In my steel study of more than a decade ago, South Korea's POSCO (then mostly state-owned company) had the lethal combination of a fraction of US wage costs per hour and greater productivity than US firms due to newer capital equipment and better internal work flow. No wonder American firms could do nothing but seek protection and scrap the older units. Today of course Korea has much higher wages and still remains highly productive compared to most of what is left of the US steel industry.
Anthony On Wed, Dec 24, 2008 at 6:38 PM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote: > FWIW, it's hard to separate these causes of job loss. Rising labor > productivity in the US compensates businesses for China's wage > advantage. (Ideal, from the business point of view, would be the > highest possible labor productivity combined with Chinese wages (or > cheaper).) > > If there was no wage competition from China (and other low-wage > areas), US manufacturing would try to raise labor productivity anyway. > > Eugene Coyle wrote: > > In a book review in today's (12/24/08) Wall St. Journal we find this > remark: > > > > "Examining data on changes in the US work force, the authors show that > job > > losses due to higher productivity -- often the result of improving > > technology -- greatly outnumber those lost to globalization. The authors > > cite Commerce Department figures estimating that 65% of job losses in > > manufacturing between 2000 and 2006 were due to productivity increases; > just > > 35% of job losses owed to overseas outsourcing." > > > > I read this skeptically since the thrust of the authors is evident in the > > title of the book: GLOBALIZATION: THE IRRATIONAL FEAR THAT SOMEONE IN > > CHINA WILL TAKE YOUR JOB. > > > > An interesting claim, nevertheless. > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Anthony P. D'Costa Professor of Indian Studies Asia Research Centre Copenhagen Business School Porcelænshaven 24, 3 DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark Email:[email protected] Ph: +45 3815 2572 Fax: +45 3815 2500 PhD in INDIAN STUDIES WEBSITE http://frontpage.cbs.dk/jobs/stil.pl?func=details&id=1147 http://uk.cbs.dk/arc www.cbs.dk/india xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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