Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Asia's Export Dependency Has To Change

The article gives insightful ideas for Cambodia's policy makers. I agree with both scholars, but more with Huang than Kruman. Which model is best for Cambodia, the Chninese or VN?
While westerners are busily building up their depleted savings, can export-dependent Asian economies adjust to a world in which the US consumer is no longer the buyer of last resort?
Economists are asking whether countries such as China will be able to reorient their economies so that domestic demand becomes the main driver of growth.
Why is Chinese household consumption so low and what can be done to fix it?
Mr Krugman pins much of the blame on a threadbare social safety net, which has shrunk even as China has grown richer. Most Chinese build up precautionary savings at the expense of consumption, he says.
Erecting a safety net, however, may have only a marginal effect on spending, says Mr Huang. He pins the blame not on high savings but rather on declining incomes, especially in rural areas where 700m people still live. He advocates a push to increase rural incomes by legalising micro-finance, abolishing the city registration system that prevents migrant workers from receiving social benefits, and accelerating land reform.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Classic Jokes

    Here are some classic jokes just to break the ice:
  1. A man went to apply for a job. After filling out all of his applications, he waited anxiously for the outcome. The employer read all his applications and said, "We have an opening for people like you." "Oh, great," he said, "What is it?" "It's called the door!"
  2. A cowboy rode into town and stopped at a saloon for a drink. Unfortunately, the locals always had a habit of picking on strangers, which he was. When he finished his drink, he found his horse had been stolen. He went back into the bar, handily flipped his gun into the air, caught it above his head without even looking and fired a shot into the ceiling. "Which one of you sidewinders stole my horse?!?!?" he yelled with surprising forcefulness. No one answered. "Alright, I'm gonna have another beer, and if my horse ain't back outside by the time I finish, I'm gonna do what I dun in Texas! And I don't like to have to do what I dun in Texas!" Some of the locals shifted restlessly. The man, true to his word, had another beer, walked outside, and his horse has been returned to the post. He saddled up and started to ride out of town. The bartender wandered out of the bar and asked, "Say partner, before you go... what happened in Texas?" The cowboy turned back and said, "I had to walk home."
  3. A guy sticks his head in the barber shop and asks, "How long before I can get a haircut?" The barber looks around the shop and says, "About two hours." The guy leaves. A few days later, the same guy sticks his head in the door and asks, "How long before I get a haircut?" The barber looks around the shop full of customers and says, "About two hours." The guy leaves. A week later, the same guy sticks his head in the shop and asks, "How long before I can get a haircut?" The barber looks around the shop an says, "About an hour and half." The guy leaves. The barber looks over at a friend in the shop and says, "Hey Bill, follow that guy and see where he goes." In a little while, Bill comes back into the shop laughing hysterically. The barber asks, "Bill, where did he go when he left here?" Bill looked up and said, "To your house."
  4. A man is walking down the street and he sees a boy riding a wagon. The boy has his dog pulling it with a rope attached to the dogs balls. The man says "You know if you tied it around his neck, it would go faster." The boy replies, "I know but then I wouldn't get the cool siren."
  5. A man hasn't been feeling well, so he goes to his doctor for a complete check-up. Afterward, the doctor comes out with the results. "I'm afraid I have some very bad news," the doctor says. "You're dying, and you don't have much time left." "Oh, that's terrible!" says the man. "How long have I got?" "Ten," the doctor says sadly. "Ten?" the man asks. "Ten what? Months? Weeks? What?!" The doctor interrupts, "Nine..."
  6. Tom had this problem of getting up late in the morning and was always late for work. His boss was mad at him and threatened to fire him if he didn't do something about it. So Tom went to his doctor who gave him a pill and told him to take it before he went to bed. Tom slept well, and in fact, beat the alarm in the morning. He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work. "Boss", he said, "The pill actually worked!" "That's all fine" said the boss, "But where were you yesterday?"

Monday, May 18, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

Asia's Top Business Schools

Staying in Asia for an MBA

As B-schools in China, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and other parts of Asia make their programs more global and establish partnerships with schools overseas, more Asian students are staying home to get their MBAs
For years, Asians interested in entering the best business schools had little choice but to head to the West. Now, though, business schools throughout Asia are trying to become more competitive with the top schools in the U.S. and Europe. B-schools in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and other parts of Asia have been making their curricula more global and recruiting more professors from abroad. At the same time, Asian business schools increasingly are partnering with one another or with schools from the West to offer more options to their students.With the global economy in the doldrums, the competition to enter business schools is growing far more intense as students look to escape the dire job market and improve their chances of getting a well-paying position when the world recovers. So even though Asian schools are still no match yet for the Whartons and Kelloggs of the world, more and more Asian students are now looking to them as alternative places to get their MBAs.
For more on the best business schools in Asia, click on the title link.