When will wage parity globalise& to what effect?
I have witnessed wages in Asia rapidly level out across ASEAN over the last few years. The 3 tiers are in rough $USD terms: (note Singapore bucks these trends) Unskilled labor: $3 a day. Semi skilled/ trades assistants: $5 a day. Professional rural: $10 a day. Professional urban: $20- $25 a day. Given that the skill base is growing exponentially in this part of the world and that growth in the region is lagely pegged to China’s; it seems that this part of the world is setting the status quo for wages in real terms over coming years. The end result of fully open markets will be a paced upward drift of real wages here; with a rapid crash in real wages in western countries. On the other hand; if 1st world countries remain somewhat protectionist markets, there could be a trade backlash forcing wage parity anyhow. Along with other forces weakening the $USD in particular; the skill/ wage/ business doability equation in a global free market makes real wages in 1st world countries look to be h
