newly industrialized country
The category of newly industrialized country (NIC) is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists.
NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached first world status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts. Another characterization of NICs is that of nations undergoing rapid economic growth (usually export-oriented). Incipient or ongoing industrialization is an important indicator of a NIC. In many NICs, social upheaval can occur as primarily rural, agricultural populations migrate to the cities, where the growth of manufacturing concerns and factories can draw many thousands of laborers.
NICs usually share some other common features, including:
- Increased social freedoms and civil rights.
- A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector.
- An increasingly open-market economy, allowing free trade with other nations in the world.
- Large national corporations operating in several continents.
- Strong capital investment from foreign countries.
- Political leadership in their area of influence.
NICs often receive support from non-governmental organizations such as the WTO and other internal support bodies. However, as environmental, labor and social standards tend to be significantly weaker in NICs, many fair trade supporters have advocated standards for importing their products and criticized the outsourcing of jobs to NICs, especially from/to the People's Republic of China and India.
Historical context
The term began to be used in the 1970s when the so-called "East Asian Tigers"[1] of Hong Kong (then colony of the United Kingdom), South Korea, Singapore and the Republic of China (Taiwan) rose to global prominence with rapid industrial growth since the 1960s, most now having evolved beyond this status. There is a distinction between these countries and the nations now considered to be NICs. In particular, the combination of an open political process, high per capita GDP income and a thriving, export-oriented economic policy has shown that these countries have now reached the ranks of developed countries. All of them possess a Human Development Index over 0.9, equal to the average of EU countries. Finally, South Korea joined the OECD in 1996.
Current NIC countries
The following table presents the list of countries consistently considered NICs in each continent by different authors and experts [2][3][4][5].
Some authors still consider the first generation list of countries (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong[6]) as NICs, and some others argue they are now developed countries. Philippines and Turkey are classified as a developed country by the CIA[7] and is a founding member of the OECD since 1961. Mexico joined the OECD in 1994 and is also a member of the [[G8+5]], along with China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
| Continent | Country | GDP (Millions of USD) |
GDP per capita (USD) |
Income equality (GINI) | Human Development Index (HDI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa |  South Africa [3][4][5] |
587,500 | 5,384 | 57.8 | 0.653 (medium) |
| North America |  Mexico [2][3][4][5] |
1,108,281 | 8,066 | 47.3 | 0.821 (high) |
| South America |  Brazil [2][3][4][5] |
1,566,253 | 5,716 | 54 | 0.792 (medium) |
| Asia |  China [3][4][5] |
8,814,860 | 2,001 | 44.7 | 0.768 (medium) |
 India [3][4][5] |
3,779,044 | 796 | 32.5 | 0.611 (medium) | |
 Malaysia [2][5][8] |
313,800 | 5,718 | 49.2 | 0.805 (high) | |
 Philippines [2][3][4][5] |
508,546 | 1,344 | 46.1 | 0.763 (medium) | |
 Thailand [2][3][4][5] |
557,378 | 3,136 | 42 | 0.784 (medium) | |
| Europe |  Turkey [3][4][5] |
708,053 | 5,407 | 38 | 0.757 (medium) |
NOTES:
1. GDP (PPP) (2005 data), and GDP (current prices) per capita (2006 data)[9] figures correspond to the IMF.
2. GINI Coefficient as in the 2006 United Nations survey. The
higher the figure, the higher the inequality.
3. Human Development Index (HDI) as in the 2006 United Nations report (data from
2004).
However, China and India are special cases: the immense population of these two nations (over two billion people combined as of November 2006) means that per capita income will remain low even if either economy surpasses that of the United States of America. However, keeping PPP in mind, the Chinese and Indian populations will enjoy significantly reduced costs of living, as basic commodities tend to be less expensive in both nations.
Additionally the group composed of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa meet annually with the G8 countries to discuss financial topics and climate change, due to their economic importance in today's global market and environmental impact, in a group known as [[G8+5]].[10]
Other NIC countries
Each author set a list of countries accordingly to the methods or type of economic analysis. This sometimes results in a country being mentioned as NIC in a particular work, but that is rarely considered as such by the other authors. This is the case of nations such as Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Malaysia. [2]
Brief economic analysis
NICs usually benefit from comparatively low labor costs, which translates into lower input prices for suppliers. This shifts
the labor supply curve downwards, resulting in a lower equilibrium wage and a reduced number of labor-hours per worker. As a
result, it is often easier for producers in NICs to outperform and outproduce factories in developed countries, where the cost of living is higher, and
This comparative advantage is often criticized by those advocates of the fair trade movement.
Issues
Economic freedom is not always associated with political freedom in nations such as the People's Republic of China, where Internet censorship, the suppression of religion, and other abuses of civil rights are common. The case is diametrically opposite in the case of India, which has been a liberal democracy throughout its post-colonial history. Other NICs vary between these two opposing examples. The Chinese government has responded to these accusations by arguing that China's increasing standard of living has provided a utilitarian social benefit that outweighs the detrimental effect of individual violations.
Countries such as Brazil, Philippines, Thailand and Turkey have a relatively low per capita income, compared to their national GDP and their current size of population.
References
- ^ Japan and the Newly Industrialized Economies
- ^ a b c d e f g Paweł Bożyk (2006). "Newly Industrialized Countries", Globalization and the Transformation of Foreign Economic Policy. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 164. ISBN 0-75-464638-6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mauro F. Guillén (2003). "Multinationals, Ideology, and Organized Labor", The Limits of Convergence. Princeton University Press, 126 (Table 5.1). ISBN 0-69-111633-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i David Waugh (3rd edition 2000). "Manufacturing industries (chapter 19), World development (chapter 22)", Geography, An Integrated Approach. Nelson Thornes Ltd., 563, 576-579, 633, and 640. ISBN 0-17-444706-X.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j N. Gregory Mankiw (4th Edition 2007). Principles of Economics. ISBN 0-32-422472-9.
- ^ Crystal Reference Encilopedia
- ^ CIA World Factbook
- ^ Boulton, William; Michael Pecht, William Tucker, Sam Wennberg (May 1997). Malaysia. Electronics Manufacturing in the Pacific Rim, World Technology Evaluation Center. Retrieved on 26 September 2007
- ^ International Monetary Fund, GDP per capita (current prices)
- ^ G8 Structure and activities
See also
| Power in international relations | |
|---|---|
| Types of power | Power (sociology) · Soft power · Hard power · Political power (Power politics • Realpolitik) |
| Types of power status | Great power · Middle power · Regional power · Superpower (Energy superpower) · Hyperpower |
| Geopolitics | African Century · American Century · Asian Century · British Moment · Chinese Century · European Century · Indian Century · Pacific Century |
| Theory and history | Historical powers · Polarity in international relations · Power projection · Power transition theory · Second superpower · Superpower collapse · Superpower disengagement |
| Organizations and groups | G8 · [[G8+5]] · BRIMC · BRIC · Next Eleven · SCO |
{{G8+5}}
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