Asian Nies & the Global Economy Industrial Restructuring & Corporate Strategy in the 1990s

Industrial restructuring in the Asian newly industrialized economies (NIEs) has become very important. Existing strategies may no longer deliver employment or income growth in many of the Asian NIE's labor-intensive industries. The complex process of restructuring will involve economic adjustment and political realignment among industrial sectors and between industry managers and state policy makers. Asian NIEs and the Global Economy explains how the Asian NIEs have responded to the costs of success, including escalating real wages and prices, slowing growth rates of productivity, and increasing competition in markets they once dominated. This integrated collection of ten essays -- based on a long-term porject sponsored by the East-West Center -- introduces the reader to this timely issue by examining industrial restructuring in the most industrialized economies of East Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan. The contributors begin by describing the global context, theory, and practice of restructuring. Five case studies then examine important labor intensive industries, including apparel, footwear, and electronics, all of which have had strong export markets. The final section draws out the broad implications of these studies and assesses the near-term future of the Asian NIEs as China undergoes rapid industrialization and enters the global marketplace. Contributors to the volume are Gordon L. Clark, Won Bae Kim, Michael Webber, Stephen Chiu, Tai-lok Lui, K. C. Ho, Sam Ock Park, Jung Duk Lim, and Ching-lung Tsay. " Asian NIEs and the Global Economy provides a fine comparative analysis of restructuring in the Asian NIEs, focusing on firm-level strategies based on surveys of shared questions -- an important but understudied topic. The book will be of interest to specialists and students in international business, political economy, economics, international relations, and political science." -- Eun Mee Kim, University of Southern CaliforniaClark, Gordon L. is the author of 'Asian Nies & the Global Economy Industrial Restructuring & Corporate Strategy in the 1990s' with ISBN 9780801851056 and ISBN 080185105X.