Publisher's Synopsis
The development of industrialization and its effect on the international division of labour is here considered first in terms of economic theory and then by means of a case-study of Finland, representing a semi-peripheral economy in the global economic system. The first main section sets out those parts of existing economic theory which seem to be most useful in explaining structural changes in the international division of labour; the second section investigates the growth of Finnish industrialization and its specific pattern of international specialization. Because the overall structural characteristics of Finnish industrialization process and foreign trade still have some similarities to those of less developed countries (LDC'S), Third World industrialization is potentially competitive; the paper concludes that in semi-peripheral economies there is a need for a far-reaching restructuring policy to preserve overall industrial competitiveness in relation to trade-related competitive shifts in the world economy.
