New Chinese Brands

This year I taught Chinese students marketing, and in the Microeconomics class I teach to foreign students in China, we covered the value of brands in monopolistically competitive markets. This article touches on many of the things we discussed in both classes. 

Facing rising labor costs and increased competition, business are now thinking more carefully about brand identity, analysts say. 

I hope my microeconomics students can evaluate the above quote from the article in terms of different market structures. 

A First for Pakistan

Congratulations to all my former and present students from Pakistan on the recent election. No matter who you supported, this is good news:

The election was widely hailed as a landmark of democratic progress: One elected government succeeded in completing a full term and prepared to hand off power to another elected government, a first in Pakistan’s history.

The World is Running Out of Oil, Part 3,276

It's hard to imagine, but with stories like this coming out more and more, I can see the day coming when people will be incredulous that educated people once foresaw a day--almost always about 10 years into the future--when the world runs out of oil.

Not likely:

A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated that if half of the oil bound up in the rock of the Green River Formation could be recovered it would be "equal to the entire world's proven oil reserves."

Both the GAO and private industry estimate the amount of oil recoverable to be 3 trillion barrels.

"In the past 100 years — in all of human history -- we have consumed 1 trillion barrels of oil. There are several times that much here," said Roger Day, vice president for operations for American Shale Oil (AMSO).

Bleeding Heart Libertarian

I guess my agreement with this article puts me firmly in the "bleeding heart libertarian" camp, though I'm not very keen on politics or political labels:

Still, some people worry that the Chinese economy will “overtake” the American economy. On its face, that’s like worrying that the Fairfax, Virginia, economy will “overtake” the Falls Church, Virginia economy. But part of the issue here is that people don’t understand the difference between cutting-edge and catch-up growth.

File Under "No Kidding!"

In a good article explaining why there's so much Chinese investment flowing into housing, I found this funny:

Therefore, housing is special because it is much more concrete than other investments.

I like Yichuan Wang's writing style!

End of Cheap China: Exhibit 1

Elsewhere I've blogged about the end of cheap China. Here's an example of this trend, the first of many I expect:

Etched into the base of Google's new wireless home media player that was introduced on Wednesday is its most intriguing feature. On the underside of the Nexus Q is a simple inscription: “Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A.”

Stay tuned.

Fewer Kids = Economic Decline

Just a few years ago, overpopulation was the greatest "threat" to humanity. What changed?

Demographics.

That's the stark conclusion from James Stock and Mark Watson in this fascinating, and occasionally depressing, new paper. In fact, they say, the future is now. For the last few years, we've weathered the beginning of what demographers have called the grey tsunami. "Most of the slow recovery [in today's job market] is attributable to a long-term slowdown in trend employment growth," Stock and Watson write.

The authors blame two demographic demons for our uncertain future: (1) the plateau in the female labor force participation rate, and (2) the aging of the U.S. workforce. Their underlying logic is that without continued growth in female workers or a significant boost in population, employment and GDP growth will slow, leaving us vulnerable to recessions with "steeper declines and slower recoveries." In such a future, jobless recoveries will be the only recoveries we know.