Business Commons^™

[Review Of The Book Jobs And Incomes In A Globalizing World], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This is a timely book about the labour market effects of globalization – specifically, the effects of globalization on jobs, wages and incomes in industrialized and developing countries. Ajit Ghose defines globalization as “a process of integration of national markets into a global market.” Globalization, he writes, is of such great concern now because of a new development: trade between developed and developing countries in competing products.

[Review Of The Book Beneath The Miracle: Labor Subordination In The New Asian Industrialism], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Have workers in the newly industrializing countries (NIC's) of Asia benefited from the rapid economic growth in their economies? In this important book, Frederic Deyo contends that "beneath the miracle" of economic growth is the "extreme political subordination and exclusion of workers" in the economic development of Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. He sees the inability of East Asian workers to "influence the political and economic decisions that have shaped their lives" as the "dark underside" of Asian economic growth. The main body of the book is an examination of why this subordination has taken place.

[Review Of The Book Technology Choice And Employment Generation By Multinational Corporations In Developing Countries], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The present volume, by addressing technology choice and employment in multinational enterprises (MNEs), adds to our understanding of the determinants of demand for labor in developing countries. The book synthesizes results from case studies of MNEs in Singapore, Nigeria, Brazil, India, and Kenya, and it does so in such a way that the main conclusions can easily be identified.

[Review Of The Book Studies Of Urban Labour Market Behaviour In Developing Areas], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] In the 1970s social scientists from all disciplines became aware that an understanding of how labor markets function is central to determining who benefits from economic growth. Only a few researchers concerned with the economic development of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, however, have examined labor markets in any serious way. Hence, a compendium entitled Studies of Urban Labour Market Behavior in Developing Areas is particularly welcome.

[Review Of The Book Bridging The Gap: Four Newly Industrialising Countries And The Changing International Division Of Labour], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The central focus of this book is the labor force in the context of structural change. Its title, "Bridging the Gap," signifies a concern with drawing the NICs closer to the developed world. The author, a senior economist and staff member of the International Labour Organisation, argues that "the experience of these four NICs also holds lessons for OECD countries, as it deals with such now universal issues as the role of government in the promotion of new ventures; how new growth areas can be identified; how foreign investors are attracted; and what the costs and benefits of government …

[Review Of The Book The Four Little Dragons: The Spread Of Industrialization In East Asia], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This slim and eminently readable volume presents the 1990 Edwin O. Reischauer lectures delivered by Ezra Vogel, the Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences at Harvard University and a leading scholar on Asia. In the first chapter Vogel establishes the context for the experiences of the "late late industrializes". Japan and "the Four Little Dragons" (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan). The next three chapters are devoted to the experiences of Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. The last chapter offers an explanation for the dragons' successes.

[Review Of The Book Labor Regulation In The Global Economy], Gary Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This is a practical and useful volume on labor standards in today’s highly globalized world. An introduction is followed by ten chapters, some of them general, talking about the ILO or the WTO, and some more specific, focusing on the United States and Europe. The general chapters cover the ILO, corporate codes of conduct, efforts to introduce labor standards into the multilateral trade regime, arguments for and against labor standards in trade, and policy implications. The specific chapters cover U.S. initiatives on child labor, labor standards in the bilateral trade agreements entered into by the United States and the …

[Review Of The Book Urban Labour Market Structure And Job Access In India: A Study Of Coimbatore], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This is a book about "labor status"—what it is, how it works, and how it can be used in labor market analysis. The authors make a convincing case that the labor status approach is indeed a useful one to follow.

[Review Of The Book Successes In Anti-Poverty], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Michael Lipton has devoted a long career to studying and fighting poverty in the developing world. In this volume he talks about how to make anti-poverty programs work.

[Review Of The Book Forecasting Retirement Needs And Retirement Wealth], Gary Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This volume enables researchers to learn about some of the latest research findings on specific issues. It is not the place to seek an introduction to current thinking on retirement, pensions, and Social Security—the papers are too narrowly focused for that. But for current or would-he pension specialists, this volume and the larger series of which it is a part are indispensable resources.

[Review Of The Book Private Pension Policies In Industrialized Countries: A Comparative Analysis], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] John Turner and Noriyasu Watanabe have written numerous articles and books on pensions and employee benefits. In this collaborative effort, they synthesize a great deal of institutional and analytical material on a wide range of countries, including those typically regarded as industrialized (most of the OECD countries are the subjects of case studies and illustrations) and those that would probably be happy to learn that they now fall into that category (in particular, Chile and Argentina). The book is both accessible (there are no equations in sight) and analytical.

[Review Of The Book International Labour Standards And Economic Interdependence], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] What can be done to raise the living standards of working people around the world? This collection of 29 essays focuses on an issue currently in the air: the setting of international labor standards. Although the writers come from every continent and represent employers, workers, government, and academia, virtually all favor international labor standards. One should perhaps not be too surprised by this agreement, given that the volume is published under the auspices of the International Institute for Labour Studies, a sister organization of the ILO. Things get interesting when the authors stop lamenting how tough conditions are for …

[Review Of The Book Personnel Economics], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] What is personnel economics? Despite its name (non-economists may be put off by the use of the word “personnel,” which was left behind by what is now called human resource management about a quarter century ago), personnel economics deals with issues of fundamental importance in the workplace. As the editors explain in the introduction, “The literature is distinguished from other parts of labour economics primarily by its focus on problems that are central to business.” Thus, personnel economics is economics, it is that part of economics that deals with workplace issues, and it is firmly grounded in labor economics. …

Place-To-Place Migration: Some New Evidence, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This paper presents new evidence on the determinants of place-to-place migration in the United States. For understanding the causes of differential migration rates into and out of labor markets, knowledge of place-to-place migration functions is of interest for a number of reasons. Given a thorough understanding of gross place-to-place flows, one can proceed to calculate net flows; the reverse, of course, is not possible. There are also other advantages of place-to-place studies: parallelism to microeconomic behavior, opportunity to investigate specific 'origin-destination match-ups, recognition of the number and location of alternative opportunities for persons residing in different origins, and exploration …

Who Benefits From Economic Development? Reply, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Before the appearance of my 1977 paper in this Review, it was widely thought that the income distribution worsened during the economic growth which took place in Brazil during the 1960's. My paper demonstrated that the familiar data, when analyzed from an absolute perspective, could show that the poor had benefited from growth. I found that the entire income distribution shifted, benefiting every income class; that the proportion of the economically active population with incomes below the poverty level (as defined by Brazilian standards) declined during the decade; that those who remained poor were less poor than before in …

Educational Progress And Economic Development, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Many development agencies seek to channel economic assistance to those less-developed countries (LDCs) and activities that will help the poor to achieve a better life (this phraseology is from the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act as amended in 1975). Education is an important indicator of countries' performance. This chapter examines the suitability of alternative education indicators as guides for planning and evaluating countries' progress and commitment toward increasing the participation of the poor in development.

The Potential Role Of An Employment Guarantee Scheme In Korea's Social Safety Net, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Beginning in November 1997, the Republic of Korea underwent a devastating economic crisis. Declining macroeconomic conditions brought about major labor market disruptions in 1998: a quadrupling of unemployment, a fall of 9% in real wages, informalization of the remaining jobs, increased job insecurity, and rising poverty and inequality. Disadvantaged groups suffered a disproportionate impact. The result was not only economic misery but also social pain: increased homelessness, rising crime, heightened school dropouts, an accelerating divorce rate, and an overwhelming sense of social malaise. 1999 marked a major turnaround for Korea. GDP grew by 10.7%, and real wages are growing …

Assessing Progress Toward Greater Equality Of Income Distribution, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Income distribution is only one indicator of economic well-being useful in gauging improvements in the economic position of the poor; change in income distribution, appropriately conceived and measured, is as good a criterion as any for assessing progress toward the alleviation of poverty. Income is intimately bound up with a family's command over economic resources. Rising modern-sector employment or reduced infant mortality might be suggestive of improvements in the economic position of the poor; gains in real income among low-income groups provide direct evidence that poverty is being alleviated. This chapter answers the following questions: What are the strengths …

Education And Income Distribution In Developing Countries: A Review Of The Literature, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This paper is a survey of the available literature on education and income distribution in developing countries. Education may affect the distribution of income in a variety of ways: by raising the level of income; by changing, for better or worse, the dispersion of income; by opening up new opportunities for the children of the poor and thereby serving as a vehicle for social mobility and/or, by limiting participation to the children of the well-to-do, transmitting intergenerational inequality; by offering greater access to favored segments of the population (boys, city-dwellers, certain racial groups); by rewarding differently the education received …

Place-To-Place Migration In Colombia, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This paper builds upon earlier work of mine which explored the determinants of population migration in Colombia. As before, the basic proposition is that areas' economic opportunities play a central role in determining the spatial allocation of the population. My earlier paper used published data from the 1973 Colombian Census of Population to establish that the rates of net lifetime migration into Colombia's 23 provinces (or, as they are known in Colombia, "departments") are associated with those areas' labor market conditions. The present paper uses unpublished data for 12 zones (six regions, rural and urban segments of each) to …

The Economics Of Retirement Behavior, Olivia S. Mitchell, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

This paper examines the role of economic factors in determining retirement behavior using a unique new data archive on more than 8,700 workers covered by 10 different pension plans. We build on our earlier work by estimating several different retirement models including both linear and discrete choice formulations. This framework provides new insights into how and why retirement ages differ across firms. We conclude that older workers' income opportunities differ depending on their pension rules, which in turn have a powerful influence on their retirement patterns. In addition, the models indicate that older workers' tastes for income are not uniform, …

Growth And Distribution In The Market Economies Of East Asia, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

This is a review and comparison of seven books dealing with income distribution and economic development focusing on the countries of East Asia. The books reviewed are: Irma Adelman and Sherman Robinson, Income Distribution Policy in Developing Countries. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Edward K. Y. Chen, Hyper-Growth in Asian Economies: A Comparative Study of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1979. John C. H. Fei, Gustav Ranis, and Shirley W. Y. Kuo, Growth with Equity: The Taiwan Case. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Walter Galenson, ed., Economic Growth and Structural Change …

Regional Inequality And Other Sources Of Income Variation In Colombia, Gary S. Fields, T. Paul Schultz

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Regional inequality is of interest for a variety of reasons: planning development policies aimed at alleviating poverty and reducing personal inequality, gauging the degree of a country's labor market integration, understanding patterns of population movement in general and labor force migration in particular, predicting future urbanization, and characterizing the poor. Policymakers often aim development programs at particular target groups such as those living in certain regions of a country. In this paper we analyze the determinants of incomes and income inequality in one less developed country, Colombia, examining both personal and regional aspects. The results help clarify the potential …

Poverty Changes In Developing Countries, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This chapter is concerned with measuring how the extent of poverty changes in a country over time. 'Poverty', as the term is used here, denotes the inability of an individual or a family to command sufficient resources to satisfy basic needs. The poverty line is a constant real amount below which people are said to be poor. The extent of poverty in a country is then based on variables such as the number who are poor and the extent of their resource shortfall. This chapter treats three topics: how poverty is defined, how much poverty there is, and how …

Poverty Measures And Anti-Poverty Policy, Francois Bourguignon, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Amartya Sen has made fundamental contributions to the study of distributional aspects of economic growth and decline. Among his pathbreaking works are his lectures on the economics of inequality (Sen, 1973), his article on the axiomatics of poverty measurement (Sen, 1976), and his book on anti-poverty policy in the context of famines (Sen, 1981). This paper is concerned with one of these areas, namely, the measurement of poverty and the implications for anti-poverty policy. In the 1960's and 1970's those who were working in the poverty field held a number of somewhat incompletely articulated views as to the extent …

Industrialization And Employment In Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, And Taiwan, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] What are the links between macroeconomic growth and microeconomic development objectives? The initial view held by many economists, especially Latin America specialists, was that the goals of growth, employment, and income distribution are mutually incompatible and that the pursuit of all these objectives at once is bound to be futile. But in the last few years, studies of the economies of the Asian Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs), Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan—the so-called "Group of Four"—have emerged, and they point to very rapid aggregate growth and marked improvements in labor market conditions and in income distribution. This chapter …

Living Standards, Labor Markets And Human Resources In Taiwan, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This paper has three general aims: to demonstrate that standards of living have continued to improve during Taiwan's recent economic growth, to analyze the causes of improvements in the 1980s and before, and to discuss some specific issues which are likely to arise and which will need to be resolved in the years ahead.

Trade Strategies And The Poor: Adjusting To New Realities, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The major policy issue examined in this paper is that of a country's choice of a trade strategy in the context of helping the poor. As the end of the 1980s approaches, developing countries face a much more difficult economic situation than that which they confronted at the end of the 1970s. The paper begins by reviewing these new realities and the need for adjusting to them. After mentioning some non-policies, I proceed to consider both successful and unsuccessful country experiences and draw lessons from them. One policy singled out for special attention is wage policy and its interaction …

Estimating The Effects Of Changing Social Security Benefit Formulas, Gary S. Fields, Olivia S. Mitchell

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The U.S. Social Security system faces serious financial difficulties in both the short and the long run. The short-run problem is that the system has very meager financial reserves. In the long run—after the year 2010, when the post-World-War-II baby-boom generation reaches retirement age—the financial problems of Social Security will intensify because of population aging and the consequent decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.

These problems have led to proposed reforms aimed at assuring the financial stability of the system. The question addressed here is: what effects would these reforms have on three variables—retirement ages, retirement incomes, …

Taiwan’S Changing Employment And Earnings Structure, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] In its determined pursuit of economic development throughout the latter part of the twentieth century, Taiwan consistently succeeded in achieving growth rates that were amongst the highest in the world; however, in tandem with such growth, a number of significant changes also took place in the island's labour market. This chapter begins by highlighting some of the most important of these aggregate changes, as follows: (i) the achievement, and subsequent maintenance of, essentially full employment; (ii) improvements in the overall mix of jobs, in particular, a steady reduction in the share of agricultural employment to total employment, a very …