Worlds of Work: Changing Landscapes of Production and the New Geographies of Opportunity

This paper provides a critical overview of major trends impacting labor standards in the global economy. On the production side, these include the increasing financialization of capital, internationalization of production networks, and informalization of employment. These processes interact with changes within labor markets resulting from a doubling of the number of workers who comprise the labor pool available within the capitalist system as well as increases in international migration. The paper concludes by considering emerging approaches that are being developed by workers' rights organizations, labor unions, and advocacy organizations to organize workers' and improve labor protections.