Minimum wage laws prevent employers from taking advantage of low-quality labor at low prices.
Hard labor at low pay over a lifetime takes its toll on a person.
It's clear to billions around the world that the Pope believes that, here on Earth, justice must be done for those who labor for low wages.
Described by 20th-century economist Arthur Lewis, this is the point at which excess labor in low-productivity industries has been fully absorbed into the high-productivity industries.
And yet the stock market kept rising in part because companies were improving their productivity with new enterprise software and keeping their labor expenses low by not hiring much.
Yet the overall cost premium, based on the difference in absolute wages between the U.S. and China, is actually expanding, so labor arbitrage involving China and other low labor cost markets will likely persist.
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Cheap and skilled labor, low taxes, a 19% flat tax for corporations and individuals, no dividend taxes, a relatively liberal labor code and a favorable geographical location are Slovakia's main advantages for foreign investors.
It has grown rapidly in the past decade, a boom fueled by Bangladesh's exceptionally low labor costs.
In China, they might be masked by the growth that low labor costs and expanding international trade bring.
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This is the combination of scale and low labor costs only a large Chinese company can pull off.
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And since then, it has been plowing money into the business, taking advantage of low labor and material costs.
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It operates with only ten employees and benefits from the low labor costs in this not very prosperous state.
Its business model only works on low prices, which require low labor costs.
When you combine heavy government subsidies and low labor costs, China is an ideal location for green energy jobs.
The record low labor force participation rates mean that nearly 25% of Americans from 25 to 55 are not working.
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Louisiana and West Virginia both feature low labor costs, 11% and 7% below the national average, but that is not enough.
Not in Asia, where land is cheap and labor costs are low.
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Labor strife and low yields bedeviled production there in the past year.
"We see right next door a country that is highly competitive with a low labor cost, so we can't just sit back and relax, " says Cho.
Are those who want to impose import restrictions against countries with low labor standards willing to lift those restrictions against countries that start to pay decent wages?
They tolerated high labor costs and low manufacturing productivity for years in South America, while they focused on growth markets like Asia, which had more immediate potential.
Pushing them to increased purchases of either of these will not significantly improve the jobs picture in the U.S. since these are both relatively low labor content goods.
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In Asia, where land is cheap and labor costs are low, enormous shopping malls are popping up in Dubai, China, and the Philippines, with India expected to jump into the fold soon.
In short, if the Nokia expert is right about the low labor cost component in its products, Apple could easily raise its prices to pay those Foxconn workers a higher wage without losing market share or its gross margin.
If they do, some businesses fear a labor crisis, says Laura Reiff, cochair of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, whose members depend on low-skilled labor.
The company has a history of tumultuous labor relations, alleged low pay and sub-par job standards.
But surprisingly, low wage labor is no longer a major factor for being in China.
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As for Indonesia, it holds a pool of low cost labor as well as natural resources like coal.
Because labor costs are relatively low, many homeowners would rather hire someone to do the work than do it themselves.
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