Introduction

De-industrialization was accelerated by the 2008-2009 crisis in most high income countries. Yet the trend began decades earlier, as comparative advantage of emerging economies shifted towards more advanced goods and their growing populations commanded an increasing share in global demand. This shift towards a factory-free economy in high income countries has drawn the attention of policy makers in North America and Europe. Some politicians have articulated alarming views, initiating mercantilist or beggar thy neighbor cost-competitiveness policies. Yet companies like Apple, which concentrates research and design innovations at home but no longer has any factories in the United States, may be the norm in the future.