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27-11-2021, 07:53 AM
Robin Harding
27 Nov 2021 06:01AM
(Updated: 27 Nov 2021 06:00AM)
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Only two big emerging markets in Asia have inflation running above 5 per cent — Sri Lanka and Pakistan — compared with many in Europe and South America. Seen from Tokyo, Beijing or Jakarta, the global surge in inflation does not look global at all.
This is true even though Asia imports a lot of energy and has suffered the same jump in prices for oil, gas, coal and other commodities as everywhere else in the world.
The reason Asia’s inflation is mild and not severe comes down to one simple factor: It handled the COVID-19 pandemic better than the rest of the world.
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Across most of the region, countries managed to avoid compulsory lockdowns altogether, like South Korea; limit them in scope and duration, like China; or delay such measures until deep into 2021 when vaccines were becoming available, like New Zealand.
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Asians have also, by and large, been more cautious than Europeans or Americans when their economies do open up.
......
the COVID-19 pandemic has also illustrated the consequences of Asia’s global manufacturing dominance. Since the region makes most of the world’s stuff, it can more easily keep itself well-supplied.
......
the cost of shipping a container from China to Europe has risen fivefold since COVID-19 hit, the cost of shipping it within Asia has only doubled.
......
One of the biggest differences between Asia and the US is labour supply. When COVID-19 hit, many workers in the US were laid off, resigned from their job to care for children affected by school closures, or else chose to quit to avoid catching the virus.
The result has been a lasting hit to labour supply. That is pushing up wages in the US and UK — a big reason for concern about inflation. There is little sign of a similar wage acceleration in Asia.
The avoidance of lockdown — or the use of wage subsidies to keep workers in their jobs through the worst of it — made the whole event less traumatic.
Better to read the full article at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commenta...on-2339781
27 Nov 2021 06:01AM
(Updated: 27 Nov 2021 06:00AM)
......
Only two big emerging markets in Asia have inflation running above 5 per cent — Sri Lanka and Pakistan — compared with many in Europe and South America. Seen from Tokyo, Beijing or Jakarta, the global surge in inflation does not look global at all.
This is true even though Asia imports a lot of energy and has suffered the same jump in prices for oil, gas, coal and other commodities as everywhere else in the world.
The reason Asia’s inflation is mild and not severe comes down to one simple factor: It handled the COVID-19 pandemic better than the rest of the world.
......
Across most of the region, countries managed to avoid compulsory lockdowns altogether, like South Korea; limit them in scope and duration, like China; or delay such measures until deep into 2021 when vaccines were becoming available, like New Zealand.
......
Asians have also, by and large, been more cautious than Europeans or Americans when their economies do open up.
......
the COVID-19 pandemic has also illustrated the consequences of Asia’s global manufacturing dominance. Since the region makes most of the world’s stuff, it can more easily keep itself well-supplied.
......
the cost of shipping a container from China to Europe has risen fivefold since COVID-19 hit, the cost of shipping it within Asia has only doubled.
......
One of the biggest differences between Asia and the US is labour supply. When COVID-19 hit, many workers in the US were laid off, resigned from their job to care for children affected by school closures, or else chose to quit to avoid catching the virus.
The result has been a lasting hit to labour supply. That is pushing up wages in the US and UK — a big reason for concern about inflation. There is little sign of a similar wage acceleration in Asia.
The avoidance of lockdown — or the use of wage subsidies to keep workers in their jobs through the worst of it — made the whole event less traumatic.
Better to read the full article at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commenta...on-2339781
