THE POWER ASYMMETRY BETWEEN GLOBAL CAPITAL AND NATIONAL LABOUR: THE INTERNATIONAL REDISTRIBUTION OF POWER IN THE PROCESS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALISATION

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 6 Sayı: 12, 187 - 208, 26.12.2025

Mehmet Ali Polat

https://doi.org/10.51727/tbj.1814130

Öz

Küreselleşme süreci, sermayenin mekânsal hareketliliğini hızlandırırken emeğin coğrafi, kurumsal ve sosyal sınırlarını daha katı hale getirmiştir. Bu asimetrik dinamik, ulusal emek piyasalarının küresel üretim ağlarına bağımlılığını artırmış; iktisadi gücün dağılımını sermaye lehine yeniden şekillendirmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, küresel sermaye hareketliliğinin ulusal emek üzerindeki güç etkilerini hem teorik hem ampirik düzeyde incelemektir. Çalışma, 1990–2025 döneminde 28 ülkeye ait panel veriler kullanarak doğrudan yabancı yatırımların, sermaye hareketliliği endeksinin, sendikalaşma oranlarının ve kurumsal kalite göstergelerinin emek gelir payı üzerindeki etkilerini analiz etmektedir. Bulgular, sermayenin artan hareketliliğinin reel ücret payını istatistiksel olarak anlamlı biçimde azalttığını; bu etkinin kurumsal zayıflığın yüksek olduğu ekonomilerde daha güçlü olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Makale, ulusal düzeyde emek gücünün korunabilmesi için kurumsal kapasitenin, toplu pazarlık mekanizmalarının ve uluslararası vergi işbirliğinin güçlendirilmesi gerektiğini savunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Küreselleşme , Sermaye Hareketliliği , Emek Gücü , Güç Asimetrisi , Gelir Dağılımı , Panel Veri Analizi

KÜRESEL SERMAYE İLE ULUSAL EMEK ARASINDAKİ GÜÇ ASİMETRİSİ: EKONOMİK KÜRESELLEŞME SÜRECİNDE GÜCÜN ULUSLARARASI YENİDEN DAĞILIMI

Öz

The process of globalization has accelerated the spatial mobility of capital while reinforcing the geographical, institutional, and social boundaries of labor. This asymmetric dynamic has deepened the dependency of national labor markets on global production networks, reshaping the distribution of economic power in favor of capital. This study aims to examine the power effects of global capital mobility on national labor at both theoretical and empirical levels. Using panel data for 28 countries between 1990 and 2025, it analyzes the impact of foreign direct investment, capital mobility indices, union density, and institutional quality on the labor income share. The findings indicate that increasing capital mobility significantly reduces the labor share of income, with stronger effects in economies characterized by weaker institutions. The paper argues that safeguarding national labor requires strengthening institutional capacity, collective bargaining mechanisms, and international tax cooperation.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Globalization , Capital Mobility , Labor Power , Power Asymmetry , Income Distribution , Panel Data Analysis

Kaynakça

• Acemoğlu, D., & Robinson, J. (2012). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity, and poverty. Crown.
• Aidt, T. S., & Tzannatos, Z. (2008). Trade unions, collective bargaining and macroeconomic performance: A review. Industrial Relations Journal, 39(4), 258–295.
• Arellano, M., & Bover, O. (1995). Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models. Journal of Econometrics, 68(1), 29–51.
• Autor, D., Dorn, D., Katz, L. F., Patterson, C., & Van Reenen, J. (2020). The fall of the labor share and the rise of superstar firms. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(2), 645–709.
• Blanchard, O., & Giavazzi, F. (2003). Macroeconomic effects of regulation and deregulation in goods and labor markets. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(3), 879–907.
• Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Cerny, P. G. (1997). Paradoxes of the competition state: The dynamics of political globalization. Government and Opposition, 32(2), 251–274.
• Chang, H.-J. (2002). Kicking away the ladder: Development strategy in historical perspective. Anthem Press.
• Checchi, D., & García-Peñalosa, C. (2010). Labour market institutions and the personal distribution of income in the OECD. Economica, 77(307), 413–450.
• Chinn, M. D., & Ito, H. (2006). What matters for financial development? Capital controls, institutions, and interactions. Journal of Development Economics, 81(1), 163–192.
• De Stefano, V. (2016). The rise of the “just-in-time workforce”: On-demand work, crowdwork, and labor protection in the gig economy. Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, 37(3), 471–503.
• Driscoll, J. C., & Kraay, A. C. (1998). Consistent covariance matrix estimation with spatially dependent panel data. Review of Economics and Statistics, 80(4), 549–560.
• Epstein, G. A. (Ed.). (2005). Financialization and the world economy. Edward Elgar.
• Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and freedom. University of Chicago Press.
• Freeman, R. B. (2009). Labor regulations, unions, and social protection in developing countries: Market distortions or efficient institutions? World Bank Research Observer, 24(2), 155–182.
• Freeman, R. B., & Medoff, J. (1984). What do unions do? Harvard University Press.
• Gereffi, G. (2018). Global value chains and development: Redefining the contours of 21st century capitalism. Cambridge University Press.
• Gereffi, G., Humphrey, J., & Sturgeon, T. (2005). The governance of global value chains. Review of International Political Economy, 12(1), 78–104.
• Harvey, D. (1989). The condition of postmodernity. Blackwell.
• Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford University Press.
• Hayek, F. A. (1944). The road to serfdom. Routledge.
• Hoechle, D. (2007). Robust standard errors for panel regressions with cross-sectional dependence. Stata Journal, 7(3), 281–312.
• International Labour Organization. (2023). World employment and social outlook 2023. ILO.
• International Labour Organization. (2023). ILOSTAT database [Dataset]. ILO.
• Jayadev, A. (2007). Capital account openness and the labour share of income. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 31(3), 423–443.
• Kalecki, M. (1943). Political aspects of full employment. Political Quarterly, 14(4), 322–331. Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. (2010). The worldwide governance indicators: Methodology and analytical issues (Policy Research Working Paper No. 5430). World Bank.
• Korpi, W. (2006). Power resources and employer-centered approaches in explanations of welfare states and varieties of capitalism. World Politics, 58(2), 167–206.
• Krippner, G. R. (2005). The financialization of the American economy. Socio-Economic Review, 3(2), 173–208.
• Lapavitsas, C. (2013). Profiting without producing: How finance exploits us all. Verso.
• Marx, K. (1867/1976). Capital: A critique of political economy. Vol. I (B. Fowkes, Trans.). Penguin.
• Milberg, W., & Winkler, D. (2013). Outsourcing economics: Global value chains in capitalist development. Cambridge University Press.
• Mosley, L., & Uno, S. (2007). Racing to the bottom or climbing to the top? Economic globalization and collective labor rights. Comparative Political Studies, 40(8), 923–948.
• North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). Trade union density [Dataset]. OECD.
• Penn World Table. (2024). Penn World Table version 10.01 [Dataset]. Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
• Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century (A. Goldhammer, Trans.). Harvard University Press.
• Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. Rinehart.
• Ricardo, D. (1817). On the principles of political economy and taxation. John Murray.
• Rodrik, D. (1997). Has globalization gone too far? Institute for International Economics.
• Rodrik, D. (2018). Straight talk on trade: Ideas for a sane world economy. Princeton University Press.
• Rueda, D. (2008). Left government, policy, and corporatism: Explaining the influence of parties and organized interests on labour market policy. Comparative Political Studies, 41(7), 969–990.
• Srnicek, N. (2017). Platform capitalism. Polity.
• Standing, G. (2014). A precariat charter: From denizens to citizens. Bloomsbury Academic.
• Smith, A. (1776). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. W. Strahan and T. Cadell.
• Steindl, J. (1952). Maturity and stagnation in American capitalism. Basil Blackwell.
• Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and its discontents. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Stiglitz, J. E. (2018). Globalization and its discontents revisited: Anti-globalization in the era of Trump. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Traxler, F. (1995). Farewell to labour market associations? Organized versus disorganized decentralization as a map for industrial relations. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 33(3), 351–369.
• UNCTAD. (2024). World investment report 2024. United Nations.
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2024). R&D expenditure (% of GDP) [Dataset]. UNESCO.
• Wallerstein, I. (1974). The modern world-system I: Capitalist agriculture and the origins of the European world-economy in the sixteenth century. Academic Press.
• World Bank. (2024). Worldwide Governance Indicators (Rule of Law, Government Effectiveness) [Dataset]. World Bank.