The Japanese economy is suffering its worst labour shortage since 1992. This column explores the impact of this shortage, in light of the past five years’ economic expansion. The main effect has been a decline in the quality of goods and services, which translates into increases in true prices. Going forward businesses should start differentiating their goods and services to capture the growing diversity of consumers’ willingness-to-pay.
Liu Yang, 19 July 2014
In China, both unemployment and a labour shortage have emerged as problems in recent years. This column explains their co-existence by a decrease in the matching efficiency in the labour market. One way to improve the matching efficiency, though difficult to implement in the short-run, is through the creation of more employment agencies. Companies can benefit if they invest more in recruiting activities.
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