Summary of the General Discussion on “Exports and Employment in China, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea”

The general discussion centered on the accuracy with respect to input–output data and its use and abuse. Kiichiro Fukusaku suggested that the weaknesses inherent in the data be discussed candidly because there were a lot of “guesstimates” in the data the author relied on. He also asked if the possibility of labor–capital substitution that occurs over time had been accounted for. He wondered if input–output table data could really be used to capture these effects. Fukunari Kimura noted that the author was using “relatively weak” aspects (parts) of the input–output tables in his analysis, though the paper was lucidly written. Wing Thye Woo asked if it was possible to compute the input–output coefficient for every year. Chalongphob Sussangkarn responded that it was not possible to do so. Sussangkarn went on to say that assuming the employment coefficient is fixed is questionable. He suggested that by changing the final demand and...