Rethinking the 'Local' in labour markets: The consequences of cultural embeddedness in a Philippine growth zone

Abstract

This paper contributes to recent geographical studies of local labour markets in three ways. First, it highlights the distinctive labour market processes occurring in an industrialising setting in the Philippines to complement existing studies that have tended to focus on 'restructuring' contexts in the west. Second, it shows how labour markets are embedded not just in processes of institutional and social regulation, but also in the transformation of the culture of work that accompanies industrialisation in an agricultural setting. Thus, while a significant feature of the local labour market in the municipality of Tanza (Province of Cavite) is a shortage of labour in the agricultural sector, this cannot be explained solely by the massive shift of a young workforce into non-agricultural activities. It must also be understood in the context of changes found in youth culture and conceptions of work. The result is that the availability of labour for agriculture dries up even if the supply of labour, in a literal sense, is adequate for its needs. Third, a significant process operating in this 'local' labour market is the extraction of labour for temporary overseas work. This suggests that local labour markets should be conceived not just on the basis of geographical contiguity, but also in the 'networked space' of households functioning across very large distances.