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Books
The myth of going inland shatteredPosted by Jeremy Goldkorn, March 14, 2008 10:54 AM
![]() This book review is republished with permission from research firm Access Asia's weekly newsletter. It was supposed to be conventional wisdom that as prices rise, not least wages, so China's manufacturing industry could move inland and gain access to cheaper land, cheaper inputs, cheaper workers and more of them. It hasn't happened quite like that, according both our own experience and to Alexandra Harney in her excellent and highly recommended new book — The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage (Penguin). Regular readers, and Will Hutton, will know we're not easily impressed by China books here at Access Asia, but Harney is definitely not one of the 'Huttons' (now the official designation for bad China books). There's a lot more to Harney's book than this, and we hope it is widely read, though know that much will be familiar to our readers, who probably (hopefully!) have a bit more in-depth knowledge than the general reader. However, it's well worth a read for both what's got better - silicosis compensation; minimum wages; factory owners who 'get it' and are now voluntarily introducing CSR practises into their factories — and what's arguably worse - illegal mining, the sophistication of dodging factory inspections — and, finally, and perhaps most importantly, what's the same — the western consumers desire for cheap-as-chips clothes, appliances, towels (you name it) that demands the China price remain low. Buy the book on Amazon |
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Comments on The myth of going inland shattered
An "AccessAsia" is now the official designation for bad China research firms.
ouch!
both of you.
So the critical cost factors are labour and logistics. Look on the brighter side: Logistics can be solved through better hardware. You can trust that China can fix the hardware problem. If the logistic problem can be solved before the software problem (wages) becoming unbearable, there is hope. But I see the software problem aggravates very quickly, like at least growing by 20% per year, due to inflation, reduce supply (aging population), increased demand (more factories moving inland).
Yeah, Baby, Yeah. I called bullshit on this theory 3 years ago. Glad to see someone agrees. With half a billion mobile phone users, 200 million internet users, and dozens of foreign or locally listed Chinese companies pouring money on any piece of land or commodity, a decoupling of the rich coast and the poor center is a fantasy.