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133 Int'l Lab. Rev. 167 (1994)
Global Economic Changes, Skills and International Competitiveness

handle is hein.journals/intlr133 and id is 179 raw text is: International Labour Review, Vol. 133, 1994, No. 2 Global economic changes, skills and international competitiveness Ajit SINGH* T he object of this article is to review certain recent changes in the world economy and to analyse their implications for skill requirements and the international competitiveness of various groups of countries. Particular attention is paid to these issues in relation to developing countries. In addition to the ever-growing integration of the international economy over the past two decades and concomitant changes in the nature of competition between nations and firms, many have suggested that the world is undergoing a new, far-reaching technical revolution as a result of the rise and spread of information technology. Freeman (1989) has argued that the information and communication technology paradigm presently sweeping the globe is as important in terms of its spillover effects and overall economic impact as any of the three major technological revolutions of the past two centuries. He identifies them as being based: firstly, on a cluster of textile innovations (approximately 1770-1830); secondly, on railways (approximately 1840-90); and thirdly, on electricity, the internal combustion engine and the chemical industry (approximately 1890-1930). The revolution in information and communications technology involves a constellation of industries, such as computers, electronic components and telecommunications. These are among the fastest-growing industries in most leading industrial countries. The new technology has not only resulted in the introduction of a wide range of new products but, more importantly, has produced a drastic fall in costs and vastly improved technical performance in many other sectors of the economy. Of equal significance, the new technology is bringing about fundamental changes in the organization and structure of firms and industries, and changes in factory lay-out and in the management structure, procedures and attitudes of large firms. Leaving aside the controversial issue of linking such developments with the Kondratiev long waves (trade cycles of very long duration), the * Fellow and Director of Studies in Economics, Queens' College, Cambridge University. This is the revised version of a paper presented at the ILO's informal technical workshop on New Trends in Training Policy, held in Geneva, 18-20 Oct. 1993. Copyright © International Labour Organization 1994

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