10
Major industrial regions of the world
A
Andrea Horcasitas
t the time, places with lower
labor costs and the right mix of
laws attractive to businesses have become newly industrial regions.
East Asia has become a particularly important new region of industrialization. Japan seemed to be the dominant region, but then the so-called Four Tigers of East and Southeast Asia (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore) came into the picture.
China's major industrial expansion ocurred during the communist period. Under state planning rules, the Northeast district became China's industrial heartland. The second largest industrial region in China is the Shanghai ad the Chang Jiang district. China's large labor force has attracted hundreds of international companies. In addition to the enormous labor force, wages are comparatively low, one factor in why firms have relocated their manufacturing to China. Rather than move their entire companies, however, the production and sourcing of goods
is typically outsourced to China, largely in order to lower the cost of production.
The reason why China is not a dominant power is that its economy still depends heavily on exports and foreign investment, and its GDP per capita is 10 times smaller than Japan's.
Other newly industrializing countries have become increasingly significant global nodes of production. Over the past decade manufacturing has surged in South and Southeast Asia, South Africa, and in parts of Central and South America.
The graph explains the economic growth of countries from 1500 to 1950.