Deindustrialization
Deindustrialization refers to processes of social or economic change that are caused by the shrinking of industrial sectors, especially heavy and manufacturing industries , in a country or region. The opposite is industrialization .
history
The causes of deindustrialization are different. At the end of the Second World War , the US Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau drafted a plan to deindustrialize Germany: the Morgenthau Plan . The country should be turned back into an agricultural state .
As part of the globalization of the labor markets , production is increasingly being relocated to low-wage countries . That is why many affected regions and cities are trying to rebuild technology - and research - intensive productions with economic development in the affected areas .
Well-known examples from more recent times are the city of Detroit, which had to file for bankruptcy in 2013 , but also cities in the Ruhr area such as Duisburg .
description
Old industries are losing economic importance due to structural shifts between the industrial and service sectors. This causes production relocations and the closure of factories, an increase in unemployment and a decrease in value added in the second sector . This is often associated with urban decay . Former industrial plants and buildings are sometimes preserved as industrial monuments , for example the Völklinger Hütte .
The structural shifts between the industrial sector and the service sector can for their part be traced back to a changed strategy of the companies, which causes a shift in the division of labor: return to core competencies , outsourcing or reorganization of large companies through downsizing . As a result, small, decentralized units are formed from large companies and many previously in-house services are supplied by external service companies.
Changes in the economic framework, such as the development of information and communication technology, make such changes possible. They also react to changed demand preferences (e.g. towards more product-related advice and maintenance), and acceleration of the product launch ( time-to-market ). In addition, a more positive attitude towards cooperation may have developed.
See also
- Three Sector Hypothesis
- Rust Belt , the oldest and largest industrial region in the United States
- Dutch disease , an external paradox
Web links
- Article “Deindustrialisierung” in the Lexicon of Geography on Spektrum.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Economic change: crass area! , ZEIT Online, April 19, 2012
- ↑ Markus Kowalik: Industriekompass Rheinland-Pfalz 2004. 3rd expanded and updated edition, Mainz 2004, p. 21 f.