Farewell to Jobs and the Rise of the Dragon, Coursework Example

What is the difference between buying automobiles, clothes and DVD players from abroad and buying low-cost labor services, such as call-center, from abroad?

In some ways there is no difference; manufacturing goods and providing trained personnel for white-collar jobs in customer support, medical technicians, and other similar jobs are all labor-intensive. It is noteworthy, though, that the white-collar jobs are potentially more profitable, as less capital is needed to develop those jobs. According to the text, as we shift to purchasing low-cost services from abroad, that competition will spur innovation here in the United States. The authors take a particularly positive view of the significance of job losses in the growing high-tech and service-oriented job market, and the long-term effect those loses will have on our own economy; as they see it, these job losses, just like competition from abroad, will encourage innovation and the creation of new jobs.

Given the possibility of continued outsourcing of programming services abroad, what do you think will happen to the demand for degrees in computer sciences in the United States over time?

According to the text, the so-called “Asian Invasion” of the 1980s (the influx of low-cost electronics and computer chips into this country from Japan and other Asian countries) actually spurred an economic boom here, as competition heated up, it again spurred innovation. So while India, for example, may be creating jobs for programmers, the United States has the advantage of having easier access to capital. This means we have a greater opportunity for investment in technology innovation, which will actually lead to a greater demand for employees with degrees in computer science and other training relevant to high-tech industries.

In what way can immigration be thought of as “insourcing” jobs, that is, bringing the people into America to do the jobs here? Suppose we had decided a century ago (as many politicians advocated at the time) to stop this ”insourcing” threat to Americans by eliminating all immigration into America. Would our nation be better or worse off? Would you be an American?

Many politicians are still advocating for the end of immigration, though if there were no companies willing to hire immigrants (both legal and illegal) then immigration would cease. There has been much talk in the news lately over a new law in Arizona that makes it easier for police to stop people and ask their citizenship status. It’s too son to tell whether this law will be helpful, or if it will lead to too many innocent people being stopped and questioned to make it worthwhile. Still, the fact that it was created indicates how strongly some people feel about immigration. In this age of instant communication and computer networks, many high-tech jobs do not require “insourcing;” there is no need to physically move someone from one place to another to perform a job that only requires access to telephones and computers. Jobs involving physical labor, such as manufacturing or agricultural jobs, could conceivably benefit from insourcing, though with the loss of much of our manufacturing base, such jobs are less available than they used to be. It is difficult to say with any certainty at what point immigration should cease; I certainly wouldn’t be here if immigration had been halted 100 years ago, as my grandparents were immigrants.

The Rise of the Dragon

Currently AIDS is spreading rapidly in China, importantly as a result of contaminated blood supplies. If the government fails to stop the spread of AIDS, what are the likely consequences for future economic growth in China?

It is difficult to say with certainty what impact AIDS will have on China’s economic future. On one hand, with a population of nearly one and a half-billion people, it would likely take an enormous number of infected people to make a statistically significant mark on the economy. On the other hand, AIDS impacts many different sectors of the economy. It is primarily contracted by younger, sexually-active people, which are the same people who make up the bulk of the workforce, and are also responsible for maintaining the population. The effect on health care costs could be enormous, as China’s medical infrastructure is most likely already stretched fairly thin, considering that much of the population still lives in rural areas without all of the amenities of living in the more developed urban areas. No matter what the specifics are of the threat of AIDS, it is obviously in China’s best interest to work now to try to rein it in before it does reach epidemic proportions

In 1989 a massive protest against political repression in China was halted by the government’s massacre of more than 150 individuals at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. What impact do you think that episode had on foreign investment and growth in China during the years immediate after the episode?

Upon first considering the situation in Tienanmen Square, I would have expected it to have enormous, and long-term, negative repercussions in terms of foreign investment. The entire world watched as the government flexed its military muscles for all to see. This demonstration of power by the Communist regime could have had a chilling effect on potential foreign investors and any embrace of capitalism, as the two ideologies have long been considered to be mutually exclusive.

Interestingly, though, over the course of the next few years, the rate of investment from foreign sources increased tremendously. In the long run, the events of that day seemed to serve s a demonstration of the strength and stability of the government. Of course, had the situation escalated beyond that day, things could have turned out very differently. But as it stood, investors saw a government that firmly embraced the economic side of Capitalism while also maintaining a firm grip on the political side of Communist ideology. This stability obviously eased investor’s fears, as evidenced by the rapid economic growth of subsequent years

Most of the advances in institutions in China have come in the cities rather than the countryside. Indeed, local officials in farming village actively redistribute wealth among villagers to keep the distribution of income among local farmers roughly equal. Thus, a given farmer’s success or failure with his crops has little impact on his family’s standard of living. Given these facts, where do you think the economic growth in China has occurred over the last 25 years, in the cities or on the farms? Explain.

It would appear that nearly all of the economic growth in China has happened in the cities. All of the indicators and factors cited in the text, from manufacturing to the importation and recycling of America’s trash, are focused around urban industrial centers. While it is obvious that an agricultural base of some kind is necessary to feed the populace, this sector of the economy seems not to have grown much, or even at all. In fact, it seems that for some agricultural areas, the economy may be shrinking, as evidenced by the need for the redistribution of wealth to some areas. Such redistribution is classic Communism, and is, in fact, in direct opposition to the definition of “growth” under a Capitalist model.