturing has nevertheless been significant for an increasing number of less developed na­ tions. This has been most obvious in the volume of exports pro­ duced by these nations, the domestic substitution of imports, and the generation of employment and skills for their labour force. The increasing internationalization of manufacturing activities has also had a significant impact in certain manufacturing indus­ tries in the most advanced nations. Plant closings, industry flight, and high unemployment have become a major concern of our time in such industries as electronics, textiles, apparel, and others involving many assembly-type operations. The significance of these changes for the advanced nations has been brought to our attention by Frobel et al. [16] and Grunwald and Flamm [20] on West German and U.S. manufacturing industries and their diffu­ sion to less developed nations.