The Asian recession saw an increase in the volume of mainly manufactured Asian exports. Other things equal, this would have disadvantaged the labour intensive end of northern (mainly USA and EU) manufacturing and hence the northern manufacturing workforce. Central to the crisis, however, was a redirection of investment away from Asia to the north, raising northern aggregate demand and hence employment in northern services. This paper examines the magnitudes of these two effects in a broader analysis of the real impacts of the Asian recession that is grounded in a global general equilibrium framework. Northern workers are found to be net beneficiaries in both the short and medium run.
