Industrial restructuring and labour-market adjustment under positive noninterventionism: the case of Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to probe the interactions of economic restructuring and labour-market development in the process of industrial development in contemporary Hong Kong. The discussion is divided into two parts. First is an examination of the development of the Hong Kong economy in the context of the changing world economy and the effects of the structuring of the global division of labour on changes in the economic structure of Hong Kong in the 1980s. Second the kinds of labour-market strategy developed in response to changes in the economic structure are examined. It is contended that in order to grasp the dynamics of the structuring of labour-market strategies, the interactions among the international economic environment, state policy, the formation of industrial capital, and the bargaining power of labour must be probed. The case of Hong Kong is one characterised by the dominance of small local manufacturing establishments, a noninterventionist state, underdeveloped shop-floor or labour organisations, and an industrial economy heavily dependent on exports. -from Authors