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Are there any places in Europe or the Anglosphere where manufacturing and blue collared workers still dominate and a service economy hasn't fully developed yet?
Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. has the largest manufacturing sector in the world, just not by the huge margins pre-1990s but 40% bigger than China (in 2011)
How much does it make up of the national economy? Being the largest economy in the world I would certainly expect it to have the largest manufacturing sector.
Are there any places in Europe or the Anglosphere where manufacturing and blue collared workers still dominate and a service economy hasn't fully developed yet?
sure. there are huge areas of the U.S. whose economies never really industrialized, and have remained agrarian since they were settled by Europeans in the 1600's.
How much does it make up of the national economy? Being the largest economy in the world I would certainly expect it to have the largest manufacturing sector.
Are there any places in Europe or the Anglosphere where manufacturing and blue collared workers still dominate and a service economy hasn't fully developed yet?
Factories and factory work seem to be more common here in Italy than back in America, but that could just be my impression. It does seem that a large number of the firms are family operations as opposed to large corporations.
"Stuck in the industrial age" sounds like a jingo or something like that, not serious economic analysis.
Indeed, more serious ways of putting the question are percentage of manufacturing to GDP and/or per capita, manufacturing exports to GDP and/or per capita, percentage of employment in manufacturing to GDP and/or per capita.
As mentioned, neither the US nor any country has come out of the agricultural age nor has any country of early industrualization completely exited the industrial age. On the contrary, for example, the US is one of the world's top agricultural producers and exporters, and it is still among the top manufacturing exporters.
What has changed is inputs and employment.
Manufacturing started leaving US cities with the invention of the automobile.
Yes, Italy still features a plethora of family-owned low/middle technology level manufacturing firms, especially central Italy and the northeast, some of whom even generate their own electricity using waste and agricultural by-products, still beautiful.
Meanwhile in the US a combination of competitive forces, regulations, and industrial policy in general make it difficult to start up and maintain low/middle technology enterprises which, in my view, are still sorely needed and shouldn't be scoffed at.
So, then, what is the point of the OP's complaint? Can't find a manufacturing job downtown somewhere? Can't seem to be able to start up a low/middle technology manufacturing enterprise?
The smokestack economy hasn't done well in any noticeable urban area in the developed world. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist.. actually it's probably the lifeblood of many smaller cities, be it in the US, EU..
Unless the operation is one that absolutely benefits from being in a major city (with all it's pricey real estate, cost-of living, transportation headaches, etc..), it'll go to some Podunktown.
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