The Great Asian Century

How many times do you hear this?

There's a lot of talk these days about job losses in Europe and the United States. I have this theory (well, and idea) as to why talking about job losses alone from these continents to Asia is missing the point. What about the job increases in other sectors? Here goes: My theory is that as long as the Chinese aspire to displaying their rising socio-economic status relative to their peers, there will be increasing jobs in Europe and the United States in certain industries.

People often like to show off their wealth in different ways. Trips to Vienna (travel industry); "study" in America or elsewhere (education industry); a nice bottle of Cognac (entertainment industry); a BMW or Mercedez (car industry); a nice handbag (fashion industry) etc. etc. Often, it is European countries that produce these products.

The next time somebody harps on about job losses in manufacturing from the West; ask them to tell you a little about the new jobs that are being created in some of the industries mentioned above.