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In the existing literature on foreign direct investment, it is often assumed that multinational corporations and their direct investments reduce institutional differences among economies. Building upon this assumption, those influenced by management studies and mainstream economics see multinational corporations as an agent that upgrades local business conventions to global standards. Geographers do not usually accept this convergence theory and claim differences among host economies prevents convergence in business practices. The difference between these groups of scholars is that the non-convergence camp acknowledges the resilience of local business practices while the convergence camp does not. The papers comprising this special issue question this shared assumption of foreign direct investment as a cause of convergence. As outlined in this introductory paper, and explored in detail in the following papers, we pay attention to the simple fact that the foreign direct investment is from a company or individual whose business practices are inherently influenced by their experiences of business in the nation or region of origin, and these experiences indelibly influence, to varying degrees, their local operations in investment destination. Once we accept such an obvious fact, recent debates on variety of capitalism and related literatures on the developmental state, welfare regime and other concepts all become relevant to understanding of the local operation of foreign-owned businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is one of the non-major powers most closely interested in the nature of the hierarchical security order in East Asia and its transition, but little academic attention has been drawn to examining its diplomatic positions or policy directions as it responds to and shapes the regional security order. Drawing on realist insights into order transition and their implications for security relations between major and non-major powers, this paper examines the nature of the security order in East Asia and critically discusses how the ROK's approach to order management has been of only limited success in addressing the structural risks growing out of the changing natures of the regional order. It also discusses the collective order management of its Southeast Asian neighbors as a comparable case that tackles similar risks differently. The paper concludes with a discussion of how a stronger partnership with Southeast Asia could complement the limitations of the ROK's approach to regional security order management, particularly in this time of a rapid transition to a bipolar East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION The objective of the review was to study the impact of tobacco taxes or prices on affordability and/or consumption of tobacco products in WHO South- East Asia Region (SEAR) countries, overall and by socioeconomic status; and change in consumption of one tobacco product for a given change in price/tax on another tobacco product. METHODS The searches were made in five databases (Medline, Embase, Cinahl, EconLit, Tobacconomics) using keywords such as 'tobacco', 'tax', 'price', 'impact' with their synonyms. Additionally, the first 100 articles through google search and e-reports from targeted sources were also reviewed. Studies illustrating the impact of prices/taxes on consumption/affordability of tobacco products in SEAR, in English and with no limitation on year, were included in the review. After two steps of screening, data from 28 studies were extracted using a structured and pre-tested data extraction form. RESULTS Of the 28 studies, 12 studies reported an inverse association between price and consumption/affordability, while 11 studies reported no or positive association between price and consumption/affordability of tobacco products. Five studies had unclear interpretations. The majority of studies estimated that the less affluent group were more price responsive compared to the more affluent group. Some studies indicated increased consumption of one product in response to price rise of another product, although, the findings were inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS The findings of our review support the use of tobacco tax and price measures as effective tools to address the tobacco epidemic. Our findings, however, also emphasize the importance of increasing tobacco product taxes and prices sufficiently to outweigh the effects of income growth, in order for the measures to be effective in reducing the affordability and consumption of tobacco products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, the pendulum of regime change across the world has swung dramatically from democratization to autocratization. There has been much contention and debate about the extent, variation, and causes surrounding these processes. This special issue turns the spotlight away from regime change and political elites towards societal agents, particularly societal agents who mobilize and resist against autocratization unfolding within democratic and authoritarian regimes. In this introductory article, we review and critique the literature on autocratization studies, and introduce our concept of "agents of resistance." We argue that agents of resistance can develop and engage in repertoires against autocratization under any regime type. Specifically, the contributions in this special issue highlight seemingly mundane repertoires of resistance, and how they can grow through cumulative interactions among societal agents, and between societal agents and the state. Scholars should recognize the full spectrum of resistance and both their liberal and illiberal elements to better assess the impact on global trends of democratization or autocratization. Finally, this article discusses some methodological trends with regards to the existing literature, and introduces the contributions that compose this special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper presents and discusses recent trends in divorce for countries in Asia, highlighting both wide variations in divorce patterns and recent changes in divorce trends for countries in the region. Three broad regional patterns are evident: an East Asian pattern characterised by increasing divorce rates, though there are signs of stabilisation in some countries in the last few years; an Islamic Southeast Asian pattern characterised by declining divorce rates until recently; and a South Asian pattern with relatively stable and low divorce rates. The paper also discusses divorce in international marriages in some East Asian countries and Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) can enhance the Maritime Continent rainfall (MCR) via frequent southward penetration of cold air along the coast of East Asia. However, such impact diminished after the late‐1990s, primarily due to the weakened covariation between the Siberian high and Aleutian low (AL). During 1979–1998, the co‐variability between the Siberian high and AL facilitates a strong east‐west pressure gradient over East Asia. The resultant northerlies invade southward and facilitate the enhanced MCR. In contrast, such covariation is weak during 2000–2018, and it impedes the southward invasion of northerly winds and diminishes EAWM's impact. Further inspections indicate that the weakened covariation is primarily caused by the reduced variability of the AL. The underlying mechanism is confirmed by the historical simulation of version 6 Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC6) that participates in phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and numerical experiments with European Center‐Hamburg atmospheric model version 6.3 (ECHAM6). Plain Language Summary: East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) is an important extratropical system to drive the variations of the Maritime Continent rainfall (MCR) via frequent southward penetration of cold air along the coast of East Asia. However, the EAWM's impact becomes diminished after the late‐1990s, and it is primarily rooted in the weakened covariation between the Siberian high (SH) and Aleutian low (AL). During 1979–1998, the co‐variability between the SH and AL causes a strong east‐west pressure gradient over East Asia. The resultant northerly winds invade southward along the coast of East Asia and facilitate the enhanced MCR. In contrast, during 2000–2018, the covariation is weak and diminishes EAWM's impact. Further analysis indicates that it is the weakened AL variability that determines the weakening of the covariation between the SH and AL. The phenomenon and the underlying mechanism are confirmed by the climate models. This study highlights the interdecadal variations of the EAWM in linking the Asian winter climate. Key Points: The impact of the East Asian winter monsoon on the Maritime Continent rainfall diminished after the late‐1990sIt arises from the weakened Siberian high–Aleutian low covariation that weakens northerly winds reaching the tropicsThe phenomenon and mechanisms are reproduced and validated by numerical experiments with two climate models [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which serves as the linchpin of regionalism in East Asia, is facing a new challenge of great power politics. This article explores ASEAN's position in and strategy for taking cooperative regional initiatives by referring to the management of confrontational politics between rival states. It explains ASEAN's handling of great power politics theoretically by impartial enmeshment for managing great powers' material interests and moral legitimacy in developing specific ideational frameworks. This article argues that ASEAN managed great powers' rivalry by enmeshing them into its regional initiatives impartially and maintaining organisational legitimacy by developing systems of socio-cultural norms. It also contends that ASEAN needs, in envisioning the future of Indo-Pacific regionalism, to extend its strategic reach through alignments with other parties and enhance moral legitimacy by deepening and broadening normative frameworks for advancing collective interests for the Indo-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Herein, we present a comprehensive list of fishes in the Red River basin. • We verify the use of two fish fauna analyses to identify characteristic taxa. • The TFFA and VFFP methods were compared; the TFFA reflected the main fish taxa. • The VFFP results indicated the taxa representative of the Red River basin. • Data from fish fauna analyses should be used as indicators to plan fish preserves. The composition of fish fauna in the Red River basin was analyzed based on 288 fish species belonging to 138 genera, 53 families (subfamilies), and 14 orders, using the Traditional Fish Fauna Analysis (TFFA) and the Value of Fish Fauna Presence (VFFP) methods. The TFFA and VFFP methods allow for a ranking of the taxa according to commonality and uniqueness of the taxa to the river basin; however, both methods provide different, complimentary results. Based on the results from the TFFA method, 15 families (subfamilies), including 85 genera and 219 species, were identified as the main fish taxa in the Red River basin. Based on the results of the VFFP method, 17 families (subfamilies), including 89 species and 52 genera, were highlighted as representative families (subfamilies) and genera in the Red River basin. Overall, Cypriniformes was the most abundant order, followed by Siluriformes and Gobiiformes. Although the Red River basin is geographically situated in Southeast Asia, it had obvious characteristics of East Asian fish fauna rather than Southeast Asian fish fauna. Therefore, the Red River fish fauna can be considered the boundary between the fish fauna of Southeast Asia and East Asia. This paper further detailed the indexes and calculations of the TFFA and VFFP methods. The authors proposed using the results of the TFFA and VFFP methods as indicators for planning fish preserves as well as discussed the specific methods related to using these indicators to plan and establish fish preserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common success as well as the post-1997 crisis of East Asian countries has led to a widespread tendency to view their economic systems as a homogeneous monolith. In reality, there are significant structural differences among the region's economies, although they do share many strengths and weaknesses. In particular, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia appear to have followed significantly divergent paths toward development and growth. The main goal of this paper is to elaborate upon those differences to contribute toward a more complete and balanced understanding of East Asian economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given Asia-Pacific's diversity and the large variance of potentially relevant causal factors, the region presents social scientists with a natural laboratory to test competing theories of democratic erosion, decay and revival and to identify new patterns and relationships. This introductory article offers a brief review of the relevant literature and introduces the different categories of analysis that build the analytical framework considered in various forms in the special issue. The article discusses the reasons for the renewed pessimism in democratization and democracy studies and provides a survey of different conceptualizations intended to capture forms of democratic regression and the autocratization concept to which the contributors to this special issue adhere. We discuss how Asia-Pacific experiences fit into the debate about democracy's deepening global recession and examine assumptions about the causes, catalysts and consequences of democratic regression and resilience in the comparative politics literature. Finally, the remaining twelve articles of this special issue will be introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although 30 years have passed since the ASEAN-Korea dialogue partnership began, the two sides' political and security relations remain irregular and limited. Although such limits have been widely recognized, they have rarely been examined comprehensively. This study aims to address this gap by focusing on Korean executive leadership as key diplomatic actors who are shaping an inconsistent and distant partnership with ASEAN. The findings show that the executives' changing conceptualizations of the regions and the approaches to regional security with limited agency independence in the bureaucracy have been major obstacles to finding a reliable common ground for institutionalizing cooperation with ASEAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the pieces collected in this special issue on the legacies of the Cold War in East and Southeast Asia. Linking to the Journal of Contemporary Asia's 50th Anniversary volume, it examines the origins and conflicts associated with the Cold War in Asia. In this special issue, the authors collectively examine the enduring legacies for the region of US engagements that established a set of politically authoritarian regimes trumpeting anti-communism while promoting American-style capitalism. While the path-dependence of this historical moment has not by itself bequeathed Asia's current crop of authoritarian governments, the authors argue that the current situation cannot be fully understood without reference to Cold War legacies. This introductory article contextualises the pieces in the special issue by providing a broad overview of the variety of Cold War political and economic legacies for the region. It concludes by noting the importance of the kinds of detailed, critical, theoretically informed and empirically rich research that Journal of Contemporary Asia has encouraged since its inception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade patterns in East Asia are termed the "Factory Asia" model, whereby Asia functions as a "global factory" that imports intermediate goods from its regional networks and then assembles and exports them as finished goods to higher-income developed countries. In 2001, China's accession into the World Trade Organisation consolidated this pattern by becoming the core economy in this model. However, is this pattern still valid after more than a decade of rapid development in East Asian countries? The main objective of this article is to examine the evolution of this pattern of trade in East Asian countries. Although the key findings of this study show that the Factory Asia model continues, it is changing as different East Asian countries capture more value in global value chains. The gaps in the rate of upgrading are identified and mainly attributed to differences in government policies and competition. However, the dependence on foreign inputs still remains an important part of high-technology production in East Asian countries. Hence, the idea that East Asia is evolving from a "factory" into a "Research & Development hub" remains far-fetched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the relationship between cyclone activity and tourism in the Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian regions. A dataset on the damage impact of cyclones was constructed based on the Tropical Cyclone Best Track tables and the Annual Tropical Cyclone Reports provided by the United States National Climatic Data Center for the period 1995-2014. A damage index was based on the wind speed when each cyclone went through a region and the distance of the region to the largest city in the vicinity. The results showed that there were feedback effects between these cyclones and unsustainable tourism where cyclone damage reduced the number of tourist arrivals and some unsustainable activities by the tourism industry increased the cyclone damage. We then examined the disparities among the affected countries in East Asia. The results showed that that except for Philippines, which endured much more cyclone damage than that aggregate level, the other countries were either at or below the average level of damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Transparency International first released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in 1995, the CPI has quickly become the best known corruption indicator worldwide. The CPI has been widely credited with making comparative and large-N studies of corruption possible, as well as putting the issue of corruption squarely in the international policy agenda. Despite its enormous influence on both academic and policy fronts, the CPI is not without critics. One often noted critique is that the CPI relies solely on surveys of foreign business people and the expert assessments of cross-national analysts; as such, the CPI mainly reflects international experts’ perceptions, not the perceptions of each country's citizens. This study examines the above critique in closer detail. Data from the Asian Barometer Survey is employed to analyze whether international experts’ corruption perceptions were similar to those of domestic citizens. The Asian Barometer Survey is a public opinion survey on issues related to political values, democracy, and public reform in 13 different areas around East and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam). Data analysis indicates that global and local perspectives are only moderately aligned in the 13 areas studied. International experts and domestic citizens differ, to varying degrees, in their evaluation of the extent of public sector corruption in several areas, suggesting the presence of a corruption perception gap. Four implications about the existence of this gap can be drawn for future corruption measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors searched for economic determinants of bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI) in 15 East and Southeast Asian economies between 1990 and 2005. Estimation results from a gravity model using market access, comparative advantage and policy-driven incentives as variables suggest that multinational companies inside and outside the region had dissimilar FDI incentives and concerns regarding relative factor costs, import duties, geographic distance, and language. In addition, the results suggest a positive relationship between increased regional trade and FDI in East and Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an overview of the types and level of institutionalization of party systems in seven young democracies in East and Southeast Asia. By applying Alan Siaroff’s typology of party systems, the analysis demonstrates that the party systems in Asia do not converge on a single format. The party systems under consideration also differ in the level of institutionalization. Party systems in Thailand, the Philippines and especially South Korea are stuck in an inchoate state. Even though there is considerable variation among the cases, the party systems in Indonesia, Mongolia and Taiwan can be considered as well institutionalized relative to the rest of Asia and moderately institutionalized when compared to Latin America. Furthermore, weak institutionalization correlates with volatile structures of party competition and cooperation in Thailand, whereas in South Korea and the Philippines party systems seem to be paradoxically stabilizing in a situation of protracted under-institutionalization, as both cases combine more or less stable party system patterns with weak institutionalization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Patterns of Palaeolithic variability between eastern Asia and western portions of the Old World continue to engender controversial discussion. Most famously, debate has focused on variability in the absence/presence of 'handaxes' east and west of the so-called 'Movius Line'. However, it is becoming equally apparent that cross-regional contrasts can be made using categories of data other than handaxe presence/absence alone. This, in turn, is leading to a reconfiguration of the archaeological patterns that demand explanation. Here, we outline the current state of the Movius Line controversy in these terms, and undertake a series of metric analyses of eastern and western biface samples. This leads us to highlight specific lines of enquiry that may be important for future attempts to address these enduring questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of recent economic and political change on collective and individual labor rights in East Asia. Deploying a new index for measuring de jure and de facto labor rights, the article presents new comparative data on labor rights in the region. Democratization has produced stronger collective labor rights in much of the region, but labor laws in most countries still fall far short of international labor standards. East Asia's labor laws offer similar levels of protection for individual labor rights to the rest of the world when firing costs are taken into account, and low regional averages are primarily an effect of Singapore's extremely weak individual labor rights. Few countries have revised their labor laws in the direction of greater labor market flexibility. However, the distance between law and practice is wide, so improvements in laws are not necessarily reflected on the ground. Flexibility enters through the back door of ineffective labor law enforcement, which in turn has affected the organizing efforts of unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cloven-hoofed animals with serious economic consequences. FMD is endemic in Southeast Asia (SEA) and East Asia (EA) with the circulation of multiple serotypes, posing a threat to Australia and other FMD-free countries. Although vaccination is one of the most important control measures to prevent FMD outbreaks, the available vaccines may not be able to provide enough cross-protection against the FMD viruses (FMDVs) circulating in these countries due to the incursion of new lineages and sub-lineages as experienced in South Korea during 2010, a FMD-free country, when a new lineage of serotype O FMDV (Mya-98) spread to the country, resulting in devastating economic consequences. In this study, a total of 62 serotype O (2013–2018) viruses selected from SEA and EA countries were antigenically characterized by virus neutralization tests using three existing (O/HKN/6/83, O/IND/R2/75 and O/PanAsia-2) and one putative (O/MYA/2009) vaccine strains and full capsid sequencing. The Capsid sequence analysis revealed three topotypes, Cathay, SEA and Middle East-South Asia (ME-SA) of FMDVs circulating in the region. The vaccines used in this study showed a good match with the SEA and ME-SA viruses. However, none of the recently circulating Cathay topotype viruses were protected by any of the vaccine strains, including the existing Cathay topotype vaccine (O/HKN/6/83), indicating an antigenic drift and, also the urgency to monitor this topotype in the region and develop a new vaccine strain if necessary, although currently the presence of this topotype is mainly restricted to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam. Further, the capsid sequences of these viruses were analyzed that identified several capsid amino acid substitutions involving neutralizing antigenic sites 1, 2 and 5, which either individually or together could underpin the observed antigenic drift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distance analyses were applied to 11 craniofacial measurements recorded in samples from East and Southeast Asia, Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia for the purpose of assessing the biological affinities and possible origins of these populations. A clear separation between Australomelanesians and other populations from East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific is evident. The craniofacial variations suggest that the generalized Asian populations (Negritos, Dayaks, Lesser Sunda Islands, etc.) represent at least part of the morphological background of not only the majority of present Southeast Asians, but also the Neolithic Jomon people and their lineage in Japan, Polynesians, and western Micronesians. The original craniofacial features of Southeast Asians may have occurred as the result of convergent microevolution due to similar environmental conditions such as tropical rain forest. This supports the local-evolution hypothesis for modern Southeast Asian craniofacial features. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five evolutionarily significant dental traits were identified from a B-square distance analysis of nine crown characters recorded for several populations of East Asia and Oceania. Intergroup variation in these traits distinguishes three major divisions of the Mongoloid dental complex: sundadonty, sinodonty, and the dental pattern of Australian Aborigines. The Australian crown features may be characterized as having high frequencies of evolutionarily conservative characters. Negritos, one of the probable representatives of indigenous inhabitants of Southeast Asia who may have shared a common ancestor with Australians, possess the more derived sundadont dental pattern. As far as the five crown traits treated here are concerned, Australian dental features may be described as conforming to a 'proto-sundadont' dental pattern, applying Turner's terminology. This pattern may represent a microevolutionary step prior to the emergence of the sundadont and sinodont patterns. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of the four major geographical groups recognized as Australomelanesians, Micronesians, Polynesians, and East and Southeast Asians are still far from obvious. The earliest arrivals in Sahulland may have migrated from Sundaland about 40,000-50,000 years B.P. and begun the Australomelanesian lineage. The aboriginal populations in Southeast Asia may have originated in the tropical rain forest of Sundaland, and their direct descendants may be the modern Dayaks of Borneo and Negritos of Luzon. These populations, the so-called 'Proto-Malays,' are possible representatives of the lineage leading to not only modern Southeast Asians, but also the Neolithic Jomon populations in Japan. The present study suggests, moreover, that the Polynesians and western Micronesians have closer affinities with modern Southeast Asians than with Melanesians or Jomonese. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]