Instrumentalism: A Tool of Governance to Limit the Employment Losses of Outsourcing

Globalization produced a magnitude of trade imbalances that are further exacerbated by the outsourcing made possible by the information technology revolution. It has subjected an increasing number of workers to involuntary unemployment and its consequent income loss. Viewed historically, a proposal for an employment policy linked to tax incentives for business firms to create jobs is a modern day prototype of the incomes policy proposals that post Keynesians offered to protect employment against “tight” money policy some thirty five years ago. It is thus an employment policy that is compatible, in principle, with the free trade policies to which members of the WTO are committed.