Globalization: the post-Covid

Abstract

Globalization creates job opportunities but can also lead to decreased employment in some sectors as competition between companies increases, which can lead to closures, relocations and job losses. Managing globalization to get the best of it is a priority of the European Union also for the creation of a social Europe that helps those who have lost their jobs to find another. In fact, the jobs created directly or indirectly supported by EU exports are constantly growing. Globalization can cause the loss of jobs as one of the most destabilizing aspects for workers in the era of globalization is the tendency to relocate material production. The absence of restrictions on the circulation of goods and capital implies the possibility of being able to transfer production from one country to another in order to find the greatest return on capital, that is, greater entrepreneurial profits. Until a few years ago, it was only large multinationals that relocated production, currently, this process is also spreading to medium-sized companies and small businesses, which transfer to other countries or single segments of the production chain, or the entire work process, shutting down or drastically reducing their national production. The most vulnerable sectors are characterized by a prevalence of low-skilled jobs: these are the textile, clothing and footwear, metallurgy and manufacturing industries. The study shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to bring the production of some essential sectors and products, such as medicines, back to Europe.