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Over the last 25 years, Asia's economic rise has been extraordinary. Its share of global gross domestic product (GDP) has risen from 5.8% to 22.9%. The first phase of high economic growth — up to 1995 — saw Asia enter the global supply chain primarily with labor-intensive/low-cost manufacturing. Domestic consumption was a fairly low share of GDP; Asia was manufacturing mainly for consumption in the US and Europe. As such, it was primarily a rule-taker. In the second phase — from 1995 to 2020 — it gradually turned into an economic force joining the US and Europe in shaping the global economy, exercising significant influence upon the value chain, the cycles of the global economy, transport and logistics, the global capital markets and consumption patterns (consumer preferences and tastes). While not yet among the leading rule-makers, it had become difficult for policymakers (public and private) to make decisions without Asia's consent. To form an opinion of today's emerging third phase — post 2020 — the intriguing question is whether the Asian countries have adopted what may be termed Anglo-American economic thinking (basically, the primacy of the market). Or whether behind the curtain, the Asian economy works in its own way diverging from the American and British economic schools. Since demographics and sheer economic scale mean that Asia will dominate the global economy in the years to come, the nature of the Asian economy will be of crucial importance for the future global economy. The conclusion of this paper is that "Asia" in many respects differs — and fundamentally so — from market economy principles. How this prospect should be interpreted is also evolving, as circumstances change. Certainly, the repercussions of COVID-19 have not been the same in the US, Europe, East Asia and South Asia — and this may suggest that socio-political structures have a stronger impact on economic outcomes than economic theory teaches, thus calling into question the global validity of market economy principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lists papers of selected institutes concerning economic conditions in the Pacific region published in the November 1998 issue of the periodical 'Asian-Pacific Economic Literature.' Challenges for Asia's trade and environment; Aspects of urban water and sanitation in the context of rapid urbanization in developing Asia; Agricultural price policy in Asia and the Pacific.

The article discusses and reviews two documents titled "Australia in the Asian Century: Australian Government's White Paper" and "Strong and Secure: A Strategy for Australia's National Security". It mentions that "Australia in the Asian Century: Australian Government's White Paper" describes the three assumptions regarding the future economic position of Asia in the global landscape and its reduction of interdependence on other nations leading to negligible conflict.

This paper surveys the recent literature on the economic impacts of SARS, MERS, and COVID‐19, which Asian countries have experienced in the past two decades. In particular, we provide a detailed summary of how each of the past infectious diseases has impacted on the Asian economies and the extent of that impact. This paper also documents how the governments of Asian countries have responded to the COVID‐19 shocks with their economic policies, and discusses the effectiveness of these economic policies to mitigate the COVID‐19 shocks on their economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the growth of local-currency bond markets in Emerging Asia and the institutional and policy challenges facing the region's economies for their further development. It presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between local-currency government bond (LCGB) market development and the components of financial development, using panel data for selected Emerging Asian economies. The analysis seeks to identify the key determinants for the development of LCGB markets. The results show that the depth of and access to both financial markets and financial institutions have a significantly positive impact on LCGB market development. Critical factors associated with local-currency bond market depth include macroeconomic variables, the exchange-rate regime, capital account openness and creditor rights. Based on these results, the paper offers policy directions for fostering the development of local-currency bond markets in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on Asian economies over the period 2006 to 2019, we find that while non-bank finance appears to complement rather than substitute credit provision by the traditional banking sector, weaker regulatory quality is an important driving factor. Moreover, while we find that central bank policy rates countercyclically affect credit provision by non-banks, impulse responses to monetary policy shocks with and without non-bank finance indicate that the effectiveness of monetary policy as a transmission channel to GDP growth, inflation, house prices, and traditional bank credit is weakened in the presence of non-bank finance. Our paper has implications for monetary policy implementation, potentially incorporating non-banks into central bank operations and liquidity provision, as well as for financial supervisors on mitigating regulatory arbitrage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the two main viewpoints on Australia's relationship with Asia; first, the highly visible informed pro-Asia protagonists, and second, pervasive public opinion as informed by history and the Australian self-image. The purpose is to present the polemic internal to Asian Studies and Business Schools currently. This paper postulates that only an (uncomfortable) whole-of-sector introspection would result in an authentic national narrative to drive mutual respect and business between Asia and Australia. Design/methodology/approach: The current dismembering of Asian Studies degrees and Asian Business specialisations at Australian universities indicates a waning national support to the production of Asian specialists able to link the Australian economy into the advancing Asian commercial dominance. But such an assessment would not be completely accurate. The authors argue that as an important component of Asian business and economics, understanding the current situation is vital to breathing life back into the Asian Studies and Asian Business Studies disciplines at Australian national universities. Findings: This paper concludes that the responsibility for creating specialists should fall to the university sector but is currently defaulting to the business sector. This paper proposes that business schools need to be more active participants in Asian engagement strategies. Thus, Australian universities and disciplines such as Asian Studies and Asian Business must have the academic will and the business support to take up a major role in positive evolution of the Eurocentric elements that currently hold back meaningful engagement. Originality/value: This is a current issue that needs to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that the Program Committee of the 12th International Convention of the East Asian Economic Association Convention is calling for papers related to its theme "Asia and the Global Economic Recovery." Possible topics for thematic sessions include economic integration, multinationals, global imbalances, and multinationals while for general sessions include exchange rates, labor and human resources, and financial institutions and markets. It is noted that the convention will be held in Seoul, Korea on October 2 and 3, 2010.

This paper examines the role of local currency bond markets (LCBMs) and foreign investor participation in these markets in capital flow volatility in emerging Asian economies over the period 1999 to 2020. Using a panel analysis and impulse response functions generated from a panel structural vector autoregression, we show that greater development of LCBMs across 10 Asian emerging economies in terms of capitalization helps to mitigate against the capital flow volatility, while foreign investor participation has the opposite effect, particularly for less developed LCBMs. Our findings have policy implications from a financial stability perspective, whereby continued efforts to enhance LCBMs while reducing reliance on foreign investors should be encouraged. Strengthening the local investor base and mobilizing domestic resources through LCBMs ought to be a priority for raising long-term capital that will enable the financing of sustainable investment and development. Our findings also suggest that greater efforts are needed to enhance foreign exchange hedging arrangements for foreign investors in LCBMs, particularly in times of heightened financial stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exchange rate is a crucial macro indicator for any open economy, whereby any change in the rate would influence, to a certain extent, various socioeconomic facets. One of the significant impacts is revealed in the pass-through of exchange rate variations to price inflation, also known as the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT). This paper explores the effect of ERPT on domestic inflation in Vietnam by comparing with other Asian economies. Specifically, pass-through mechanisms are examined for every single price as well as a distribution chain from import price index (IMP), producer price index (PPI) to consumer price index (CPI). The empirical results show that exchange rate shocks positively influence the price changes in Vietnam as well as in other Asian countries. According to Cholesky decomposition, the exchange rate plays a limited role in regulating CPI movements. Besides, world commodity prices are found to have a significant impact on domestic inflation across the sample-countries. Our findings reveal profound implications for monetary policy management and price stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper examines the effect of bank-specific, financial structure and macroeconomic factors on the profitability of banks in Asian economies during 1995–2017. Design/methodology/approach: It uses the data of 2,446 banks across 47 Asian countries between 1995 and 2017 (41,582 year observations). The static and dynamic panel generalized methods of moments (GMM) estimation techniques are applied. Findings: The results show that banks that are highly dependent on nontraditional activities have lower net interest revenue and net interest margin but higher return on assets, return on equity and profit before tax. Higher opportunity cost, capitalization, demand deposits and market risk result in a better bank profits. Furthermore, banks with higher loan exposure and growth have more profit. However, nonperforming loans have negative and significant impact on bank profitability. Asian banks do not suffer from diseconomies of scale and scope. The author also finds that banks located in countries with high gross domestic product, inflation rates and high rates of interest or in financially developed economies offer better profits. High credit to the private sector reduces the bank profitability. This study finds evidence to support the structure-conduct-performance (SCP) hypothesis. It also provides evidence that the impact of financial turmoil on the profitability of the Asian banking sector is negative and significant and has severely weakened the Asian banking system. Originality/value: As Asia has become an important economic area and the Asian topic has not earned enough discussions, this paper is the first to examine Asian banks with the latest and a wider range of panel data that cover 2,446 banks at 47 Asian countries over the period 1995–2017. The present study is among the first to address the influence of financial turmoil on bank profitability in this region. It also studies new variables, such as demand deposits, opportunity cost and off-balance sheet activities, which have not been examined in relation to bank profitability. It also applies both static techniques and dynamic panel estimation techniques to analyze the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For rapidly urbanizing countries in Asia, entrepreneurial activity is a critical source of employment and economic development. This paper uses a panel dataset of 20 countries in Asia to examine the role of urbanization in moderating the process of knowledge spillovers leading to firm creation. It is one of the pioneering studies to examine whether the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship (KSTE)—a prominent and empirically valid theory in Western economies—is also valid in Asian economies. Empirical analysis reveals that the extent and quality of urbanization plays an important moderating role that can enhance or retard the exploitation of knowledge by urban entrepreneurs. The paper has important policy implications for Asian countries to take advantage of rapid urbanization and make investments in research and development to create knowledge spillovers that promote firm creation. Plain English Summary: This study finds that a confluence of investment in research and development and the quality of urbanization in Asian countries boost firm creation. Moreover, employment in financial and business services helps in the creation and exchange of useful knowledge for entrepreneurial activities. This workforce acquires and generates knowledge to resolve challenges in business through interactions with multiple firms. It is important to understand the factors leading to a higher level of firm creation because the entry of new firms is one of the key sources of job creation and innovation. The principal implication of this study is that the countries should make investments in research and development and improve the quality and extent of urbanization to spur entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the national saving behaviour in the process of economic growth through a comparative analysis of countries in developing Asia from a historical perspective. Developing Asia provides an ideal laboratory for the study with considerable differences in the saving behaviour among countries and over time within individual countries, notwithstanding the 'model saver' image of the region that is based mainly on the experience of high-performing East Asian economies. The empirical analysis distinguishes between private and government saving rates, with specific emphasis on the former. The results of the empirical analysis are consistent with the view of a 'virtuous circle' between growth and saving, with growth initiating the saving transition. No evidence to suggest that a prior phase of promoting saving through specific policy initiatives is needed to initiate the process of growth and structural transformation. The private saving rate is also associated positively with export orientation of the economy, and net foreign capital inflows and negatively with the young dependency ratio of the population and domestic credit availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies 10 Asian economies' experiences during two episodes of financial crises in 1997–08 and 2007–09. Our analysis of five crisis‐hit Asian countries shows that overinvestment via credit expansion and foreign financing has an adverse effect on banking sectors while income inequality contributes significantly to financial distress. With five no‐crisis emerging markets included in our Asia analysis, we find that export‐oriented growth backed up by domestic savings is financially less risky than investment‐led growth facilitated by capital inflows. Since such different strategies of output growth to deal with falling demand are related ultimately to the same factor–rising inequality, this distributional problem must be overcome effectively to enhance financial stability and ensure growth sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yet, while much has been written about sustainable development in its various dimensions, research on the connection between data availability and the achievement of sustainability goals in Asia is surprisingly sparse. The emergence of the new landscape of data means that the future of sustainable development research in regional science is bright. Regional science, by its very nature, addresses the geographic dimensions of social, economic, and environmental challenges to humankind (Stimson, 2016). Mendez and Santos-Marquez employ a novel luminosity-based measure of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from satellite nighttime light data to examine regional convergence and spatial dependence across subnational regions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). [Extracted from the article]

The author comments on the paper "Financial Conditions Indexes and Monetary Policy in Asia" by Margarita Debuque-Gonzales and Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista. He discusses the use of the common factor analysis in the creation of quarterly financial conditions indexes (FCIs) for eight Asian economies, including Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines. He explores the use of FCIs in forecasting measures of inflation and output.

This paper examines the drivers of private investment in renewable energy by source of financing for 13 economies over the period 2008–2018, with a focus on a sub-panel of Asian economies. Sources of financing – asset finance, corporate research and development (R&D), public market, and venture capital and private equity – vary not only across years and renewable energy sources, but also across countries. Using a fixed effects panel model, this paper provides a first quantitative estimate of the effect of government renewable energy policies on private investment across different sources of financing, with four main findings. First, while government expenditure on R&D positively affects private investment from asset finance and corporate R&D, it is not the most important driver in terms of the magnitude of the elasticity. Second, feed-in tariffs have a particularly strong effect on stimulating renewable energy investment financed through public markets, with the findings particularly strong for the Asian sub-sample. Third, tax incentives have a mixed impact across sources of financing. Fourth, technology costs and energy prices have considerable effects on driving renewable energy investment from asset finance, with the impact notably more pronounced for the Asian sub-sample. Key policy insights To maximize the impact of government R&D, policies should aim to facilitate a smoother investment environment for the private sector in the areas of asset finance and corporate R&D. This could include targeted subsidies and tax relief measures. Enhanced FIT mechanisms should be developed, particularly in Asia, to leverage greater investment financed via publicly quoted markets. This could also include more favourable initial fiscal incentives and terms of agreement. Tax incentives should be used with caution. While tax incentives have a positive effect on investment in renewable energy overall, they may negatively affect investment financed by corporate R&D and venture capital and private equity, i.e. private financing sources that are crucial for technology R&D and manufacturing scale-up. Countries with lower regulatory quality may need to offer higher FIT rates for policies to be effective in attracting private investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of macroprudential policies on the nexus between economic uncertainty and bank risk in emerging Asian economies. We construct our index of economic uncertainty by applying the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH)-in-mean model to a series of important macroeconomic variables, and borrow macroprudential policy indices from Cerutti et al. (2017) and Alam et al. (2019). Using bank-level panel data from approximately 600 commercial banks in 11 emerging Asian economies during the period 2000–2016, we find consistent evidence that bank risk increases with economic uncertainty, while macroprudential measures play an ameliorative role in uncertainty-induced bank risk. Our baseline findings are largely driven by macroprudential measures that aim to dampen the credit cycle more than those that target increasing the resilience of the banking sector. Our further analyses of the heterogeneous impacts of macroprudential measures by specific type on the risk of banks show that liquidity-based instruments, reserve requirements and currency instruments play a more conspicuous role in the economic uncertainty‒bank risk nexus than capital-based and asset-side macroprudential instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses aspects on ASEAN Economic Integration and physical connectivity which connects to several aspects such as transport, information and communication technology. He is critical on a paper discussed about Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity which is adopted in October 2010 which relates with relates some objectives to be achieved by 2015. Also investigated the benefits and challenges of physical connectivity in the ASEAN region.

Purpose: In the recent decades, the green projects have suffered from serious lack of investment, highlighting the major role of green financing to attract private investors to these projects. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the economic impacts of green bond (GB) market in 37 Asian economies. Design/methodology/approach: To empirically analyze the impacts of issued GBs on different macroeconomic variables of 37 Asian countries, the co-integration and causality approaches are employed to analyze the data for the period of 2002–2018. Findings: The primary findings indicated the presence of a unidirectional causal direction running from inflation rate, inward FDI, governance indicator, and human development index to issued GBs for the sample of Asian economies that were analyzed. Regarding Group I (higher and upper-middle income Asian countries), there are bi-directional relationships between the GB and other variables, indicating that the policies of governments in each variable influence other variables, whereas for Group II (low and lower-middle income Asian countries), there are uni-directional relationships running from HDI, governance indicator, and inflation rate to GBs, but only bi-directional causal relationships. Practical implications: In Asian economies with a lower per capita income, implementing policies to enhance the efficiency of issued GBs so that they have a positive impact on economic activities and human development may be an appropriate strategy with major policy implications. In this way, financial system improvement, financing rural electrification and the transition to electric vehicles through GBs are recommended, while for the case of high- and upper-middle-income economies in Asia, simplifying capital flows from abroad to the GB market can be considered a practical policy. Originality/value: This study contributes to current green finance research by studying the effects of several variables on the GB market for the instance of Asian countries with low and lower-middle incomes, as well as high-upper middle incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper will analyse building and stumbling blocks of possible formation of the Northeast Asian Community in the foreseeable future. Analysis will be primarily based on system-theory, but only transnational and international levels (understood as inter-state level) will be taken into account. Supranational level, being at a very early stage of development in Northeast Asia, will be mentioned in a model, however, not fully analysed in this paper. The hypothesis of presented paper is as follows: building blocks of NE Asia Community exist at the transnational level (especially economic cooperation) and stumbling blocks at international (inter-state) level, especially in the political sphere. Azja Północno-Wschodnia jest bez wątpienia kluczowym obszarem nie tylko dla regionu Azji i Pacyfiku, lecz dla szeroko pojętego systemu międzynarodowego. Niestety spory polityczne i militarne czynią z niej również jeden z najistotniejszych obszarów niestabilności czy potencjalnie przyszłych intensywniejszych konfliktów militarnych. Z tego powodu inicjatywa Korei Południowej z 2008 r. mająca na celu stworzenie Szczytu Trójstronnego Chin, Japonii i Korei Południowej wydaje się szansą na stabilizację tego regionu. Analiza opiera się na teorii systemowej, przy czym tylko dwa poziomy systemu będą szerzej omawiane, tj. poziom transnarodowy oraz międzynarodowy (rozumiany jako międzypaństwowy). Poziom ponadnarodowy, został tylko wzmiankowany w tworzonym modelu. Przedstawiona hipoteza zakłada, że czynniki wspierające integrację trójstronną istnieją w wybranych obszarach poziomu transnarodowego, szczególnie w zakresie współpracy gospodarczej, podczas gdy czynniki tę współpracę utrudniające mieszczą się głównie na poziomie międzynarodowym (międzypaństwowym), szczególnie w sferze politycznej. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two frequently researched fundamental factors in the recent business arena are corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Though the earlier is globalized in various aspects, the latter is still traditionally identified as a Western practice for corporations. This research paper argues that Multi‐national Corporations (MNCs) from emerging economies contribute to their parent country's business dynamics including CSR through "reverse knowledge innovation." To some extent, CSR is prioritized and implemented in these emerging economies, as their MNCs adopt and diffuse CSR practices domestically through reverse knowledge flows. Based on 10 economies from Asia in terms of CSR adoption, we find that CSR is largely considered a Western business innovation among the emerging economies and their home‐grown multinationals are the main vehicle of transfer in this case. This study identifies that there are three different levels of CSR adoption depending on a country's phase of economic development: Luxury, diffusion, and institutionalized. The study thus contributes in terms of a multi‐level theory by highlighting a source of CSR variation at the national level in the domain of Asian emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of authentic assessment can enrich students with a set of skills that can have a significant impact on their employability. The key aim of these actions is to equip students with the practical skills to be work ready. The focus here is to demonstrate effects on student satisfaction and observations from teaching staff accrued over several semesters in an educational institution after introducing authentic assessments. Design/methodology/approach: This paper used a set of scaffolded authentic assessments for students in logistics and supply chain management (LSCM). A combination of literature and expert input was used to design and implement the authentic assessment. A multi-phase systematic approach using cyclical model steps articulated the course learning outcomes (CLOs). Findings: Reinforced evidence that authentic assessments create options for divergent learners and provide opportunities for applying practical and higher-order cognitive skills in tertiary education system of an emerging economy. With the focus on student ability in doing things, students with diversified backgrounds and abilities in Asia can be encouraged to take an active role in their own learning. The formats of the newly redesigned assessments allow multidimensional cognitive capabilities such as art development (posters and video tasks) and reflective exercises. Importantly, formative types of authentic assessments help to decrease the level of anxiety by emphasising the aspect of doing and lead to better student satisfaction with the courses. All of these effects are shown to be repeatable in an Asian economy. Practical implications: Authentic assessments prepare students for the new world of work through a more focused scaffolding of their learning. Originality/value: Stimulation of deeper learning in tertiary education students is relevant for a top performing Asian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on an article about the quantitative effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) and Customs Unions (CUs) for economic integration platforms in Asia. He believes that a CU is more efficient than an FTA. He questions the conclusion that Japan should focus on advanced manufacturing, while Korea should focus on light manufacturing. He considers the reduction of tariffs in each sector.

This paper examines the effects of demographic dynamics on economic growth, with a focus on the working‐age population and the saving rate in 17 Asian economies for the past and future periods of 1970–2018 and 2018–2050, respectively. The study applies a panel vector‐autoregressive model, given the endogenous interactions among the variables. The main findings are as follows: first, the direct channel to economic growth is from the working‐age population share and the indirect channel is through the saving rate; second, there is a feedback effect from economic growth to the saving rate; third, the contribution ratio of the population‐bonus effect to economic growth for the 1970–2018 period was approximately 30 per cent on average, which was consistent with the ratios found in previous studies; and fourth, in the projections for 2018–2050, the magnitudes of the 'population‐onus' effect in selected economies are very large (minus 1 or 2 per cent)—even greater than found in previous studies—which was due to the earlier onset of the 'population onus' with aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cluster policies around the world take many shapes and forms. This statement is particularly true in case of Asian countries where cluster policies are as much differentiated as the economies of the region. This diversity is illustrated by the following examples: the Knowledge Clusters in Japan, Specialized Towns Program in China, provincial cluster development policy in Thailand, craft villages in Vietnam and Micro and Small Enterprises - Cluster Development Programme in India. This paper indicates the policy creation process based on multi actors and multi levels as the source of this diversity. On the road to the best possible cluster policy mix, one should take into consideration the cohesion and adequacy of the policy established in the particular economy. Polityka klastrowa przyjbiera rózne formy i ksztalty w roznych miejscach swiata. Widac to wyraznie chociazby w krajach azjatyckich, gdzie podejscie do klastrów jest zróznicowane tak samo, jak zróznicowane sa gospodarki regionu, co zostalo pokazane na przykladzie klastrów wiedzy w Japonii, wyspecjalizowanych miast w Chinach, regionalnej polityki rozwojowej w Tajlandii, wiosek rzemieslniczych w Wietnamie oraz klastrów malych i srednich przedsiebiorstw w Indiach. Niniejszy artykul jako zródlo tego zróznicowania wskazuje proces tworzenia polityki oparty na wielu aktorach i wielu poziomach decyzyjnych. Dazac do idealnej kombinacji skladników polityki klastrowej (policy mix), musimy zaczac doceniac spójnosc i adekwatnosc polityki realizowanej w warunkach okreslonej gospodarki. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of articles concerning economics in Asia, featured in the May 1998 issue of the periodical 'Asian-Pacific Economic Literature.' Economic development studies; Structural change; Political economy; Economic reform.

The development of a knowledge-based economy relies greatly on developing the skills and education needed for inclusive and sustainable development so that growth will reach all parts of the society. Addressing skills development for all is challenging for all OECD countries; Asian economies are working towards developing integrated pathways of skills and employment. This paper addresses some key aspects of skills development in OECD countries through a case study of small and medium enterprises as a key sector in both OECD and Asian economies. It extracts some lessons from this analysis that apply to the unique nature of skills development in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern times, the economic development speed of Asian countries is not as fast as the average speed of European and American countries, and the economies of Asian countries have gradually normalized. Purpose: Asian countries need to improve the speed of economic growth and economic benefits, and can only conduct market analysis through government departments and control the structure and model of financial expenditure, but such economic growth is at the expense of polluting the environment. To gather evidence for highly polluting Asian economies, it is necessary to analyze financial expenditure models in Asian countries and the impact of financial expenditure on green economic growth. Methodology: In this paper, the Cobb Douglas model was used to analyze the financial expenditure in Asia in detail, and the impact of the relevant policies of financial expenditure in Asia on the growth of Asia's green economy has been analyzed. Research findings: The environmental pollution index in Asia is generally high, and the financial expenditure on environmental protection can increase the growth rate of the green economy by 18.6%. Science and education expenditure, social security expenditure and employment expenditure can also increase the growth rate of the green economy to a certain extent and effectively reduce environmental pollution. Research implications: Financial expenditure in Asia severely constrains green economic growth, and the development of Asian economies has created highly polluting Asian economies. Practical implications: The structure of financial expenditure in Asia needs to be adjusted to increase the share of the green economy and adhere to sustainable environmental development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts related the Asian economy including "Aggregate shocks decomposition for eight East Asian countries," by Grace Lee, "Indonesian economic development: political economy of an effective state," by Richard Grabowski, and "Economic reforms and gender inequality in urban China," by Haoming Liu.

Asia has emerged from the global financial crisis as an important stabilizing force and an engine of global economic growth. The establishment of the G-20 gives Asian economies the global forum that they need to both represent their interests in global governance and deliver on responsibilities concomitant with their growing weight in the global economy. The region has a host of cooperation arrangements in APEC, ASEAN+3, and EAS (East Asian Summit), all with ASEAN as the fulcrum. They are huge assets, but they need to be repositioned to relate effectively to the G-20 process and other global arrangements. They also need to comprehend the politics of the changing structure of regional power. This paper discusses the challenges that Asia faces in aligning regional and global objectives in financial, trade, and other areas of cooperation, such as climate change and foreign investment. It argues that Asia is now a critical player in the global system and has a central contribution to make in strengthening global governance and international policy outcomes. The paper sets out ways to fill gaps in regional cooperation and link the agenda for regional cooperation more effectively to Asia's new role globally. This is essential to sustain Asia's superior growth performance, correct imbalances, and support the global economic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss new aspects of exchange rate policy that can be observed in the Asian emerging economies. In the first place, we show the alternative regimes they may choose and their respective pros and cons. Secondly, we concentrate on the recent strategy of systematic undervaluation of one's currency - figuring prominently among 'big' Asian players such as China and India - and the most likely implications of such a strategy for domestic allocation, distribution and stabilization goals. With the background of Germany's experiences in 1969, almost on the eve of the Bretton Woods' system collapse, we model a speculative attack on an undervalued currency in the vein of the Flood-Garber seminal paper from 1984. Now, however, the country in concern (just like India and China) possesses strong rather than weak fundamentals. The continuous accumulation of international reserves, in addition, leads to the question of an 'optimal management' of foreign exchange reserves in Asian emerging economies with regard to size and composition. We finally propose a sequence of reforms/policies that should be implemented in those Asian emerging economies on their still long journey to a regime featured by autonomous monetary policy, flexible exchange rate and capital mobility. A brief summary and an outlook for future research close the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the degree of exchange rate pass-through for the selected Asian countries namely Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, and Singapore. Unlike past studies, this paper focuses on small open economies and includes exports of primary commodities in the investigation. We utilize cointegration techniques based on Engle and Granger (1987) and Johansen and Juselius (1990), and error correction modeling, to provide a more robust and rigorous investigation of the long run and short run pass-through of exchange rates. It is found that, in general, the degree of pass-through is high, although there is a small extent of pricing to market found for all countries. For Malaysia, the degree of pricing to market found suggests that there is intense competition in the export industries. In the case of Thailand, there is almost complete pass-through and this conforms to our a priori expectations. In the case of Singapore and Taiwan, we detect a higher degree of pass-through compared to past studies. For a country, the high degree of pass-through will support the adoption of more flexible exchange rate oriented monetary policies, and for firms it will reveal the limits of their price setting behavior amidst international competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in the construction sector in the Asian region demonstrate three trends: (1) larger private sector participation in infrastructure projects, (2) increasing vertical integration in the packaging of construction projects, and (3) increased foreign participation in domestic construction. This paper attributes the trends to the globalization and deregulation of markets necessitated by fiscal, technological and managerial constraints. Although these trends present intra-Asian opportunities, there are also areas of concern. The trends have helped polarize the financial and technical superiority of the developed countries and the corresponding inferiority of the developed countries in the region of the developing ones. In the long term, this gap could be filled through technology transfer. In the short term, however, there are concerns that imported construction services could grow at the expense of the indigenous sectors of the developing countries. This paper illustrates this dilemma with the case of Japan as a world leader in international construction services. Its dominance has apparently come through the orchestration of industrial and corporate policies, implemented in a highly regulated and protected domestic market. However, construction industries in other Asian economies (such as China) will have to leapfrog in technology, finance and management know-how (e.g. through joint ventures with developed countries' construction companies) before they can become formidable powers in an environment that has become much more global, more de-regulated, more open and more competitive than before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins with a commentary on the unfolding of the Asian crisis, and includes summary information on the effect of the crisis on the rote of economic growth and unemployment in the region. A review of current thinking on the causes of the crisis follows. This review evaluates whether the Asian crisis was caused primarily by weaknesses in the affected economies, such as inappropriate exchange rote policies and inadequate financial regulation, or by international market failures. The paper concludes with a critical analysis of the International Monetary Fund's role in the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The succession of financial crises that swept through Asia, Russia and Latin America in 1997 and 1998 led to considerable debate about both the role of the IMF and possible actions to limit further crises. Some have argued that international financial markets do not function well and are subject to periodic contagious panics that can be stemmed by an international lender of last resort. This paper argues that the IMF has neither the resources nor the superior information needed to fulfil such a role. However, there may be a need for an international financial institution that can use its leverage to secure policy changes in the affected countries. The paper also takes issue with the view that the IMF is simply bailing out imprudent international banks and that measures are needed to bail them back in again. The source of the Asian crisis lay in the real economy, but the effect of the crisis was greatly exacerbated by the financial structure of the affected countries. In particular, much of the risk was borne by domestic banks which borrowed dollars in the short-term interbank market and made longer-term loans in the local currency. Public policy needs to be directed to ensuring that the risks in emerging markets are distributed efficiently across both foreign and domestic investors. That involves greater use of equity finance and structured debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the postwar years numerous controversies have raged over the adequacy of the levels of food consumption in underdeveloped areas. Usually, the food issue appears to be discussed from the standpoint of health; in this paper, we ask whether food consumption is adequate for work purposes, as distinct from problems of health. In brief, our answer is that for the majority of working Asians, food intake is probably less than optimal from the economic viewpoint. In the concluding sections, the implications for economic development analysis are delineated. The first portions of the paper will evaluate the various qualitative findings of food consumption and concepts of requirements, after which a hypothesis designed to interpret the data will be presented. The discussion will focus on calorie intake which largely determines the output of energy in human physiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper examines a productivity-based explanation of the long-run real exchange rate movements of six Asian economies. Using industry level data, we construct total factor productivities (TFPs) for the tradable and nontradable sectors. We find that (i) within each country the relative price of nontradable goods is cointegrated with the sectoral TFP differential, and (ii) the real exchange rates are cointegrated with the home and foreign sectoral TFP differentials. Using the predicted real exchange rate as a measure of the 'long-run equilibrium,' we find that most Asian economies' real exchange rates were overvalued before the Asian Financial Crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asian economic regionalism has emerged from a bottom-up process, driven by market forces in the absence of a grand plan for regional integration. While the financial crisis of 1997/98 triggered new regional cooperation initiatives, more recently several Asian political leaders have formulated proposals for the creation of a regional economic community, suggesting the possible start of a top-down approach. Based on the results of a survey of Asia's opinion leaders conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2010, this paper discusses how Asia's institutional architecture for economic and financial integration is taking shape, suggesting the need to strengthen existing institutions that promote Asian regionalism and to create new ones. While the focus of the paper is on monetary and financial integration, the analysis also covers other integration pillars such as trade and investment, connectivity and infrastructure, and regional public goods. It suggests the need to create new institutions in support of Asian regionalism and to use a broad perspective in moving towards the formation of a region-wide economic community based on strong political commitment and grassroots participation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

'Rational economic agents' making optimal choices, such as shifting to less expensive products, is a fundamental paradigm for theoretical and applied economics. This requires accurate and unbiased economic information on prices. Since the mid-1990s, several nations have switched to estimation methods for price indices that improve the accounting for the shifting basket of new goods and services produced in the economy. This change required the adoption of 'ideal' measures of growth and price change. Nevertheless, many Asian nations continue to prepare non-ideal measures of growth and price change. This paper assesses the bias in current Asian measures of growth and price change and explores how such bias can lead to poor investor and policymaker decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the devastating 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, Asian economies have tried to learn the lessons and orchestrate an effective development strategy in the midst of increasing global capital flows. In this paper, we attempt to identify the development strategy of Asian countries and the implications thereof for their economies and for the rest of the world. We argue that neither the "interdependency" theory nor the "decoupling" thesis adequately explains the current Asian development path. Instead, we argue that the dependency theory may shed light on the recent Asian development experience. By showing this, we highlight the fact that the ever growing financial power has, to a large degree, shaped the "real," productive side of the economy in Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilateral free trade agreements (BTAs) have been proliferating. The outcome of this proliferation of often overlapping BTAs and plurilateral free trade agreements (PTAs) is described as the spaghetti bowl effect or, in the Asian region, the noodle bowl effect. This is costly, and welfare reducing. How do we remedy the situation? In this paper, we consider the various options proposed in dealing with the spaghetti bowl, and assess their ability to do so. A general limitation of these proposals is their tendency to group all kinds of BTAs together, treating them as a homogeneous group. Thus, the proposals ignore underlying differences in motivation in forming BTAs. To overcome this, we develop a taxonomy for classifying BTAs by motivation before considering the effectiveness of the different remedies proposed. We find that each proposal has its pros and cons, and can cater for different types of BTAs. Thus, a combination of the various proposals may be warranted, even in the event of an expeditious and bona fide conclusion to the Doha Round. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to test for asymmetric behaviour of macroeconomic aggregates for three Asian economies; namely, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Korea. Whether macroeconomic aggregates can be characterised as asymmetric has important implications for policy-making and econometric modelling including forecasting. We examine two forms of asymmetries; specifically deepness, which arises when a detrended time series contains an asymmetric distribution, and steepness, which arises when the first difference of a series contains an asymmetric distribution. Overall, our findings suggest that for all three countries, the bulk of the series display asymmetry behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the folklore of emerging markets, there is a popular belief that bubbles are inevitable. In this paper, our objective is to estimate a state-space model for rational bubbles in selected Asian economies with the aid of the Kalman Filter. For each economy, we derive a possible picture of the bubble formation process that is implied by the state-space formulation. The estimation is based on the rational valuation formula for stock prices. Our results provide a possible way of defining the presence of rational bubbles in the stock markets of Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, and Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to overview the developments of Japan's ODA and assess, in a quantitative manner, their economic impacts on Asian countries. The benefits of two alternative measures—one from capital formation by Japan's ODA loans and the other from import liberalization in the Japanese market—are compared. Those economy-wide impacts of aid and trade on six Asian countries—China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—are estimated by a CGE model of global trade, incorporating a certain mechanism of dynamic capital formation. Japan's ODA loans are effective for economic growth in the countries. Real GDP gains range from 0.1 to 1.6% annually. Trade liberalization is efficient to improve economic welfare. Utility gains range from 0.2 to 1.9%, which exceed those on account of Japan's ODA. Variations in those economic impacts are much more significantly observed when examined by sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a broad introduction to the special issue and examines the main contours of regional governance in the Asia Pacific. It suggests that prevailing theories of regional co-operation in the Asia Pacific fail to pay due heed to the manner in which regional integration is rooted in domestic coalitions, economic strategies, and state forms that prevailed in the boom years of the 'Asian Miracle'. The paper then goes on to argue that the collapse of the developmentalist project has given way to the new regulatory state, which in turn spawns new forms of regulatory regionalism that place a heavy accent on policy co-ordination and harmonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops and estimates a model linking tax policies to the size of the informal sector. Our results suggest that informal employment responds to the strength of enforcement and, to a lesser extent, to tax rates. Looking across sectors, we find service sector informal employment responds to both changes in tax rates and enforcement, while manufacturing sector informal employment responds only to enforcement. Quantitatively, changes in enforcement affect the manufacturing informal sector more than the service sector. These results are robust to various measures of informal employment and hold for other countries outside of Asia as well. Since informal employment (and hence output) is related to a country's GDP, these results suggest that policy makers should consider the effect of their policies on the size of the informal sector. JEL classification : O 17; O 53; H 26. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

n last the two decades, Western scholars have pointed to East Asian achievements which seem to be a kind of economic ‘miracle’. However, with the 1997 financial crisis, the conventional wisdom about economic dynamics in the region requires some rethinking. The Asian financial crisis is the first development-related crisis caused by economic liberalisation and globalisation and reveals an institutional shortcoming of Asian capitalism. Developmental states in the region generally adopted mercantilist development policies and encouraged private businesses to over-expand and over-invest without considering the change of international market competition. Although political institutions effectively fostered economic development under state autonomy, their economic bureaucracies lacked the administrative capacities to regulate financial institutions and to exert financial allocations into productive industrial sectors. Most importantly, the developmental model has fundamentally undermined the risk management capability of bureaucracies dealing with financial turmoil. This paper argues that Asian countries should build a financial governance regime that can effectively control, regulate and manage capital formation mechanisms and, most importantly, lead domestic and foreign capital to competitive sectors rather than to speculative ones, particularly, when exposed to foreign capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]