This paper intends to compare the economic and skills indicators of countries that successfully avoided the “middle income trap” from the perspective of skills, human resources, and social resource allocation. These factors are compared in a number of countries, including those that avoided the trap: Japan, Germany, South Korea, Italy, Spain. Those that fell into the “middle income trap” include: Malaysia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil. And those that are now “entering middle income” status are: China and Thailand.
We have tracked data for a total of eleven countries, hoping to provide new perspectives and experiences on China’s chances of escaping the middle income trap, offering advice where due.