Abstract

The proposition about the causal effect from international outsourcing of production to social dumping is here analyzed from the point of view of international economics. Globalization of production, and the consequent new international division of labour, comes out from the competitive environment. Inequality and human rights protection have to be pursued on fields different from protectionism or other defensive attitudes. Social dumping stays in the middle of the complex relationships among countries with different degrees of developments. Empirical research in economics, furthermore, don't lead to unambiguous evidence. More attention should be given, according to the author, to the process of firm upgrading along the global value chains, turning out in a higher role of labour even in low skilled labour-intensive producing partners.