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To: Gengis Khan
Oh, so now you get specific finally with an assertion. To wit, Malaysia is actually SIGNIFICANTLY higher wages than China, and it is not possessed of more red tape particularly than China, has essentially no labor standards either, or environmental, etc. China, on the other hand actually requires the US FDI surrender HALF of its ownership interest in the investment.

This article spells out typical wage differentials:

Next, we used my firm's proprietary model to estimate CM production costs in the countries of interest. While the model considers many variables, wages usually account for most of the cost difference in manufacturing. Typical wages for hand labor, for instance, range from a low of 77 cents per hour in China to $1.16 in Malaysia, $1.80 in Mexico and $13.52 in the United States (see chart #1). Wage differences are some-what less pronounced for higher-skilled positions. Process engineers, for instance, earn about $16,000 yearly in China, $21,000 in Malaysia, $32,000 in Mexico, and $54,000 in the United States.

Chart #1

COMPARATIVE WAGES
(Includes fringe benefits and taxes*)

POSITION

USA (Typical)

MEXICO
(Guadalajara)

SINGAPORE

MALAYSIA
(Penang)

CHINA
(Shenzhen)

$/hr. Handwork Labor

$13.52

$1.81

$3.45

$1.16

$.77

Machine Operator

$17.15

$2.96

$4.42

$1.46

$.97

$/yr. Process Engineer

$53,560

$32,136

$29,458

$21,424

$16,068

Buyer

$47,214

$28,329

$25,968

$18,886

$14,164

Operations Manager

$95,983

$57,590

$55,410

$38,393

$28,795

*Typical wages paid by contract manufacturers, OEM rates are somewhat higher.

Wage differences usually account for most of the manufacturing product-cost differences among countries.

38 posted on 06/22/2007 3:11:58 PM PDT by Paul Ross (Ronald Reagan-1987:"We are always willing to be trade partners but never trade patsies.")
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To: Paul Ross

Wow I am sure that a fair comparison. /sarc

You take an older and costlier city in Malaysia and compare it with a sub provincial city somewhere in Guangdong to make your point.


44 posted on 06/22/2007 3:49:14 PM PDT by Gengis Khan
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