Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/52448 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 3579
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
In recent years wages in China have been rising and the yuan has appreciated, potentially eroding China's cost advantage in manufactures. This paper explores the evolution of China's relative unit labor costs in manufacturing over 1998-2009. Between 1998 and 2003 China's unit labor costs fell, but since 2003 they have increased both absolutely and relative to US unit labor costs. Much of the rise in China's relative unit labor costs can be traced to a real appreciation of the yuan against the dollar. Despite the recent rise, China's unit labor costs remain low relative to those in most other countries.
Subjects: 
China
labor costs
productivity
international competitiveness
real exchange rate
JEL: 
F02
F14
F16
F31
J30
Document Type: 
Working Paper
Appears in Collections:

Files in This Item:
File
Size
194.99 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.