Re: Race to the Bottom

[Jon Gabriel]

From: Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Race to the Bottom
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 08:05:51 -0500
On Thu, Mar 11, 2004 at 06:10:55PM +0530, ritu wrote:

> I found the information surprising though and although the population
> density bit looks obvious now, it still hasn't worked out quite that
> way here yet.
Yes, there are other factors as well. But for GDP/capita's "in the
same ballpark", population density is probably the biggest factor for
networking costs.
  ----------------------------
  country   GDP/head  pop/km^2
  ============================
  India       $450      307
  S Korea    $9670      472
  USA       $34940       30
  ----------------------------
South Korea has almost 16 times the population density of America, but
the GDP per capita is what I would consider "in the same ballpark" (much
less than a factor of 10 difference), although it is significantly lower
than America's.
Comparing India to South Korea, the population density is a bit higher
in South Korea, but the GDP per capita is more than 21 times higher in
South Korea!


I stand corrected.  I never would have guessed S. Korea's GDP would be that 
high.

From the CIA factbook: As one of the Four Tigers of East Asia, South Korea 
has achieved an incredible record of growth and integration into the 
high-tech modern world economy. Three decades ago GDP per capita was 
comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its 
GDP per capita is 18 times North Korea's and equal to the lesser economies 
of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a 
system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import 
restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. 
The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the 
expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over 
consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed longstanding 
weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity 
ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. 
Growth plunged to a negative 6.6% in 1998, then strongly recovered to 10.8% 
in 1999 and 9.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the 
slowing global economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed 
corporate and financial reforms had stalled. Led by consumer spending and 
exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 6.2%, despite anemic global 
growth, followed by moderate 2.8% growth in 2003. In 2003 the six-day work 
week was reduced to five days.
...
I was unaware of this.  Very interesting.

Jon

Le Blog:  http://zarq.livejournal.com

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