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Much research has been made in recent years on the effect of over and under education on earnings. In this paper, I examine the validity of the assumption that the return to over (under) education is independent of the level of education. I use data from the PIAAC survey to estimate the return to education. The findings show that while this assumption might be valid for the return to under-education, it seems to be wrong for estimating the return to over-education. I offer an alternative model where the return to over-education or under-education is not linear and depends on the level of education.

Mixed findings characterize the literature on skills and economic distributions within and across countries. The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) offers new, internationally comparable data on literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving skills that can be combined with wage information. This paper presents statistical analyses, aimed at quantifying the contributions of observable and unobservable contributors to earnings inequality. Substantial inequality is documented across countries and skill measures, thus reinforcing previous findings that skill, even by the broader definition used here, is only a partial explanation for differences in economic inequality across countries. The paper concludes with future research possibilities that can further understandings of inequality dynamics within and across nations. [The original version of this paper was commissioned by American Institutes for Research (AIR), funded through a contract with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).]

The article revisits the Great Divergence debate and rethinks the origins of the modern economic growth of Europe and its connection with colonial expansion. Topics discussed include the California School's challenge to the notion of an advanced West and a backward Asia, Kenneth Pomeranz's argument that divergence between Europe and Asia took place in the late 18th- or early 19th century and that the Industrial Revolution happened first in Europe, and the High Wage Economy Theory.

Biodiversity targets, under the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, prioritize both conservation area and their effectiveness. The effective management of protected areas (PAs) depends greatly on law enforcement resources, which is often tasked to rangers. We addressed economic aspects of law enforcement by rangers working in terrestrial landscapes across Asia. Accordingly, we used ranger numbers and payment rates to derive continental‐scale estimates. Ranger density has decreased by 2.4‐fold since the 1990s, increasing the median from 10.9 to 26.4 km2 of PAs per ranger. Rangers were generally paid more than the minimum wage (median ratio = 1.9) and the typical salaries in agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector (median ratio = 1.2). Annual spending on ranger salaries varied widely among countries, with a median of annual US71 km−2 of PA. Nearly 208,000 rangers patrolling Asian PAs provide an invaluable opportunity to develop ranger‐based monitoring plans for evaluating the conservation performance. As decision‐makers frequently seek an optimum number of law enforcement staff, our study provides a continental baseline median of 46.3 km2 PA per ranger. Our findings also provide a baseline for countries to improve their ranger‐based law enforcement which is critical for their Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003, Norway implemented an 'Introduction Programme' that aimed to increase labour market inclusion among newly arrived immigrants. Its main objectives were to facilitate free courses in Norwegian language training and social studies, and education or on-the-job training. The participants were given an allowance to attend the programme. This paper uses administrative register data to evaluate the effect of the Norwegian introduction programme on female immigrants' employment and earnings prospects. The sample consists of female immigrants from Asia or Africa who immigrated to Norway 18 months before or after the implementation of the introduction programme. The study measures their probability of being employed and their mean earnings 4–6 and 7–9 years after immigration. The results show that the Norwegian introduction programme had a small but significant effect on women's employment, but not on their earnings. This article suggests that the small effect of the programme on employment and non-effect on earnings may imply a displacement effect rather than an improvement in language skills and labour market skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crisis unleashed by COVID-19 has profoundly impacted the world of work, with many workers losing their jobs or with insufficient safety measures in place for those still in work. Migrant workers are among the precarious workforce that is employed in particularly affected sectors where they have been subjected to labour rights' violations for a long time. The pandemic has further exposed and exacerbated the exploitation of migrant workers in particular, as evident from the widespread occurrence of the non- or underpayment of wages for work that has been carried out. Despite the efforts made in recent years at the global level to arrive at a common framework to regulate international labour migration in accordance with international human and labour rights' standards, little progress has been achieved on the issue of wage theft. This article analyses the reasons why the institutional architecture in place is ineffective to tackle the settlement of outstanding wage claims. We use the concept of access to justice as a starting point and steer our examination towards global advocacy as epitomised by a concerted campaign by an alliance between civil society organisations (CSOs) and global union confederations, which calls for the implementation of a justice mechanism for repatriated migrant workers. Our analysis is specifically centred on low-wage migrants on temporary, employer-tied contracts as illustrated by the South Asia–Middle East/Gulf migration corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Anecdotal accounts of suicide among temporary low-wage migrant workers in the UAE are numerous, but unofficial and qualitative accounts remain unexplored. This study aims to examine how the socio-environmental context can lead some low-wage migrants, irrespective of their nationality or culture, to contemplate suicide for the first time after arriving in the host country. Design/methodology/approach: The findings draw from ten months of qualitative fieldwork (2015–2016) and in-depth interviews conducted with 44 temporary migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, earning in the lowest wage bracket in Dubai. The study used a non-probabilistic, purposive sampling approach to select participants. Three criteria drove eligibility: participants had to reside in the UAE, be non-national and earn Dh1500 (US$408) or less a month. Otherwise, diversity was sought in regard to nationality, occupation and employer. Findings: Eight (18%) of the 44 study participants interviewed admitted to engaging in suicidal thoughts for the first time after arriving in the UAE. The findings suggest that for low-wage migrants working in certain socio-environmental contexts, the religious, gendered or other cultural or group characteristics or patterns that may be predictors of suicide in migrants' country of origin may become secondary or possibly even irrelevant when one is forced to survive under conditions that by most objective standards would be deemed not only oppressive but extremely exploitative and abusive. Originality/value: This study contributes to understandings of how the emotional and psychological well-being of temporary foreign low-wage migrant workers can be impacted by the socio-environmental context of the host country. It is a first step in understanding the intimate thoughts of low-wage migrant workers on the topic of suicidality, furthering our understanding of suicidal ideation and the factors that can contribute to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Methods for assessing the costs and benefits of administering vaccines to international business/occupational travelers, assignees, and expatriates have neglected the impact of health and treatment on work productivity. The research objective is to evaluate the benefit to cost ratio of the Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine for international business/occupational travelers to Asia and other endemic areas incorporating a health and productivity approach. Methods: Costs and benefits were estimated using actuarial methods with data obtained from secondary sources describing prevalence of infection risk and health outcomes, and business traveler demographic and travel characteristics. Results assumed 2018 salaries and prices, with employee time valued according to total compensation. Results: Risks contracting JE vary widely on the basis of length of trip, season, and destination. The productivity benefits of vaccinating a traveler outweigh the vaccination costs for those staying 30 days or longer in endemic areas during one or more transmission seasons ($2009 vs $750 per traveler), and for business travelers to endemic areas during the transmission season with outdoor activities for the average 2-week/15.4-day international business trip ($502 to $815 vs $500). Vaccination costs outweigh the productivity benefits for short-term travelers who remain in urban areas or travel outside of the transmission season ($10 vs $500). Conclusion: JE Vaccination for business travelers in the active transmission season has a net benefit under certain conditions that are not commonly considered risky, such as average-length trips to peri-urban areas, in situations where contracting disease would result in significant business disruption, or when multiple trips are anticipated over several years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A defining feature of the Northeast Asian developmental state was a focus on maximising investment and suppressing growth in consumption. While consistently high rates of investment were an integral part of the growth model, as the South Korean and Taiwanese economies matured, the viability of this model was undermined by the inability of these economies to generate sufficient opportunities for profitable investment. At the same time, the legacies of systems of labour control associated with the developmental state have impeded the development of stable wage-led growth regimes in both political economies. Instead, they have become reliant on an unstable combination of current account surpluses and consumer borrowing to sustain growth. The legacies of the developmental state continue to define many aspects of the political-economic landscape in Korea and Taiwan. However, changes in the growth regimes, the reorientation of the financial sectors from corporate to household lending, and the downgrading of industrial policy mean that it is no longer useful to define Korea or Taiwan as developmental states. Instead, contemporary Korea and Taiwan can be best understood as post-developmental states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly all global health initiatives give per diems to community health workers (CHWs) in poor countries for shortterm work on disease-specific programs. We interviewed CHWs, supervisors, and high-level officials (n = 95) in 6 study sites across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in early 2012 about the per diems given to them by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. These per diems for CHWs ranged from $1.50 to $2.40 per day. International officials defended per diems for CHWs with an arrayof arguments, primarily that they were necessary to defray the expenses that workers incurred during campaigns. But high-level ministry of health officials inmany countries were concerned that even small per diems were unsustainable. By contrast, CHWs saw per diems as a wage; the very small size of this wage led many to describe per diems as unjust. Per diem polio work existed in the larger context of limited and mostly exploitative options for female labor. Taking the perspectives of CHWs seriously would shift the international conversation about per diems towardquestionsof labor rights and justice in global health pay structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taller people are, the more money they tend to earn. This phenomenon is widely known as the height premium. However, it is not yet known whether the height premium is universal, or whether it varies by context. To that end, a systematic review of the literature was performed. Five databases were searched until August 2020. Ultimately, a list of 42 studies were included in a narrative synthesis, and 17 studies were included in a meta-analysis. Based on the meta-analysis, we found evidence that the height premium varied by context: the height premium was smaller in the U.S. and Australia, and larger in Latin America and Asia. Within geographies, there appeared to be a larger height premium for men than for women. Cultural factors, labor market structures and biology may play a role in determining the strength of the height premium., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Increases in minimum wages have been associated with reductions in suicide rates in the United States, but little evidence is available for Asia where social and contextual factors, as well as drivers of suicide, may be different. We investigated the impact of the introduction of the minimum wage in Hong Kong in May 2011 on suicide rates using an interrupted time series design for the period January 2006 to December 2016. We investigated both immediate and gradual changes in monthly suicide rates after the introduction of the minimum wage taking into account secular trends. We conducted stratified analyses by age and gender. In total 9396 suicides were recorded in Hong Kong during the 11-year study period. Introduction of the minimum wage was associated with an immediate decrease of 13.0% in the monthly suicide rate (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.4%–19.9%, P = 0.001). There was an immediate decrease of 15.8% in older working aged (25–64 years) men (95% CI: 4.2%–25.9%, P = 0.009). Point estimates of immediate effect for other subgroups were also in a negative direction, but were not statistically significant. There was no evidence of a gradual effect on suicide rates at the population level or by subgroup other than a small increase in younger working aged men. We estimate that 633 suicides were prevented by the minimum wage legislation for the period from May 2011 to December 2016, the majority in older working aged men. Our results provide new evidence that, similar to findings in Western settings, minimum wages may help to reduce suicide in Asia, particularly for working age men. Our study highlights the importance of examining the health impacts of government economic policy and suggests minimum wages may provide policy makers with an upstream population-based strategy to reduce suicide rates. • Minimum wage first introduced in Hong Kong in 2011. • Natural experiment study using interrupted time series design. • Found significant decreases in suicide rates after introduction of minimum wage. • Strongest effect in working aged men. • Suggests upstream population-based strategy for reducing suicide rates in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of workers' remittances and its volatility on economic growth of five South Asian countries by employing long time series data from 1975 to 2009. Cointegration results confirm a significant positive long run relationship between remittances and economic growth in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, but a significant negative relationship in Pakistan. Conversely, the volatility of workers' remittances has a negative and significant effect on economic growth in Pakistan, Indian, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but a negative but insignificant impact in Nepal. All sensitivity analyses confirm that the results are robust. A less volatile inflow of workers' remittances is growth-enhancing for all countries. It is suggested that policy makers should make policies to reduce the transaction cost to welcome remittances into the region. Furthermore, countries like Pakistan should make the policies to discourage voluntary unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea experienced a steep increase in wage inequality between the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008. This paper investigates the causes of the sharp change during that time period by looking at the contributions of changes in the distributions of schooling and unionization. The effects are estimated applying two robust distributional function based decomposition methods on Korean Labor and Panel Survey data for the time period 1998-2007. The results suggest changes in the distribution of schooling can explain about 10 % of the changes in the 90/50 percentile wage gap. The declining unionization rate does not have much impact on the upward trend of Korean wage inequality. In addition, aggregate decomposition results suggest that changes in labor force composition can explain a significant proportion of the total wage changes in the upper-tail of the distribution. Based on our findings we provide a list of policy recommendations to address the wage inequality issue in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the activities and concerns of critical care nurses and professional critical care nursing organizations around the world and to identify expectations held of nursing leaders and policy makers to help address their concerns. Background: This study is the fourth worldwide review of its type. Previous surveys were undertaken in 2001, 2005 and 2009. Methods: An online descriptive survey was emailed to 88 potential participants from countries with critical care nursing organizations or known critical care nursing leaders. Responses were downloaded into Survey Monkey™ (Version 22) and analysed by geographical region and income level. Results: Fifty ‐ nine respondents from 58 countries completed the questionnaire, of whom 43 had critical care nursing organizations established in their countries and 29 were members of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses. The services provided by the organizations to be of most value were national conferences, website, professional representation, and practice standards and guidelines. Professional policies had been developed by some organizations on workforce, education and practice, while almost half provided their members with either a newsletter or journal. Collectively, the most important issues for critical care nurses were working conditions, provision of formal practice guidelines and competencies, staffing levels and access to quality education programmes. Conclusions: Important issues continue to challenge the specialty of critical care nursing as new developments, priorities, clinical issues and other global events and influences impact critical care nursing worldwide. Implications for Nursing and Health Policy: This study will help guide nursing leaders and policy makers to address the needs of critical care nurses and their patients. Collaborative approaches between the specialty, nursing leaders and health policy advisors will assist to inform appropriate change in areas recommended for further action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper sheds light on the nexus of age compositional shifts and the generation of the first demographic dividend over the past several decades in China, and also discusses how this dividend could be extended We first estimate how long China's first demographic dividend will last and then compare the computed results for China with those for other selected Asian countries in order to place the Chinese case in a wider perspective. Furthermore, in view of the possibility that China's first demographic dividend will turn negative in 2014, we offer insight into how and to what extent China's labor market needs to adjust and how much labor income must increase for the first demographic dividend to remain positive up to year 2050. For this goal to be achieved, the labor income age profile needs to be shifted to a considerable extent. We conduct an exercise in which the 2007 peak labor income age of 32 years is shifted to 40 years. In the case of the elderly, this implies an annual labor income growth of 3.1 percent over the period of 39 years. Throughout this paper, we draw on a variety of computed results derived from the Chinese component of the global 'National Transfer Accounts' project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the link between macroeconomic policy and gender inequality as put across in the World Bank's 2012 report "World Development Report 2012: Gender equality and development." The complicit role of macroeconomic policy in aggravating gender inequalities in the market and home is described. Evidence from Asia with regards to the link between macroeconomic policy and gender equality is highlighted, thus indicating the need for the World Bank to include macroeconomic policies.

The article focuses on the issue of the Asian Floor Wages (AFW) in India and global industrial collective bargaining. The demand for an AFW first began developing in 2006 through a collective consensus-building process among Asian labour organizations. Wage share has been declining across the globe. People's purchasing power in Asia is falling and poverty levels are being down so that few people can be listed below poverty levels.

Des millions de femmes émigrent vers l'Asie et le Moyen-Orient pour gagner leur vie comme travailleuses domestiques. Dans les pays d'accueil, la combinaison de graves lacunes dans les lois sur le travail, de mesures visant à restreindre l'immigration et le fait que la société accepte la discrimination contre les travailleurs migrants, entraîne d'inquiétantes violations des droits de la personne, comme de trop longues heures sans congés, le non-versement du salaire, le confinement au lieu de travail, de mauvais traitements physiques, des sévices sexuels, du travail forcé et dans certains cas, des conditions d'esclavage. Bien que certains gouvernements aient commencé à améliorer peu à peu leurs normes, la plupart n'ont pas adopté de réformes globales. Un tel changement se bute souvent à une forte résistance chez les employeurs qui craignent une augmentation des coûts et une diminution de leurs droits, chez les agences de placement qui profitent d'un système mal réglementé, et chez les fonctionnaires gouvernementaux qui considèrent les migrants comme une menace à la sécurité. Les politiques fondées sur le sexe, la race, la classe sociale et l'origine nationale influencent ces négociations sur les droits de la personne. Le présent article examine des modèles de changement dans trois secteurs : les mesures de protection des travailleurs, les règlements concernant l'immigration et la mobilisation de la société civile. La plupart des pays ont compté sur la mise en place de contrats de travail standards pour régir les conditions d'emploi, au lieu d'inclure les travailleurs et travailleuses domestiques dans les lois sur le travail. Bien que l'on convienne de plus en plus qu'au Moyen-Orient, le système actuel de recrutement de travailleurs immigrés par « parrainage » contribue aux mauvais traitements, le changement advient lentement et graduellement. Sur une note plus favorable, on constate que malgré la lutte contre les restrictions à la liberté de mouvement et les lourdes contraintes imposées aux groupes de migrantes qui cherchent à s'organiser, ces derniers sont de plus en plus nombreux, diversifiés et raffinés. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper examines the effect of the financial crisis on off-farm employment of China’s rural labor force. Using a national representative dataset, we find that there was a large impact. By April 2009 off-farm employment reached 6.8% of the rural labor force. Monthly earnings also declined. However, while we estimate that 49 million were laid-off between October 2008 and April 2009, half of them were re-hired in off-farm work by April 2009. By August 2009, less than 2% of the rural labor force was unemployed due to the crisis. The robust recovery appears to have helped avoid instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High-Performing Asian Economies (HPAEs) have been unusually successful compared to large parts of Asia (including India), Africa and Latin America at matching high growth rates with significantly declining income inequalities. This paper looks at India and the HPAEs from a human capital development perspective, and it seeks to explain the reasons for the possible causes of these different patterns of growth rates and income inequalities. The paper proposes a new Human Capital Index, and argues that the notion of fair wage is the key factor linking human capital development to high growth rates and declining inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research we conduct a systematic and critical review of the literature on executive compensation in Asian countries. We discuss the particular characteristics of executive compensation in Asia in terms of pay criteria, contingency factors, and implications for performance and turnover. We thereby highlight the unique contributions of Asian studies to the mainstream Western research in executive compensation, and call for future research integrating agency theory and the institution-based view in examining pay variances across different institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper very briefly surveys current research on Asian economic development, and also discusses several recent papers on the contributions of economic history to understanding development. I then review the contributions of the papers in this special volume of Explorations in light of these two literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earning differences between South Korean women and men were compared to better understand how gender differences in wages have changed between 1988 and 1998 for five age groups. Utilizing labor market data from Korea's Occupational Wage Survey (OWS) for the years 1988 and 1998, we found that men enjoy a wage advantage over women in all age groups in both time periods. For all but the oldest group (55 and over), such bias was less in 1998 than in 1988. As hypothesized, the wage gap was narrower among younger age groups compared with older ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES. To attract and retain a global pool of satisfied talent, companies now have to offer remuneration packages that are commensurate with the level and goals of the assignments. What, then, are the remuneration policies most desired by employees and how are companies in Asia responding to the demands of competitive remuneration? This article addresses this issue by exploring the efforts of four multinational companies (MNCs) in Malaysia in their attempts to enhance employee satisfaction. For the purpose of this research, it is hypothesized that foreign-owned MNCs, which are more global and technologically advanced, would have better remuneration policies and hence employees in foreign-owned MNCs may be more satisfied than employees in locally-owned multinational companies. The findings give insight into remuneration practices that could be recommended by HR practitioners in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the question of whether there is in fact a single model of Japanese remuneration practices in some enterprises in Malaysia. It attempts to reveal the extent to which Japanese remuneration practices have been introduced and practiced in Malaysian companies since the implementation of the Look East policy. The main findings indicate that there is not a single model of remuneration practices operating in these companies, although some consistent sets of remuneration behavior are evident. However, if consideration is given to certain factors that counter the application of Japanese wage system in Malaysia, Japanese compensation techniques with minor modifications can be successfully introduced. The transference of the Japanese wage system must be undertaken with patience and understanding, and in line with the mainstream of the basic cultural values of the local community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate how ownership-specific, location-specific, internalization and strategic advantages have influenced the location strategies of Finnish firms in 10 South and Southeast Asian countries from 1980 to 2000. Despite the increased interest in foreign direct investments (FDIs), very few studies have been undertaken to empirically analyse influential ownership-specific, location-specific and internalization (OLI) variables together with strategic advantages in order to assess FDI decision-making among foreign investors. To the best of our knowledge, strategic motives particularly have remained primarily anecdotal. This paper is apparently the first attempt to analyse how the above OLI advantages have influenced Finnish manufacturing firms in Asian countries. The research results indicate that large parent firm size, large international experience, large market size in the target country, low cultural distance and low wage rates increase the probability of market-seeking and efficiency-seeking FDIs. It has also been found that low levels of inflation, low levels of risk and a high level of exchange rate fluctuation in the target country increase the probability of risk reduction seeking FDIs. Finally, the results show that high R&D intensity in the parent firm increases the probability of knowledge-seeking FDIs in Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban areas of China, economic reforms were intensely implemented after 1984. We focus on two primary aspects of the reforms in the 1990s, those pertaining to the labor market and to wages. Based on original interviews and two unique household data sets, we investigate the effects of the reforms. Our first finding is that the components of annual income have changed, reflecting fewer subsidies and more diverse sources of income (such as self-employment), over the period from 1995 to 1999. By 1999, the wage structure reflects less seniority-based pay, allows for more discretion in rewarding non-productive characteristics (gender and Communist Party membership, for example) and also permits more productivity-related pay (as evidenced by increased returns to human capital). JEL classification codes: O53, P23, J31, O10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the effect of international trade with newly industrialized countries (NICs) on wage inequality in the European Union (EU). We apply a two-stage mandated wage-estimation procedure to assess the respective impact of trade and technology on the relative wages of low-skilled workers. We find weak evidence of a positive impact on the wages of high-skilled workers with regards to trade with high-wage South-East Asian NICs but no evidence for other groups of NICs. We also find evidence of technological change, induced by trade with high-wage South-East Asian NICs. However, this indirect effect of international trade seems to have reduced wage inequality in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effects of globalization on wage inequalities in developed and developing countries in Asia. Impact of travel and communications facilities on wages of highly skilled Northern workers; Transfer of production activities; Reduction of barriers to trade.

Absent from the important debate on the determinants of rapid Asian growth is the role of gender inequality. This paper argues that gender wage inequality has stimulated growth, with Asian economies that disadvantaged women the most growing the fastest from 1975 to 1990. Low female wages have spurred investment and exports by lowering unit labor costs, providing the foreign exchange to purchase capital and intermediate goods which raise productivity and growth rates. These results contrast with recent studies that argue income equality at the household level contributed favorably to Asian growth by reducing political conflict. The divergent findings can be explained by the fact that gender norms and stereotypes that convince women to accept their low status curb labor and political unrest, stimulating investment. The results indicate that which group bears the burden of inequality in the process of economic growth matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States has long enjoyed a unique position of economic supremacy. Not only is it far and away the most populous of the advanced market economies; for most of the past century it has also had substantially higher per capita income than any other major nation. As a result, the only puzzle about the Pax Americana that took shape in the 1940s is that it took so long in coming: at the time the United States actually took on the mantle of world leadership, it had about as much purchasing power as all other market economies combined. By the early 1990s, however, almost everyone believed that the age of U.S. supremacy was nearing its end. U.S. GDP per capita was no longer exceptional when measured at current exchange rates, although when measured at purchasing power parity instead the United States still led its rivals in real output per head. Perhaps more significant, other advanced countries had clearly overtaken U.S. productivity in some industries, and surpassed the United States in some technologies. The rapid growth of Asian developing countries further suggested that the balance of world economic power might be shifting away from the original advanced nations; probably nobody now alive will see China come anywhere close to U.S. income per capita, but all it has to do is reach one-fifth of the U.S. level to become the world's largest economy in absolute terms. While prophets of "declinism" like Kennedy (1989) and Thurow (1992) did not entirely dominate the discourse--Nye (1992), for example, argued that despite its gradual relative economic decline the United States retained the resources to remain the world's political leader for decades to come--circa 1992 few people would have dared to suggest that a second "American century" might be in prospect. At the millennium, however, such suggestions are indeed being made (for example, Zuckerman, 1998). Several years of extremely favorable U.S. economic performance, all the more dramatic in contrast to some o... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low wage costs have been regarded as the most important determinant of competitiveness in clothing production. But differentiation in respect to quality and design content is also important, as is ‘quick response’. This paper considers the comparative dvantages of the different Asian countries as reflected in the relative unit value of their exports and the amount of the different products they supply. Recent changes in the quantity supplied are considered as giving some indication as to what will happen when the Multi-Fibre Arrangement quotas are removed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the industrial revolution in Asia. It states that socialism presented a serious conceptual challenge to capitalism but never managed to threaten it in the marketplace. Late industrialization developments in Asian countries have evolved squarely within the capitalist fold. The absolute wage level achieved by industrialized Asian countries is impressive wherein the best-paid male production workers typically earn more than the average wage in the American South or in the British North.