Special issue on present and future of production in Asia Pacific countries (original) (raw)
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Introduction. The Asia Pacific World: A Summary and an Agenda
Asia Pacific World, 2010
At the start of the twenty-first century it was confidently predicted by many that this period would become the 'Asian Century' or the 'Asia Pacific Century.' Now that we are entering its second decade, this prediction still seems on course, despite some dissent (Huang 2009), though the possible meaning of what this might entail has subtly changed. While China's economy continues to grow, suggesting that this could also be termed the 'Chinese Century' (Scott 2008 cf Jacques 2009), there are also new factors in the equation, particularly the rise of India stemming from the economic reforms which took place there during the 1990s (Pike 2010: 651-659, 718-720). These suggest a re-evaluation not only of possible scenarios for the years to come, but even of what we mean by the term 'Asia Pacific.' In this article, we present a brief survey of the main developments which have taken place in the last decade, the changing definition of the Asia Pacific as a region, and the main directions of change suggested by current research.
Asia's Turning Point: An Introduction to Asia's Dynamic Economies at the Dawn of the New Century
2009
Economic interdependence within the East Asian region is growing stronger and deeper. The countries of the region are expanding trade, investment, and other relations with one another much faster than with nations outside the region. Also, intraregional linkages acquire a new depth, because they are prompted by the division of labor within one industry and even one technological chain. Yet, for a number of reasons, America, Europe, and other nonregional partners remain decisively important for Asian economies. This importance, along with East Asia's diversity, makes it impossible and irrelevant for the region to think of an economic bloc with common import tariffs or other unifi ed rules regulating its members' relations with outsiders. East Asia sticks, and will stick, to the implicit "golden rule": not to push its trade and investment integration beyond Free Trade Agreement (FTA)/Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) kinds of arrangements. These are open-ended forms of integration: such agreements can be concluded both between East Asian countries themselves and between them and nonregional counterparts. Trade Interdependence Table 6.1 presents the data on the share of intraregional trade in East Asia within different groupings. Within East Asia-10 its share is almost 55 percent, which is higher than in NAFTA and a bit lower than in the EU. The most rapidly growing share is within the East Asia-9 group: the four NIEs, ASEAN 4, and China. Tables 6.2 and 6.3 show the overall composition of exports and imports of the East Asia-9. While the proportion of trade within this group of countries, in both exports and imports, is increasing remarkably, the shares of the US and EU are declining, as well as the shares of East Asia's economic powerhouse, Japan. On the other hand, for Japan itself, the proportion of trade with its counterparts is on the rise, while the shares of the US and EU are falling (Tables 6.4 and 6.5). The data brings to light a number of important features of East Asia's intraregional trade. Unlike the US in North America or Germany, France, and other leading economies in Europe, Japan, Asia's leading economic power, is not providing the major market for other regional economies. In a way, Japan's "low import capacity" backfi res. It is rooted in the structural barriers posed by its complicated distribution channels and in the legacy of keiretsu-Japanese intercompany groups where domestic fi rms maintain long-term ties with one another, not letting outsiders in (Tselichtchev 2004, 40). Limits on trade with Japan enhance the importance of the markets in the US and Europe. In East Asia itself, the role of the major importer, as well as exporter, has gone to China. At this point, at least as far as trade is concerned, it has become the region's main integrator. The share of intraregional trade in the total trade of East Asian nations is increasing, fi rst and foremost, because the shares of their
Asia rising: a sectoral perspective
2007
The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. This paper undertakes a cross-country analysis of productivity growth at both the aggregate and sectoral level. It finds that Asia's remarkable output growth over the past 40 years reflected both high investment, and rapid productivity increases. These factors were in turn supported by the region's relatively strong institutional and policy environment, which encouraged resource shifts from low-to high-productivity sectors. Looking ahead, sustaining rapid growth requires meeting a number of key challenges: (i) implementing reforms to boost productivity in the increasingly important, but currently lagging, service sectors; (ii) providing policy support for continuing the shift of resources from agriculture to industry and services; (iii) strengthening policy frameworks in late-developing countries. JEL Classification Numbers: N15, O47, O57
East Asia and the Pacific Region Office of the Chief Economist
2015
The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.
Development Challenges in Asia and the Pacific in the 1990s
1991
Human development in Asia and the Pacific Mahbub ul Haq Social trends affecting natural resource management in upland areas of Asia and the Pacific A. Terry Rambo with Lawrence Hamilton v PART III: Regional and country papers Regional economic cooperation in South Asia. .. Abulmaal A. Muhith An ASEAN perspective on regional cooperation issues in Asia and the Pacific. . Florian A. Album The South Pacific countries and regionalism Savenaca Siwatibau The political economy of China Anthony M. Tang Developments in Indochina: implications for regional cooperation 229 Ricardo M. Tan Participants of the Symposium on Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific vi Foreword Regional cooperation is based on the premise that countries can achieve certain objectives better through collective than through individual efforts. Among the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific, an awareness of the development virtues of cooperation is quite recent and is still emerging. Although the concrete benefits are as yet quite limited, there is evidence of stronger bilateral economic ties and, in the subregions of the South Pacific, Southeast Asia (ASEAN), and South Asia, a growing sense of common identity. Furthermore, we may soon be seeing new links among the countries of continental East Asia. the extensive involvement of Dr. Seiji Naya and his team at the East-West Center. This volume provides, we hope, adequate evidence of the success of our partnership.
Asia’s Development Experience in the Twenty-first Century
Millennial Asia, 2019
Asia is one of the largest continents in the world in terms of both the size of population and the geographical area. It constitutes of 48 countries, six non-UN States and six as dependent territories. Asia has emerged as the fastest growing region of the world economy during the first two decades of the twenty-first century (The World Bank, 2018). The share of Asia in the global GDP is 46.7 per cent (IMF, 2019). In terms of global trade in goods, Asia accounts for one-third of it. There is a surge in Asian capital flows and air travel and their global share has risen to 23 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively (Woetzel & Seong, 2019). The sustained rise of Asia in the global economy is essentially attributed to the increasing linkages among the Asian countries, in terms of trade of goods, capital flows and air travel. It is not exaggeration to say that Asia has emerged as an engine of economic growth of the global economy. It has moved at a fast pace from a low income to a middle income group. Thus, the twenty-first century can be called as the 'Asian Century'. It is widely acknowledged that the global economy has been undergoing dramatic transformation. The Asian transformation plays the lead role in terms of innovations in public policies, unique short cycle technologies (Lee, 2019) and inter-and intra-regional economic transactions. This region has immensely contributed to the reduction of global poverty and a substantial improvement in social indicators. Asia is highly diverse in terms of structure and stage of economic development across countries (Nayyar, 2019a, 2019b). The emergence of Asia as an economic power faces challenges from the world economic order dominated by the super power. The rising conflict and restrictions on international trade between China and the USA reflects this. However, apart from global challenges,
View related articles View Crossmark data simultaneous relationship between productivity, real wages and employment, they perform two-staged regressions, obtaining a generally positive relationship between real wages and employment after accounting for the effects of productivity on real wages. The empirical results support the case for large and medium first to be the linchpins for 'productivity-led revitalisation of the manufacturing sector to create decent and quality jobs' (145). Chapters six and seven delve deeper into spatial inequalities in Indonesia, in terms of income, employment and manufacturing operations, and present this book's combined policy implications. The picture of inequality is veritably complex, not just between but also within provinces, which calls for empirical and policy analyses to be attuned to these variations. The literature considerably covers income inequality; unequal distribution of manufacturing, as highlighted by Tadjoeddin and Chowdhury, may be less researched, but are important for grasping structural change and developing strategies for re-industrialization. Deindustrialization is not a nationally uniform phenomenon; some regions continue to industrialize. Indeed, these disparities form the basis for the authors' thoughtprovoking proposal for Indonesia to pursue an internal flying geese approachwith lead provinces upgrading technologically and generating new investment while shifting lowertechnology, lower-wage production to following provinces. The overall plan involves various interventions and integrated, coordinated action, but in line with their emphasis on promoting growth in both real wages and productivity, a regionally stratified minimum wage system stands out as a key instrument. Indonesia presently grapples with rising overall inequality and regional disparity, alongside declining job quality and momentous deindustrialization. Tadjoeddin and Chowdhury offer robustly informed and critically framed arguments for re-industrialization and inequality reduction. The authors do not offer much insight into the capacity of government, and the interrelationships between democratic polity and economic policy. Having given prominence to the post-Soeharto era, marked by a political order, the book provides less analysis of governmental differences between the eras than some readers might appreciate. Nevertheless, this book is timely and important, in this global milieu of heightened concern toward employment, productivity and real wage growth, and pressing imperatives on public policy to pursue such objectives in tandem.
Asian Regional Income, Growth, and Distribution to 2030
University of California, …, 2010
As Asia consolidates the economic gains and policy lessons of two generations, it can look to a bright future of sustained growth. More effective policies will even accelerate this growth, provided they recognize the essential agents of trade and productivity growth, as well as the importance of promoting domestic regional demand. Rising incomes promise greater homegrown demand for domestic producers and essential diversification for regional exporters. This study surveys historical income distribution data from 22 Asian economies, projects the emergence of middle classes in the next 20 years, and examines its role in Asian economies. The study also examines the drivers of growth over this periond using a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to forecast GDP and consumption trends. The findings suggest that Asia can sustain and even accelerate current patterns of poverty reduction and livelihood advancement beyond poverty. Over the next 20 years, about 1 billion people will be added to the 2.7 billion Asian middle class (based on $2-a-day PPP standard). The rate of middle class emergence will be uneven across the region and will depend mostly on initial conditions. The results also suggest that energy price vulnerability is a critical risk to regional growth-and calls for energy efficiency measures to insure against this risk. The agricultural productivity growth can improve both the incomes of the majority of Asia's rural poor and the purchasing power of urbanites. Policies that reduce both energy and food costs can therefore be a potent source of new demand for products and services as well as jobs. Finally, given the importance of labor resources to Asian growth, skills development is the most critical prerequisite for realizing the vast economic potential of Asia. Higher incomes, a larger middle class, and self-sustaining prosperity can only be built on the foundation of a skilled and productive labor force that captures significant value added and channels higher incomes into sustained long-term expenditure, savings, and investment. JEL classification: O15, O4, O53 58 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW