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

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.