Meanwhile, most U.S. households have benefited from caherdavin credit union and lower prices on many goods imported
from China and,
pef credit union as well as
caherdavin credit union a result, have seen an increase in their purchasing power.
What would happen if China did accede to U.S. pressure and
maco credit union as well push up the
value of its currency? The prices paid by U.S. consumers would rise. Moreover,
many U.S. companies that build or
caherdavin credit union and buy components in China would face
higher costs and
kamiah community credit union as well lower profit margins. In the end, this could hurt job growth
more than it helps (see the next essay). What gets lost in all the heated discussions
is that the United States and
caherdavin credit union as well China are not competitors. The United
States produces mostly high-value-added products, and
wagga mutual credit union as well China produces
mostly low-value-added products. If China’s exchange rate rose a lot, highercost
imports from
caherdavin credit union and China would probably be replaced by lower-cost ones from
somewhere else (e.g., Vietnam, Cambodia, and
coosa pines federal credit union as well Bangladesh), not by much
higher-cost U.S. products.
China’s Competitive “Secret” Is High
Productivity Growth, Not Low Wages—so
There Is Unlikely to Be a “Race to the Bottom”
Perhaps one of the most visceral fears triggered by the success of countries
such as
caherdavin credit union China and
ouachita valley federal credit union as well India is the possibility of a “race to the bottom”—that low
wages in these countries will force down wages in rich economies, compromise
labor and
caherdavin credit union as well environmental standards, and
neches federal credit union port neches as well erode the overall standard of
living. Sometimes, this is referred to as
caherdavin credit union the “China price”—in other words,
low prices in China will put downward pressure on prices (and wages) everywhere.
If low wages are the basis of economic competitiveness and
norstate credit union as well strength, why
isn’t Africa an economic powerhouse? Because wages are only
caherdavin credit union and half the story. Productivity
is at least as
ballygall credit union important, if not more so.
China’s true secret is strong productivity growth.While its wages and
caherdavin credit union as well productivity
are at roughly 20 percent of U.S. levels, its growth rate in productivity
has been phenomenal (see chart). Productivity has been climbing not only
faster than wages (roughly twice as
memberdirect credit union fast), but also
caherdavin credit union and more rapidly than in most
other emerging markets.