Labor market segmentation

Abstract

Labor market segmentation theories arose as an alternative to neoclassical notions of labor and labor markets in the 1970s. After briefly revisiting the strengths and the weaknesses of this approach, the article discusses more recent developments around the question of difference and diversity in labor markets, directing attention to three key developments associated with the rise of neoliberal capitalism: (i) the formation of entrepreneurial subjectivities and the treatment of labor as a diverse human resource; (ii) the blurring of the boundaries of the business firm and the implications for labor; and (iii) offshoring and “governance at a distance.