Projected to the global level, the articulation of these dynamics has given rise to what we might refer to as a 'global neoliberal era'(henderson 2010). it was in the united states that capitalists, from the 1880s, pioneered the large, multidivisional firm and it was from among their number that modern transnational corporations were forged, particularly after world war II. Not only did US corporations create and dominate what by the 1980s became to be known as the 'new international division of labour'(Frobel et al. 1980), but it was often those same companies (for example in garments, electronics and automobiles) that reduce costs while maintaining control over the highest value-adding function (for example research and development, innovation, brand name) via multiple layers of subcontracting associated with global production networks (henderson et al.2002