Structures of Inequality and International Mobility of the Wealthy and Talent from Asia

Abstract This paper provides an analytical framework to examine the relationship between structural inequality (SI) and the international mobility (IM) of the wealthy and technical talent from Asia. My argument is that since the deregulation of the 1980s new structures of inequality have been established with broad economic reforms under a neoliberal form of “globalization.” While many Asian economies have benefited from global opportunities, there have been considerable disruptions in labor markets. The net effect in several Asian countries with large workforces has been the reinforcement of pre-existing inequality in the context of increasing technological capabilities and selective but enormous wealth creating opportunities for a few. Using empirical materials from four Asian countries, namely China, India, Japan, and South Korea, I show that the international mobility of the wealthy and talent is related to if not caused by the new structures of inequality, where the wealthy are becoming wealthier and disruptions in labor markets are generating informal and precarious forms of work. Notwithstanding the lack of systematic data, a basic political economy framework applied to SI and IM demonstrates that the multi-layered processes of inequality at the global and nationals level create the conditions for international mobility.