Asia
Introduction
March 15, 2013 was the first anniversary of the entry into force of the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), and the debate as to its potential impact that raged during its protracted negotiation, renegotiation, and ratification process endures. The U.S. and South...
In 2012, China’s real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth amounted to just 7.8 percent, the first time in more than a decade that it failed to reach 8 percent. Although some of the slowing was caused by short-term cyclical factors, many believe that it at least partially reflects ongoing structural...
Introduction
After three decades of fast economic expansion, China’s labor market has gone through significant changes. While the dwindling supply of young migrant workers has been widely reported for several years, the growing skills shortage is now attracting more attention. The potential talent...
Background
At the most recent meeting of the MAPI Board of Trustees—just days before the 2012 U.S. election—a spokesperson from the Obama administration detailed the initiatives undertaken at the president’s direction during his first term to boost U.S. manufacturing. At the conclusion of these...
After a robust recovery during 2009-10, industrial base metal prices started to fall in 2011, and the downward trend continued through the second quarter of 2012 before leveling off in the third quarter. In recent months, there were some signs that metal prices have hit bottom and are starting to...
Given its mounting impact on China’s macroeconomic growth and financial stability, the real estate sector attracts enormous attention from both policymakers and private investors. The focus has been on residential housing prices, which rose at an unprecedented pace during 2009-2010, when monetary...
The U.S. trade deficit in manufactures increased by 7 percent in the first half of 2012, and is projected to be $495 billion for the calendar year. The Chinese surplus grew much faster, by 24 percent, and is projected to be $817 billion for the year. The $169 billion increase in the U.S. deficit...
A recent survey of senior executives shows that just under two-thirds have non-compete agreements in place for at least some of their employees in China. Engineering and sales are the functions most commonly covered by non-competes, given that they have knowledge of the company’s key business...
Cliff Waldman begins with a tale of two recoveries for the Japanese economy, both from the 2008-2009 global recession and from the March 2011 tsunami. The near-term path of the yen is also discussed. After reviewing the recent path of total factory sector output growth as well as the performance of...
The forecast for India’s output growth for key manufacturing industries in 2012 and 2013 explains why the macroeconomic fundamentals in the country are deteriorating. Waldman discusses recent trends in the exchange rate, investment spending, export growth, and the country’s inflation problem and...