On 12/26/2011 2:17 PM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:50:56 -0800, George
wrote:

On 12/26/2011 9:16 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:41:18 -0600, wrote:

On 12/26/2011 9:31 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:01:33 -0500, Steve Walker
wrote:

On 12/25/2011 22:35, Ed Huntress wrote:
To anyone who thinks that US manufacturing salaries, including
benefits, are harming our industries or trade, consider that there are
13 other countries that pay mo

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...the-us/250460/

So much for that idea. Some of the countries on that list are among
the most successful exporters of manufactured goods.

Back to the drawing board...


As a lazy researcher when it comes to statistics, I'm gonna go out on a
limb and guess that most of the countries above us in the chart export
items that need a higher skill level to produce, thus the higher
production per hour cost.

Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it.

It doesn't have a simple answer. The closest thing to a summary
reason, though, is that the best exorters with high wages tend to have
strong coordination among labor, management, and government.
...

And, generally, have highly protectionist policies when it comes to
imports of the chosen competitive product areas.

Again, that varies. But if import restrictions in Germany have led to
a doubling of wages and a trade surplus, then it would be a good
argument in their favor.

But it hasn't led to a doubling of wages - it has led to a rise in wages
of manufacturing workers. That's good for those workers, provided their
wages rise faster than the cost of living, but not necessarily good for
the German consumer generally.

If protectionism means Germany isn't engaged in those economic
activities in which they have a true (unprotected) comparative
advantage, then Germans generally are worse off.

Not if there is a shortage of jobs. Then employment by almost any
means, including a distortion of the theoretical comparative-advantage
distribution of production, is a net advantage.

What does a "shortage" of jobs even mean?

And no, distorting markets never creates a higher net benefit from trade.


People who aren't producing anything, or who are underemployed and
producing very little, are a bigger economic problem than
inefficiencies in the comparative-advantage situation.

Giving them fake jobs doesn't help - certainly not those who don't get them.