Truck and Barter: News from the ROK

June 02, 2004

News from the ROK

By Bob

A couple of items from the East Asian Peninsula:

Hyundai is perhaps the hottest car maker out there. Fifteen to twenty years ago, they were very cheap and not well built. Times have changed, the article points out that they have high customer satisfaction with their quality. Of course, they are building a plant here in the U.S.. Also, Hyundai, Kia motors is the seventh largest carmaker in the world.

South Korea is experiencing what many here have called a jobless recovery. I had seen a better article the other day which captured this for the economy as a whole, but this will illustrate the point in one of the country's sectors:

According to the central bank, the elasticity of employment for manufacturers, or ``the increase rate of job offerings for each 1 percentage point in economic growth,’’ stood at –0.18 in 2003.

It means that manufacturing jobs fell by 0.18 percent each time when the economy grows by 1 percent. In other words, labor productivity has increased but an economic growth would not automatically lead to creation of additional jobs, a BOK economist said.

The figure has been below zero for three consecutive years with -0.29 in 2001 and –0.08 in 2002.

South Korea, as many other countries have as well, is experiencing a decline in manufacturing employment. What's impressive about the article is that a journalist actually used the word "elasticity."

Edit: It should be noted that the trend here in the U.S. has appearantly stopped for the time being(via Instapundit). Korea has experienced strong GDP growth during this period, 2002's was above 6.0%(I would find the exact firgures, but the European exchanges are opening down to flattish and I have no idea why right now).

Not having to do with South Korea, but Powerline blogged the Miss Universe Pageant last night. If you didn't see it, there's a surpise upset.

Posted at June 2, 2004 07:19 PM

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