This volume addresses the challenges of globalization as well as the state of the economies of the United States, Japan, and Europe. Each chapter discusses the impact of the labor market, trade, and wage issues as they relate to the growth and health of the various economies.
The authors suggest that the challenge of a truly globalized economy lies in the equalization of wages and international trade flow. In their analysis of the Trilateral economies, the authors report that "the American historical experience certainly shows that trade with low-wage countries is not compatible with domestic prosperity in the high wage nation." However, they continue, "there is no obvious a priori reason for thinking that trade with low-cost countries should be regarded as a major threat to the satisfactory economic performance of the European economies." Noting the different circumstances in Japan, the authors "inquire whether and to what extent the issues raised are relevant in Japan, particularly focusing on their relationship to Japanese labor practices."
Chapters
- Introduction
- The United States
- Trade, Employment, and Wages: The Japanese Case
- Europe
- Conclusion and Policy Implications
Authors
- Niels Thygesen, Professor of Economics, Economic Institute of Copenhagen University
- Yutaka Kosai, President, Japan Center for Economic Research
- Robert Z. Lawrence, Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
New York: The Trilateral Commission, 1996
|ISBN 0-930503-74-0; 112 pages; paper