Labor and Economic Growth in Five Asian Countries

This work explores developments in the labor markets of five countries--South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines--which have undergone successful economic development during the past quarter of a century. This includes employment, earnings, industrial relations, and social security measures. While the Philippines' progress has lagged, the other four countries constitute the most successful group of the world's developing countries--offering a interesting contrast in approaches to growth. The author's methodology is comparative by specific subject, so that a correlation of developmental stages and the emergence of particular features of the labor market emerges.

This study is unique in that inter-country comparisons are made in terms of specific aspects of the labor market. The work will be of interest to economists, political scientists, and sociologists concerned with problems of development. And it will be useful in pointing the way to successful development practices.

WALTER GALENSON is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Cornell University. He was founder and first director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, founder of the World Employment Program of the International Labor Office in Geneva, and is a past president of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Dr. Galenson is the author of 14 books, including most recently, New Trends in Employment Practices: An International Survey (Greenwood Press, 1991).