Global Production, National Institutions, and Skill Formation: The Political Economy of Training and Employment in Auto Parts Suppliers from Mexico an

Many middle-income countries (MICs) that saw rapid growth in the 1990s and 2000s have been facing the danger of remaining in the ’middle-income trap’ unless they shift from labour-intensive, low value-added production to higher value-added activities that require more advanced skills. Intermediate skills and vocational education and training (VET) systems that generate these skills are critical for addressing the challenges for MICs in achieving high-road development.

This book examines the skill systems in Mexico and Turkey, with a focus on auto parts producers, and the implications of these systems for these countries’ development. It adopts a multi-layered understanding of the term ’skill system’, which comprises firm-level hiring and training practices as well as the national and global dynamics that influence these practices. Drawing on discussions around globalization and the convergence of economic activity vs. national institutions and divergence, as well as interviews with auto parts producers and stakeholders of the skill systems, the book examines how the participation of local firms in global supply chains and these firms’ institutional environment affect the firm-level skilling practices. It highlights key differences in the role of the state in the skills systems of Mexico and Turkey and investigates the implications of skilling practices for the high/low-road development prospects of both nations.

Merve Sancak, Lecturer, Loughborough University London

Merve Sancak is a Lecturer in the Institute for International Management at Loughborough University London. Her research sits between international political economy, comparative political economy, and economic sociology to understand capitalist societies in the context of globalization. More
specifically, she is interested in understanding the intersections between global political and economic dynamics and national institutional structures, and the implications of these interactions for inclusive development.