How Rich Countries Cope With Deindustrialization
Abstract
This conclusive chapter reviews the comparative evidence accumulated throughout the book on the new, widening and deepening divides between insiders and outsiders. It answers two key questions: who are the outsiders? And what is driving dualization? Most importantly, the comparative evidence discussed in this chapter points to the crucial importance of political choice in shaping the social outcomes of deindustrialization. Hence, insideroutsider divides are not a straightforward consequence of deindustrialization, but rather the result of policy. Finally, the chapter speculates about the future development of dualized societies: are they on a road to ever more inequality and social exclusion, or can we expect new equilibria to last? It argues that several mechanisms - including institutional feedback, the occupational segmentation of labor markets and the weak political mobilization of outsiders - may stabilize the new inequalities brought about by dualization.