The free-market city: Latin American urbanization in the years of the neoliberal experiment

We examine the evolution of Latin American cities in the last two decades of the twentieth century and in the first years of the twenty-first on the basis of comparable data from six countries comprising over 80 percent of the region’s population. These years correspond to the shift in hegemonic models of development in the region, from import-substitution industrialization to neoliberal “open markets” adjustment. We examine how the application of the new policies correlates with change patterns in four areas: urban systems and urban primacy; urban unemployment and informal employment; poverty and inequality; and crime, victimization, and urban insecurity. We present detailed analyses of each of these topics based on the latest available data for the six countries. We conclude that significant changes in patterns of urbanization have taken place in the region, reflecting, in part, the expected and unexpected consequences of the application of the new model of development. Implications of our findings for each of the four areas examined and for the future of the region are discussed

The effects of the 2007 global economic crisis on firm relocation factors: SME movements from Greece to Bulgaria

This chapter examines the ways in which the 2007 global economic crisis has influenced firm relocation factors. Firm mobility constitutes a dynamic process, with its aspects changing in response to significant broader processes, such as globalisation. Specifically, the recent crisis has modified the socio-economic conditions under which firms operate. In order to examine the crisis-driven changes in firm mobility, this chapter employs a comparative analysis of the pre- and post-crisis relocation of Greek small and medium-sized companies to Bulgaria, which has recently increased. Greece is at the epicentre of academic and political debate in Europe, being the European Union member state mostly affected by the crisis. In the context of the changing economic and institutional conditions, it is demonstrated that the significance of the firm relocation factors, such as labour cost and level of demand, records considerable differences between the pre- and the post-crisis period

Beyond the Fordist/Post-Fordist Dichotomy: Working Through The Second Industrial Divide

The publication of The Second Industrial Dividehelped to initiate a sustained inquiry into the transformation of work under industrial capitalism in the late twentieth century. The argument that the breakdown of Fordist mass production ushered in a new production paradigm in the shape of flexible systems of work organization is reexamined. The dominant role of high-volume mass production and its craft-based counterpart can continue to coexist well into the future. Nevertheless, current income and employment trends appear to disadvantage the traditional blue-collar Fordist worker and industrial unions. The cause of these trends may not, however, be directly linked to skills associated with computer technology. Finally, the type of flexibility most closely associated with the work of Piore and Sabel—flexible specialization—is discussed. It is argued that flexible specialization within industrial districts that (a) foster the development of socially informed economic action and (b) constrain competitive behavior may form the basis for the creation of different employment opportunities that challenge the dominant logic of capitalist development through which flexible employment strategies are used in tandem with corporate downsizing and increased managerial control.Fordism, flexible specialization, industrial district, work organization, employment, skill,