Globotics and development: When manufacturing is jobless and services are tradable

Abstract

Globalization and robotics (globotics) are transforming the world economy at an explosive pace since they are driven by digital technology that is advancing in phenomenal increments. This paper—which should be considered a ‘thought piece’—argues that the globotics transformation is likely to disable the traditional manufacturing-led development ‘journey’ of the type China is taking, while enabling the service-led development journey of the type India is following. We start with a historical perspective on the current transformation before turning to a consideration of the technology and a closer look at the economic logic that is making manufacturing jobless and services traded. Finally, we discuss how one might conceptualize service-led development.