Work and employment relations vary not only according to individual strategic choices by managers, and actions and responses by employees, but also by the social and economic context. Development is a complex and multifaceted process of structural transformation, including economic and social changes. While a common distinction is often drawn between nations who have attained a degree of socio-economic development characterized by certain levels of income, productivity, investment, formal employment, technological deployment and a range of human capital indicators, the latter category is an extremely broad one in itself. It may encompass ‘emerging market’ nations such as Brazil and South Africa, and nations where economic activity centres around the production of unprocessed or semi-processed primary commodities, with only limited downstream industrial development. This article primarily focuses on this second category, although some attention is also devoted to the case of ‘emerging markets’.