Have you ever heard of the miner's strikes in the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher, and the collapse of the coal mines? Or perhaps seen the film 'The Full Monty', a comedy about the closure of steelworks in Sheffield? If so, you may already have heard about deindustrialisation, the process we will explore today. If not, don't worry! This article will help you understand deindustrialisation and how it changes the world economically, socially and environmentally. So, what's the definition of deindustrialisation? What causes it? What are the effects and impacts? Read on to find out more!
Deindustrialisation definition
Deindustrialisation can only happen when industrialisation occurs first, so it is essential to know what industrialisation is first.
Industrialisation is the process of economic and social change, transforming from an agricultural society to an industrial society. This involves extensive economic reorganisation for manufacturing purposes, i.e. the construction and opening of mines and factories. This led to the creation of many new jobs.
Fig. 1 - Industrial plant - example of industrialisation
Now that you know what industrialisation means, it stands to reason that the definition of deindustrialisation is the opposite.
Deindustrialisation is a country's decline in manufacturing, i.e. mines, factories, and other manufacturing businesses close down.
Fig. 2 - Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania, US, shortly before demolition - example of deindustrialisation
Deindustrialisation is an economic change that affects the employment structure of a country over time.
Employment structure relates to the division of labour into different sectors of work, or in other words, the number of people working in different types of jobs.
When an economy industrialises, most of the population takes up jobs in heavy industries such as mining and steelwork. Therefore, deindustrialisation forces many people to find new forms of employment, leading to a new economic shape.
Deindustrialisation doesn't necessarily mean that countries produce fewer goods. For example, the UK's production has continued to rise by 0.7% annually, even though it has gone through mass deindustrialisation.
Let's take a closer look at why deindustrialisation occurs.
Causes of deindustrialisation
Many factors can lead to an area's deindustrialisation. Let's look at a few potential causes.
| Factor | Explanation |
| Globalisation | Globalisation is a big reason many HICs (high-income countries) have experienced deindustrialisation. As transport links and communication have advanced, manufacturing companies have increasingly relocated their factories overseas, from HICs to LICs (lower-income countries) or EDCs (emerging and developing countries). Reasons for moving overseas include:- Cheaper labour, which increases profit.
- LICs usually have fewer regulations for waste disposal, meaning that less money has to be spent on proper waste disposal. Again, this will increase profit.
Globalisation is the increase of global interconnectivity and interdependence because of increasing flows of people, information, money and work. MICs (Middle-income countries), such as China, are becoming more expensive themselves. This leads them to off-shoring their manufacturing to countries such as Africa and other parts of Asia, which have lower production costs. Although companies relocate their manufacturing to LICs or EDCs, their headquarters often remain in HICs. |
| Automation/mechanisation | Many factories will switch to automated processes when possible. Machinery becomes cheaper, more complex, and it is more reliable than work done by humans. Therefore, it is economically beneficial for a company to move to automated processes. |
| Alternative industries | As countries get richer, they will develop more service industries. This will take up a greater employment share. |
Table 1
Social impacts of deindustrialisation
Deindustrialisation is a significant change in an economy, and a big change in the economy has many social impacts on people all over the country, in both rural and urban areas. Some of these are for the better, and others for the worse. Let's take a look at some now.
| Positive Social Impacts | Negative Social Impacts |
| The potential for new employment opportunities due to industrial heritage tourism, where people visit old industrial sites. | Decrease in overall employment opportunities. |
| Removing old industrial buildings creates a better area quality without visual pollution. | Changes in rural communities due to people moving to urban areas in search of work. |
| Potential for new leisure facilities (e.g. flooded gravel pits). | An ageing population remains, which means many people are not working, putting a (bigger) strain on the government and other industries, like healthcare. |
| More land is made available for new housing. | The new employment structures often involve short or zero-hour contracts, which give people less security in their jobs. |
| The import of cheaper goods allows people's income to go further. | Services begin to decline and become less available, so people have less access to good quality food, healthcare, leisure facilities etc. |
| New post-industrial jobs may be less physically demanding, improving life expectancy. | Industrial sites may be left derelict, which can be hazardous to the people and the environment. |
| There is a reduction in environmental pollution. | Crime rates can rise in areas of high unemployment as people can become frustrated at their situation. |
Table 2
Fig. 3 - Titanic Quarters, an example of industrial heritage tourism
The effects of unemployment, and most of these negative social impacts, are felt more heavily in populated urban areas where the majority of the population relies on one employer for work - for example, if a lot of people in a town all worked at the same factory! Deindustrialisation in places like this can cause mass unemployment, and the negative impacts can be felt over many years.
When an industry closes and causes large unemployment, a spiral of decline can occur. This is a chain of events where living conditions continue to worsen, and the area continues to get worse and worse.
As unemployment rises, many people in the inner city begin leaving, searching for new work. There is then less custom for the remaining services, such as schools, shops etc. This causes unemployment to rise even more and causes even more people to move out of the inner city.
Those left behind are either very elderly or have very low incomes. Little money is invested into the area, as it is not seen as profitable - this is because the demographic ( type of people) is low-income, so they have little to spend.
Crime and vandalism increase as people become desperate for money and frustrated at their low - quality of life.
This spiral means inner-city areas can continue to decline.
Effects of deindustrialisation
When industries close, the people who have lost their jobs must find new ways to earn money and provide for their families. Therefore some of the most significant effects of deindustrialisation are how the economy changes. The economy you see around you today in the UK is the reality of deindustrialisation. So how did this happen?
As the secondary sector has declined, the economy has seen growth in the quaternary and tertiary sectors, especially since deindustrialisation happened. Let's quickly define these terms.
| Sector | Explanation |
| Secondary | The industrial sector which involves factory work and production. |
| Tertiary | The service economy, i.e. jobs providing a service to others. Examples are healthcare and IT support. |
| Quaternary | The knowledge economy, e.g. jobs in scientific research. |
Table 3
Approximately 75% of UK workers now have tertiary sector jobs because people have a higher available income to spend on services and luxuries. The industrialised economy actually meant people had a bit more money in their pockets! Stable factory jobs offered people the opportunity to build a steady income and provided good welfare benefits such as pensions.
People's ways of life have changed completely as a result of deindustrialisation. There is a far more diverse workforce. However, many people are insecure in their jobs. Although people generally have more money to spend, people also have lower pensions, and housing prices have increased.
Deindustrialisation is not the only contributor to these things, but it has definitely played a part! Overall it is fair to say that deindustrialisation completely changes an economy, both in positive and negative ways.
Deindustrialisation in the UK
Deindustrialisation in the UK began in the 1980s when steelworks and coal mines began closing down by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government's policies. While manufacturing is decreasing, there is a growth in the tertiary and quaternary sectors.
There are two main reasons for the manufacturing decline in the UK:
- There is a global shift in manufacturing to so-called 'emerging and developing countries' (EDCs), a country with some developed aspects but does not (yet) meet the required standards to be considered an advanced country. An example is China. Here, wages are lower, working hours are longer, and more often than not, there are no trade unions.
- There is an increase in mechanisation, where machines take over the work of humans.
Right now, the UK has now entered what we call a 'post-industrial era'. While the industrial decline is considered a negative effect, which it is to some people, the positive effect is that other sectors are thriving, which is good for others.
In this post-industrial era, we can see the following developments:
- Development in IT - an industry worth over £58 billion a year! The UK cyber security market growth due to increased threats is worth around £2.8 billion a year!
- Service industry growth - this makes up about 75% of the UK's economy, and the UK is the second largest service exporter globally, such as in tourism and education.
- Finance and Research - these take place through government research councils and are considered important for the UK's growth because they find new ways for sustainable growth.
- Science and business parks - these often attract (university) graduates, and the growth in science and business parks helped the businesses mentioned above work together.
Exam hint: It is important to remember there are both advantages and disadvantages to deindustrialisation, winners and losers, so have examples of ways it has benefited and damaged the UK economy!
Deindustrialisation - Key takeaways
- Deindustrialisation, which can only happen when a country has experienced industrialisation, is a country's decline in manufacturing, i.e. mines, factories, and other manufacturing businesses close down.
- Causes of industrialisation include:
- Globalisation
- Automation/Mechanisation
- Alternative industries.
- Deindustrialisation has significant social impacts, both positive and negative.
- Deindustrialisation also has economic impacts, such as growth in the tertiary and quaternary sectors. For many people, this led to a higher available income which, in turn, could be used to spend on services and luxuries. For other people, it has caused job insecurity or loss leading to financial issues.
- Deindustrialisation in the UK happened because manufacturing decreased while the tertiary and quaternary sectors increased. The two main reasons for manufacturing decline in the UK are:
References
- Fig. 1: Industrial plant (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Industrialisation.jpg) by Tharunbr77 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Tharunbr77&action=edit&redlink=1) Licensed by CC. BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
- Fig. 2 - Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania shortly before demolition - example of deindustrialisation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bethlehem_Steel.jpg) by Jschnalzer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jschnalzer) Licensed by CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
- Fig. 3 - Titanic Quarters, an example of industrial heritage tourism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titanic_Museum_Belfast.jpg) by Mehlauge (no profile) Licensed by CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
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