How is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum Developing? Comparative Comments on APEC and Employment Relations

Abstract

This article discusses the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, what influences APEC has on the practice of employment relations in the Asia-Pacific region and how this might develop. The article adopts a political economy approach and draws comparisons between APEC and the European Union (EU) in terms of their influences on employment relations, broadly defined. The author concludes that for the foreseeable future, APEC will continue to play a much more modest role than the EU. APEC does not seem to be inducing convergence. There is still a great deal of diversity in employment relations, in particular, and forms of political economy more generally.