The Disrupted Passage from an Agrarian Rural to an Industrial Urban Workforce in Most Countries in the Global South

« In many late industrializing countries, most of those who leave agriculture do not find gainful employment. In fact, many of the late industrializers are prematurely de-industrializing. Explanations for the lack of absorption capacity of industries and productive services range from overregulated labour markets to globalization. On the basis of a comparison between the conditions prevalent among the early industrializers and present- day latecomers to industry and advanced services, this article high- lights other factors: demographic pressures, restrictions on migration, productivity differentials vis-à-vis the Global North and the few success- ful late industrializers and the constraints on the promotion of industry stemming from neoliberal globalization. It also points to challenges for a state-led industrial policy stemming from the colonial heritage like lack of societal trust. »