Zones of regulation: Restructuring labor control in privatized export zones

The article explores work organization in advanced electronics manufacturing in Philippine export processing zones. Previous approaches have painted both advanced manufacturing and "peripheral" production as generic, treating locations as substitutable. Case study analysis of three multinational electronics firms located in both public and privatized export zones demonstrates that the complex demands of high tech production have led to diverse forms of work organization and an extension of labor control outside the factory, making local conditions more, not less, important. The article develops a broader, place-sensitive notion of production politics, focusing on the state's reorganization of export processing zones, and firms' localization strategies that leverage labor market inequalities to elicit worker consent.