Policy, Politics & Culture

For decades, the booming factories and massive, cheap workforce of East Asia has been both the greatest fear and the greatest envy of the growing ranks of American declinists. What, then, are they to make of a recent article in the FT, which describes manufacturing business moving back across the Pacific to the U.S.? According to the report, Chinese wages have risen dramatically over the past decade, and they have been matched by increasingly stringent regulations that have eroded the country’s competitive advantage. America, meanwhile, boasts higher productivity, falling unit labor costs, and a reputation for quality unmatched by its Asian competitors. Ten years ago, outsourcing was a no-brainer, now many companies are...