ABSTRACT
Overall, the evidence amassed shows significant economic expansion in the countries
examined as a consequence of globalization and industrialization. However, the story on
labour markets has been mixed. While sustained expansion in productivity and wages has
driven the high-road industrialization path in the Newly Industrialized Economies of East
Asia, with the possible exception of China, the lack of similar policies have undermined
the capacity of these economies to ensure sustained productivity growth and structural
change towards higher value-added activities, thereby restricting improvements in the
material conditions of labour. Even in China, rural migrant female labour is still disad-
vantaged because of vulnerabilities in informal labour markets.
