This book represents a unique study which reviews employment conditions in Asia and the Pacific in the context of globalization and increasing pressure towards flexibilization. It places a strong focus on the diverging experiences of individual workers in their employment conditions such as employment status, wages/incomes, working time, work organizations and health and safety. Along with thematic studies concerning the roles of workers voice and labour regulation in determining employment conditions, this book includes nine country studies which have been undertaken based on a common research framework for a more rigorous comparison in the region. - A systematic review of employment conditions in the countries which are carefully selected in the region - National-level analysis based on a common research framework - A highly analytical and timely analysis of workers voice and labour regulation with respect to employment conditions

This volume investigates the links between employment, trade and structural transformation. In the context of global rebalancing, accompanied by inevitable changes in trade patterns between Asia and the rest of the world, the volume's chapters analyze the links between trade openness and trends in employment and its quality. Specifically, through Asian case studies (both analytical and econometric), the volume examines how trade and export-led growth models have led to specialization and evolving demands on various types of labor. The rapidly changing labor market contours in developing Asia during this era of globalization, along with the new context resulting from the recent global financial crisis and new insights from theoretical literature, have led to the need for such studies. This volume helps fill this gap in the literature.

Globalization and labour market deregulation have had an impact on employment and workers, and brought pressure to bear on trade unions. This study looks at the challenges of globalization and deregulation in the Asia Pacific, and possible responses to them in a variety of ways.

This survey provides unprecedented scope and detail of analysis on higher education in the Asia-Pacific region. In this era of global integration, convergence and comparison, the balance of power in worldwide higher education is shifting. In less than two decades the Asia-Pacific region has come to possess the largest and fastest growing higher education sector on Earth. The countries of East and Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific together enrol 50 million tertiary students, compared to 14 million in 1991, and will soon conduct a third of all research and development. In China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore, ‘world-class’ universities are emerging at breakneck pace, fostered by modernizing governments that see knowledge and skills as key to a future shaped equally by East and West, and supported by families deeply committed to education. But not all Asia-Pacific countries are on this path, not all reforms are effective, and there are marked differences between nations in levels of resources, educational participation, research, state controls and academic freedom. Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific: Strategic responses to globalization provides an authoritative survey of tertiary education in this diverse and dynamic region. Its 23 chapters, written by authors from a dozen different countries, focus successively on the Asia-Pacific as a whole, the strategies of individual universities, and national policies and strategies in response to the global challenge.

Globalization and Development draws upon the experiences of the Latin American and Caribbean region to provide a multidimensional assessment of the globalization process from the perspective of developing countries. Based on a study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), this book gives a historical overview of economic development in the region and presents both an economic and noneconomic agenda that addresses disparity, respects diversity, and fosters complementarity among regional, national, and international institutions. For orders originating outside of North America, please visit the World Bank website for a list of distributors and geographic discounts at http://publications.worldbank.org/howtoorder or e-mail [email protected].

"The Pacific Islands are feeling the effects of globalisation. Free trade in sugar and garments is threatening two of Fiji's key industries. At the same time other opportunities are emerging. Labour migration is growing in importance, and Pacific governments are calling for more access to Australia's labour market. Fiji has joined Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati as a remittance economy, with thousands of its citizens working overseas. Meantime, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands grapple with an older kind of globalisation in which overseas companies exploit mineral and forest resources. The Pacific Islands confront unique problems of governance in this era of globalisation. The modern, democratic state often fits awkwardly with traditional ways of doing politics in that part of the world. Just as often, politicians in the Pacific exploit tradition or invent it to serve modern political purposes. The contributors to this volume examine Pacific globalisation and governance from a wide range of perspectives. They come from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Hawai'i, the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Jamaica as well as Australia."--Publisher's description.

These papers focus upon the need to update knowledge and understanding of Asian human resource management. A model is included that can be used to make a comparative analysis of HRM in the region and to establish the various levels of change that need to be assessed.

This book focuses on new developments in employment in Asia. The context for this discussion is provided by the processes of globalisation, and the associated debate on labour standards. Individual chapters focus on issues such as the role of NGOs as surrogate unions, employment regulation in export processing zones, social protection, and the impact of political reform on the employment relationship. This volume was previously published as a special issue of the journal Asia Pacific Business Review.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.