Abstract
The global integration of economies under neoliberal policy regimes has had a fundamental impact on employment worldwide. High-income, industrialized countries have experienced growth in non-regular forms of employment and a rollback of social protections which, in the past, were associated with having a relatively permanent, full-time job. The same pressures have entrenched informal employment arrangements in developing countries, many of which have also seen a rise of other precarious forms of employment. This paper explores the intersections between the current trajectory of globalization, changes to the structure of employment, and the relationship to policies aimed at protecting decent work opportunities. In so doing, it examines global factors that affect labor demand and labor supply. Specifically, the paper argues that recent trends in the global economy have limited labor demand relative to labor supply, creating pressures that have produced structural changes in employment that compromise the welfare of working people and affects the future trajectory of economic development. A central thesis of the paper is that common factors emerging from the neoliberal era of globalization has affected employment in a range of countries, but specific labor market outcomes are dependent on local institutional and structural realities. The paper examines changing patterns of employment in Japan and the U. S. in recent years. One feature of the recent period of globalization is the pronounced 'financialization' of national economies and the periodic occurrence of devastating economic crises. We gain valuable insights on how these dynamics have played themselves out in high-income economies by using Japan and the U. S. as examples. The paper, firstly, introduces the concept of the structure of employment, which will be used as an organizing framework throughout the paper. Then the paper examines broad trends affecting labor demand and labor supply in the period of neoliberal globalization, and shows how a shifting balance between labor demand and supply can transform the structure of employment. After having established this analytical foundation, the process of financialization, the formation of asset price bubbles, and the subsequent crises in Japan and the U. S. are discussed. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications to improve decent work opportunities globally.
