Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/190155 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2018/107
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
How have economic development, employment, and labour markets in Asian countries interacted since the publication of Myrdal's Asian Drama? Myrdal rejected, the western approach to and definition of employment and emphasized the role of "informal" employment, but he underestimated the effects of the Lewisian development process. In fast-growing countries with better labour market development, initial conditions have played a role, though less than Myrdal predicted. Myrdal's concept of cumulative causation better explains how fast-growing countries with better labour markets have developed. These countries have pursued a developmental state and applied interventionist policies in agriculture, industry, and macroeconomics, as well as in social policies and in strengthening the position of women in the labour market. Successful countries are also characterized by initial low-income inequality and targeted redistribution of factors of production. For some countries, though, growing inequality together with other development challenges can, if not attended to, become a problem in the future.
Subjects: 
labour force and employment
economic growth and aggregate productivity
human capital
income distribution
industrial and macroeconomic policy
JEL: 
E6
J21
J24
O15
O25
O4
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-549-7
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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