deindustrialization
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Deindustrialization
deindustrialization


deindustrialization
a sustained fall in the proportion of national output accounted for by the industrial and manufacturing sectors of the economy, a process that is often accompanied by a decline in the number of people employed in industry (compare INDUSTRIALIZATION).There is a well-established trend in advanced economies for the industrial sector to grow more slowly than the service sector, as shown in Fig. 38. For the UK, the share of industry in GDP fell from 43% in 1960 to 29% in 2002, while the share of services increased from 54% to 70%. Over the same period, employment in industry in the UK fell from 11.8 million in 1960 to 3.7 million in 2003.
Changes in sector shares may simply reflect changes in the pattern of final demand for goods and services over time, and as such may be considered a ‘natural’ development associated with a maturing economy. On the other hand, deindustrialization that stems from supply-side deficiencies (high costs, an overvalued exchange rate, lack of investment and innovation) which put a country at a competitive disadvantage in international trade (see IMPORT PENETRATION) is a more serious matter. In this case, deindustrialization often brings with it a fall in national output, rising unemployment and balance of payments difficulties.
The extent of deindustrialization in the UK was even more marked in the early 1980s because of Britain's artificially high exchange rate, bolstered by UK oil exports, which caused Britain to lose overseas markets.
See STRUCTURE OF INDUSTRY, STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT.