Reindustrialization


Reindustrialization is the economic, social, and political process of organizing national resources for the purpose of re-establishing industries. The process proceeds as a result of a need to reinvigorate national economies.

Interpretations

, India and South-East Asia were industrial powerhouse for major parts of human history. These countries and regions suffered great loss of industrial production due to colonization during 18th-20th centuries. After many decades of their independence, these countries have started reindustrializing themselves. In last three decades, share of these countries in global industrial output has increased manifold.
In context of declining share of OECD in world GDP and outsourcing of manufacturing and services, reindustrialization is considered as a contrasts to deindustrialization, the process under which industry, especially manufacturing, is relocated outside of a country's borders, and seeks to reverse that trend.
No longer the preserve of BRICs or South-East Asian countries, the notion of reindustrialization seems to be making inroads in the political discourse of populist policy makers in the developed economies of Western Europe and North America: notably France and the United States - where the rise of Trumponomics may potentially challenge some of the free trade tenets of the neoliberal "Washington Consensus".

Causes of reindustrialization

  1. In context of Asian economies, reindustrialization is a natural process of economic growth in which former industrial powerhouses China, India and South-East Asia are re-establishing their economies
  2. Advocates of reindustrialization believe that manufacturing and other industrial jobs are more socially and economically desirable than jobs in the service sector or finance.
  3. Military or national security concerns motivate reindustrialization policies, reflecting a desire for self-sufficiency and fear for trade routes and supply lines in times of conflict.
  4. Reindustrialization policies may reflect concerns over the balance of trade.