Newly industrialized countries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The category of Newly industrialized countries (NICs) is a social/economic classification status 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 third world counterparts. Another characterization of NIC's is that of nations undergoing rapid economic growth (usually export-oriented). Incipient or ongoing industrialization is an important indicator of a NIC. In many NIC's, 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" economy, allowing for free trade with its neighbours, such as that obtained by joining a trade bloc.
However, it is important to note that political freedom is not always associated with economic freedom. In nations such as the People's Republic of China, Internet censorship, the suppression of Christianity, and other abuses of civil rights are common. See Human Rights in the People's Republic of China. 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. Similarly, countries such as Saudi Arabia have human rights issues that have earned them the ire of organizations such as Amnesty International.
NICs often receive support from non-governmental organizations such as the WTO and other internal support bodies. However, as they are beneficiaries of globalization, many fair trade supporters and other protectionists have balked at importing the products of NIC's, especially from the People's Republic of China. See deindustrialization.
Contents |
[edit] Brief economic analysis
NIC's usually benefit from low labor costs, which translates into lower input prices for suppliers. As a result, it is often easier for producers in NIC's to outperform and outproduce factories in developed countries, where the cost of living is higher, and labor unions and other organizations have more political sway.
[edit] Historical Context
The term began to be used in the 1970s when the so-called "East Asian Tigers" of Hong Kong (SAR of the People's Republic of China), 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. It is important to note the distinction between these countries and the nations now considered to be NIC's. 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 posses an HDI ( Human development index ) over 0.9.
[edit] The Present Day
Current examples of NICs in today global markets are:
| Africa: | Image:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa | |
| North America: | Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico (OECD member, 1994) | |
| South America: | Image:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil | |
| Asia: | Image:Flag of China.svg China, Image:Int-GCC-flag.gif The GCC states, Image:Flag of India.svg India, Image:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia, Image:Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines Image:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand and | Image:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey |
China and India are special cases: the immense population of these two nations (over two billion 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, due to their economic importance in today's global market.<ref>As in G8#Structure_and_activities</ref>
[edit] References
- Geography, An Integrated Approach, 3rd Edition. David Waugh. (ISBN 0-17-444706-X)
- Principles of Economics, 4th Edition. N. Gregory Mankiw.
<references/>
[edit] See also
| Power in international relations | |
|---|---|
| Power statuses | Middle power | Regional power | Great power | Superpower | Hyperpower |
| Emerging superpowers | China | India | European Union |
| Future geopolitics | African Century | American Century | Asian Century | British Moment | Chinese Century | European Century | Indian Century | Pacific Century |
| Types of power | Soft power | Hard power | Political power | Power (sociology) | Power politics | Power projection | Polarity in international relations |
| Other | BRIC | BRIMC | BRICS | BRICET | Energy superpower | Second superpower | SCO |
de:Schwellenland ko:신흥공업국 nl:Newly industrializing country no:NIC pt:Países recentemente industrializados
