The Crisis in Two Pacific Rim Economies: Higher Education and Employment in Mexico and Thailand - Hardcover

This book hopes to provide information on a topic that, although somewhat polemic because it touches upon thorny topics that lay bare the social and economic structure of contemporary society, must be commented on and documented in comparing the dynamic Asia Pacific economies of Mexico and Thailand. These countries, although distant geographically, upon closer inspection revel remarkable similarities in the areas of education and employment; resemblances that can provide learning opportunities for both. Another important similarity is the economic crisis both countries endured in the last decade of the 20th century, and the first financial crisis of the 21st century. After presenting a brief panorama of their world position with regard to their economic development, we take into account the development plans for Thailand and Mexico because they place great importance on proactively developing human resources and directly link human development to labour markets and economic growth.To delve even deeper into this complex question, we developed and applied an opinion survey in situ to members of the academic community, government officials and private sector entrepreneurs from both countries to gain greater insight into how the different actors view their current economic situation.

Jose Ernesto RANGEL DELGADO (Ph.D., Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences), has been director of the Pacific Basin Studies Center and APEC Study Center at the Universidad de Colima, Colima, Mexico since 2001 A member of the Mexican Network of Researchers in the Pacific Basin since 1994 and of the Latin American Commission for Distance Higher Education (CLESAD) since 1996, he is the author of numerous conference papers and articles on education and human resource development in Asia and Latin America. Antonina IVANOVA BONCHEVA (Ph.D., Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), is a professor and senior researcher at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur and director of the APEC Studies Center in the State of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Her research focuses on the interface between sustainability and security. She is the author of 10 books and 80 papers on international relations, sustainable development, security, and environment. Dr. Ivanova has served as visiting professor and researcher at a number of institutions of higher learning, including The Bulgarian Academy of Science, San Diego State University, the University of Northridge, California, the University of Bradford, England and the University of Tottori, Japan.