High-cost country

A country or economy in which the per capita wage and other production costs are high compared to the world average.

"Productivity must […] be considered since it can be shown that high-wage countries usually have high productivity and favourable costs per unit produced, which, despite the higher labour costs, do not hinder their export competitiveness."
(International Labour Organization (ILO), Active labour market policies, 2003, visited 24-09-2010)