Abstract:
Thomas Friedman, a very influential and widely read journalist (author of The World is Flat), argues that distance is no longer a dominant characteristic of the world economy. Competition is thought to be a race to the bottom, with the lowest wage countries as the big winners. In contrast, using various methods and data sets, we show that many threats of global competition for the position of the traditionally developed (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries are unwarranted, that distance still dominates all aspects of international trade and that there is little evidence of income convergence. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society is edited by Susan Christopherson, Betsy Donald, Harry Garretsen, Meric Gertler, Amy Glasmeier, Mia Gray, Michael Kitson, Linda Lobao, Ron Martin, Linda McDowell, Jonathan Michie and Peter Tyler
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