REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND PRODUCTION DIVISIONS IN MALAYSIA

• Main Author: SHARINA FARIHAH BINTI HASAN
• Other Authors: 小林, 潔司
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 京都大学 (Kyoto University) 2009
• Subjects: Globalization; economic integration; general equilibrium; multinational; production allocation; international labor movement; unskilled labor; Malaysia; construction; CGE and welfare; 500
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2433/85385

Globalization is the increasing world-wide integration of markets for goods, services, labor, and capital. It seems to increasingly dominate discussion on the direction of social change and representations of the world. This study is of no exception; it provides an overview on the economic aspects of globalization. It mainly focuses on economic integration, trade patterns of multinational firms and international labor movement. As part of the analysis, international labor movement is centered on the inflow of unskilled labor into host country and the effects they brings along to the welfare of local populations. Particular attention is also given to the construction sector. International trade grows rapidly along with the progress of globalization. The massive development of new communication and transportation technology has made possible for heterogeneous firms to look for optimum production allocation worldwide. There has however been massive debates among researchers on the conditions that firms decided upon when choosing the production allocation, i.e; whether to locate in one country and export to another or to locate in both countries at the same time. The study proposes a general equilibrium model in order to understand the mechanism of decision behavior of heterogeneous firms on production allocation. Apart from that, international labor movement is an important dimension of globalization and has become increasingly embedded in changes in global economic and social structures. Like the rest of the world, Malaysia is affected by globalization. The wide economic and demographic differences between Malaysia and its immediate neighbors triggered the cross-border movement of labor. The country began to rely on foreign labor, particularly unskilled labor, due to the structural changes and labor market segmentation that first emerged in the early 1970s. The unprecedented influx of these labors, following unabated high growth since the mid-1980s, raised several social, political and economic concerns. The popular perception was that foreign labors were affecting local unskilled labors, both in terms of wages and living standards. It is important to note that the vast majority of preceding discussions on the subject are from the social and political point of view. There is however lack of discussions from economic and quantitative perspective. This study endeavors to fill in these gaps and contribute to the body of knowledge. Consequently, empirical analysis is accomplished using CGE modeling on international labor movement in Malaysia. And this is the first attempt such approach is carried out thus far. === Kyoto University (京都大学) === 0048 === 新制・課程博士 === 博士(工学) === 甲第14920号 === 工博第3147号 === 新制||工||1472(附属図書館) === 27358