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This article provides an overview of the macroeconomic challenges facing the 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It discusses various macroeconomic indicators and the importance of achieving high levels of economic growth. The article also explores ASEAN's participation in Regional Value Chains (RVCs) and Global Value Chains (GVCs), particularly in the automotive and electronics industries. It examines the adoption of inflation targeting frameworks by ASEAN countries and evaluates their macroeconomic performance. The text further analyzes the fiscal sustainability of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, providing policy recommendations to enhance revenue collection and reduce subsidies. It also discusses the challenges faced by Vietnam's economy and suggests policy measures to overcome them. The article touches on economic issues in Cambodia and Laos, including technology spillovers, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) implementation, and financial system reform. The perspectives presented offer insights into these countries' economic situations and potential policy measures. [Extracted from the article]

In regional trade agreements (RTAs), member countries choose a common rule of origin (RoO) for each product. This study examines the factors that influence RoOs in four ASEAN‐plus‐one RTAs, which are agreements between ASEAN and four individual countries. One unique feature is that ASEAN as a whole negotiates with a plus‐one country, which may dilute the interests of individual ASEAN countries at large. Our findings are summarised as follows. First, the more restrictive RoOs are set in the products where plus‐one countries are less competitive against most ASEAN countries. Second, the more restrictive RoOs are likely to be imposed in products that plus‐one countries protect with higher most favoured nation tariffs. These two results reflect the bargaining power among a plus‐on country and ASEAN countries and indicate that plus‐one's preference influences RoOs more strongly. Third, we find contrasting results between intermediate and final products. RoOs are likely to be less restrictive in intermediate products and more restrictive in final products when plus‐one countries have higher export competitiveness or when the majority of ASEAN countries have higher MFN tariffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of global economic and geopolitical developments. It discusses the implications of tensions between the USA and China, the internationalization of the Chinese currency, and the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on energy markets and climate policies. The document also explores the economic impact of foundational artificial intelligence on various sectors and emphasizes the importance of international cooperation and effective regulation to maximize benefits and mitigate risks. Overall, it offers valuable insights into these complex issues and the need for effective governance mechanisms. [Extracted from the article]

In this study, we examine the impact of Japan's International Investment Agreements (IIAs) on the locational choice of Japanese firms' foreign direct investment (FDI) by considering the quality of IIAs. We estimate the conditional logit model covering 12,435 FDI cases by 3838 Japanese companies in 92 host countries, 16 manufacturing sectors and 12 non‐manufacturing sectors from 2000 to 2019. We found that the presence of IIAs, particularly comprehensive and high‐level ones, has a positive impact on Japan's FDI. On the contrary, the past incidence of investor–state disputes has a negative impact. These effects are found to be particularly strong for FDI by small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises. High regulatory quality is found to attract FDI, whereas the positive impact of IIAs in attracting FDI is strong in a country with a low regulatory quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Table 1 lists the Asian universities[1] ranked among the top 100 universities in the world according to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2023, and for comparison the rankings of these universities for 2013. Another instrument used to measure quality is a home-grown rating system, namely the Rating System for Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia (or SETARA), for public and private universities and university colleges. Keywords: A1; I2; I21; I23; I24; I28; J31; O2; O32; O38 EN A1 I2 I21 I23 I24 I28 J31 O2 O32 O38 149 170 22 07/06/23 20230701 NES 230701 Higher Education At the national level, higher education can be an important source of economic growth by improving the quality of labor and playing an important role in developing basic research, new ideas and innovation that result in improvements in total factor productivity. Yonezawa on Japan's higher education policies Over the past 20 years, Japan's higher education policy has been strongly influenced by national policies for achieving world-class excellence as a tool for economic and social development. [Extracted from the article]