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2024,
2023,
2022,
2021,
2020,
2019,
2018,
2017,
2016,
2015 |
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2014, 2013,
2012,
2011,
2010,
2009,
2008,
2007,
2006,
2005,
2004 |
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December,
2016 |
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Defence White Papers at 40, December 2016.
The Defence White Paper brought down earlier this year (DWP
2016), the seventh of its kind, appeared shortly before the 40th
anniversary of the first, which was tabled in parliament by the
Defence Minister, James (later Sir James) Killen, in November
1976. For a governmental practice as for an individual, a 40th
anniversary is a good time to stand back and assess the past,
present and future... |
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ASPI |
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France and Security in the Asia–Pacific: from the End of the
First Indochina Conflict to Today, December 2016.
France’s defence- and security-related activities in the
Asia–Pacific are often underestimated, sometimes distorted or
simply ignored. This paper surveys France’s growing presence in
the Asia–Pacific from the Indochina War and efforts to resolve
the Cambodian conflict, through to the country’s 21st century
contributions driven by strategic engagement related to
globalisation, new threats, multilateral regional cooperation
and increasingly interconnected strategic zones... |
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ASPI |
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Delivering ‘Joined-Up’ Government Achieving the Integrated
Approach to Offshore Crisis Management, November 2016.
The call to improve ‘joined-up’ government articulates a
principle that is the foundation of effective and efficient
public administration. Increasingly, the ability of government
to achieve effects that are more than the sum of their parts
will determine whether Australia influences its strategic
environment or is merely captive to it. Offshore crisis response
requires a higher level of multiagency interconnectedness than
ever before. This level of interconnectedness requires the
adoption of transformative approaches to recruitment,
professional development, leadership and management... |
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ASPI |
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Indonesia in the South China Sea: Going It Alone, December 2016.
Under
President Jokowi, Indonesia’s approach to the South China Sea disputes
has moved from that of an active player in efforts to find a peaceful
solution to the broader disputes, to one primarily focused on protecting
its own interests around the Natuna Islands while not antagonising
China. The shift in the Indonesian position has been driven by an
increase in Chinese incursions around the Natunas, Jokowi’s lack of
interest in regional diplomacy, as well as his goal of attracting
Chinese investment for his signature infrastructure projects... |
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Lowy |
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Future Proofing Australia–New Zealand Defence Relations, December 2016.
Australia and New Zealand should be natural military partners. But
differences in their strategic outlooks and military priorities have
sometimes placed limits on the extent of that partnership. Both
countries published Defence White Papers in 2016 which suggest greater
convergence in their priorities that should enhance their military
cooperation in coming years. This includes a shared concern for the
future of the rules-based order in Asia and for stability in the
Pacific. Consistent with these concerns both countries are investing
heavily in the development of maritime capabilities. In particular, some
of New Zealand’s leading priorities, including the enhancement of its
maritime surveillance capacity, will allow for even deeper collaboration
in this sphere... |
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Lowy |
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The Development Benefits of Expanding Pacific Access to Australia’s
Labour Market, December 2016.
A stable
and prosperous Pacific Islands region is essential for Australia’s
security and foreign policy. Australia is investing significant amounts
of aid in the development of the region with very mixed results. The
economic, demographic, governance, and climatic challenges the Pacific
faces will make sustained development of the region even more difficult
in the years to come. It is for this reason that Prime Minister Turnbull
has committed Australia to a ‘step-change’ in Australia’s engagement
with the Pacific built on fresh ideas... |
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Lowy |
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How to Be Exceptional: Australia in the Slowing Global Economy, November
2016.
Australia
is gliding into its 26th year of uninterrupted economic expansion at the
same time that the United States and the United Kingdom are wrestling
with political rebellions against the very forces that have stoked
Australia’s long boom. Open trade, high migration, and unimpeded
economic globalisation are under political challenge in major advanced
economies. In those same economies, respected economists are predicting
a gloomier future. Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has
declared ours to be an “Age of Secular Stagnation”. US economist Robert
Gordon says the best is over for the US economy and others like it... |
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Lowy |
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Trends
in Southeast Asia 2016 #17: New Context of Vietnam’s National
Security Challenges. Vietnam’s concept of national
security is based on “the survival of the ruling regime that
acts in the name of the country”. This is unlike in many
countries where national security relates merely to the survival
of the state. Because the challenges to Vietnam’s national
security are perceived as challenges and threats to the ruling
regime, the concept of national security tends to focus on the
internal dimension of national security. The Mid-term National
Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in 1994 listed
“four threats” facing the country, namely, the danger of falling
behind neighbouring countries economically; the threat of
“peaceful evolution”; deviation from socialism; and corruption
and bureaucratism. None of them, except for peaceful evolution,
comes from outside... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #16: The Johor Sultanate: Rise or
Re-emergence?. Malaysia's sultans have in recent years taken
on an increasingly discernible role in the country's political
life. However, rather than something new, the rulers' resurgence
should be viewed as part of a longer term negotiation over the
precise boundaries of their role. The Sultan of Johor, Ibrahim
Ismail, is arguably the most visible of the country's rulers at
present. Since ascending to the throne in 2010, he has
constructed a prominent media profile and been active in many
areas of policy-making. He reinstated the Islamic week,
suggested expanding the role of the Johor Military Force, and
promoted a unique state identity. Planned initiatives by him
include a Bank of Johor, a large-scale low-cost housing scheme,
as well as a maglev train linking the eastern and western parts
of the state's southern coast... |
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ISEAS |
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Duterte,
Mindanao, and Political Culture, November 2016.
Alan Tidwell, Director of the Center for Australian, New
Zealand, and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University explains
that "Arguably the Philippines was in crisis even before the
election of Duterte. His election can be seen, in part, as a
reaction to that crisis, as much as it can be seen as
contributing to it.” |
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EWC |
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Reforming
China's Arms Procurement System: An Effort to be Closely
Watched, November 2016.
Yoram Evron, Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in
Washington, explains that “The PLA reforms are facing
unavoidable challenges of organizational inertia and resistance
by commanders and units that lose their power. In addition,
President Xi still faces opposition within the party.” |
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EWC |
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Land Tenure
Security and Policy Tensions in Myanmar (Burma), October 2016.
After 50 years of military rule, in 2011 the Thein Sein
government's reforms in Myanmar (Burma) entailed a reengagement
with the international community, including major international
financial organizations, donors, nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), and civil society organizations (CSOs). The government's
social and economic development policies, which were strongly
influenced by this engagement, encouraged private domestic and
foreign investment in agriculture to create wealth and reduce
poverty. Land legislation allied to these policies was designed
to improve land tenure security, yet it had harmful effects on
the majority of the population employed in agriculture,
including smallholder farmers and ethnic communities... |
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EWC |
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Patents and
Technology Transfer through Trade and the Role of Regional Trade
Agreements, October 2016.
Regional trade agreements can have powerful impacts on
technology transfer (TT), primarily through their effects on
trade in high-technology goods and services, foreign direct
investment (FDI), and licensing, all of which are key channels
of information diffusion. In that context, regional trade
agreements (RTAs) and mega-regionals such as the TPP embody
considerable promise for direct expansion of TT, if primarily
within the agreement. Moreover, recent econometric evidence
largely finds that each of these flows responds positively to
strengthened patent laws and other intellectual property rights
(IPR), though this conclusion must be conditioned on a variety
of factors (Maskus, 2012). These basic observations suggest that
there could be an important complementarity between the
formation of trade agreements and their IPR standards, a
critical question that has not yet attracted much
investigation... |
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EWC |
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ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Hong Kong, China, Published 2016.
The ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide is a comprehensive explanation of
the region’s bond markets. It provides various information such
as the history, legal and regulatory framework, specific
characteristics of the market, trading and transaction, and
other relevant information. The Hong Kong, China Bond Market
Guide is an outcome of the strong support and contributions of
ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum members and experts, particularly from
Hong Kong, China. The report should be recognized as a
collective good to support bond market development among ASEAN+3
members. |
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ADB |
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Asia
Bond Monitor, November 2016.
Emerging East Asian bond yields rose for nearly all markets and
for most tenors between 31 October and 18 November amid
uncertainty over future US economic policy and the likelihood of
a Federal Reserve rate hike in December.
Given rising uncertainty, most central banks in emerging East
Asia maintained their existing monetary policies in order to
wait for greater clarity regarding US economic policy and its
potential impacts on global financial markets. |
|
ADB |
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Spillovers of United States and People’s Republic of China
Shocks on Small Open Economies: The Case of Indonesia, November
2016.
This paper examines the impact of certain external shocks
originating from the US and the PRC on Indonesia as a small open
economy. The spillover effects of tapering off, an interest rate
hike, exchange rate devaluation, and real gross domestic product
(GDP) are analyzed. Two versions of the global vector
autoregression model are employed, which covers 33 countries and
considers both financial and trade relations among countries.
Spillover assessments are conducted through impulse responses
with 1,000 bootstrap replications, and compared to the responses
of peer countries... |
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ADB |
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Impacts
of Universal Health Coverage: Financing, Income Inequality, and
Social Welfare, November 2016.
This paper studies the impact of tax-financed universal health
coverage schemes on macroeconomic aspects of labor supply, asset
holding, inequality, and welfare, while taking into account
features common to developing economies, such as informal
employment and tax avoidance, by constructing a dynamic
stochastic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents.
Agents have different education levels, employment statuses, and
idiosyncratic shocks. Given three tax financing options,
calibration results based on the Thai economy suggest that the
financing options matter for outcomes both at the aggregate and
disaggregate levels. Universal health coverage, financed by
labor income tax revenue, could reduce inequality due to its
large redistributive role... |
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ADB |
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Reforms
to the European Union Financial Supervisory and Regulatory
Architecture and Their Implications for Asia, November 2016.
European Union (EU) countries offer a unique experience of
financial regulatory and supervisory integration, complementing
various other European integration efforts following the Second
World War. Financial regulatory and supervisory integration was
a very slow process before 2008, despite significant
cross-border integration, especially of wholesale financial
markets. However, the policy framework proved inadequate in the
context of the major financial crisis in the EU starting in
2007, and especially in the euro area after 2010. That crisis
triggered major changes to European financial regulation and to
the financial supervisory architecture, most prominently with
the creation of three new European supervisory authorities in
2011 and the gradual establishment of European banking union
starting in 2012... |
|
ADB |
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Land
Policy and Urbanization in the People’s Republic of China,
November 2016.
We explore the relationship between land policies and
urbanization in the PRC. We analyze the land policies associated
with urbanization and summarize findings related to central and
local government involvement in the process of urbanization. In
particular, we explore the relationship between urbanization and
land leasing. We find that the urbanization rate and the land
leasing revenue are positively related. Land leasing provides
financial support for PRC urbanization, but damages the interest
of landless peasants. Especially in the west, population
urbanization lags behind land urbanization, resulting in much
higher land and house prices in the east than those in inland
PRC... |
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ADB |
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Fiscal
Decentralization and Local Budget Deficits in Viet Nam: An
Empirical Analysis, November 2016 .
Since 1975, Viet Nam has gradually decentralized more fiscal
responsibilities to local authorities. This study has two
objectives: (i) to take stock of the current institutional
framework for intergovernmental fiscal relations in Viet Nam,
and (ii) to empirically assess the debt sustainability of local
governments in Viet Nam. The empirical analysis uses two
estimation methods: (i) fully modified ordinary least squares (OLS)
to estimate the long-term correlations between co-integration
equations, including vectors of co-integration variables, and
stochastic regressor innovations; and (ii) fiscal reaction
equations at the provincial level, based upon the Bohn (2008)
model. The empirical results suggest that deficit levels are
generally sustainable at the local le |
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ADB |
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Measuring the Impact of Vulnerability on the Number of Poor: A
New Methodology with Empirical Illustrations, November 2016.
Given a poverty line, a person who is non-poor (poor) currently
may not be treated as non-poor (poor) in a vulnerable situation.
The poverty line is adjusted in the presence of vulnerability
such that the utility of a person at the current poverty line
and that at the adjusted poverty line become identical. Using an
additive model of vulnerability, it is shown that if the utility
function obeys constant Arrow-Pratt absolute risk aversion, then
the harmonized poverty line is a simple absolute augmentation of
the current poverty line. On the other hand, under a
multiplicative model of vulnerability with constant Arrow-Pratt
relative risk aversion, the revised poverty line is a simple
relative augmentation of the current poverty line... |
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ADB |
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A
Poverty Line Contingent on Reference Groups: Implications for
the Extent of Poverty in some Asian Countries, November 2016.
This paper estimates the number of poor in various countries in
Asia by applying an “amalgam poverty line”, which is a weighted
average of an absolute poverty line (such as $1.25 per day or
$1.45 per day) and a reference income (such as the mean or the
median income). The number of poor is computed under various
values of the weight applied to the absolute poverty line,
namely 100%, 90%, 66%, and 50%. The paper provides estimates of
the headcount ratio and poverty gap ratio under the various
scenarios for 25 different countries or regions examined |
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ADB |
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Concepts and Measurement of Vulnerability to Poverty and Other
Issues: A Review of Literature, November 2016.
The body of literature on vulnerability is growing. We classify
studies on the concepts and measurements of vulnerability to
poverty into welfarist, expected poverty, and axiomatic
approaches. Empirical studies on vulnerability to poverty in
Asia and elsewhere show that poverty and vulnerability are
related but different, and that key determinants of
vulnerability often include education and location. We also
briefly review other areas of vulnerability analysis such as
vulnerability to climate change and recommend policies. |
|
ADB |
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An
Asian Poverty Line? Issues and Options, November 2016.
Given Asia’s record of rapid economic growth and the conceptual
and empirical problems of the current international income
poverty line (“dollar-a-day”), this paper discusses whether
there is merit to develop an Asia-specific poverty line that
addresses some of the shortcomings of the dollar-a-day line and
additionally considers Asia’s particular economic situation. We
consider various ways of creating an Asia-specific poverty line,
including an Asia-specific international income poverty line
(using purchasing-power parity [PPP] adjusted dollars) that is
derived from Asian national poverty lines... |
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ADB |
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Structural Change and Income Distribution: Accounting for
Regional Inequality in the People’s Republic of China and Its
Changes during 1952–2012, October 2016.
This study explores the relationship between inequality and
structural transformation by constructing a theoretical model,
developing analytical frameworks, and implementing a case study.
The general equilibrium model we develop demonstrates that
inequality exhibits an inverted U shape as structural change
proceeds from onset to completion... |
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ADB |
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Costs
and Benefits of Urbanization: The Indian Case, October 2016.
Urbanization has both benefits and costs. In a market economy,
the trade-off between benefits and costs determines the level,
speed, and pace of urbanization. This paper summarizes research
findings on how urbanization enhances productivity and economic
growth in both rural and urban sectors, taking the case of
India... |
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ADB |
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Looking
Beyond Conventional Intergovernmental Fiscal Frameworks:
Principles, Realities, and Neglected Issues, October 2016.
Fiscal decentralization and intergovernmental fiscal relations
reform have become nearly ubiquitous in developing countries.
Performance, however, has often been disappointing in terms of
both policy formulation and outcomes. The dynamics underlying
these results have been poorly researched. Available literature
focuses heavily on policy and institutional design concerns
framed by public finance, fiscal federalism, and public
management principles... |
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ADB |
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Frameworks for Central–Local Government Relations and Fiscal
Sustainability, October 2016.
This paper reviews alternative models of the relationship
between central and local governments, and provides an overview
and assessment of different financing mechanisms for local
governments, including tax revenues, central government
transfers, bank loans, and bond issuance, with a focus on the
context of emerging Asian economies. The paper also reviews
financing mechanisms for local governments and mechanisms for
maintaining fiscal stability and sustainability at both the
central and local government levels. Based upon the evidence on
the decentralization process in Asia, it proposes some policy
implications for improving central-local government relations
and fiscal sustainability |
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ADB |
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Sanitation and Sustainable Development in Japan, Published 2016.
Selected projects in Kitakyushu City, Kobe City, Saitama City,
Saitama Shintoshin, and Tadotsu Town provide examples of how
robust sanitation systems can deliver economic and environmental
benefits. This publication documents Japan’s experience in
pursuing sustainable sanitation solutions in the context of
economic development. Five case studies illustrate how sound
sanitation policies are essential in achieving a nation’s
growth. Produced by ADB in cooperation with Japan Sanitation
Consortium, this publication also documents key policies and
laws that enable the integration of sewerage systems and
wastewater treatment facilities in development plans. It shares
learnings on how the sanitation challenge can be met, not only
at the community, but also at the national level. |
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ADB |
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Toward a National Eco-Compensation Regulation in the People’s
Republic of China, Published 2016.
ADB and the National Development and Reform Commission of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) undertook a study on
eco-compensation regulations development in the country. The
study examined the PRC’s theory, practice, and legislation
governing eco-compensation in selected ecological areas to map
out the scope and content of a national eco-compensation
regulation. Pursuit of its higher agenda of ecological
civilization and development of its national eco-compensation
regulation will require the PRC to capture the diversity that
subnational projects have tapped, integrate its experience with
eco-compensation at all levels of government into a coherent
national regulatory framework, and harmonize this framework with
existing laws and other legal instruments. |
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ADB |
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2016 CTI Report to Ministers, November 2016.
The CTI Annual Report to Ministers for 2016 outlines the
Committee’s accomplishments and recommendations in the key
priority areas of APEC’s Trade and Investment Liberalization and
Facilitation (TILF) agenda in support of APEC’s 2016 priorities
under the theme of “Quality Growth and Human Development”.
Collective Action Plans (CAPs) in various Osaka Action Agenda (OAA)
issue areas, which were first reported in 1996, continued to be
the Committee’s main vehicle for advancing APEC’s trade and
investment agenda. |
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APEC |
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Fact sheet: 2016 APEC Economic Policy Report, November 2016.
This 2-page fact sheet provides an overview of the 2016 APEC
Economic Policy Report (AEPR) which aims to promote greater
understanding of the wide ranging benefits of service sector
reforms. |
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APEC |
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2016 APEC Economic Policy Report, November 2016.
The 2016 APEC Economic Policy Report, ‘Structural Reform and
Services’, tackles a subject at the very heart of current
growth, productivity and economic inclusion challenges facing
the APEC region. The report consists of a policy framework
chapter, which concludes with a set of important
recommendations, and five case studies that provide an in depth
analysis of the economic impact of specific services sector
reforms:
• China: retail services
• Indonesia: air transport services
• Japan: financial services
• New Zealand: electricity retail services
• Chinese Taipei: testing and certification services |
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APEC |
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Fact sheet: 2016 APEC Senior Officials' Report on Economic and
Technical Cooperation, November 2016.
This 2-page fact sheet of the 2016 APEC Senior Officials' Report
on Economic and Technical Cooperation highlights a summary of
activities undertaken by SCE fora and an overview on ECOTECH
project funding during the year. |
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APEC |
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APEC Senior Officials' Report on Economic and Technical
Cooperation 2016, November 2016.
This report attempts to capture some highlights of the
activities at the Working Group/Task Forces level. It includes a
summary of activities undertaken by SCE fora supporting the
existing ECOTECH priorities based on the 2016 SCE Fora Report
and other updates available. A brief overview on ECOTECH project
funding has been also provided. |
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APEC |
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APEC's Bogor Goals Dashboard, November 2016.
The purpose of the Dashboard is to provide easy-to-understand
figures to track the advancement in areas critical to promoting
greater regional economic integration, such as liberalization
and facilitation of trade and investment. The intention is to
display a set of harmonized indicators laying out the evolution
across time of certain aspects of trade and investment
liberalization and facilitation in quantitative terms... |
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APEC |
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Second-Term Review of APEC's Progress towards the Bogor Goals -
Progress by Economy, November 2016.
The analysis by individual economy highlighted their recent
progress and identifying areas in which economies could make
further improvements. These reports by economy were prepared
with information from their Individual Action Plans and data
from other sources such as international organizations and
domestic government institutions... |
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APEC |
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Second-Term Review of APEC's Progress towards the Bogor Goals:
APEC Region, November 2016.
The Second-Term Review of Progress towards the Bogor Goals
includes two sections: 1) the general assessment of the progress
of the APEC region as a whole; and 2) the review of each
economy’s recent progress in the areas included in the Osaka
Action Agenda... |
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APEC |
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APEC Regional Trends Analysis Rethinking Skills Development in
the Digital Age, November 2016.
This issue of APEC Regional Trends Analysis features two
chapters: (1) Rethinking Skills Development in the Digital Age;
and (2) Continued Growth amid Persistent Global Weakness... |
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APEC |
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APEC in Charts 2016.
An annual PSU publication, APEC in Charts provides a graphical
overview of the APEC region’s economic, trade and investment
performance as well as in areas related to APEC 2016 priorities. |
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APEC |
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APEC Supply Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan 2010-2015:
Final Assessment, November 2016.
The report presents the final assessment results of the APEC
Supply Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan (SCFAP). The
SCFAP aims to improve the performance of supply chains in the
APEC region, with a target of 10 percent reduction in time, cost
and uncertainty by 2015. The results show that some progress has
been made in reducing time and cost for traders. Nevertheless,
gaps remain and these should be addressed in the next phase of
the SCFAP. The second phase should also address emerging areas
in the global supply chain such as e-commerce, digital customs
and cybersecurity. |
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APEC |
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Survey of Regulatory Measures in Environmental Services,
November 2016.
Prepared in support of the APEC Environmental Services Action
Plan, this report presents an overview of regulatory measures
for environmental services in APEC economies. It includes a
summary of the scope and coverage of services and measures; an
overview of the institutional frameworks, the incidence of
regulatory measures and the extent of liberalisation in trade
agreements of environmental services identified across APEC
economies; and summary outcomes of measures identified in each
APEC economy. While the findings show considerable variations
across the member economies, some trends are apparent. One such
trend is that while not all economies have committed to market
opening of environmental services in the WTO GATS, all have
improved on WTO liberalisation outcomes in subsequent FTAs. |
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APEC |
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Exploring Quantitative Indicators for Effective Monitoring of
APEC-wide Progress on Structural Reform under RAASR 2016-2020,
October 2016.
This report proposes possible external baseline indicators to be
used to monitor APEC-wide progress on structural reform under
the Renewed APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (RAASR). The
report is structured as follows: Chapter 1 gives a brief
evolution of structural reform initiatives in APEC; Chapter 2
provides general overview of how the review process of RAASR can
possibly be conducted as well as the thought process behind
the identification of the proposed external indicators; Chapter
3 lists these indicators and provide additional details for
each, including the relevant RAASR pillars addressed by the
indicator, possible actions at economy level that may impact the
indicator, its strengths and limitations; and Chapter 4
concludes the report. |
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APEC |
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Enabling Legal Compliance & Cross-Border Data Transfers with the
APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR), July 2016.
This report summarizes the outcomes of the CBPR workshop held in
Singapore outlining the purpose, benefits and workings of the
CBPR system |
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APEC |
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November,
2016 |
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Good Practices on Gender Diversity in Corporate Leadership for
Growth, November 2016.
This report presents the outcome of a survey that was undertaken
to establish how women directors enhance corporate values in
companies within the APEC region. The mechanism of improving
corporate values through the appointment of women directors were
demonstrated. Case studies were also conducted through
interviews with leading companies in APEC (Canada; Japan; Korea;
Malaysia; Mexico; the Philippines; and Viet Nam) that are
considered to have achieved positive impact on growth through
gender diversity. |
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APEC |
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Independent Assessment Report of the Policy Partnership on Women
and the Economy (PPWE), November 2016.
This report presents the results of an independent assessment of
the APEC Policy Partnership for Women and the Economy (PPWE) to
ensure economic and technical cooperation (ECOTECH) activities
are targeted, effective, efficient, and make the best use of
resources. This independent assessment also recommends actions
to ensure that PPWE is responsive to APEC’s current priorities
and contributes to the achievement of its overall vision and
objectives. |
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APEC |
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Independent Assessment Report of the Agricultural Technical
Cooperation Working Group (ATCWG) and the High Level Policy
Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB), November 2016.
APEC sought an independent review of the operations and
structure of the ATCWG and HLPDAB in order to ensure that their
economic and technical cooperation (ECOTECH) activities are
targeted, effective, efficient, and make the best use of
resources. This report recommends actions to ensure that the
ATCWG and HLPDAB respond to APEC’s current priorities and
contribute to the achievement of its overall vision and
objectives. |
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APEC |
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Exploration on Strengthening of Maritime Connectivity, November
2016.
This report attempts to identify the issues and challenges faced
by APEC economies in the process of developing maritime
connectivity and puts forward recommendations aimed at future
efforts to be made by APEC. It outlines possible directions for
addressing the issues on port congestion, shipment information
sharing, trade liberalization, trade facilitation and relation
with IMO rule. In addition, this study also covers the
perspective of GVCs and is expected to be contributive to the
implementation of “APEC Strategic Blueprint for Promoting Global
Value Chains Development and Cooperation”. |
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APEC |
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APEC SME Internationalization Model Indices: Development and
Application, November 2016.
Internationalization is important for SMEs, and needs for
government support policies are increasing in order to
facilitate and diversify SME internationalization. As such, it
is essential to objectively assess SME internationalization
levels using model indices, on which potential problems in
internationalization must be addressed. In this respect, APEC
has stressed the importance of studies on the development of
model indices and data collection regarding SME
internationalization... |
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APEC |
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Cyber-Energy Nexus Study: Best Practices, Opportunities, and
Challenges for Smart Energy Technology, July 2016.
This timely study fills a number of important gaps in
understanding current APEC energy grid cybersecurity efforts and
presents a number of related collaborative efforts for future
examination. Smart energy technology and networked control
systems are becoming integral parts of the energy value chain
globally. These critical energy infrastructure assets are
vulnerable to cyber and physical attacks and lack secure
interoperability policies and standards. The U.S. Department of
Energy, together with Singapore Energy Market Authority, led the
first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) study exploring
smart energy technology cyber security trends, policies and
standards in the region... |
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APEC |
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Seminar "Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities through
Access to Telecommunications", June 2016.
This report summarizes the outcomes and recommendations from the
seminar, “Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities through
Access to Telecommunications”, which addressed topics related to
i) Access to ICT as a fundamental right of PWD; ii) Policies and
regulations on access to telecommunications for PWD; iii) Best
practices on regulating access to telecommunications for PWD;
and iv) Achievements, difficulties and challenges for PWD in the
APEC Region. |
|
APEC |
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|
Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #15: The Geopolitics of Xi Jinping’s Chinese
Dream: Problems and Prospects. Viewing China's current
relations with neighbours in the East Asian littoral from
geopolitical and macrohistorical perspectives enables us to
evaluate China's current prospects for advancing its "peaceful
rise". Today the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC)
articulates a Chinese Dream that envisions a new age of Asian
predominance to match China's memory of past golden ages. To
realize this dream, China seeks geopolitical predominance in the
East Asian littoral. Judging from the foreign policy goals and
behaviour pursued by Xi Jinping, China appears likely to govern
the region according to its core interests even when this may
require other states to give up their lawful sovereign rights
and prerogatives... |
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ISEAS |
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America's 'Maginot Line': A Study of Static Border Security in
an Age of Agile and Innovative Threats, November 2016.
Borders and border security are once again becoming increasingly
important to the nation state. Many take a default position that
our coastline is our border and that border security involves
merely police, security guards and immigration or customs
officials. But Australia’s geography no longer provides the
physical barrier from the outside world that it once did. This
strategy provides a case study analysis of post-9/11 changes to
US border security policies. It examines each of America’s
different borders: the friendly northern borders, maritime
borders, and the militarised southern border. It provides
recommendations for Australia’s border security. |
|
ASPI |
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ASPI at 15, October 2016.
ASPI was registered as a wholly government-owned company on 22
August 2001, but it was several years earlier when Ian McLachlan,
the first Defence Minister of the Howard government, saw the
need to establish an institute to provide an alternate source of
advice on defence and strategic policy. The articles in this
Strategic Insights paper, originally published on the ASPI
Strategist website in August 2016, come from a number
of individuals who deeply wanted the institute to succeed and
indeed were prepared to invest their own effort to make it
happen. While turning 15 is a good time to reflect on growth and
early experiences, ASPI’s most productive years are still ahead
of it. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
The Wattle and the Olive: A New Chapter in Australia and Israel
Working Together, October 2016.
The relationship between Australia and the small Jewish state is
warm and close, despite occasional problems. Australia has
always been seen as friendly by Israel, although it’s rarely
been a major focus of policy efforts in Jerusalem. While there’s
a mutual recognition of shared values and a reasonably close
bilateral working relationship, there hasn’t been sufficient
recognition given by either state to how each contributes to the
other’s national interests. This paper considers common
strategic interests, cooperation on traditional security issues
and non-traditional security matters and puts forward
recommendations for enhancing the relationship. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
Economic Migration and Australia in the 21st Century, October 2016.
This Analysis assesses the benefits and challenges of contemporary
economic immigration in Australia. While the policy arrangements
underpinning economic immigration have undergone significant changes in
recent decades, Australian governments have managed this transition
successfully. Increased intakes of skilled immigrants have assisted
structural transitions in Australia’s economy, delivered tangible
benefits in addressing challenges related to population, and produced
positive effects in relation to fiscal impact, productivity, and
immigrants’ employment and labour market outcomes... |
|
Lowy |
|
|
Myanmar’s Evolving Relations: The NLD in Government, October
2016.
The National League for Democracy’s (NLD) landslide victory
in Myanmar’s November 2015 general election prompted
celebrations around the world. Following a nervous, but
successful, transition to ensure the transfer of power, the
first five months in office of the NLD government were an
opportunity for Myanmar’s democratically elected
administration to reinforce its legitimacy and set a
foundation for long-term policy success. This paper charts
developments from the transfer of power up until the eve of
the Union Peace Conference – 21st Century Panglong—a
significant step in the peace process—on August 30, 2016. It
describes the formation of the NLD government, the changing
role of the legislature, the institutionalizing of Aung San
Suu Kyi’s position “above the president,” as well as accords
specific attention to the peace process (including Rakhine
state affairs) as a top policy priority for the NLD as it
sought to revitalize efforts initiated under the previous
administration... |
|
ISDP |
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|
Under the Radar: Georgia’s October 2016 Elections, October
2016.
Georgia will hold parliamentary elections on October 8,
2016, which will be key to deciding the country’s future
development and its strategic trajectory. Economic problems,
especially unemployment and prices, dominate the minds of
the Georgian electorate. A large majority thinks the country
is headed the wrong direction. The Georgian Dream government
has lost the support it had four years ago; yet the
electorate appears to lay equal if not more blame for
Georgia’s problems on the predecessor UNM government.
Palpable anger and frustration is visible in surveys, where
practically all political figures have negative approval
ratings. This makes the election an opportunity for “third”
parties and new po-litical forces, if they are given the
space to take advantage. These range from reliably
pro-Western forces like the Free Democrats; to populists
like the Labor party; unknown quantities like the State for
People alli-ance; and outright anti-Western ones like the
Alliance of Patriots... |
|
ISDP |
|
|
Key Indicators for
Asia and the Pacific 2016
(Highlights,
and
Full Report):
-
Part I:
Sustainable Development Goals Trends and
Tables
-
Part II:
Regional Trends and Tables
-
Part III:
Global Value Chains
Key Indicators for
Asia and the Pacific 2016 covers 48
economies:
Afghanistan,
Armenia,
Australia,
Azerbaijan,
Bangladesh,
Bhutan,
Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia,
China,
Cook Islands,
Fiji Islands,
Georgia,
Hong
Kong,
India,
Indonesia,
Japan,
Kazakhstan,
Kiribati,
Republic
of Korea,
Kyrgyz Republic,
Lao,
Malaysia,
Maldives,
Marshall Islands,
Micronesia,
Mongolia,
Myanmar,
Nauru,
Nepal,
New Zealand,
Pakistan,
Palau,
Papua New Guinea,
Philippines,
Samoa,
Singapore,
Solomon Islands,
Sri Lanka,
Taipei,
Tajikistan,
Thailand,
Timor-Leste,
Tonga,
Turkmenistan,
Tuvalu,
Uzbekistan,
Vanuatu,
and
Viet Nam. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Monetary
Authority of Singapore: Macroeconomic Review, Volume XV, Issue
2, October 2016 (Full
Report,
Presentation Slides for Briefing):
|
|
MAS |
|
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The High
Stakes for Southeast Asia of the 2016 U.S. Presidential
Election, October 2016.
Asad Latif, Associate Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
in Singapore, explains that “Southeast Asians hope that
Americans choose their next leader wisely to build on enduring
ties with the United States.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
What Happens
in the South China Sea, Matters in the East China Sea: Japan’s
Reaction to the South China Sea Arbitration Ruling, October 2016.
Matthew Short, researcher at the East-West Center in Washington,
explains that “Pushing Japan to be a more proactive member of
the international system, Abe has advocated for and employed
Japan as a guardian of global commons, especially the maritime
commons, to ensure they remain open and beneficial to everyone.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Australia’s
Contentious Strategy in the South China Sea, October 2016.
Orrie Johan, researcher at the East-West Center in Washington,
explains that “Australia does not have to choose between the
U.S. and China. Turnbull seems to be following this approach by
showing the U.S. that it supports American freedom of navigation
operations and by showing China that Australia will not
participate in any FONOPs itself.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
A China
Perspective: North Korea's Nuclear Tests Reshaping Northeast
Asian Security, October 2016.
Liang Yabin, Research Fellow of the Pangoal Institution and
Associate Professor at the Party School of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of China, explains that “Nuclear weapons
greatly improve the geo-strategic position of the DPRK in
Northeast Asia, which also increases the possibility of reaching
a compromise and exchange of interests between the U.S. and the
DPRK.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
China's
Bold Strategy for Semiconductors--Zero-Sum Game or Catalyst for
Cooperation? September 2016.
This paper explores whether China's bold strategy for
semiconductors will give rise to a zero-sum game or whether it
will enhance cooperation that will benefit from increased
innovation in China. As the world's largest producer and
exporter of electronic products, China is by far the top market
for integrated circuits (ICs), accounting for nearly a third of
global demand. Yet its ability to design and produce this
critical input remains seriously constrained. Despite decades
and many billions of dollars of state-led investment, China's
domestic production of semiconductors covers less than 13% of
the country's demand... |
|
EWC |
|
|
International Trade and Exchange Rate, October 2016.
From a longer-term perspective, however, global trade volume has
not deviated much from its long-term trend. Postglobal financial
crisis, the exchange rate volatility has grown significantly.
Countries with appreciating currencies show rising import
intensity and significant export growth. However, the impact of
currency depreciation on trade has become much smaller
postglobal financial crisis. All these analyses suggest that
competitive devaluations may not spur exports as much as earlier
expected—and it may further undermine the nascent recovery of
international trade. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Dealing
with Quantitative Easing Spillovers in East Asia: The Role of
Institutions and Macroprudential Policy, October 2016.
This paper explores the impact of advanced countries’
quantitative easing on emerging market economies (EMEs) and how
macroprudential policy and good governance play a role in
preventing potential financial vulnerabilities. We used
confidential locational bank statistics data from the Bank for
International Settlements to examine whether quantitative easing
has caused an appreciation of EMEs’ currencies and how it has
done so, and whether this has in turn boosted foreign-currency
borrowing, thus making EMEs vulnerable to balance sheet and
maturity mismatch problems... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Human
Capital and Urbanization in the People’s Republic of China,
October 2016.
The relationship between human capital development and
urbanization in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is
explored, highlighting the institutional factors of the hukou
system and a decentralized fiscal system. Educated workers
disproportionately reside in urban areas and in large cities.
Returns to education are significantly higher in urban areas
relative to those in rural areas, as well as in large, educated
cities relative to small, less-educated cities. In addition, the
external returns to education in urban areas are at least
comparable to the magnitude of private returns... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Housing
System and Urbanization in the People’s Republic of China,
October 2016.
This paper examines how transformations in the housing system in
the People’s Republic of China (PRC) influence the PRC pattern
of urbanization. It first discusses how housing policies
determine the supply and demand of housing in urban PRC and
subsequently analyzes how the changes in the mode of housing
provision have affected rural–urban migration, intercity labor
mobility, the financing of urban infrastructure, and general
urban economic activities in the PRC. The PRC experience of the
interaction between the housing system and urbanization is
unique, but it clearly indicates that an effective housing
system that can responsively provide adequate and affordable
housing is crucial to the success of inclusive and equitable
urbanization. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Government Decentralization Program in Indonesia, October 2016.
Without much preparation, Indonesia, in 2000, at a stroke
replaced the previous system of centralized government and
development planning with a wide range of decentralization
programs. The reforms gave greater authority, political power,
and financial resources directly to regencies and
municipalities, bypassing the provinces. The powers transferred
include those of executing a wide range of responsibilities in
the areas of health, primary and middle-level education, public
works, environment, communication, transport, agriculture,
manufacturing, and other economic sectors... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Decline
in Oil Prices and the Negative Interest Rate Policy in Japan,
October 2016.
In April 2013, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) introduced an inflation
target of 2% with the aim of overcoming deflation and achieving
sustainable economic growth. But due to lower international oil
prices it was unable to achieve this target and was forced to
take further measures. Hence, in February 2016, the BOJ adopted
a negative interest rate policy by massively increasing the
money supply through purchasing long-term Japanese government
bonds (JGBs). The BOJ had previously only purchased short-term
government bonds, a policy that flattened the yield curve of
JGBs. On the one hand, banks reduced the number of government
bonds they purchased because short-term bond yields had become
negative. Even the interest rates of long-term government bonds
up to 15 years became negative... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Case
Study of Central and Local Government Finance in Japan,
September 2016.
This paper aims to provide an overview of the basics of Japan’s
local public administration and finance system and to analyze
how Japan’s municipalities restore their fiscal balance after a
fiscal shock. In Japan, local governments play a major role in
redistribution. Combined with regional disparities in tax
capacities and an inflexible local tax system, there is a large
vertical fiscal gap in Japan between the central and local
governments—a gap that necessitates the transfer of funds from
central to local governments. Under this system, the fiscal
adjustments in Japan’s municipalities occur mainly via changes
in government investment, and they account for 63%–95% of
adjustments in permanent unit innovations in grants and
own-source revenue. In contrast to the role of expenditure, the
municipalities’ own-source revenue plays a limited role in
balancing the local budget... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Improving
Financial Inclusion in Asia and the Pacific: Constraints,
Applicability, and Lessons from Digital Financial Services,
September 2016.
The paper focuses on the challenge of understanding new consumer
risks which arise when using DFS and how financial consumer
protection frameworks can be strengthened to address these
risks. It also includes case studies of countries’ approaches to
financial consumer protection and DFS in Asia and the Pacific.
The countries reviewed include the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua
New Guinea, and Fiji. These case studies highlight a common
trend across countries—financial consumer protection frameworks
are being viewed as one component of broader national financial
inclusion strategies. Frameworks are being strengthened as part
of a heightened focus on financial education and by
incorporating the latest research on financial inclusion and on
how best to reach the unbanked. |
|
ADB |
|
|
The Housing Challenge in Emerging Asia: Options and Solutions,
Published 2016.
The Housing Challenge in Emerging Asia: Options and Solutions
provides new insights and ideas to best design and implement
housing policies aimed at improving access to affordable and
adequate housing. The book offers an innovative theoretical
framework to conceptualize and analyze various housing policies.
It also critically reviews housing policies of various countries
and draws lessons for others. The countries studied include
advanced economies within and outside Asia, such as Japan, the
Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom,
and the United States, as well as emerging countries within
Asia, such as the People’s Republic of China and India. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in Myanmar: A Situation
Analysis, Published 2016.
Myanmar is making historical progressive reforms. Rapid
political, economic, and social transition is taking the country
and its 51.4 million citizens in new directions. If the reforms
are to equally benefit women and men and girls and boys,
fundamental changes are needed in how women and their needs are
included in Myanmar’s new governance and in policy, planning,
and decision-making processes... |
|
ADB |
|
|
The Emergence of Pacific Urban Villages: Urbanization Trends in
the Pacific Islands, Published 2016.
Village-like settlements such as squatter and informal
settlements are seen as a type of urban village. The report
examines the evolution of different types of settlement commonly
known as native or traditional villages, and the more recent
squatter and informal settlements. It looks at the role these
and other urban villages play in shaping and making Pacific
towns and cities and presents key actions that Pacific countries
and development partners need to consider as part of urban and
national development plans while achieving a more equitable
distribution of the benefits of urbanization. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Case Study on the Role of Services Trade in Global Value Chains:
Telecommunications in Papua New Guinea, September 2016.
This case study is one out of the four which examines the role
of services in global value chains (GVCs), particularly the
effects market-opening services development have had on the
economy and GVCs. This case study examines the effects of the
deregulation of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) mobile
telecommunications sector, a process which began in 2007. It is
estimated that the effects of liberalisation in this sector
include a boost to GDP of up to 2.3% and total cost savings of
2% to 5% for businesses. Mobile telecommunications have also
helped deliver improvements in safety and financial
transparency... |
|
APEC |
|
|
Case Study on the Role of Services Trade in Global Value Chains:
Transport Services in Chile, September 2016.
This case study is one out of the four which examines the role
of services in global value chains (GVCs), particularly the
effects market-opening services development have had on the
economy and GVCs. Focusing on the transport services in Chile,
this case study finds that Chile has undertaken substantial
transport sector liberalization over recent years. On the basis
of an econometric model, it is concluded that the combination of
transport sector reform efforts in Chile perhaps contributed to
increase GVC performance by around 7%... |
|
APEC |
|
|
Manual on Good Practices to Improve the Supply Chain of Marine
Products from the Subsistence Fishery Sector in the Asia Pacific
Region, September 2016.
Small-scale fisheries are highly dynamic, labour intensive and
usually not integrated with local marketing arrangements.
Small-scale fishers, their families and communities are
critically dependent on fish for their food and livelihood
security and are extremely vulnerable to external pressures and
shocks. Products originating from subsistence or small-scale
fisheries require good handling practices along the supply chain
since up to 30% of the catch in some cases is lost due to poor
handling practices. This manual is intended for use as a
training aid to help introduce and explain post-harvest fishing
topics to subsistence fisher folk and others actors in the
coastal fisheries value chain... |
|
APEC |
|
|
APEC Workshop on Promoting SMEs' Integration into Regional and
Global Environmental Goods and Services Markets, July 2016.
This report outlines the presentations and discussions of the
APEC Workshop on Promoting SMEs’ Integration into Regional and
Global Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) Markets. Initiated
by Viet Nam, the workshop provided an overview of the regional
and global EGS markets; challenges, opportunities, and critical
issues for facilitating SMEs in environmental goods and services
markets; advantages of trade agreements on place; experiences in
promoting SMEs’ participation into regional and global EGS
markets in terms of regulations, incentives, facilitation,
critical issues, etc; and case studies of SMEs’ integration into
regional and global EGS markets. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Promoting the Participation of Small and Medium Enterprises in
the Global Textile and Apparel Value Chains, June 2016.
The studies provide insights on the textile and apparel industry
of the four APEC member economies, including a diagnostic of the
current state-of-play of SMEs integration into GVCs, government
policies and programs, specific barriers that SMEs face upon
attempting to join GVCs, and a series of recommendations and
concrete action plans. The studies identify and categorize
numerous institutions and frameworks created to support SMEs
indirectly or directly, and how SMEs utilize government supports
and engage with the rules of new model of trade integration. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Compendium of Energy Efficiency Policies of APEC Economies,
April 2016.
The Compendium of Energy Efficiency Policies of APEC Economies
intends to promote information sharing of energy efficiency and
energy conservation policies and practices across APEC economies
under a common format. The report contains information on energy
efficiency policies and initiatives in all APEC economies (with
the exception of Papua New Guinea) based on the responses
provided by each economy to a questionnaire. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Japanese Journal of Religious
Studies
2011-2016
|
|
Nanzan |
|
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October,
2016 |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #14: Learning Diplomacy: Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam Diplomats in ASEAN. For nearly two
decades, ASEAN has served as a vehicle for the postsocialist
states of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV) to seek
diplomatic recognition and enmesh their economies with the
dominant discourses, structures, and visions of post-Cold War
capitalist modernity. In scholarly and lay understandings of how
CLMV states “integrate” through ASEAN, attention has been firmly
on the political, security, and economic outcomes of ASEAN-CLMV
interactions, with diplomacy viewed as a passive instrument to
pursue such outcomes. Such a static view of diplomacy obscures a
vital mechanism in and through which these broader macro-social
changes are being sought and accomplished. As they pursue
modernist state projects, diplomats too must yield to
experiences of learning and redefinition to express (and enable)
the project of international “integration”. This paper examines
such processes of learning and redefinition by studying the
effects and consequences of immersion in English-based ASEAN
multilateral work for the diplomats of CLMV states... |
|
ISEAS |
|
|
The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Crisis of Us Foreign Policy,
October 2016.
The 2016 US presidential election is the most consequential election for
international order since the Second World War. America’s status as a
liberal superpower is on the ballot. To understand Donald Trump’s
foreign policy, we must distinguish between his three core beliefs that
he has held for many decades and rarely if ever waivered from, the
central themes of his campaign, and other issues. His core beliefs are
opposition to America’s alliance arrangements, opposition to free trade,
and support for authoritarianism, particularly in Russia. If he is
elected president and governs in a manner consistent with these beliefs,
the United States will be transformed from the leader of a liberal
international order into a rogue superpower that withdraws from its
international commitments, undermines the open global economy, and
partners with Putin’s Russia... |
|
Lowy |
|
|
Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq: the Day After, September 2016.
In the last five years, Western counterterrorism agencies have focused
largely on radicalised individuals going to Syria and Iraq. Now and in
the immediate future they will need to focus more on those coming out.
The prospective collapse of Islamic State’s ‘caliphate’ is likely to
increase the number of foreign fighters leaving its territory. More
generally, the foreign fighter fallout from the years of conflict in
Syria and Iraq will echo that of previous conflicts such as Afghanistan
and Bosnia. The fighters who survive and escape will be just as
ideologically motivated as those that emerged from Afghanistan and
Bosnia, but will be more operationally experienced, have more lethal
skills and be better networked than their predecessors.In the last five
years, Western counterterrorism agencies have focused largely on
radicalised individuals going to Syria and Iraq... |
|
Lowy |
|
|
From Hollywood to Bollywood? Recasting Australia’s Indo/Pacific
Strategic Geography, October 2016.
Australia’s strategic geography is being revolutionised. China
and India’s rising maritime power, coupled with a Eurasia-wide
‘connectivity revolution’, is drawing together two formerly
disparate theatres: the Asia–Pacific and the Indian Ocean
region. This report argues against the Indo-Pacific idea and
presents the case for a more regionally differentiated
‘Indo/Pacific’ alternative. The hyphen at the heart of the
Indo-Pacific aggregates two distinct regional security orders
that have differed widely in their historical evolution and that
today present different challenges and regional order-building
opportunities for Australia... |
|
ASPI |
|
|
AWD Combat System: an Upgrade for the Aegis, September 2016.
This paper examines the delivery of the AWDs and the combat
system to date, and explores what upgrades might be possible in
the stated period. We’re about to spend a lot of money
completing the current three AWDs, only to turn around and spend
a lot more money upgrading them. If the government wants to
spend $4–5 billion on improving naval capability over the next
12 years, there might be more useful ways to spend the money. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters, September 2016.
The September
2016 Survey was sent out on 11 August 2016 to a total of 27
economists and analysts who closely monitor the Singapore
economy. This report reflects the views received from 22
respondents (a response rate of 81.5%) and does not represent
MAS’ views or forecasts. GDP growth in
Q2 2016 was higher than expected. The Singapore economy expanded by 2.1% in Q2 2016, which was
slightly above the median forecast of 2.0% reported in the June
2016 Survey. The economy is forecast
to expand by 1.8% in 2016. For 2016 as a whole, the respondents expect the economy to grow
by 1.8%, unchanged from the previous survey. |
|
MAS |
|
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Hong
Kong: High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current
Quarter Model: 2016Q4, October 2016. According to
its High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecast, real GDP is
estimated to grow by 1.4% in 16Q3, when compared with
the same period in 2015, slower than the 1.7% growth in
16Q2. In 16Q4, real GDP growth is expected to improve to
2.1% when compared with the same period last year.
Slowed from the 2.4% growth in 2015, we forecast Hong
Kong GDP will grow by 1.5% in 2016 as a whole, upward
revised by 0.3 percentage points comparing to our
previous forecast. |
|
HKU |
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|
International
Criminal Justice and Southeast Asia: Approaches To Ending
Impunity for Mass Atrocities, September 2016.
Nearly 15 years after entry into force, the UN Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court has 124 state parties, meaning
that nearly two-thirds of states have joined this initiative to
end impunity for the worst atrocities. Despite this global
diffusion and normalization of international criminal justice,
only 3 of 11 states in Southeast Asia have ratified the Statute.
In response to the region's underrepresentation among ICC state
parties, various governmental and nongovernmental actors have
undertaken efforts to raise awareness of the Rome Statute and
promote ratification in the region. However, beyond expanding
the reach of the Statute, there is scope to draw upon regional
experiences and potential to build a stronger foundation for an
emerging regional consensus around ending impunity for mass
atrocities. |
|
EWC |
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ASEAN Security
Architecture: Tension between National Interests and Regional
Institutions, September 2016.
Benjamin Ho, Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam
School of International Studies, Singapore, explains that “Only
if Beijing is able to persuade that China’s national interests
do not run contrary to those of ASEAN can an enduring and
amicable relationship be forged.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
The Strategic
Significance of the US-India, September 2016.
Manjeet S. Pardesi, Asia Studies Visiting Fellow at the
East-West Center in Washington, explains that “Contrary to
international relations theories, the signing of the LEMOA
demonstrates that India is seeking regional primacy, not
hegemony, and this is compatible with America’s strategic
interests in South Asia/Indian Ocean.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Indonesian
Islam: Neither White Knight nor Damsel in Distress, September
2016.
Benjamin Nathan, former researcher at the East-West Center in
Washington, explains that “The same factors that limit the
usefulness of Indonesian Islam as a counterweight to extremist
groups in the Middle East apply with equal strength to attempts
by extremist groups in the Middle East to make inroads in
Indonesia.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Democracy
and the Legitimacy of Indonesia’s Counter-terrorism Policy,
September 2016.
Abubakar Eby Hara, Asia Studies Visiting Fellow at the East-West
Center in Washington, explains that “Indonesia demonstrates that
in battling terrorism democracy and serious efforts to gain
legitimacy from the people before taking action are still
necessary as part of a grand narrative to counter ISIL.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Expanded CUES:
A Worthwhile Idea but Challenging Exercise? September 2016.
Swee Lean Collin Koh, Research Fellow at the Institute of
Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore, explains that “The
increasing activities of irregular maritime forces in the South
China Sea…mean that an expanded CUES, though possible, will face
an arduous and challenging road ahead.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Fiscal Deficit
and Fiscal Reform in Japan, September 2016.
Taro Ohno, Associate Professor at Shinshu University in Japan,
explains that “Japan will continue to face daunting fiscal
challenges in the years ahead, and thus finding the most
effective and equitable fiscal policy should be a top priority
for the Japanese government.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Modernizing
the AFP & Duterte’s Priorities, September 2016.
Charmaine Deogracias, Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in
Washington, explains that “Duterte’s leftist leanings and
determination to pursue peace talks with the communists will
definitely affect the military’s capability upgrade and his
engagement with the U.S.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Asian Development Outlook 2016: Meeting the Low-Carbon Growth
Challenge
(Update,
Highlights) covering
Central Asia,
East Asia,
South Asia,
Southeast Asia and
The Pacific. Growth has held up in developing Asia despite a
difficult external environment. The region is expected to grow
steadily at 5.7% in 2016 and 2017, the forecasts in this Update
unchanged from Asian Development Outlook 2016. While global
commodity prices have begun to rebound, inflation remains
largely subdued. Consumer prices will likely rise by 2.6% in
2016 and 2.9% in 2017. Continued slow recovery in the United
States, the euro area, and Japan presents a clear downside risk
to the outlook. Uncertainty about the path of monetary policy in
these economies, and the implications this has for capital
flows, complicates macroeconomic management in developing Asia.
Policy makers globally need to resist moves toward protectionism
that would only undermine the recovery. By transitioning to
low-carbon growth, developing Asia is poised to reap outsized
rewards as an essential player in the global effort to contain
climate change... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Asia
Bond Monitor, September 2016.
The report notes that yields for 2-year and 10-year local
currency government bonds in emerging East Asia were mostly
lower between 1 June and 15 August and stock markets in the
region recorded gains as well, giving investor sentiment a lift.
Over the same period, most East Asian currencies also
appreciated against the US dollar, with the Korean won recording
the biggest gain of 7.7%. The exception was the Chinese renminbi,
which fell 0.9% during the period. While financial markets are
calm, there are rising risks to emerging East Asia’s bond
markets. As the sole major developed economy to show growth, the
likelihood of a policy rate hike in the United States could
prompt capital outflows from the region. Furthermore, the full
impact of Brexit has yet to be seen and if the UK’s transition
is marred by problems, volatility could return. Lastly, if
negative interest rates in the EU and Japan continue, it will
reduce monetary authorities’ flexibility in the event of another
major financial shock. Negative rates also reduce banking
profitability and can exacerbate capital inflows to emerging
markets. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Spatial
Estimation of the Nexus between the PRC’s Foreign Direct
Investment and ASEAN’s Growth, September 2016.
Forging closer economic relations between the People’s Republic
of China (PRC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) over the last 2 decades has contributed to building a
stronger ASEAN economy. It is particularly important to know how
the PRC’s foreign direct investment responds to ASEAN’s economic
performance. This study investigates the causal relationship
between the PRC’s foreign direct investment and economic growth
among the 10 ASEAN member countries from 1995 to 2013. Panel
unit root tests, a spatial panel vector autoregressive model,
and spatial Granger causality are employed as empirical
techniques for spatial panel estimation. The empirical results
reveal that the PRC’s direct investment in ASEAN caused economic
growth in ASEAN, and economic growth in ASEAN resulted in the
PRC’s direct investment in ASEAN. This finding raises
potentially interesting external investment policy implications. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Urbanization and Rural Development in the People’s Republic of
China, September 2016.
This paper presents research findings on how urbanization
enhances productivity and economic growth in both urban and
rural sectors. Through agglomeration effects, employment
opportunities and income levels can largely increase. In
addition, the mechanisms of sharing, matching, and learning are
much stronger in cities, especially large cities. However, in
the People’s Republic of China (PRC), urbanization lags far
behind industrialization. Institutional barriers against
rural-to-urban and interregional migration, such as the hukou
system, have reduced the ability of urban growth to absorb rural
labor. As for rural development, urbanization has propelled
agricultural productivity, rural income, and consumption levels.
Moreover, agricultural productivity is driven to a large extent
by capital accumulation, through capital deepening and
remittance. Agricultural organizations, urbanization, and
outflow of migrant workers make it possible for large-scale
production and agricultural mechanization to occur. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Is
There a Size-Induced Market Failure in Skills Training?
September 2016.
A skilled and educated workforce can support the competitiveness
of enterprises of all sizes. However, smaller firms may face
greater challenges in developing human capital. We explore
differences between smaller and larger firms in offering skills
training and in hiring workers with more formal education.
Drawing on a dataset of enterprises in five Asian countries, we
find major size-based differences in education and training.
While smaller firms train less, they also are less inclined to
view an inadequately skilled workforce as a major constraint on
their operations. It may be that smaller firms are content to
occupy niches in a low-skills equilibrium. Our empirical results
do offer the possibility, however, that a size-induced market
failure in skills training may coexist with a lower regard for
skills. The policy implications are not only that governments
can reduce the costs for firms to train, but also that micro and
small firms need to be sensitized to the benefits of skills
upgrading. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Fiscal
Equalization Schemes and Subcentral Government Borrowing,
September 2016.
Examining the cases of Canada, Germany, and Spain, the role
played by fiscal equalization schemes in determining subnational
borrowing was analyzed, and the link between regional
governments’ primary fiscal balances and gross domestic product
per capita was tested econometrically. The study results show
that either poor or rich regions can display higher regional
public borrowing on average, and these results can be linked to
the institutional design of regional equalization systems in
place. Particular elements, such as tax efforts and fiscal
capacities, also play relevant roles in this regard. Reforms of
these schemes can therefore prove instrumental in reducing
regional heterogeneity in public borrowing. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Measuring Systemic Risk Contribution of International Mutual
Funds, September 2016.
This study provides new evidence of systemic risk contribution
in the international mutual fund sector from 2000–2011. The
empirical analysis tracks the systemic risk of 10,570 mutual
funds investing internationally. The main findings suggest that
the systemic risk contributions of international mutual funds
are more than proportional given the fund’s size. Policy
implications are discussed in terms of practicality of
regulation, macroprudential approach, and risk-taking behavior
of fund managers. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Working Conditions, Work Outcomes, and Policy in Asian
Developing Countries, September 2016.
This paper reviews academic studies of the causes and
consequences of poor conditions in developing country garment
factories with a special emphasis on causes and potential
solutions for South Asia. This review provides an introduction
to some of the leading academic literature and ideas that are
important for understanding the persistence of poor labor
practices and possible policies to address these conditions. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Skills and Activity Upgrading in Global Value Chains: Trends and
Drivers for Asia, August 2016.
This paper examines the main trends and drivers of upgrading by
Asian countries in global value chains using the newly
constructed ADB multiregion input–output tables in combination
with occupation data. Our results suggest an ongoing
specialization process in high-income Asian countries and in
developing member countries toward high-skilled
knowledge-intensive activities. The pace of upgrading differs
across Asian countries. We use a structural decomposition method
to account for the drivers of the trends observed. In
particular, technological change in global value chains that is
biased toward skilled activities is important in accounting for
the trends observed. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Developing Local Currency Bond Markets in Asia, August 2016.
This paper reviews the advances made in developing local
currency bond markets in emerging Asia. While progress in Asian
local currency markets has been remarkable, hurdles to
developing the market for local currency corporate bonds remain
large in the shape of market infrastructure and institutions,
inconsistent policies and regulations, and—more broadly—in poor
corporate governance; and cross-country variances are
significant. The paper empirically investigates economic factors
associated with expanding local currency bond markets and
highlights the importance of macroeconomic performance and
institutional strength as key areas for further reforms. |
|
ADB |
|
|
A Comparative Analysis of Tax Administration in Asia and the
Pacific, Published 2016.
The analysis and practical guidance provided in this report are
based on surveys of revenue bodies conducted in 2014 and 2015,
along with accompanying research of revenue bodies’ corporate
documents, and guidance and diagnostic materials published by
international organizations that seek to promote improvements in
tax administration. The report series aims to help revenue
bodies and governments identify opportunities for enhancing the
operation of their tax systems by sharing internationally
comparable data on aspects of tax systems and their
administration. However, considerable care needs to be taken
with international comparisons of tax administration setups and
performance-related data... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Asian Development Review, Vol.
33,
No. 2, 2016 (Full
Report):
Special Issue on Potential Growth and Misallocation in Asia.
Asia’s future growth prospects are key to the evolution of the
world economy. By the middle of this decade, Asia’s contribution
to the world’s gross domestic product growth had surpassed 60%.
The spectacular growth performance of the People’s Republic of
China and the growth acceleration of India have had significant
implications for poverty reduction and shifted the axis of the
global economy toward Asia. Studying Asia’s future potential
growth—including its determinants, obstacles, and policy
influences—is essential to understanding the direction of the
world economy.
|
|
ADB |
|
|
Asian Development Review, Vol.
33,
No. 1, 2016 (Full
Report). Topics discussed in this issue of the Asian
Development Review include export performance of asian economies
in ict-enabled services; foreign direct investment and terms of
trade in south asia; preferential agreements on trade in
services; monetary policy in the people's republic of china;
dynamic effects of changes in the exchange rate system;
international trade and risk sharing in the global rice market,
and typhoon aid and development.
|
|
ADB |
|
|
APEC Workshop on Promoting the Development of Biomass Energy,
September 2016.
The APEC Workshop on Promoting the Development of Biomass Energy
report summarizes the presentations and discussions on the
state-of-play, development and trends of biomass energy
development; views from various sectors on the development of
biomass energy; and recommendations on the way forward... |
|
APEC |
|
|
A Comparative Study on Multi-field Applications of BMPV in the
APEC Region, September 2016.
The report compiles a comprehensive analysis of the completed
project cases of BMPV application in the APEC region. It
provides reviews of the experience and lessons from application
of distributed BMPV systems in the region and compares their
relevant policies, market development status, technical economy
and typical cases, in an effort to explore the best practice for
APEC economies for reference... |
|
APEC |
|
|
Food Industry Associations: Their Role and Value in Policy and
Regulation, September 2016.
This report takes a brief look at how food industry associations
(or trade associations) provide a valuable mechanism for
advising government on the practical and commercial implications
of regulatory proposals, which can result in best practice
regulation, assist government in protecting the public interest,
and advance broader economic policy objectives. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Trends and Developments in Provisions and Outcomes of RTA/FTAs
Implemented in 2015 by APEC Economies, September 2016.
Following a similar report produced last year, as part of the
APEC Information Sharing Mechanism on RTA/FTAs agreed in 2014,
this report analyzes the evolution of the number of RTA/FTAs by
APEC economies in the past two decades and examines the general
structure of the RTA/FTAs that APEC economies put in force
during 2015. Nine agreements were included in this report,
namely: the Australia-China; Australia-Japan; Canada-Korea;
Chile-Thailand; China-Korea; Korea-New Zealand; Korea-Viet Nam;
Malaysia-Turkey and Mexico-Panama FTAs... |
|
APEC |
|
|
APEC's Ease of Doing Business - Final Assessment 2009-2015,
August 2016.
The final assessment of the APEC’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB)
initiative, which takes into account the period 2009-2015, looks
at the performance of the APEC region using the indicators of
the World Bank’s Doing Business in five priority areas, namely:
1) Starting a Business; 2) Dealing with Construction Permits; 3)
Getting Credit; 4) Trading Across Borders; and 5) Enforcing
Contracts... |
|
APEC |
|
|
Independent Assessment Report of the Telecommunications and
Information Working Group (TELWG), August 2016.
While TELWG has been operating for some 25 years since 1990, the
last few years have seen some of the most rapid technological
advances in the telecommunications sector ever. As TELWG worked
towards the 2008 goal for universal access to broadband, access
to, and use of smartphones, tablets and wireless devices has
increased dramatically. Secure computer and mobile device
networks connected to stable and reliable telecommunications
infrastructure form the essential foundation for the development
of the digital economy... |
|
APEC |
|
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September,
2016 |
|
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #13: Is a New Entrepreneurial Generation
Emerging in Indonesia?. The main actors in Indonesia’s
business landscape have long been assumed to be the country’s
Chinese minority. However, in the last decade, there has been a
more visible, growing culture of entrepreneurship amongst the
pribumi — “native” Indonesians. Democratic reforms,
decentralization and the deregulation of certain sectors of the
economy, facilitated by new information technology, have enabled
a new generation of entrepreneurs to emerge outside the
traditional system of political patronage. New forms of
networking are taking shape within local and national business
associations, networking forums, and the marketing and business
media. While civil servant positions are still highly sought
after, the idea of entrepreneurship and business as careers is
becoming more and more popular, especially among young
Indonesians. The challenge that the Joko Widodo administration
faces is to encourage this new social dynamic without falling
into the trap of constructing artificial support programmes.
These showed themselves to be counter-productive in the past. |
|
ISEAS |
|
|
Asymmetric Threshold Vertical Price Transmission in Wheat and
Flour Markets in Dhaka (Bangladesh): Seemingly Unrelated
Regression Analysis, Published 2016.
The analysis of price transmission for commodities requiring
processing in vertical markets is challenged by fuzzy policy
environments in the case of developing countries. However the
analyses of threshold and asymmetries in price transmission at
different levels of vertical markets provide a good indicator of
market efficiency. The paper employs threshold cointegration
that takes into account the asymmetric adjustment towards a
long-run equilibrium and short-run price transmission. The paper
investigates the non-linear price adjustment in short- and
long-run in vertical markets of wheat and flour in Bangladesh... |
|
ASARC |
|
|
Assessing the South China Sea Award, August 2016.
The Philippines had a major, if unenforceable, win against China
in the 12 July South China Sea Arbitration under the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. But the implications
go beyond the bilateral dispute between China and the
Philippines and it carries great legal weight as an
authoritative ruling by an international judicial body. Bearing
in mind that the award is legally binding only on the parties to
the arbitration, there’s the question of what might this
assertion mean for third countries who may opt to exercise
navigational rights based on the Tribunal’s rulings on the
status and maritime entitlements of features in the Spratlys... |
|
ASPI |
|
|
Uncertainty about Federal Reserve Policy and Its Transmission to
Emerging Economies: Evidence from Twitter, September 2016.
It is well known that a tightening or easing of the United
States’ monetary policy affects financial markets in emerging
economies. This paper argues that uncertainty about future
monetary policy is a separate transmission channel. We focus on
the taper tantrum episode in 2013, a period with an elevated
uncertainty about monetary policy, and use a data set that
contains 90,000 Twitter messages (“tweets”) on Federal Reserve
tapering. Based on this data set, we construct a new index about
monetary policy uncertainty using a list of uncertainty
keywords... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Overview of Financial Inclusion, Regulation, and Education,
September 2016.
Financial inclusion is receiving increasing attention as having
the potential to contribute to economic and financial
development while at the same time fostering more inclusive
growth and greater income equality. However, although
substantial progress has been made, there is still much to
achieve. East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia combined
account for 55% of the world’s unbanked adults, mainly in India
and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This analysis is based
on studies of the experiences of Germany, the United Kingdom,
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and
Thailand... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Migration in the People’s Republic of China, September 2016.
This report summarizes the characteristics of migration in the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) after its reforms and opening
up. Rapid urbanization in the PRC has resulted from recent
decades of intense rural–urban migration. The scale of migration
increased rapidly and long-term migration is the main
characteristic. The population characteristics of migration are
determined not only by a personal decision, but also a joint
decision within households to send members with comparative
advantages in manufacturing and services, usually male and
young, to work in cities. Coastal regions where manufacturing
and services are better developed, especially big cities, are
the major destinations... |
|
ADB |
|
|
The Impact of Sex Ratios before Marriage on Household Saving in
Two Asian Countries: The Competitive Saving Motive Revisited,
August 2016.
his paper estimates a household saving rate equation for India
and the Republic of Korea using long-term time series data for
1975 to 2010, focusing in particular on the impact of the
premarital sex ratio on the household saving rate. It finds that
the premarital gender ratio (the ratio of males to females) has
a significant impact on the household saving rate in both India
and the Republic of Korea, even after controlling for the usual
suspects such as the aged and youth dependency ratios and
income... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Safety and Intelligent Transport Systems Development in the
People’s Republic of China, Published 2016.
This report identifies factors which contribute to collisions
that can be addressed by intelligent transport systems
technologies in the People’s Republic of China. It examines
opportunities for establishing a policy framework for the
development and implementation of C-ITS using connected
vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-road-infrastructure
technologies. Some C-ITS applications identified and relevant to
the People’s Republic of China are cooperative hazard warning
systems and enhanced driver awareness and control. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Outward
Ripples: How Japan-Korea History Tensions Affect ASEAN, May 2016.
Over the past decade, Japan-Korea tensions over their shared
history have become a major cause for concern for analysts and
practitioners of international relations. This working paper
examines whether and how much Japan and Korea have "exported"
their bilateral tensions to relations with member countries of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and the
impact on Japan-ASEAN and Korea-ASEAN ties. This is done by
analyzing the economic, political, and security ties between
these nations, as well as public opinion and media coverage of
Japan-Korea 'history issues' within ASEAN. This data is
interpreted through a 'holistic constructivist' theoretical
framework, which seeks to look at culture and social
constructions as a causal factor in international relations... |
|
EWC |
|
|
Kyrgyzstan 2010: Conflict and Context, July 2016.
Kyrgyzstan gained independence at the end of 1991 and
immediately embarked on an ambitious program of economic
reform. This was underpinned by a commitment to democratic
ideals and the emergence of a thriving civil society. The
international community was impressed and regarded
Kyrgyzstan as an exemplary model for regional development.
There were many Kyrgyz, especially among the educated, urban
sector of the population, who shared this positive view.
Consequently, it came as a shock when, in 2010, the country
was engulfed by a terrible series of violent clashes. It was
tempting to seek “instant” culprits and readily
comprehensible “causes.” The easiest solution was to present
the conflict as an internecine struggle between rival ethnic
communities. However, as those with long first-hand
experience of the region pointed out, this explanation was
too simplistic... |
|
ISDP |
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Reforming the International Protection Regime: Responsibilities, Roles
and Policy Options for Australia, August 2016.
The international protection regime is failing states and refugees
alike. It may be too soon to reform its fundamentals, but the regime
needs to be implemented more effectively, and straight away. It is in
Australia’s national interest to drive reform, in order to prepare for
future asylum flows, take advantage of the success of Operation
Sovereign Borders, and fulfil its long-standing commitment to helping
people in need. At the domestic level, Australia should set standards
for responding fairly but effectively to asylum seekers, and prepare for
environmental migration. At the regional level Australia needs to
establish leadership credentials to promote protecting people closer to
home. At the global level Australia should champion new approaches to
refugees and migration, challenging an increasingly complacent regime... |
|
Lowy |
|
|
Making the Most of the G20, July 2016.
At a time
when multilateralism is in decline and many countries are turning
inward, the G20 is needed. The premier forum for international economic
cooperation has design flaws, but provides political leadership on
global economic matters such as international tax, financial regulation
and international financial institutions. In an uncertain world, it is
the best means that the international community has to coordinate
responses to global economic and financial crises. The G20 can also play
an important role in countering growing anti-globalisation sentiment... |
|
Lowy |
|
|
Tourist Arrivals and Inclusive Growth, August 2016.
This study contributes to tourism policy discussions in the APEC
region in two ways. First, it examines the likely impacts of
policies that can contribute to achieving the target of 800
million international tourist arrivals by 2025, a goal APEC
tourism ministers announced in 2014. Second, it looks at the
linkages between tourism development and the overall economy, in
particular the linkages between tourism and macroeconomic
indicators, inclusive growth, and MSME development. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Peer Review on Low Carbon Energy Policies in Viet Nam, August
2016.
The APEC Peer Review on Low Carbon Energy Policies (PRLCE) was
endorsed by the APEC Energy Ministers at the 2010 Energy
Ministerial Meeting. The review is an extension APEC’s Peer
Review on Energy Efficiency and its guidelines. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Workshop on Experiences and Plans to Double Renewable Energy
Utilization by 2030 in the APEC Region, August 2016.
This report highlights the findings from the workshop which
targeted best practices and next steps to help APEC economies
develop roadmaps for increasing the share of renewable energy in
power generation and end-use technologies. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Import MRL Guideline for Pesticides, July 2016.
This Guideline is intended to facilitate a greater degree of
clarity and alignment around the application of assessment
methodologies involved in considering import MRL requests, from
the perspective of consumer protection, across the APEC region.
The aim being to not only increase consumer confidence in the
MRL setting process, but where practical and appropriate, also
achieve greater regulatory convergence of MRLs, promoting
greater alignment with international standards, while reducing
the regulatory burden across APEC economies and facilitating
trade. |
|
APEC |
|
|
APEC Oil and Gas Security Exercise - The Philippines Exercise,
June 2016.
This report provides the outcome of the Oil and Gas Security
Exercise, which details the Philippines' responses to the three
hypothetical emergency scenarios formulated for the said
exercise. The report also presents comments and recommendations
from the team of experts on the responses generated from each
scenario. |
|
APEC |
|
|
APEC Energy Efficiency Policy Workshop Summary Report: Policy
and Program Evaluation, June 2016.
Evaluation of energy efficiency policy is essential to
developing effective policy and to understanding the impacts of
policy and program implementation. However, the practice of
evaluation is lagging behind, especially in APEC developing
economies. To support the development of this practice APERC
coordinated the APEC Energy Efficiency Policy Workshop: Policy
and Program Evaluation in Taichung City, Chinese Taipei on 12
April 2016. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Capacity Building Research on Customs Control of Cross-Border
E-Commerce, February 2016.
The report has formed a package of proposals for the APEC
economies on the base of the results on the APEC seminar about
customs control for CBEC. It not only cites the newest
researches about Cross-Border E-Commerce (CBEC), analyzes its
overall development, and outlines the legislation and regulatory
model of APEC and the EU major economies in this field. In the
light of Customs supervision and Risk Prevention and Control, it
also summarizes experience and methods of the cooperation
between customs and other partners, and proposes effective ways
to improve the supervision. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Volatility Contagion across the Equity Markets of Developed and
Emerging Market Economies, July 2016.
Using variance risk premiums (VRPs) nonparametrically calculated
from equity markets in selected major developed economies and
emerging market economies (EMEs) over 2007‒2015, we document the
correlation of VRPs across the markets and examine whether
equity fund flows work as a path through which VRPs spill over
globally. First, we find that VRPs tend to spike up during
market turmoil such as the peak of the global financial crisis
and the European debt crisis. Second, we find that all
cross-equity market correlations of VRPs are positive, and that
some economy pairs exhibit high levels of the correlation... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Credit
Surety Fund: A Credit Innovation for Micro, Small, and
Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Philippines, July 2016.
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises are a backbone of the
Philippine economy. One factor that hinders the growth of these
enterprises is their difficulty in accessing finance from banks
and other financial institutions. The Credit Surety Fund (CSF)
was established to help these enterprises and other
organizations become creditworthy and bankable. The CSF is a
credit guarantee program initiated by the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas that enables enterprises and cooperatives to gain
easier access to loans from banks without providing
collateral... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Barriers to Innovation in Indian Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises, July 2016.
Innovation plays a critical role in shaping the industrial and
firm competitiveness of any nation. Innovation is often
discussed in the setting of developed countries, but the rise of
emerging economies such as India has generated a new interest in
understanding innovation in developing economies. This paper
aims to study and present the current state of innovation in
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India. The focus of
the paper is to bring out the key barriers SMEs face in the
innovation process in the context of the existing government
policy... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Philippine Institute for Development Studies - Policy
Notes:
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|
PIDS |
|
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Philippine Institute for Development Studies -
Development Research News:
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|
PIDS |
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Asian Ethnology
2011-2016
|
|
Nanzan |
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August,
2016 |
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Advanced
Manufacturing and China's Future for Jobs, August 2016.
This paper explores how China's push into advanced manufacturing
and services through robots and other new disruptive
technologies might affect the country's future for jobs. After
decades of rapid-fire growth, China's comparative advantage in
manufacturing and the extraordinary size of its economy explain
why China has not followed Dani Rodrik's pattern of "premature
de-industrialization". However, China now has reached a level of
development where catching up through an investment-driven
"Global Factory" model is no longer sufficient to create
long-term economic growth and prosperity... |
|
EWC |
|
|
Asia on the
Medal Stand: Rio Olympic Forecasts, July 2016.
This paper updates and extends forecasts originally contained in
the working paper on "Asian Participation and Performance at the
Olympic Games," with Kevin Stahler, May 2015. It was
subsequently published as Noland, Marcus, and Kevin Stahler.
2016. Asian Participation and Performance at the Olympic Games.
Asian Economic Policy Review 11:1 70-90. |
|
EWC |
|
|
Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #12: Understanding Jokowi’s Foreign Policy. The
foreign policy issue in the 2014 Indonesian presidential
election was the rejection by both candidates, Joko Widodo (Jokowi)
and Prabowo Subianto, of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s
high-profile globalism. Both promised instead a foreign policy
directed to the real economic and social interests of the
people. This raised concerns by Indonesia’s international
partners that its new foreign policy would be more nationalistic
and inward looking. A year and a half into Jokowi’s presidency,
it is possible to make a preliminary assessment of the course of
Jokowi’s foreign policy in relation to the goals that Jokowi the
candidate set forth for Jokowi the president. Indonesia’s
foreign policy under Jokowi, like his predecessor’s, is that
suited to a rising middle power with a claim to regional
leadership. Its operating principles have been unchanged since
first enunciated in 1948: “bebas dan aktif” — independent and
active — shaped pragmatically to existing situations... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #11: The Red Shirts and Their Democratic
Struggle in Northern Thailand, April 2010 to May 2015. The
political education of members of Thailand’s Red Shirt movement
took place through the electoral process, and through learning
how political institutions and the judiciary could be
systematically used to topple the elected government. The main
sources of instruction were the Red Shirt TV programmes followed
by Bangkok rallies. In Chiang Mai Province, for example, Red
Shirt activities centred around a radio station and
participation in political gatherings. The former involved
dissemination of information, the latter connected activists
with those from other parts of Northern Thailand. The
relationship between the United Alliance for Democracy against
Dictatorship (UDD) and satellite Red Shirt groups was rather
distant. The UDD leadership showed little interest in
strengthening Red Shirt forces outside Bangkok and in turn,
there was little participation by Red Shirt leaders from other
provinces in Bangkok activities... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #10: Bipolarity and the Future of the
Security Order in East Asia. ASEAN is in danger of
becoming marginalized as East Asian security becomes
increasingly shaped by such volatile flashpoints as a nuclear
North Korea and a South China Sea increasingly dominated by
quarrels over sovereignty and maritime security. Accordingly,
the notion of “ASEAN centrality” is now being seriously
challenged and is unlikely to prevail against the growing
bipolar security environment shaped by China and the United
States. ASEAN and other Asia-Pacific states could gravitate
toward one of five alternative order-building scenarios: A
Sino-American condominium that defines and accepts each other’s
geopolitical sphere of influence; The replacement or substantial
revision of the United States’ bilateral alliance system with
the expansion of multilateral norms and instrumentalities; The
gradual predominance of an “Asia for Asians” concept led by
China but endorsed by a substantial number of Southeast Asian
states... |
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ISEAS |
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Improving on Zero: Australia and India Attempt Strategic
Convergence, August 2016.
India no longer sees Australia as merely a strategic stooge of
the US. And Australia is starting to accord India the importance
India always saw as its right. Those are big changes in attitude
and policy—and in the two countries’ understanding of each
other’s interests. Strategy: The Australia–India strategic
relationship was in zero territory—often in negative mode—for
much of the 20th century; indeed, effectively since India’s
independence. In the 21st century, though, Australia and India
can reach for greater strategic convergence. People: Australia
in the 21st century can have a set of relationships with India
based on people as much as on economic and strategic need.
Economics and trade: As China slows economically, Australia
turns to India... |
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ASPI |
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Principled Engagement: Rebuilding Defence Ties With Fiji, July 2016.
The geopolitics of the Pacific Islands region is changing, including the
emergence of the new Pacific regionalism. The traditional regional
security orthodoxy is also changing. The Russian arms deal to Fiji has
underlined the extent to which Australia and New Zealand face
competition for access and influence from external players in their
relations with Fiji. Since the normalisation of relations in 2014,
Australia and New Zealand have pursued a soft approach to engagement.
Australia’s and New Zealand’s response to Cyclone Winston offered an
opportunity to re-engage with Fiji’s military and test the potential for
increased defence diplomacy. It is time for Australia and New Zealand to
undertake a principled rebuilding of defence ties with Fiji. |
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Lowy |
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The Rise of
Defense Diplomacy in the South China Sea, June 2016.
Jacqueline Espenilla, Non-Resident WSD-Handa Fellow at the
Pacific Forum CSIS, explains that “Countries like the
Philippines and Vietnam are shrewdly using the power of defense
diplomacy to link their navies and military to strategically
interested countries, thereby getting tacit support for
positions that conform to shared values [regarding]
internationally acceptable behavior.” |
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EWC |
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Review of APEC Green Building Project, July 2016.
The Project builds on work to-date carried out by APEC member
economies to advance green building and building energy
efficiency and was implemented through the APEC Sub-Committee on
Standards and Conformance (SCSC). |
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APEC |
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Policy Review for APEC Low-Carbon Model Town Phase 5 Final
Report, June 2016.
The APEC Low-Carbon Model Town (LCMT) project seeks to promote
low-carbon technologies in city planning in order to manage
rapidly growing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
in urban areas of the APEC region. This report presents the
findings of Policy Review for Biting City, North Sulawesi
Province, Indonesia. |
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APEC |
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Literature Survey Developing Solar-Powered Emergency Shelter
Solutions as an Energy-Resilience Tool for Natural Disaster
Relief in APEC Community, May 2016.
This literature survey informs APEC forum Energy Working Group (EWG),
specifically its sub-forum of Expert Group on New and Renewable
Energy Technologies. |
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APEC |
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A Report on Enhancing Labour Mobility in the APEC Region,
Published 2015.
This report was commissioned to generate additional knowledge
about labour mobility in the Asia-Pacific region, at present and
over time, to inform APEC member economies’ deliberations about
options to manage regional demand and enhance worker mobility to
optimise potential benefits such as reducing unemployment,
boosting productivity, addressing labour force imbalances, and
contributing to economic development. |
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APEC |
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Asian Development Outlook Supplement - Asia's Growth Prospects
Undimmed by Brexit Vote, July 2016.
Growth in Central Asia is weaker than predicted, while expansion
in the Pacific is now expected to be a touch higher. Forecasts
are unchanged for East, South, and Southeast Asia. While the
Brexit vote has affected developing Asia’s currency and stock
markets, its impact on the real economy in the short term is
expected to be small... |
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ADB |
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Knowledge
Work on Securitization in the People’s Republic of China, July
2016.
This working paper describes key features and mechanisms of
securitization and practices of securitizing revenue streams
from various classes of physical asset before and after the
global financial crisis, and provides context information on how
this could be relevant for the PRC. The aim is to deepen the
understanding for securitization and contribute to ongoing
discussions about reforming local government finances,
infrastructure finance and project finance, and further
diversifying financial sevices. Local governments in the PRC and
their subsidiaries are still struggling with rapidly increasing
debt levels but also have numerous physical assets on their
balance sheets. |
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ADB |
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The Impact of a People’s Republic of China Slowdown on Commodity
Prices and Detecting the Asymmetric Responses of Economic
Activity in Asian Countries to Commodity Price Shocks, July 2016.
This study carries out the analysis in two parts. First, noting
the fact that commodity prices are characterized by structural
breaks, a model based on a Flexible Fourier Form is employed to
study the causal relations between a slowdown in the People’s
Republic of China and different commodity prices. The second
part investigates whether the response of emerging and
developing Asian countries to a positive or negative shock is
significantly different. |
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ADB |
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Effects of the People’s Republic of China’s Structural Change on
the Exports of East and Southeast Asian Economies, July 2016.
Asian economies which failed to export relatively more
consumption goods to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC)
suffered larger declines in overall exports to the PRC. In
addition, Asian economies that exported relatively less parts
and components to the PRC saw their shares of the PRC’s total
imports decline. Overall, the PRC’s structural change is having
a significant impact on the pattern of its trade with its
neighbors. |
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ADB |
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Determinants of Consumer Price Inflation versus Producer Price
Inflation in Asia, June 2016.
The authors empirically examine and compare the determinants of
producer and consumer price inflation in 10 major Asian
economies—People’s Republic of China (PRC); Hong Kong, China;
India; Indonesia; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Philippines;
Singapore; Thailand; and Viet Nam—during 2000–2015. In this
connection, they also investigate the pass-through of global oil
prices, global food prices, and exchange rates to domestic
producer and consumer prices. Overall, they find that cost-push
factors such as oil and food prices are more important in
explaining producer price inflation than consumer price
inflation in the 10 Asian economies. On the other hand, for
consumer prices, demand-pull factors still explain much of the
inflation. |
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ADB |
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Pacific Economic Monitor, July 2016.
Forecasts for global growth in 2016 have been lowered to
3.1%—the same rate as last year—due to weakness in demand,
international trade, and capital flows, as well as demographic
trends and lackluster productivity growth. Prospects for the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) have improved modestly during
the first half of the year, with adjustment toward services and
consumption—away from investment and manufacturing—but the IMF
warns that the situation in many leading economies could further
reduce global growth. Other major risk factors include the
repercussions of the United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European
Union, tighter credit conditions, major exchange rate
fluctuations, and further weakness in commodity markets... |
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ADB |
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Bridging the “Missing Middle” between Microfinance and Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprise Finance in South Asia, July 2016.
With maturity in the microfinance market in South Asia, it is
observed that some microfinance members’ needs grow beyond the
boundaries of traditional microfinance group loans. In addition,
there are other small enterprises whose needs are not met by
microfinance institutions or commercial banks. It is important
to address the financing needs of these firms given their
employment potential, and hence this issue is on the policy
agenda of the three countries studied in this paper: India,
Bangladesh, and Pakistan... |
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ADB |
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Optimal
Credit Guarantee Ratio for Asia, July 2016.
Difficulty in accessing finance is one of the critical factors
constraining the development of small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) in Asia. Owing to their significance to
national economies, it is important to find ways to provide SMEs
with stable finance. One efficient way to promote SME financing
is through credit guarantee schemes, where the government
guarantees a portion (ratio) of a loan provided by a bank to an
SME. This research provides a theoretical model and an empirical
analysis of factors that determine optimal credit guarantee
ratio. |
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ADB |
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Capital
Inflow Surges and Consequences, July 2016.
While capital flows to emerging markets bring numerous benefits,
they are also known to create macroeconomic imbalances (economic
overheating, currency overvaluation) and increase financial
vulnerabilities (domestic credit growth, bank leverage, foreign
currency-denominated lending). But are all inflows the same? In
this paper, we examine whether the source of the
inflow—residents repatriating foreign assets or nonresidents
investing in the country—or the type of inflow (foreign direct
investment, portfolio, other investment) makes any difference to
the consequences of the capital flow... |
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ADB |
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Urbanization, Inequality, and Poverty in the People’s Republic
of China, July 2016.
Relying on the present literature, official statistics, and
household survey data in the People’s Republic of China (PRC),
this paper summarizes research findings on the relationship
between urbanization, urban–rural inequality, and poverty, and
provides further empirical evidence on the role of urbanization
and government policies in urban poverty. Several conclusions
can be drawn from this paper. First, urbanization has a
significant effect on reducing both poverty of rural residents
and poverty of migrating peasants, and, consequently, has a
positive effect on narrowing the rural–urban income/consumption
gap... |
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ADB |
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Commercial Bank Innovations in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise
Finance: Global Models and Implications for Thailand, July 2016.
In Thailand, the government has long recognized the importance
of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the economy and
has given a large amount of financial support to this sector.
Still, SMEs are not able to catch up with larger enterprises and
the constraints to SME financing remain the main topic of policy
discussion today. Against this background, the important issue
for Thailand may not be about the lack of financial assistance
per se but about how to design an appropriate market-friendly
business model and supporting scheme to help SMEs gain access to
credit on a sustainable basis... |
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ADB |
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Small
Firms, Human Capital, and Productivity in Asia, July 2016.
The paper analyzes the link between human capital and firm-level
productivity in five Asian countries. It draws on a dataset of
over 4,000 enterprises and considers both the prior educational
attainment of workers and in-service training programs of
enterprises. Differences between small, medium-sized, and large
enterprises and between countries are also presented. The key
finding is that both preservice education and in-service
training are positively correlated with labor productivity. The
productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is
enhanced by a higher level of skills and education of the
workforce, just as it is with large firms |
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ADB |
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Finance
for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises in India: Sources
and Challenges, July 2016.
The key objective of the study was to identify various
challenges faced by MSMEs in sourcing of finance during
different stages of their life cycle. This study is a
first-of-its-kind attempt to focus on these aspects. The study
further explores whether the financial awareness of MSME
entrepreneurs is a major limitation in the identification and
utilization of sources of finance. Data was collected through
personal interviews using a structured questionnaire from a
sample of 85 MSMEs... |
|
ADB |
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Dynamics of Innovation and Internationalization among Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprises in Viet Nam, July 2016.
This paper examines the bidirectional causality between
innovation and internationalization in the context of developing
countries. Using a dynamic bivariate probit model and adopting a
broad definition of internationalization, this paper analyzes
these issues using a panel dataset of small and medium-sized
enterprises in Viet Nam. The results show a high persistence in
process and product innovations and internationalization
decisions... |
|
ADB |
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Skills
Training by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Innovative Cases
and the Consortium Approach in the Republic of Korea, July 2016.
This paper presents targeted government policies for promoting
training in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to
increase their contributions to economic development. It first
discusses the role of SMEs in country development and the
special challenges facing SMEs in developing human resources. It
then surveys some innovative, targeted policies for promoting
training by SMEs in Asia and Latin America... |
|
ADB |
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Journal of Global Buddhism,
Volume
17, 2016 |
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JGB |
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July,
2016 |
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The Eagle Has Landed: The US Rebalance to Southeast Asia, June
2016.
Early in his administration, President Barack Obama announced
the ‘Asia rebalance’, a US reorientation that became official
policy in January 2012. This so-called ‘pivot’ explicitly
recognises the need for America to re-embrace partner nations in
Asia, leveraging their significant and growing capabilities to
build a network of states that nurtures, strengthens and
sustains a rules-based order that’s capable of effectively
addressing regional challenges. The fundamental question is
whether the US will continue with its current ASEAN-centric
policy as part of a broader program of Asian engagement.
Assuming that the rebalance survives, it’s clear that a central
challenge will be convincing China that the return to Southeast
Asia isn’t a thinly veiled strategy of Sino-containment but,
rather, an effort to revitalise and strengthen partnerships in a
key part of the world. The optimal and most sustainable outcome
will be the emergence of a regional order that promotes
risk-averse behaviour by Beijing and insulates against the type
of unilateral action that could quickly escalate out of control
to threaten American and local allied interests. |
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ASPI |
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ADF Capability Snapshot 2016: C4ISR-Winning in the Networked
Battlespace, June 2016.
This paper provides an assessment and overview of the ADF’s
command, control, computing, communications, intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance (known commonly as ‘C4ISR’)
capabilities in the context of the ADF’s goal of pursuing a
network-centric warfare capability. The paper is the final part
of a series of ADF ‘capability snapshots’. The previous three
(Navy, Army and Air Force) were released by ASPI in late 2015. |
|
ASPI |
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Why Russia Is a Threat to the International Order, June 2016.
Almost a quarter of a century after the demise of the USSR,
Russia is back on the world stage and in a familiar, threatening
manner. There can be no doubt that Putin’s Russia is now seeking
to reassert itself as a major power. It seems set on a path to
confrontation with the West and is now challenging the
established post-World War II security order in Europe. This
paper analyses Russia’s geopolitical ambitions, its military
modernisation, the threat it poses to the international order
and how the West should respond. It estimates the prospects for
the Russian economy to assess how economic weakness might affect
Russian behaviour. It concludes by addressing Moscow’s strategic
priorities in the Asia–Pacific region and the implications of
Russia’s rise for Australia. |
|
ASPI |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #9: The Extensive Salafization of Malaysian
Islam. The form of Islam normatively understood and
practised in Malaysia, i.e. Malaysian Islam, has undergone
myriad changes since the 1970s as a result of gradual
Salafization. Powered by Saudi Arabian largesse and buoyed by
the advent of the Internet, this new wave of Salafization has
eclipsed an earlier Salafi trend that spawned the Kaum Muda
reformist movement. Recent surveys suggest that there has been a
rise in the level of extremism among Muslims in Malaysia. While
the majority is far from being enamoured by the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Wahhabi-Salafi doctrine that ISIS
claims to represent in unadulterated form does appeal to many of
them following the decades-long Salafization of Islam in the
country. This tallies with media reports on increasing numbers
of Malay-Muslim youth harbouring an attraction towards radical
Islamist movements such as ISIS... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #8: Rural Thailand: Change and Continuity. Despite
rapid industrialization in Thailand, the contribution of
agriculture to GDP remains unusually high. The share of
agricultural employment in total employment has also remained
high, relative to the country’s income level, as has the share
of the rural population relative to the total population.
Agribusiness has grown significantly, and there has been a rise
in the number of large and strongly financed commercial farms
that are less labour intensive. Contract farming has also been
developing. The introduction of a rice premium by the government
obstructed the modernization of the agricultural rice sector and
caused the rice share in GDP to steadily decline, while that for
upland crops such as cassava, maize, sugarcane, and oil palm
increased. However, rice remains the most important crop... |
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ISEAS |
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Asia
Bond Monitor, June 2016.
Bond yields in most emerging East Asian markets fell between 1
March and 15 May amid a weak global economy. The exceptions were
the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Philippines, where
yields generally picked up. In March, the Asian Development Bank
forecasted that developing Asia’s growth would decelerate from
5.9% in 2015 to 5.7% in 2016 and 2017. In April, the
International Monetary Fund cut its 2016 global growth forecast
to 3.2%, down from 3.4% in January. Against this backdrop, bond
yields in emerging East Asia generally decreased between 1 March
and 15 May, including yields for 10-year local currency (LCY)
government bonds... |
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ADB |
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Deflation in Asia: Should the Dangers Be Dismissed? July 2016.
The traditional view is that deflation can lead to a vicious
cycle of falling demand and prices. However, another school of
thought emphasizes the role of positive supply shocks and takes
a more benign view. Using consumer prices, Borio et al. (2015)
examine the relationship between deflation and economic growth,
and find some evidence which casts doubt on the traditional
view. Using both consumer prices and producer prices, the
authors revisit the relationship and find stronger grounds for
concern about the harmful effect of deflation on growth. |
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ADB |
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Understanding Recent Trends in Income Inequality in the People’s
Republic of China, July 2016.
The paper first identifies four key drivers of rising income
inequality in the PRC since the mid-1980s: rising skill premium,
declining share of labor income, increasing spatial inequality,
and widening inequality in the distribution of wealth. It then
provides evidence that the reversal of these drivers, with the
exception of wealth inequality, could partly explain the decline
in income inequality since 2008. The paper argues that since
part of the reversal of these drivers is policy induced, it is
important that the policy actions continue for income inequality
to decline further. The paper further argues that a critical
factor underlying the Kuznets hypothesis is that taxation and
transfers play a bigger role in income redistribution as a
country becomes more developed, while their role is still
limited in the PRC, the future path of the country’s income
inequality may not be one directional; and reducing income
inequality |
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ADB |
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Technology and Innovation Policies for Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises in East Asia, July 2016.
Policies for stimulating technological development and
innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises can be divided
into three groups. Supply-side policies aim at increasing firms’
incentives to invest in innovation by reducing costs.
Demand-side policies are public actions to induce innovation
and/or speed up the diffusion of innovation. Systemic policies
focus on strengthening interactive learning between actors in
innovation systems. Policies can be implemented through various
instruments comprising tax incentives, grants or direct
subsidies, low-interest loans, and the government’s direct
equity participation. These instruments have pros and cons. The
experiences of four late-industrializing East Asian economies—Taipei,China;
Singapore; Malaysia; and Thailand—provide key lessons... |
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ADB |
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Does
Internal and External Research and Development Affect Innovation
of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises? Evidence from India and
Pakistan, June 2016.
This study investigates the impact of internal and external
research and development (R&D) on the innovation performance of
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India and Pakistan.
Micro-level data was obtained for 3,492 Indian and 696 Pakistani
SMEs from the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey, and bivariate
probit estimation techniques were used. The results show that
internal and external R&D positively affects product and process
innovations. However, this effect is stronger for Indian SMEs... |
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ADB |
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The
Impact of Finance on the Performance of Thai Manufacturing Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises, June 2016.
This study sheds light on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
financing and its performance in Thailand. It elaborates on the
key sources of finance existing for Thai manufacturing SMEs and
their importance for SME performance as measured by technical
efficiency, export performance, and technological innovation.
This study also examines the key factors enhancing SME access to
external finance. Our results confirm that retained earnings are
crucial to increase SME technical efficiency, but loans from
unlicensed moneylenders deteriorate their export performance... |
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ADB |
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Catching Up, Structural Transformation, and Inequality: Lessons
from Asia, June 2016.
This paper investigates the effect of structural change on
inequality in Asian economies. The authors empirically examine
the effect of structural change on wage inequality in Asia,
using industry-level data for three skill groups of workers.
Their evidence indicates that structural change, pushed by
productivity catch-up with advanced economies, capital deepness
and the shift of the economic structures to more skill-intensive
industries, has exacerbated inequality in the region. However,
they also find that policy responses, especially investment in
education matching the higher demand for skills and competitive
exchange rates, can mitigate the increase in inequality. |
|
ADB |
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Absorptive Capacity and the Impact of Commodity Terms of Trade
Shocks in Resource Export-Dependent Economies, June 2016.
This paper investigates the role of “absorptive capacity” to
manage unexpected shocks to the real economy, with a focus on
small, open natural resource-dependent economies. Empirical
investigation suggests that levels of absorptive capacity, or
the ability to use resource windfalls effectively, and foreign
reserves begin to matter when the sample is restricted to
resource-dependent countries. Two case studies from Papua New
Guinea and Timor-Leste support this claim, highlighting the
challenges they face when confronted with a sudden influx of
natural resource revenues and the capacity to effectively use
fiscal revenues is limited. |
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ADB |
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Connecting Asia: Infrastructure for Integrating South and
Southeast Asia, Published 2016.
With a focus on the role played by infrastructure and public
policies in facilitating this process, it provides a detailed
and up-to-date discussion of issues, innovations, and progress.
Country studies of national connectivity issues and policies
cover Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and
Thailand, examining major developments in trade and investment,
economic cooperation, the role of economic corridors, and
regional cooperation initiatives... |
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ADB |
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Labor Market Rigidities and Macroeconomic Performance in the PRC,
Published 2016.
Based on a review of international experiences and the labor
market situation in the PRC, this policy note provides policy
recommendations on increasing macroeconomic efficiency through
improving labor market flexibility without necessarily
sacrificing protection for workers. In addition to strengthening
job creation, supply-side government policies, such as those to
help workers moderate income fluctuations (both cyclical and
structural) and improve workers mobility, could help restore
labor market flexibility in the PRC. |
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ADB |
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ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Country Reports and
Assessments 2014, Published 2016.
The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance were used as the
main benchmark for the ASEAN Scorecard. Many of the items in the
Scorecard are international and regional best practices that may
go beyond the requirements of national legislation. The ASEAN
corporate governance experts also drew from the existing body of
work and ranking initiatives in the region, including those of
institutes of directors, shareholder associations, and
universities, to guide the initial inclusion of items in the
ASEAN Scorecard. The ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard
Country Reports and Assessments 2014 is a joint initiative of
the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum and the Asian Development Bank. |
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ADB |
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Hong
Kong: High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current
Quarter Model: 2016Q3, July 2016. According to its
High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecast, real GDP is
estimated to grow by 0.5% in 16Q2, when compared with
the same period in 2015, slower than the 0.8% growth in
16Q1. In 16Q3, real GDP growth is expected to improve
slightly to 1.0% when compared with the same period last
year. Slowed from the 2.4% growth in 2015, we forecast
Hong Kong GDP will grow by 1.2% in 2016 as a whole,
downward revised by 0.3 percentage points comparing to
our previous forecast. |
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HKU |
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Turning Back? Philippine Security Policy under Duterte, June 2016.
Rodrigo Duterte’s resounding victory in the presidential elections in
May has shaken up the political landscape of the Philippines. His
administration will be vastly different from that of his predecessor,
President Benigno Aquino. Security policy under Duterte will likely be
very different in focus and approach. Three key policies that involve
significant foreign country support will change substantially if the
Duterte administration follows through on his campaign promises: the
Muslim Mindanao peace process; military modernisation; and maritime
rights disputes with China... |
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Lowy |
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A Hawai‘i
Venue and an Arctic Model for a Pacific Climate Resiliency
Agreement, June 2016.
Anukriti Hittle, Visiting Scholar at the East-West Center,
explains that “[On the pending Pacific Region Climate Resiliency
Agreement,] lessons can be taken from the Arctic Council,
covering another vast and diverse area of the world, and applied
to the Pacific region for countries to take concerted collective
action.” |
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EWC |
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Nepal-China
Connectivity and the Need for Regional Cooperation, June 2016.
Anil Sigdel, Director of the International Studies Program at
the Advanced Research and Training Institute-Nepal, explains
that “The growing connectivity of South Asia with China is
inevitable. Growing Chinese involvement in Nepal signifies that
it will be increasingly hard for India to micro-manage domestic
politics in Nepal.” |
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EWC |
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The Morning
After: Australia, Japan, and the Submarine Deal that Wasn’t,
June 2016.
Nick Bisley and H. D. P. Envall, Professor of International
Relations at La Trobe University and Research Fellow at The
Australian National University, respectively, explain that “For
reasons largely of poor diplomatic management, however, the two
parties [Australia and Japan] allowed their more aspirational
hopes for a major strategic relationship to get ahead of the
complex realities of the biggest defense acquisition in
Australian history.” |
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EWC |
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The Logic and
Wisdom of Lifting the US Arms Embargo on Vietnam, June 2016.
Lewis M. Stern, former Director for Southeast Asia in the Office
of the Secretary of Defense, explains that “This was not an
attempt to buy Vietnamese cooperation in some anti-China crusade
in reaction to Chinese aggressive behavior in the South China
Sea but part of a broader effort to urge and encourage Vietnam
to be a … responsible example of rational modern governance.” |
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EWC |
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The 2016
Philippine Elections: Local Power as National Authority, May
2016.
Patricio N. Abinales, professor in the School of Pacific and
Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa, explains that
“That phrase [“all politics is local”] could very well explain
part of why 39% of voters chose Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R.
Duterte as the 16th President of the Republic.” |
|
EWC |
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At the
Crossroads: The TPP, AIIB, and Japan's Foreign Economic
Strategy, May 2016.
In 2015, two mega-initiatives took shape that will affect
economic relations in the Asia-Pacific region: the US-promoted
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement and the
China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Although
they address different needs, both are expected to have profound
effects on Asia's economic governance in the near future, and
will shape economic norms in the Asia Pacific and beyond. Japan
has joined the TPP but stayed out of the AIIB, decisions that
might seem counterintuitive considering its history of resisting
trade liberalization and of promoting infrastructure
investment... |
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EWC |
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Non-Tariff Measures Affecting Small and Medium Enterprises in
the Asia-Pacific Region, June 2016.
It is widely recognized that the participation of small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) in global trade will significantly
help realize the APEC’s goal of inclusive growth, job creation
and poverty eradication. This study zeroes in on the important
hurdle faced by SMEs in non- tariff measures (NTMs). |
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APEC |
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Gender-related Constraints Faced by Women-owned SMEs, June 2016.
Within APEC, four main categories of constraints that female SME
owners face to access to markets have been identified. Firstly,
it has been harder for female entrepreneurs to identify
opportunities to expand and internationalize, in part due to
lack of relevant skills and networking opportunities. Secondly,
unequal access to financial resources from state-owned financial
institutions and government agencies has been affecting
negatively female entrepreneurs... |
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APEC |
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APEC Public-Private Dialogue on Facilitating Infrastructure
Investment to Enhance Food Security, June 2016.
APEC Public-Private Dialogue on Facilitating Infrastructure
Investment to Enhance Food Security aims at creating a suitable
platform for representatives from the public and private sectors
to identify challenges, impediments of APEC member economies in
agriculture infrastructure investment and development for
sustainable agriculture to ensure food security. It also aims at
exchanging, sharing experiences, best practices of APEC member
economies (and non APEC member economies) in promoting
agriculture infrastructure investment and development to ensure
food security. |
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APEC |
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Independent Assessment Report of the Anti-Corruption and
Transparency Experts' Working Group, May 2016.
This is a report of the independent assessment of the efficiency
and effectiveness of APEC’s Anti-Corruption and Transparency
Experts Working Group (ACTWG). |
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APEC |
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June,
2016 |
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Monitoring Regional Economic Integration in Asia, June 2016.
Given the diversity of Asia and the capacity constraints of
countries in the region to manage integration, building an
integrated Asian market is not easy. It requires not only the
ability to implement initiatives to support the markets, but
also a high level commitment by countries to ensure that
policies are supportive of integration. Because regional
economic integration is a complex process, there is a need to
understand how the process works so that policy makers are
better informed of its outcomes and to guide them in formulating
integration-related policies. Hence, monitoring regional
economic integration... |
|
ADB |
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The
Development Dimension of E-Commerce in Asia: Opportunities and
Challenges, June 2016.
E-commerce is the sale and purchase of goods and services
through electronic networks and the internet, encompassing a
broad range of commercial activity. While widespread adoption of
e-commerce in advanced economies is evident, physical and
institutional barriers to its application in developing
countries must first be overcome. Governments, multilateral
organizations, and the private sector must cooperate in
fostering an environment that is conducive to its
implementation... |
|
ADB |
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Contingent Claims Analysis of Sovereign Debt Sustainability in
Asian Emerging Markets, June 2016.
Contingent claims analysis applied to Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand shows no
particular vulnerability to sovereign debt distress during
recent years. However, the highly volatile “distance to
distress” measure suggests that any of these countries may fall
victim to a sudden loss in market confidence. For example, the
value of Indonesia’s sovereign assets dropped to just two
standard deviations above its repayment obligations during the
2013 Fed taper tantrum, causing capital outflows and currency
depreciation. Generally, we find that contingent claims analysis
and market-based risk measures well complement conventional debt
sustainability analysis for Asia... |
|
ADB |
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Divergence of Human Capital in Cities in the People’s Republic
of China: Exploring Complementarities and Spatial Agglomeration
of the Workforce with Various Skills, June 2016.
Complementarity between a low-skilled and a high-skilled
workforce can promote and improve labor productivity in the
cities in the People’s Republic of China. In cities,
complementarity between a low-skilled and a high-skilled
workforce can promote each other to improve labor productivity.
In this study, we used earlier census data and 1% population
survey data to examine the distribution of the skilled workforce
in cities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) along with its
changes, and drew the following three conclusions... |
|
ADB |
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The Pillars of Potential Growth and the Role of Policy: A Panel
Data Approach, May 2016.
This paper looks into possible determinants of potential output
growth. Findings suggest that factors such as tertiary level
education and the technology gap with the US, among others,
significantly affect potential growth output. The authors use
Bayesian Model Averaging on panel data for 70 economies to
examine the robustness of possible determinants of potential
output growth. The robust determinants are subsequently used to
analyze their magnitude of impact on potential output growth... |
|
ADB |
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High-Speed Railroad and Economic Geography: Evidence from Japan,
May 2016.
Surging high-speed railroad investments may encourage the
formation of megacities due to further agglomeration in service
industries. This can have profound implications for urban
policies on society, demographics, and environment. We study
whether high-speed railroad (HSR) polarizes or balances economic
geography using the 1982 opening of two major HSRs in Japan (Shinkansen).
We find that both agglomeration and decentralization could
occur. While service industry tends to agglomerate toward the
core city, manufacturing industry may decentralize toward
peripheral cities... |
|
ADB |
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Impact
of Infrastructure Investment on Tax: Estimating Spillover
Effects of the Kyushu High-Speed Rail Line in Japan on Regional
Tax Revenue, May 2016.
This paper analyzes the impact of infrastructure investment on
tax revenues and on the regional economy by studying the effect
of the Kyushu high-speed rail line (shinkansen train) in Japan.
The effects of the Kyushu high-speed rail line on the economy
has often been debated. We estimated its impact in the Kyushu
region by using the difference-in-difference method, and
compared the tax revenues of regions along the railway line with
other regions that were not affected by it... |
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ADB |
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Manufacturing as the Key Engine of Economic Growth for
Middle-Income Economies, May 2016.
This paper revisits the role of the manufacturing sector during
the middle-income stage. By exploiting a large dataset that
covers internationally comparable sectoral information, we prove
that the manufacturing sector is imbued with three important
characteristics. First, for middle-income economies,
manufacturing pulls along services, instead of the other way
around. A decline in the manufacturing sector growth rate will
negatively affect the growth rate of the services sector, in
both the short-run and long-run meanings... |
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ADB |
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Reviving Lakes and Wetlands in the People's Republic of China,
Volume 3: Best Practices and Prospects for the Sanjiang Plain
Wetlands, Published 2016.
The Sanjiang Plain in Heilongjiang Province is one of the
People’s Republic of China’s richest areas in flora and fauna.
However, the wetlands have shrunk to a fifth of their original
size in the last 5 decades. The Sanjiang Plain wetlands are
among the most important wetlands in the People’s Republic of
China with unique habitats, species, and ecology. There is a
considerable body of literature devoted to various aspects of
the Sanjiang Plain wetlands including their ecological values... |
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ADB |
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Urban Development in the Greater Mekong Subregion, Published
2016.
Urbanization is set to play an ever greater role in the
development of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries,
transforming their economies and providing support to green
economic growth.
With urbanization levels still averaging about 30% in Greater
Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries, gross domestic product
contributions of towns and cities have already reached 50%–60%... |
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ADB |
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How Inclusive is Inclusive Business for Women? Examples from
Asia and Latin America, Published 2016.
Inclusive businesses are bringing positive change to women’s
lives. However, companies need to understand and address
systemic issues of gender inequality to maximize financial
return and social impact. Inclusive businesses are commercially
viable business models that provide in-scale innovative and
systemic solutions to problems relevant to the lives of
low-income people... |
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ADB |
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Pacific Energy Update 2016.
The Pacific region faces a unique set of energy challenges. Its
limited supply of domestic fossil fuel resources has led to a
historical dependence on imported fuels and a corresponding
vulnerability to fluctuating energy prices. At the same time,
outdated power infrastructures, geographical constraints, small
populations, and limited generation capacity lead to high
electricity tariffs (or costly subsidies), transmission and
distribution losses, and low electrification rates in a number
of Pacific developing member countries... |
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ADB |
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Pacific Transport Update 2015.
ADB is currently implementing transport projects and technical
assistance in eight Pacific DMCs—Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua
New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu.
Investing in infrastructure development in the Pacific region is
a key priority, and the transport sector comprises the largest
proportion of ADB’s Pacific portfolio. ADB’s Pacific Approach,
2010–2014 emphasizes the need to continue support in the
transport sector to improve connectivity via multimodal
networks, while recognizing the need to ensure that investments
in the sector are made more resilient against natural disasters
and the effects of climate change... |
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ADB |
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Selected Articles of Virginia Review of Asian Studies
2016 (Full
Report):
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VRAS |
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Australia-India Relations: Trends and the Prospects for a
Comprehensive Economic Relationship, Published 2016.
Given the political will shown at the top level from both the
governments for a Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement
(CECA), it is imperative to study the trends and prospects for
the investment and economic relationship between Australia and
India.BETWEEN Australia-INDIA with India. This paper examines
the sectors which need to be synergised for a comprehensive
Australia-India economic relationship, namely the resources and
energy, agriculture and food, education and tourism, health and
medical, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors... |
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ASARC |
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Structural Transformation in South Asia, Published 2016.
This paper models the evolution and determinants of the shares
of agriculture, manufacturing and services to GDP for 4 South
Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan) for
55 years: 1960-2014. Determinants of these shares were
classified into three broad categories “country fundamentals”,
“policy” and “regional and reform dummies”. Several models
including pooled OLS, GLS, panel and quantile regression are
estimated. In general, the estimated models fit the data well... |
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ASARC |
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Agenda for Change 2016: Strategic Choices for the Next
Government, June 2016.
The defence of Australia's interests is a core business of
federal governments. Regardless of who wins the election on July
2, the incoming government will have to grapple with a wide
range of security issues. This report provides a range of
perspectives on selected defence and national security issues,
as well as a number of policy recommendations. Contributors
include Kim Beazley, Peter Jennings, Graeme Dobell, Shiro
Armstrong and ASPI analysts. ASPI produced a similar brief
before the 2013 election. There are some enduring challenges,
such as cybersecurity, terrorism and an uncertain global
economic outlook. Natural disasters are a constant feature of
life on the Pacific and Indian Ocean rim... |
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ASPI |
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Cyberspace and Armed Forces: The Rationale for Offensive Cyber
Capabilities, May 2016.
A serious approach to military modernisation requires countries
to equip, train, and organise cyberforces for what has become an
essential component of national defence and deterrence. A force
without adequate cyber capabilities is more dangerous to itself
than to its opponents. As nations move forward in rethinking the
role and nature of their military forces, and as they study the
problems of organisation, doctrine and use of cyber operations,
they need to:
- develop the full range of
military cyber capabilities with both offensive and
defensive application
- create a centralised command
structure for those capabilities, with clear requirements
for political-level approval for action
- embed those capabilities in
doctrine and a legal framework based on international law.
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ASPI |
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The Lion and the Kangaroo: Australia's Strategic Partnership With
Singapore, May 2016.
There is an enduring, two-way strategic underpinning to Australia’s
interactions with Singapore, going beyond the recently agreed
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Canberra is enhancing its economic
access to Southeast Asia in return for granting Singapore greater access
to military training areas in Australia. Yet Singapore’s stock is also
rising, for Australia, in the context of Southeast Asia’s growing
strategic profile.
The stark fact is that Australia needs Southeast Asia more than it needs
Australia. As a fellow ‘odd man out’ in its region, Singapore may be the
exception to this rule because of its defence interest in Australia as a
source of strategic depth. The city state can also add strategic depth
for Australia. Capabilities aside, the most important attributes to this
partnership are non-material: a shared mindset and a willingness to
commit for the long term... |
|
Lowy |
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Trends
in Southeast Asia 2016 #7: Thailand’s Hyper-royalism: Its Past
Success and Present Predicament. Thailand’s political
impasse in the past decade is partly attributable to the
royalist dominance of the parliamentary system, a dominance
developed and strengthened under the cultural condition of
hyper-royalism. Hyper-royalism is the politico-cultural
condition in which royalism is intensified and exaggerated in
public and everyday life. It is sanctioned by legislation that
controls expressions about the monarchy in the public sphere.
Hyper-royalism began in the mid-1970s as a measure to counteract
perceived communist threats. Despite the fact that these threats
had disappeared by the early 1980s, hyper-royalism persisted and
was strengthened to support royalist democracy. Hyper-royalism
generates the concept of the ideology... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #6: China’s One Belt One Road: An Overview
of the Debate. The debate over China’s One Belt One
Road (OBOR) initiative has been lively and at times heated, both
in China and internationally. In many ways, this is a reflection
of the vagueness of the concept, and of its exceptionality. OBOR
does not prioritize trade and investment concessions, which
makes it essentially different from traditional regional
economic cooperation models such as FTAs, the TPP and the RCEP.
Instead, it emphasizes regional infrastructure connectivity.
After China proposed the initiative, countries within the New
Silk Road Economic Belt, especially the five Central Asian
countries, responded enthusiastically and positively, while
Southeast and South Asian countries, on the other hand,
expressed more concerns and reservations about the initiative... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #5: The State of Local Politics in
Indonesia: Survey Evidence from Three Cities. Decentralization
reforms in Indonesia have empowered local government with
substantial powers. Local politics therefore constitutes a
privileged arena for the study of democratic consolidation in
this country. Research on local Indonesian politics is based
almost exclusively on case-study analysis and qualitative work.
As a result, while we have accumulated considerable knowledge on
political elites, we know little about ordinary voters. This
paper analyses a rich, original dataset with survey data from
the cities of Medan in North Sumatra, Samarinda in East
Kalimantan, and Surabaya in East Java. These three surveys,
fielded shortly after the implementation of local direct
elections on 9 December 2015, offer an unprecedented opportunity
to learn about how various aspects of local politics are
experienced by voters... |
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ISEAS |
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APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook (6th Edition) - Volume 2:
Economy Reviews, May 2016.
Recognising the rapid changes underway across the energy sector,
the 6th edition of the APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook
examines the Business-as-Usual (BAU) Scenario (the reference
scenario) against three alternatives. The BAU reflects current
policies and trends within the APEC energy sector; thus, its
projections largely extend the past into the future. The
alternatives are target-based and demonstrate what could be
achieved under different policy frameworks. |
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APEC |
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APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook (6th Edition) - Volume 1,
May 2016.
In this sixth edition of the APEC Energy Demand and Supply
Outlook, the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) first
assesses a Business-as-Usual (BAU) Scenario, examining the
potential to meet these challenges if current energy-related
trends continue unchanged to the year 2040 (the Outlook period).
The results fall far short of the above objectives as well as
APEC’s energy goals. To address this gap, APERC modelled three
alternative pathways: the Improved Efficiency Scenario to
support APEC’s energy intensity reduction goal of 45% between
2005 and 2035; the High Renewables Scenario to outline a pathway
to double the share of renewables in APEC between 2010 and 2030;
and the Alternative Power Mix Scenario which evaluates
trade-offs among the use of cleaner coal, gas and nuclear energy
in the electricity sector. |
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APEC |
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APEC Regional Trends Analysis: Reducing Trade Costs in the
Asia-Pacific, May 2016.
APEC Regional Trends Analysis is a new publication of the PSU,
combining two former reports “APEC Economic Trends Analysis and
Key Trends” and “Developments Relating to Trade and Investment
Measures”. The theme chapter addresses the topic on reducing
trade costs in the Asia-Pacific. While measurements show that
trade costs in APEC economies have decreased significantly
between 2010 and 2014, there is a need to further understand the
nature of these trade costs and why they have been falling. APEC
has made considerable efforts to reduce trade costs, and more
can be done to enhance these efforts... |
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APEC |
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Study of APEC Best Practices in Authorized Economic Operator
(AEO) Programs, May 2016.
This work updates the APEC Authorized Economic Operator (AEO)
Compendium, assembled in 2010, with results of a new survey.
APEC customs authorities were provided a survey questionnaire
about their AEO program. Based on this new survey, a matrix was
created to determine where APEC AEO programs converge with or
diverge from each other. Respondents were subsequently given an
opportunity to review and comment on preliminary drafts of this
report, and to provide clarifying data and/or additional
information. This final report incorporates and addresses all
relevant comments from member economies, and suggests ways to
improve APEC AEO convergence and regional economic integration. |
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APEC |
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Beyond
Manufacturing: Developing the Service Sector to Drive Growth in
the PRC, May 2016.
As demand from global markets declines, slowing exports of
manufactured goods from the People's Republic of China means the
country must increasingly rely on domestic markets for growth.
Unlike manufactured goods, services—those "intangible" products
that include everything from transportation to scientific
research to real estate services—are geared more toward domestic
markets. Services, then, will be key to the rebalancing process.
However, while the service sector has grown rapidly in the PRC,
it continues to lag behind other countries at similar stages of
development. In addition, the sector is dominated by traditional
low-end types of services, rather than knowledge-intensive
services... |
|
EWC |
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Beyond Shared
Interests: The US and the Evolution of Indian Military Strategy,
May 2016.
Arzan Tarapore, Asia Studies Visiting Fellow at the East-West
Center in Washington, explains that “While shared interests
between the US and India are real – and while they have driven
some marginal evolution of Indian military posture and doctrine
– they have not prompted an alignment of US and Indian military
strategies.” |
|
EWC |
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How Growth Deceleration in the People’s Republic of China
Affects Other Asian Economies: An Empirical Analysis, May 2016.
The paper employs two empirical methodologies to examine the
question of how growth deceleration in the People's Republic of
China (PRC) affects other Asian economies. A single-equation
approach that captures the trade channel and a global vector
autoregressive model that captures the effects beyond just the
trade channel. The results confirm the non-negligible effect of
the PRC deceleration on other economies, especially on East and
Southeast Asia. The effect, however, is not always the
dominating factor... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Exploring Risk-Adjusted Fiscal Sustainability Analysis for Asian
Economies, May 2016.
The paper explores risk-based fiscal analytical approaches to
deal with risk and uncertainty when conducting debt
sustainability analysis. It examines the types of vulnerability
faced by emerging Asian economies and reviews a range of
stochastic methods to incorporate the risks in a framework of
fiscal sustainability analysis... |
|
ADB |
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|
Socioeconomic Inequity in Excessive Weight in Indonesia, May
2016.
Exploiting the Indonesian Family Life Survey, this paper studies
the transition of socioeconomic related disparity of excess
weight, including overweight and obesity, from 1993 to 2014.
First, we show that the proportions of overweight and obese
people in Indonesia increased rapidly during the time period and
that poorer income groups exhibited the strongest growth of
excess weight. Using the concentration index we find that
prevalence of overweight and obesity affected increasingly
poorer segments of Indonesian society... |
|
ADB |
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Housing
Policies in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the United
States: Lessons Learned, April 2016.
We focus on these three countries mainly due to the marked
differences in their institutional settings. The UK is
characterized by fiscal centralization and an extraordinarily
rigid planning system. The consequences of this setting, which
make housing supply extremely unresponsive to changes in house
prices, are a high degree of urban containment, a severe housing
affordability crisis, and a housing shortage, particularly for
the young... |
|
ADB |
|
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International Journal of Korean Studies,
Volume XIX, Number 2, 2015
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IJKS |
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Rush to Judgment: Western Media and the 2005 Andijan
Violence, May 2016 and
The May 2005 Andijan Uprising: What We Know, May 2016.
On May 13, 2005, in the Uzbek city of Andijan, an armed
confrontation took place between Islamic militants and
troops from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the course
of the ensuing melee close to 200 persons from both sides
were killed. There is no doubt that the militants initiated
the confrontation by attacking local government offices and
a maximum security prison, and that the appalling number of
deaths was due to deliberate actions and poor judgment
exercised by both sides. However, specific details on the
day’s events were lacking at the time and, on some points,
remain unclear and in dispute down to the present day... |
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ISDP |
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May,
2016 |
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Monetary
Authority of Singapore: Macroeconomic Review, Volume XV, Issue
1, April 2016 (Full
Report,
Presentation Slides for Briefing):
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MAS |
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MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters, March 2016. The
March 2016 Survey was sent out on 24 February 2016 to a total of
28 economists and analysts who closely monitor the Singapore
economy. This report reflects the views received from 24
respondents (a response rate of 86%) and does not represent MAS’
views or forecasts.
GDP growth in Q4 2015 was stronger than expected.
The Singapore economy expanded by 1.8% in Q4 2015, which was
higher than the median forecast of 1.4% reported in the last
survey. For 2015 as a whole, the economy recorded GDP growth of
2.0%, coming in slightly above the respondents’ median forecast
of 1.9%.
The economy is forecast to expand by 1.9% in 2016.
In the latest survey, the forecasters expect growth to be around
1.9% in 2016, down from the previous forecast of 2.2%... |
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MAS |
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Singapore Corporate Debt Market Review 2015. Singapore’s
corporate debt market grew strongly in 2014 despite
uncertainties over the slowdown in Asia and divergent monetary
policies of major economies. Total outstanding debt grew by 13%
year-on-year to SGD 308 billion as at end of 2014, maintaining
the pace of CAGR of 14% since 2010.
Total corporate bond issuance volume grew at a CAGR of 35% since
2010 to hit a record high of SGD 200 billion in 2014. A
persistently low interest rate environment continued to allow
issuers to lock in longer term funding at relatively lower cost.
Well-rated foreign financial institutions and companies have
contributed significantly to the growth of Singapore’s debt
capital market. For example, the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) raised SGD 500 million
during the year... |
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MAS |
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Trends
in Southeast Asia 2016 #4: Myanmar’s Foreign Policy under
President U Thein Sein: Non-aligned and Diversified. Given
Myanmar’s strategic location and the wider great power
competition in Southeast Asia, how the country positions itself
vis-à-vis the major powers in the reform era currently underway
will have considerable bearing for the international politics of
Southeast Asia. Historically, Myanmar’s leaders have preferred
an independent foreign policy that has also been couched in
terms of neutralism and non-alignment. Following considerable
tension between the stated principle of non-alignment and the
practice of Myanmar’s foreign policy under the SLORC/SPDC regime
given U.S. pressure on Naypyitaw especially in the mid-2000s,
Myanmar’s threat perceptions vis-à-vis Washington have waned
with the shift to the pragmatic, principled and calibrated
engagement as favoured by President Obama... |
|
ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #3: Can Myanmar’s NLD Government Undo the
Gordian Knot of Federalism and Ethnicity?. Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi has said that peace is the first priority of the
National League for Democracy (NLD) when it comes to power in
April 2016. Both her remarks at the Union Peace Conference in
January and the NLD election manifesto point to ethnicity and
federalism being linked. This is a position similar to that
taken by the outgoing Thein Sein government and the army. Now
that the word “federalism” is accepted as useful in the debate
over how to establish an end to Myanmar’s persistent civil wars
with ethnically designated armed groups, it was hoped that some
meeting of minds might take place... |
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ISEAS |
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Free Trade and
the Future of Japan’s Agricultural Policy, May 2016.
Kunio Nishikawa, associate professor in the College of
Agriculture at Ibaraki University, explains that “Japan’s
agriculture cannot be isolated from the tide of free trade.
Japanese farmers will have to continue engaging in further
structural adjustments.” |
|
EWC |
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Domestic
Forces behind Indonesia’s Paradoxical Maritime Policy, April
2016. Benjamin Nathan, researcher
at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that “In the
wake of recent events, Jokowi has had to weigh the benefits of
appearing to be a dynamic leader against the risk of actually
provoking a conflict over fishing rights.” |
|
EWC |
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Constants and
Changes in Vietnam’s Political Scene: What Will the New Term
Bring? April 2016. Huong Le Thu,
Researcher at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS),
Singapore, explains that “Economic and social policies are of
utmost priority [for Vietnam’s new leadership] and with an
increasingly informed, educated, and connected society, the
expectations for delivery from the leadership will continue to
rise.” |
|
EWC |
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Can the
US-ASEAN Connect Initiative Create Stronger US-ASEAN Economic
Relations? April 2016. Sanchita
Basu Das, Fellow and Lead Researcher (Economic Affairs) at the
ASEAN Studies Centre, explains that “While for ASEAN, [US-ASEAN
Connect] will make the region more competitive compared to China
and India, for the US, a strong and developed ASEAN can help to
diversify US investment in Asia and can lessen the influence of
an economically rising China.” |
|
EWC |
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US Economic
Ties to ASEAN Demand a New Agility, April 2016.
Shankaran Nambiar, Senior Research Fellow at the Malaysian
Institute of Economic Research, explains that “US-ASEAN economic
relations will receive a huge boost if the US makes a more
concerted effort to address issues such as the financing of
large-scale developmental projects, be they to improve regional
connectivity, build roads and dams, or enhance capabilities in
cyber security and satellite technology.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Japan in Prime
Minister Modi’s Vision for India, March 2016.
Titli Basu, Researcher at the East Asia Centre of the Institute
for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, explains that
“Modi’s aim is to bolster India’s emerging power status. For
this, he is willing to boldly engage, but not align, with all
regional actors including Japan to leverage partnerships without
diluting the fundamental values of India’s foreign policy.” |
|
EWC |
|
|
Aligning
Unevenly: India and the United States, Published 2016.
In the early and mid-2000s, US policymakers anticipated India
becoming one of America's top global partners. Have New Delhi's
policies on key strategic issues actually aligned strongly with
US objectives, as would be typical of close partners? An
analysis of twelve prominent issues in US-India relations
indicates that New Delhi's policies mostly converged moderately,
rather than to a high extent, with US objectives. Specifically,
the alignment between New Delhi's policies and US objectives was
high or moderate-to-high on three issues—UN peacekeeping,
nonproliferation export controls, and arms sales. It was
moderate or low-to-moderate on six issues—China, Iran,
Afghanistan, Indian Ocean security, Pakistan, and bilateral
defense cooperation... |
|
EWC |
|
|
Demographic Change and Fiscal Sustainability in Asia, April 2016.
Population structure affects government revenues as well as
expenditures. For example, a younger population requires more
public spending on education. The authors use a simple stylized
model and National Transfer Accounts data set to simulate the
effect of Asia’s population aging and economic growth on the
region’s fiscal sustainability. While there are differences
across countries, with some countries more affected than others,
overall, the simulation results clearly indicate that
demographic change will adversely affect Asia’s fiscal health.
This points to a need for Asian countries to better understand
and prepare for the fiscal impact of population aging... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Potential Growth, Misallocation, and Institutional Obstacles:
Firm-Level Evidence, April 2016. Analysis of
firm-level data for 62 developing countries highlights the
importance of trade regulations, functioning of courts, and
access to finance as key determinants of misallocation within
countries. A key determinant of total factor productivity is
misallocation: aggregate productivity losses arising from
microeconomic distortions that prevent an efficient allocation
of factors of production between firms... |
|
ADB |
|
|
The
Republic of Korea’s Economic Growth and Catch-Up: Implications
for the People’s Republic of China, April 2016. This
study investigates the economic growth and catch-up of the
Republic of Korea over the past half-century. The gap of output
per worker between the Republic of Korea and United States has
decreased rapidly, as the Republic of Korea’s lower per capita
income, relative to its potential level, has led to higher
growth, confirming the prediction of a conditional convergence
theory. Cross-country regression further suggests that the
Republic of Korea’s catch-up to the United States is also
attributable to strong investment, lower fertility, greater
trade openness, and improvements in human resources and rule of
law, while improvement in democracy tends to slow the pace of
the catch-up... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Housing
Policy in the Republic of Korea, April 2016. This
paper evaluates housing policy in the Republic of Korea over the
past several decades, describes new challenges arising from the
changing environment, and draws lessons for other countries. The
most important goals of the housing policy have been to
alleviate housing shortages and to stabilize housing prices. To
achieve these goals, the government has been engaging the
private sector while establishing public sector institutions and
legal framework, providing developable land, and allocating
housing units to intended target groups... |
|
ADB |
|
|
The
Status of Financial Inclusion, Regulation, and Education in
India, April 2016 . India’s financial inclusion
agenda has witnessed a paradigm shift over the last decade, away
from an emphasis on credit to a more comprehensive approach
toward financial services (e.g., opening bank accounts and
offering basic financial products, such as insurance). This
paper describes the structure of banking and microfinance
institutions in India relevant to the developing model of
financial inclusion, as well as relevant regulatory structure
and modes of delivery... |
|
ADB |
|
|
The
Fiscal Risk of Local Government Revenue in the People’s Republic
of China, April 2016. Since the Tax Sharing Reform in
1994, the local government revenue of the People’s Republic of
China (PRC) has faced downward risk problems. This paper reviews
the fiscal and taxation reforms in the central and local
governments of the PRC and focuses on evaluating the
effectiveness of fiscal transfers. We find that, to a certain
extent, fiscal transfers significantly promote the construction
of local infrastructure. Earmarked transfers had an effect, but
lump-sum transfers did not. Results showed every 1% increase in
earmarked transfers to be associated with a 5% increase in local
spending on infrastructure... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Housing
Policies in Hong Kong, China and the People’s Republic of China,
April 2016. This paper analyzes the housing markets
and housing policies in Hong Kong, China and the People’s
Republic of China (PRC). Both markets face housing affordability
problems due to limited land supply, for which the solutions
vary considerably. Hong Kong, China has adopted a railway and
property development model, which involves close collaboration
between the government and property developers in compact urban
areas, while leaving most greenbelts and surrounding islands
underdeveloped. Although the PRC has pledged to maintain a
minimum level of basic farmland to feed its large population,
this target has often been compromised due to local governments’
fiscal constraints and growth concerns... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Housing
Markets and Housing Policies in India, April 2016.
Issues of housing in India are synonymous with ignorance of
housing in active government involvement at the policy and
program formulation levels. They are also due to the problems
that unplanned urbanization, income disparity, poverty,
illiteracy, and unemployment brought. These issues extenuated
the housing problem, causing a housing shortage of 51 million in
2011. Though India has a long history of establishing policies,
programs, and institutions to cater to housing, without
allocating adequate resources, their impact in ameliorating the
shortage has been marginal... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Major
Challenges Facing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Asia and
Solutions for Mitigating Them, April 2016. Small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Asian
economy. They make up more than 98% of all Asian businesses that
provide two out of three private sector jobs in the region.
Therefore, it is vitally important for Asia’s economic success
to have fully functioning support measures for SMEs. However,
SMEs face challenges from limited access to finance, lack of
databases, low R&D expenditures, undeveloped sales channels, and
low levels of financial inclusion, which are some of the reasons
behind the slow growth of SMEs... |
|
ADB |
|
|
How
Well Do Subnational Borrowing Regulations Work? March 2016.
There are many positive aspects associated with subnational
borrowing, including additional funding and promoting
intergenerational equity. However, it may also endanger fiscal
sustainability and macro stability due to moral hazard and soft
budget constraints, making borrowing controls justified and
common. This study reviews the different types of ex-ante and
ex-post subnational borrowing regulations used in the
international experience based on a large panel of developed and
developing countries. Each type of regulations has advantages
and disadvantages, with varying suitability to a country’s
circumstances... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Promoting Better Lifetime Planning Through Financial Education,
Published 2016. Surveys show that financial literacy
levels are typically low around the world, despite the widening
access to financial services and the increasing financial risks
borne by households in many countries. This suggests that there
will be mounting challenges for households and SMEs to invest
wisely and effectively as societies age and governments shift
away from defined benefit to defined contribution pension
schemes. Individuals will increasingly have to make complex
financial decisions to plan for their retirement and for a range
of foreseen and unforeseen expenditures. All of these
developments suggest that financial education should be part of
a lifetime process that starts at an early age and is pursued
throughout adulthood... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Southeast Review of Asian Studies,
Volume 37, 2015 |
|
SERAS |
|
|
Shifting Waters: China's New Passive Assertiveness in Asian Maritime
Security, April 2016.
International concern over China’s assertive island-building campaign in
the South China Sea overlooks a broader shift in its maritime security
conduct. Chinese naval and coastguard forces are taking fewer tactical
risks than a few years ago. Beijing now advocates confidence-building
measures that until recently it had refused to consider. These
developments are helping to lower the risks of maritime incidents,
miscalculations, and accidental conflict. However, they are also
facilitating China’s increasingly ‘passive assertive’ challenges to
Asia’s maritime status quo — notably, its creation and militarisation of
disputed islands, its establishment of new zones of military authority,
and its conduct of expansive patrols in the East and South China Seas... |
|
Lowy |
|
|
2016 Lowy Institute Polling: Majority of Australians Favour a Local
Build for Next-Generation Submarines.
Australians have strong views on where Australia’s next submarines
should be built, with the latest Lowy Institute polling finding that 70%
of Australian adults want the submarines ‘built mainly in Australia,
even if this will cost us more’.
Only 26% say ‘the submarines should be built at the best possible price,
even if this means they are mainly built overseas’.
The site of the submarine construction project has been a topic of
considerable public and political debate, with pressure to involve
Australian shipbuilders and labour to stimulate the domestic economy and
provide jobs... |
|
Lowy |
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|
Bolstering National Disaster Resilience: What Can Be Done?.
This report outlines the goals of ASPI’s Risk and Resilience
Program. It introduces several broad areas to be covered and
measures to strengthen mitigation, response and recovery options
spanning the community, state and federal spheres. The program
will contribute to our long-term thinking on how best to prepare
for and recover from disasters. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
APEC Survey on Packaging and Labelling Requirements for
Pre-packaged Food Products, April 2016.
This report presents the results of the survey responded by
fourteen member economies. The survey was designed to gather
basic information on the requirements that need to be complied
by relevant stakeholders when it comes to packaging and
labelling requirements for pre-packaged food products in member
economies. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Differences / Synergies Between Energy Efficiency Test Methods
for Refrigerators in APEC Region and with the New IEC 62552 -
Final Report, March 2016.
The project aims to facilitate energy saving technology
innovation for refrigerators and free trade in the APEC by
helping harmonizing current testing methods with the IEC
62552:2015... |
|
APEC |
|
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Differences / Synergies Between Energy Efficiency Test Methods
for Refrigerators in APEC Region with the New IEC 62552 -
Laboratory Test Report, March 2016.
This report aims to serve as a reference for APEC economies to
further evaluate the impacts of the new IEC 62552 on their
current EE testing, if economies intend to adopt the standard in
future. |
|
APEC |
|
|
2015 PSU Annual Report.
The annual report summarises the operations and activities of
the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU) for the calendar year of
2015. It provides an overview of projects and activities
undertaken in the year including a list of completed and current
projects, and the audited financial statements. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Connectivity Map, October 2015.
This “Connectivity Map” is a helpful tool to achieve the goal on
strengthening connectivity. It shows the future transport
network of the region. It is also useful to the private sector
for considering investment in the region. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Public Private Partnership Best Practices, October 2015.
The APEC Transportation Working Group Meeting (TPTWG) initiated
a survey for compiling “PPP Best Practice” under the direction
of TMM8. Aiming at promoting understanding on PPP in the
transport sector and expanding it in the APEC region, the survey
compiled transport PPP projects along with the analysis on
transport-inherent risks as “PPP Best Practice”. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Quality Transport Vision, October 2015.
A survey for Quality Transport Vision was conducted by the APEC
Transportation Working Group (TPTWG) under the direction of
TMM8. This report reflects the comments and feedback submitted
by the economies following the TPTWG Meeting. |
|
APEC |
|
|
APEC SME Business Matching and Internship Consortium for Global
Value Chain Integration, November 2015.
This report summarizes the outcomes of the project, APEC SME
Business Matching and Internship Consortium for Global Value
Chain Integration, which looks into the GVCs in the APEC region
specifically in the following industries: agriculture, food
processing, handicrafts, electronics and automobile. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Workshop Report - Coordinated Research Initiative for the
Implementation of Antimicrobial Resistance Control Strategies,
March 2016.
The APEC Workshop on Coordinated Research Initiative for the
Implementation of Antimicrobial Resistance Control Strategies
was held on 28, 29 and 30 October 2015 in Santiago, Chile. The
outcomes of this workshop will be a capacity building training
module on antimicrobial resistance for use by all APEC
economies. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Research Outcomes: Summary of Research Projects 2015.
This publication provides the key findings and/or
recommendations from research projects that were undertaken in
2015. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Philippine Institute for Development Studies -
Discussion Papers:
-
Assessment of the Sustainable Livelihood Program -
Employment Facilitation Process, April 2016
-
Technical and Institutional Evaluation of Selected National
and Communal Irrigation Systems and Characterization of
Irrigation Sector Governance Structure, April 2016
-
National Greening Program Assessment Project: Environmental
Component - Process Evaluation Phase, April 2016
-
Estimation of Vulnerability to Poverty Using a Multilevel
Longitudinal Model: Evidence from the Philippines, April
2016
-
Risks, Shocks, Building Resilience: Philippines, March 2016
-
Are Higher Education Institutions Responsive to Changes in
the Labor Market? March 2016
-
The National System of Technical Vocational Education and
Training in the Philippines: Review and Reform Ideas, March
2016
-
Growing Inclusive Businesses in the Philippines: The Role of
Government Policies and Programs, March 2016
-
Results of an Impact Evaluation Study on DepED's
School-Based Feeding Program, February 2016
-
Examining Processes in Research and Development at the
Department of Science and Technology, February 2016
-
Social Protection in APEC: In Pursuit of Inclusive Growth,
February 2016
-
Investing in Human Capital for Inclusive Growth: Focus on
Higher Education, January 2016
-
Inadequate N Application of Rice Farmers in the Philippines:
Problems, Causes, Solutions, January 2016
|
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PIDS |
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April,
2016 |
|
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Defence White Paper 2016: The Strategist Decides, April 2016.
In this volume we’ve assembled a selection of articles written
in the weeks after the release of DWP 2016. The papers cover the
strategic outlook, force structure and military strategy, budget
and Industry, and regional reactions to the White Paper. The
authors are Robert Ayson, Ross Babbage, Kim Beazley, Andrew
Davies, Malcolm Davis, Tobias Feakin, Tim Huxley, Peter
Jennings, Mike Kalms, Rod Lyon, James Mugg, Benjamin Schreer,
Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto, Mark Thomson, Feng Zhang. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
Peak Japan and Its Implications for Regional Security, March
2016.
This paper examines Japanese security policy under Abe,
identifies the constants and constraints that frame that policy,
and attempts to project where Japan will go in the near-term
future. Its conclusion may unnerve many: structural constraints
in the Japanese economy, self-imposed limits deriving from
Japanese national identity and an increasingly beleaguered
polity will narrow Japanese options. The chief task of friends
and allies of Japan, including Australia, will be to engage
Tokyo and ensure that there’s a place for Japan in regional
security policy. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
Hong
Kong: High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current
Quarter Model: 2016Q2, April 2016. According to
its High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecast, real GDP is
estimated to grow by 1.7% in 16Q1, when compared with
the same period in 2015. In 16Q2, real GDP growth is
expected to moderate to 1.4% when compared with the same
period last year. We forecast Hong Kong GDP will grow by
1.5% in 2016 as a whole, slower than 2.4% growth in
2015. |
|
HKU |
|
|
Asian Development Outlook 2016
- Asia’s Potential Growth:
Full Report and
Highlights.
ADB projects 5.7% growth for developing Asia in 2016 and 2017.
Global headwinds notwithstanding, developing Asia will continue
to contribute 60% of world growth, according to the Asian
Development Outlook (ADO) 2016. Modest recovery in Southeast
Asia and sustained growth in India will partly offset continued
moderation in the People’s Republic of China and the associated
spillover into neighboring economies. Risks to the growth
outlook tilt to the downside: future US interest rate hikes that
may intensify global financial volatility; a sharper-than
forecast growth slowdown in the People’s Republic of China that
would hurt regional exports and growth; emerging producer price
deflation that may undermine growth in some economies; tepid
prices for oil and other commodities; and El Niño.
-
Part 1:
Rescuing Growth in Uncertain
Times
-
Part 2:
Asia’s Potential
Growth
-
Part 3:
Economic Trends and Prospects in Developing Asia:
Central Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekista.
East
Asia: People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, China
Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and Taipei,China.
South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Southeast Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
The Pacific: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Islands,Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, North Pacific Economies, South
Pacific Economies, and Small Island Economies.
|
|
ADB |
|
|
Openness and Urbanization: The Case of the People’s Republic of
China, March 2016. Urbanization usually occurs with
structural transformation driven by a “push” from agricultural
productivity growth and a “pull” from industrial productivity
growth, and usually the former exceeds the latter. This paper
presents a simple model to illustrate how the open policy in the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1979 reversed the pattern
such that the “pull” effect dominated the “push” effect during
the PRC’s structural transformation and urbanization. This model
helps explain why the PRC, whose industrial productivity growth
exceeds its agricultural productivity growth, has experienced a
standard pattern of structural transformation. The paper also
demonstrates how a developing country’s business services
intensity increases with its urbanization. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Impact
of the People’s Republic of China’s Growth Slowdown on Emerging
Asia: A General Equilibrium Analysis, March 2016.
This paper assesses the potential spillover effects of the PRC’s
slowdown on its neighboring economies. As an important global
and regional economic power, the PRC’s growth slowdown may cause
large spillover effects to its neighboring economies. Using a
multi-sectoral global computable general equilibrium model, this
paper quantitatively investigates the impacts of a growth
slowdown in the PRC for emerging Asian economies through trade
linkages. The results suggest that a growth slowdown of 1.6
percentage points in the PRC would bring about a growth
deceleration of 0.26 percentage points in developing Asia as a
whole. However, the impacts vary dramatically by economy within
developing Asia, reflecting their difference in economic and
trade structure. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Moderating Growth and Structural Change in the People’s Republic
of China: Implications for Asia and Beyond, March 2016.
A gradual moderation in growth is currently underway in the
People’s Republic of China (PRC). This is the result of a
combination of factors, including a shrinking working-age
population, the natural process of convergence and rising labor
costs, and a structural shift toward consumption-led growth
partly encouraged by government. It also reflects continued
weakness in external demand and the working out of overcapacity
in some sectors... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Housing
Policies in Singapore, March 2016. Singapore has
developed a unique housing system, with three-quarters of its
housing stock built by the Housing & Development Board (HDB) and
homeownership financed through Central Provident Fund (CPF)
savings. As a result, the country’s homeownership rate of 90% is
one of the highest among market economies. At different stages
of its economic development, the Government of Singapore was
faced with a different set of housing problems. An integrated
land–housing supply and financing framework was established in
the 1960s to solve the severe housing shortage. By the 1990s,
the challenge was that of renewing aging estates and creating a
market for HDB transactions. Housing subsidies in the form of
housing grants were also introduced... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Forms
of Government Decentralization and Institutional Quality:
Evidence from a Large Sample of Nations, March 2016.
This paper studies the effects of various forms of government
decentralization on institutional quality across countries.
Using corruption and the shadow economy to proxy for
institutional quality, as well as three forms of government
decentralization (i.e., virtual, physical, and fiscal), the
econometric results show virtual decentralization to be the most
effective in improving institutional quality. The effects on
transition and countries in Asia are also considered. |
|
ADB |
|
|
The Role of Structural Transformation in the Potential of Asian
Economic Growth, March 2016. This paper identifies
the pattern of structural change that countries experience as
they catch up from low income levels to the economic frontier,
and examines how structural change contributes to both labor and
total factor productivity. Using data for Asian countries the
paper goes on to address the extent and form of structural
change and its contribution to productivity growth since 1990,
asking what order of magnitude the productivity effects are
likely to be as Asian countries converge to the economic
structure that characterizes middle-income and high-income
countries. |
|
ADB |
|
|
The Determinants of Structural Transformation in Asia: A Review
of the Literature, March 2016. This paper reviews the
evidence on why the pace of structural transformation has
differed widely across countries in Asia, with a specific focus
on the People’s Republic of China, India, and Thailand. It
argues that both government failures relating to the functioning
of labor, land, and product markets, and market failures
relating to coordination of investment, credit market
imperfections, and human capital formation have been the primary
causes of the slow pace of structural transformation in several
Asian countries. The paper suggests that a specific focus is
needed to reform policies that impede the functioning of labor,
land, and product markets as well as on strengthening industrial
and education policies to address specific market failures
around investment coordination and human capital formation. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Analytical Tools for Measuring Poverty Dynamics: An Application
Using Panel Data in the Philippines, March 2016. The
Philippines has experienced rapid economic growth over the past
decade. However, the benefits of economic expansion have not
resulted to significant poverty reduction. This paper aims to
measure poverty dynamics and identify the correlates of chronic
and transient poverty in the Philippines. Findings suggest that
the relative importance of transient poverty increases
dramatically as the poverty line decreases or as the poverty
measure becomes more sensitive to the welfare of the poorest of
the poor. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Strengthening Public Pension Systems in Asia: Proceedings of the
2015 ADB-PPI Conference on Public Pension Systems in Asia,
Focus: Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Viet
Nam, and Thailand, Published 2016. Asia’s population
is aging and old-age income support and social services is an
emerging challenge. Strengthening pension systems in Asia is
therefore a key concern for inclusive development in the region.
In many Asian countries, pension systems are still inadequate in
terms of both coverage and delivery of stipulated benefits. This
is particularly so for smaller economies of Cambodia, Lao
People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam—or
commonly referred to as CLMVT economies. A number of structural
issues such as governance, regulation, and institutional and
administrative capacities hinder their development.
Well-designed, well-functioning, and sustainable pension systems
will promote inclusive growth by supporting old-age income and
providing the much-needed social safety net... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Asia: Trends, Impacts, and Reforms,
Published 2016. Unsustainable budgetary cost of
selling oil, gas, and coal at low prices has propelled energy
subsidy reform in developing Asian economies. This report
measures the size of associated subsidies on these fossil fuels
including direct transfers, tax exemptions, subsidized credit,
and losses of state enterprises in India, Indonesia, and
Thailand. An analysis of complex interactions between economic,
social, energy, and environmental issues shows that the initial
rise in energy prices due to a reduction or removal of the
subsidies will nudge households and businesses to shift to
alternative fuels, make investment in clean energy attractive,
increase energy supply, reduce energy shortages, and cut
greenhouse gas emissions... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Emissions Trading Schemes and Their Linking: Challlenges and
Opportunities in Asia and the Pacific, Published 2016.
Asia and the Pacific has achieved rapid economic expansion in
the recent years and has become a major source of greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. With more than half of the world’s population
and high rates of economic growth, the region is especially
vulnerable to the effects of climate change and therefore must
play its part in cutting GHG emissions... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Achieving Universal Electricity Access in Indonesia, Published
2016.This report describes Indonesia’s electrification
environment and identifies barriers to achieving universal
electricity access. Principles drawn from international best
practices such as government commitment, enabling institutional
environments, adequate and sustainable financing, and
stakeholder coordination are discussed in the context of
Indonesia’s energy sector. The report gives recommendations for
establishing service standards, streamlining financing, setting
appropriate targets, and monitoring and evaluation, as well as
near-term steps to help achieve universal electricity access. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Net Worth: Australia's Regional Fisheries Engagement, March 2016.
This paper argues there’s a need for a whole-of-government
approach to Australia’s external fisheries policy that
recognises clear linkages between fisheries and foreign, trade,
and strategic policy. Extending and complementing current
stakeholder engagement practices is the key to this approach.
Regional fishery management organisations (RFMOs) and
arrangements allow Australia to promote a strong approach on
sustainable and responsible fishing practices and develop
regional instruments to protect our fish stocks and wider
regional interests. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
Time to Start Worrying Again? Cross-Strait Stability After the
2016 Taiwanese Elections, March 2016.
The study argues that the Taiwan Strait will remain dangerous
and that Canberra needs to pay closer attention to the evolving
cross-strait situation. Of crucial importance is the question of
whether Australia should support its US ally in a future Taiwan
contingency. The report calls for a comprehensive dialogue
between Canberra and Washington to avoid a future ‘expectation
gap’ on the Taiwan issue. As well, Australia should acknowledge
Taiwan’s potentially constructive role in regional maritime
territorial disputes. Finally, Canberra should proactively take
steps to enhance Taiwan’s regional political and economic
integration as a means to contribute to long-term cross-strait
stability. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
Japan Versus Europe: The Quest to Build Australia's Future
Submarine, February 2016.
The building of Australia’s fleet of future submarines is likely
to be the largest defence program in this country’s history. It
will cost tens of billions of dollars and will run for decades.
So it’s little wonder that it’s a recurring topic of interest on
the pages of ASPI’s blog The Strategist. Our contributors
continue to examine the topic from all angles, and this
Strategic Insights collects selected pieces from the past twelve
months. The authors are Kym Bergmann, Peter Briggs, Andrew
Davies, Julian Kerr, Chris Mather, Hans J Ohff, Terence Roach,
Benjamin Schreer, Tony Shepherd, Geoff Slocombe, Mark Thomson
and Hugh White. |
|
ASPI |
|
|
The Future of Papua New Guinea: Old Challenges for New Leaders, March
2016.
With its vast resources base and young population, the outlook for Papua
New Guinea should be positive, but negative trends — in law and order,
health, and education — do not augur well for the future.
PNG’s next generation of leaders, under pressure to improve both service
delivery and the quality of national institutions, should tackle a
limited number of problems first to unblock barriers to progress.
Australia, which has enduring interests in PNG’s success, should be
creative in supporting emerging leaders, through government, private
sector, and civil society links, to help them make a real difference. |
|
Lowy |
|
|
North Korea’s
Audaciousness Changes the Status-Quo in Northeast Asia, March
2016.
Eunjung Lim, lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, explains that
“it is noteworthy and encouraging that Washington and Beijing
reached an agreement on a draft resolution that was unanimously
adopted at the UN Security Council.” |
|
EWC |
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From Catching
Up to Forging Ahead in Advanced Manufacturing—Reflections on
China’s Future of Jobs, March 2016.
This paper explores what we know about possible employment
effects of the 10-year plan, issued by the State Council on May
19, 2015, entitled Made in China 2025. MIC2025 was designed to
address China’s emerging labor shortage challenge. To achieve
this goal, the plan seeks to boost labor productivity through an
increased use of robots and through network-based upgrading of
the entire industrial value chain and related services.
The paper finds that until 2014,
manufacturing has acted as an employment absorber in China... |
|
EWC |
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Mega-FTAs
and the Trade-Security Nexus: The Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP), March 2016.
The rise of a multiplicity of diverse bilateral free trade
agreements (FTAs) has led countries to pursue mega-FTAs to
manage the growing complexity of global trade arrangements. The
US and China are promoting rival accords: the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), which would encompass 800 million people and
almost 40 percent of global GDP, is a centerpiece of the Obama
Asia Pacific strategy... |
|
EWC |
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Differences / Synergies between Energy Efficiency Test Methods
for Refrigerators in APEC Region and with the new IEC 62552,
March 2016.
This report investigates the different EE requirements and
evaluation schemes in APEC economies and compares energy
consumption calculation results for refrigerators in various
APEC economies. Further, deep survey of test methods in APEC
economies has been carried out and analysed, differences of test
methods for refrigerators have been identified and key factors
affecting the energy consumption have been screened out. |
|
APEC |
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Clean and Efficient Use of Energy and Water Resources - Mapping
the Energy-Water Nexus around the Pacific Rim, February 2016.
In efforts to better inform the energy-water nexus dialogue,
this paper builds on and extends the previously noted work in
three important ways. The analysis addresses the 21-member
economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation which are
linked by shared geography and economy. The objective of the
mapping is to quantify the energy-water nexus at a subnational
level, pinpoint potential vulnerabilities, and identify
opportunities for international collaboration. |
|
APEC |
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APEC Workshop on Promoting the Development of Wind Energy, Phase
2 – Public Private Partnership for Wind Energy Development,
January 2016.
This summary report highlights findings from the workshop which
sought to enhance understanding on the use of PPP to develop
wind energy. It is also aimed at providing the opportunities for
wind energy experts from APEC member economies, wind energy
producers and investors (business sector) to share information
and good practices on using PPP to remove the obstacles and
facilitate the development of wind energy. |
|
APEC |
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APEC Energy Working Group Success Stories, Published 2016.
This booklet includes just a few of the many successful
activities the EWG has undertaken since its first meeting in
1990. 2015 marks the group's 25th year and 50th meeting. |
|
APEC |
|
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8th Conference on Good Regulatory Practice, February 2016.
On 27 to 28 August 2015, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance held the 8th
Conference on Good Regulatory Practice in Cebu City, Philippines
in the margins of the Senior Official Meetings (SOM) III. The
Conference was led by the Philippines and co-sponsored by
Australia, Malaysia, United States and Viet Nam. It gathered
experts and participants from the governments and business to
reinforce and strengthen the understanding of the elements of
good regulatory practices (GRP) and the specific actions that
economies have or are taking to implement actions identified by
APEC Leaders in 2013. |
|
APEC |
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APEC and the Human Development Agenda, March 2016.
Human development is defined by the UNDP as a process of
enlarging people’s choices: to lead a long and healthy life; to
acquire knowledge; and to have access to resources needed to
enjoy a decent standard of living. It focuses on the richness of
human lives rather than the richness of economies. Human
development is not a new approach: it has been integral to the
work undertaken by international development organizations in
the past three decades, but it is nevertheless a relatively new
approach within APEC... |
|
APEC |
|
|
Workshop Report: Facilitating Trade through Updates on Food
Safety Regulatory Standards of APEC Economies, February 2016.
The workshop, central and most important activity of the APEC
funded project CTI 18 2014A (SCSC), focused on understanding
modernization in standards and responsibilities regarding food
safety of APEC economies, raising awareness on these topics to
facilitate food trade and improve food safety standards, and the
manner in which APEC economies are dealing with emerging food
safety challenges. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Developing ‘Smart Traveller’ Programmes to Facilitate
International Travel in the APEC Region, December 2015.
This report looks at ways and measures to develop and implement
various modes of the Smart Traveller Programme taking into
account the growing number of self-organized travels, travellers'
safety and security and the possible difficulties that
travellers may face. |
|
APEC |
|
|
The Philippine Economy in 2015 and Prospects for 2016,
January-March 2016. PIDS Senior Research Fellow Roehlano
Briones provides an assessment of the Philippine economy in 2015
and outlook for the current year in this first issue of the DRN
for 2016. Amid global and regional challenges, such as the
economic slowdown in big Asian economies and the sharp drop in
oil prices, Briones underscores the country's resiliency as
exemplified by sustained economic growth, improved capital
formation, and sound fiscal balance. The lack of inclusiveness,
however, remains a major issue that cannot be solved overnight.
But our macroeconomic fundamentals have remained strong despite
various risks and shocks... |
|
PIDS |
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Philippine Institute for Development Studies - Policy
Notes:
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|
PIDS |
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Assessment of the DSWD SEA-K Strategy, Published 2015. This
study assesses the effectiveness of the strategy and the
complementary interventions of the Sustainable Livelihood
Program's Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SLP SEA-K). The
SLP SEA-K uses a microcredit strategy to provide credit access
to the poor, improve the ability of the group to borrow, and
enable it to engage in income-generating activities... |
|
PIDS |
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Journal of Bhutan Studies
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Bhutan |
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March,
2016 |
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APEC Outcomes and Outlook 2015/2016.
In 2016, Peru will host APEC under the theme of “Quality Growth
and Human Development”. APEC will pursue its agenda through four
key priorities: Advance Regional Economic Integration and
Quality Growth; Modernize Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
in the Asia-Pacific; Promote Human Capital Development; and
Support the Regional Food Markets. This publication also looks
back at the outcomes of APEC Philippines 2015 and the 23rd APEC
Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Manila, Philippines. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Prospects and Compromise Points of the Arab Spring, November
2015.
This research project is intended to evaluate the impact of the
socio-political popular movement since 2011, or the so-called
“Arab Spring,” on major oil and gas producers in the Middle East
region, which hold undeniable and irreplaceable share in the
Asia and Pacific energy market. |
|
APEC |
|
|
APEC Oil and Gas Security Exercise Model Procedure, November
2015.
This report looks at a step-by-step approach for planning,
conducting and evaluating emergency exercises. |
|
APEC |
|
|
The Energy Reform in Mexico - Implications for the Asia-Pacific
Region, November 2015.
This report examines the Mexico’s oil and gas market, its recent
reform and major challenges ahead. In so doing, key potential
areas for cooperation between Mexico and other APEC member
economies are identified, to pursue APEC’s mission of promoting
sustainable economic growth and prosperity by means of open
trade and investment. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Oil Supply Security and Emergency Policy in the APEC Region,
September 2015.
This report highlights the developments and issues on oil and
gas security, information on individual economy’s policies
related to oil and gas security including responses to emergency
situation. |
|
APEC |
|
|
Current Issues in
Asia Pacific Foreign Direct Investment, Published 2015. This
book aims to stimulate thought and discussion on a number of
important issues relating to foreign direct investment (FDI).
Each chapter is written by an expert or experts in the field,
and each can stand alone in the perspectives it offers on FDI
issues. However, taken together, a number of key themes emerge,
reflecting policy issues which impact businesses in making FDI
and which are being grappled with by government negotiators and
regulators... |
|
AUAPEC |
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Asia
Bond Monitor, March 2016. Bond yields in most
emerging East Asian markets declined between the start of the
year and mid-February amid mounting gloom over global growth
prospects. The main exceptions to the downward trend were the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong, China. Bond
yields also fell in major advanced economies due to subdued
inflation and concerns over deflation in some economies. Yields
for 10-year local currency (LCY) government bonds in emerging
East Asia mostly fell between 1 January and 15 February. Over
the same period, most emerging East Asian stock markets also
fell, with the only exceptions being in Indonesia, where the
market rose, and in Thailand, where the market held steady... |
|
ADB |
|
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The
Housing Market and Housing Policies in Japan, March 2016.
Housing policies in Japan after World War II were focused on the
quantitative supply of houses with a wide range of targeted
groups and public rental houses. The Japan Housing Corporation
(now the Urban Renaissance Agency) and the Government Housing
Loan Corporation (now the Japan Housing Finance Agency) have
served to address these policy targets accordingly. The
restoration of housing stock was successful, but the collapse of
the property bubble in the early 1990s caused negative impact on
the real economy and created persistent loss of confidence among
the Japanese people, which is exacerbated by deflation and
negative demographic factors (decrease of the population and
aging of society). Enhancement of the quality of houses is an
important part of the housing policy in Japan, but, at the same
time, there needs to be a balance between new construction and
the activation of existing housing stocks. Given the social
experiments currently underway, there is need to closely monitor
the changes of market trends. |
|
ADB |
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Debt
Dynamics, Fiscal Deficit, and Stability in Government Borrowing
in India: A Dynamic Panel Analysis, March 2016.
Despite the initiatives of the Finance Commission of India,
fiscal performance has been deteriorating and increasingly
diverging across Indian states. Given that the state governments
are endowed with expenditure autonomy, this paper investigates
whether the composition of expenditure of the subnational
governments has an impact on the degree of indebtedness. A panel
analysis for the 17 non-special category states over 1980–2013
indicates that apart from the budget structure, the
state-specific factors affecting fiscal performance plays an
important role in government borrowing. Curiously enough,
government borrowing is more responsive to revenue expenditure
than capital outlay and has more growth-augmenting effect
through revenue expenditure. |
|
ADB |
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Human Capital Development in the People’s Republic of China and
India: Achievements, Prospects, and Policy Challenges, Published
2015.
This report draws lessons from how Asian economic giants India
and the People’s Republic of China leveraged education and
skills development to advance economic growth. The analysis
presented similarities and differences in human capital
development strategies and their outcomes that helped define
development pathways between the two countries. It also outlined
the prospects for human capital development in the
sustainability of the two countries’ economic growth. |
|
ADB |
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Asian Economic Integration Report 2015.
Asia’s trade has slowed faster than world trade; trade growth
has been below economic growth since 2012. Structural factors
such as slower expansion of global value chains and growth
moderation in the People’s Republic of China may be at play, but
the region must embrace further efforts to make trade and
investment regimes more open. Regional trade blocs such as the
Trans-Pacific Partnership and the proposed Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership could facilitate freer trade
if supported through open, flexible accession... |
|
ADB |
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Southeast Asia and the Economics of Global Climate
Stabilization, Published 2015.
New analysis suggests that the impacts of climate change in
Southeast Asia may be larger than previously estimated, possibly
reaching 11% of gross domestic product by 2100. Southeast Asia
is likely to sustain larger economic losses from climate change
than most other areas in the world. Moreover, those losses—the
collective effect of impacts on agriculture, tourism, energy
demand, labor productivity, catastrophic risks, health, and
ecosystems—may be larger than previously estimated. When these
loss estimates are considered simultaneously in the modeling,
gross domestic product (GDP) is found to be reduced by 11% in
2100 under the business as usual emissions scenario of this
study, which is 60% higher than the earlier ADB assessment. |
|
ADB |
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Achieving Skill Mobility in the ASEAN Economic Community:
Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Implications, Published
2015.
ASEAN member states face challenges in achieving greater
mobility for the highly skilled, including hurdles in
recognizing professional qualifications, and opening up access
to certain jobs. Despite clear aspirations by the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to create an effective and
transparent framework to facilitate movements among skilled
professionals within the ASEAN by December 2015, progress has
been slow and uneven. |
|
ADB |
|
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Labor Migration in Asia: Building Effective Institutions,
Published 2016.
This report analyzes the institutions and structures that govern
labor migration in Asia. It considers the important role of
governments and other stakeholders in both labor-destination
countries and labor-sending countries. This report analyzes the
institutions and structures that govern labor migration in Asia.
It considers the important role of governments and other
stakeholders in both labor-destination countries such as Japan,
the Republic of Korea, and Singapore, and labor-sending
countries such as India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Key
issues are the extent to which these structures provide an
orderly process for the movement of people between countries and
whether the rights and the welfare of workers are protected. |
|
ADB |
|
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Gender Statistics: The Pacific and Timor-Leste, Published 2016.
Key gender statistics provide a snapshot of gender issues in the
Pacific region and Timor-Leste. This booklet promotes the use of
gender statistics for evidence-based policy making and
monitoring progress in gender equality issues. The Pacific
region has made good progress in conducting population and
housing censuses and other national surveys, as well as in
collecting administrative records by government agencies. The
key gender indicators illustrated here should encourage the
countries to continue their investment in data collection and in
strengthening technical capacity for analysis. |
|
ADB |
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Thematic Review of Credit Underwriting Standards and Practices
of Corporate Lending Business, February 2016. The protracted
low interest rate environment and increased level of liquidity
over
the past years have resulted in a very competitive market and
compressed interest margins for banks.
In this environment, some banks may relax loan structures and
covenants, and under-price risks in
their corporate lending activities. Against this backdrop, the
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
conducted a thematic inspection of several banks in Singapore
to assess the credit underwriting standards
and practices of their corporate lending
business... |
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MAS |
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Capital Markets Enforcement, January 2016. This monograph
sets out the aims of MAS’ enforcement function, MAS’ enforcement
approach and how its philosophy of early detection and
rectification of breaches; shaping business and market conduct;
and effective deterrence is applied in our daily enforcement
work. It provides an overview of the importance of an effective
market enforcement regime, the agencies responsible for capital
markets enforcement in Singapore and explains our powers as well
as the spectrum of enforcement actions that MAS and other
authorities can take to combat market misconduct. |
|
MAS |
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International Journal of Korean Studies,
Volume XIX, Number 1, 2015
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IJKS |
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The
U.S.-Malaysia Security Connection, February 2016.
Marvin Ott and Derek Maseloff, Senior Scholar and Research
Assistant, respectively, at the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars, explain that “There is little doubt that
[Malaysian Prime Minister] Najib understands the implications of
Chinese ambitions and methods. He also understands the critical
importance of the U.S. as a counterweight to China.” |
|
EWC |
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Japan-Taiwan
Relations in the New DPP Era, February 2016.
Yasuhiro Matsuda, Professor at the Institute for Advanced
Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo, explains that “It is quite
natural for Tokyo and Taipei to strengthen their relations after
Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration. However, Beijing is watching their
relations closely and cautiously.” |
|
EWC |
|
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Islamic State Propaganda and the Mainstream Media, February 2016.
Islamic State’s use of social media to disseminate its propaganda is
generally well understood. What receives far less attention is how the
group also uses the Western mainstream media to spread its key messages.
Islamic State tailors the production and release of its material to the
needs of mainstream media outlets and to the media cycle. The danger
involved in sending Western journalists to Syria and Iraq has made the
media more reliant on material produced by Islamic State. The group’s
propaganda is often unwittingly used by the mainstream media in ways
that serve Islamic State’s objectives... |
|
Lowy |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #2: Middle Eastern Influences on Islamist
Organizations in Malaysia: The Cases of ISMA, IRF and HTM. Interaction
between Muslims in Malaysia and their Middle Eastern brethren
has consistently been a source of apprehension to the
powers-that-be from colonial times till today. Islamist activism
in Malaysia has indeed undergone changes, and these did indeed
arise from contemporary Middle Eastern influences. The religious
thought, practices and lifestyles of Muslims in Malaysia have
traditionally been regarded as moderate. Of particular
importance in the present context is the transmission of
puritanical interpretations of Islam... |
|
ISEAS |
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In
Search of a Better Match: Qualification Mismatches in Developing
Asia, February 2016.
This paper examines the extent to which various factors explains
talent misallocation in the form of qualification mismatches
across six urban developing Asian economies using the World
Bank’s Skills towards Employability and Productivity (STEP)
Skills Measurement Survey. This paper empirically tests the role
of search frictions in driving qualification mismatches in the
labor market. Using new data from several low-income economies
in urban Asia we find that overeducation in less developed labor
markets are more pervasive than in more developed economies. |
|
ADB |
|
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A
Model of Gender Inequality and Ecomoic Growth, February 2016.
The role of women in economic development has been a popular
topic in academic and policy debates. The last half century has
witnessed a drastic increase in labor participation of women in
most developed and developing countries. However, there is still
significant underutilization and misallocation of women’s skills
and talents. In many developing countries, inequality in access
to quality education between girls and boys adversely impacts
girls’ ability to build human and social capital, lowering their
job opportunities and wage in labor markets. |
|
ADB |
|
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Female Labor Force Participation in Asia: Indonesia Country
Study, February 2016.
This paper uses over 20 years of data from Indonesia’s labor
force survey to study trends in and constraints to female labor
force participation. We also survey existing evidence, identify
data gaps, and outline a research policy evaluation of
female-centered vocational training and job placement services,
which may be effective tools to increase female labor force
participation. |
|
ADB |
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February,
2016 |
|
Source |
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G20 Monitor: The Chinese 2016 G20 Host Year, February 2016. There
are high expectations for the 2016 Chinese G20 Presidency, following an
underwhelming 2015 in which the G20 has had limited impact on economic
growth outcomes and little influence on multilateral and regional
developments.
To translate China’s vision of an innovative, invigorated,
interconnected, and inclusive global economy into success, G20 countries
need to demonstrate greater political will in acting to address
near-term economic challenges. At the same time, the G20 needs to
maintain a sense of continuity and demonstrate real progress on
longer-term matters of economic governance. |
|
Lowy |
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APEC Petroleum Product Trading and Security, November 2015.
Demand for petroleum products in the APEC region, particularly
in the ASEAN region, has been increasing significantly. While
the expansion of refining facilities is underway, demand still
outstrips supply, and imports from outside the region remain
high. This research study aims analysing how the supply and
demand balance of petroleum products in the region would change
over the period of 2011 to 2020 and identify problems and issues
while considering their impacts. |
|
APEC |
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Policy Review for APEC Low Carbon Model Town Phase 4 - Final
Report, January 2016. To assist the city develop its plans,
and become a model for other towns, San Borja is the site of a
two part APEC peer-review led by the Asia Pacific Energy
Research Centre (APERC). Part 1 of the review contains
background information on San Borja and provides context to Part
2, – which is produced by the review team. The findings and 50
recommendations for implementation in this policy review are
grouped by topic: legal framework, urban planning, low carbon
buildings, energy management, energy efficiency, transport and
environmental planning. |
|
APEC |
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Final Project Completion Report: High Level Private-Public Forum
on Cold Chain to Strengthen Agriculture & Food's Gloabl Value
Chain, December 2015. The development of the cold chain,
which connects production, storage, processing, distribution in
cold, leads to achieving food security and promoting global
value chain, which results in the empowering agriculture in APEC
region. This report aims to understand the current situations
and the benefits of cold chain systems, identify best practices
on establishment of cold chains and share experiences and
knowledge regarding cold chain system among the APEC economies. |
|
APEC |
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Low-Carbon Model Town - Phase 5 (Feasibility Study), November
2015. This report focuses on a low carbon development
strategy (LCDS) and implementation roadmap for an industrial
greenfield development in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in
Bitung, Indonesia. It includes a comprehensive feasibility study
and detailed implementation action plans for a set of proposed
high potential low carbon mitigation measures (LCMs), including
recommendations on the institutional and regulatory framework,
thoughts on the required financial architecture, and potential
funding sources to achieve the proposed LCDS for the SEZ Bitung. |
|
APEC |
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Follow-up Peer Review on Energy Efficiency in the Philippines,
November 2014. This follow-up report examines the progress
made and challenges encountered by the Philippines in
implementing recommendations of the earlier APEC Peer Review on
Energy Efficiency. This latest report makes further
recommendations on overarching energy efficiency policies as
well recommendations for sector specific actions to boost energy
efficiency in the sugar, glass, cement and commercial buildings
industries, drawing on best practices and innovative approaches
from around the world. |
|
APEC |
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Australia–China Cyber Relations in the Next Internet Era,
December 2015.
ASPI has worked closely with the China Institute of
International Studies (CIIS) to advance discussion on cyber
policy, and several viable policy initiatives are proposed in
this report. Cybersecurity is a first-order national security
issue, and ICT networks are critical for Australia’s digital
future and economic prosperity. Common ground between Australia
and China on cyber policy is thin, and there’s disagreement on
many issues. But closer dialogue is needed to find opportunities
to cooperate on shared threats and to limit the likelihood for
misadventure. This special report is a building block for that
discussion. |
|
ASPI |
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Mission Command and C3 Modernisation in the Australian Army:
Digitisation a Critical Enabler, December 2015.
ASPI hosted an Army Digitisation Roundtable to continue a
conversation with industry, commenced by the Australian Army,
about the Army’s approach to mission command and C3 (command,
control, communications) modernisation. The roundtable, was a
closed-door discussion under the Chatham House rule between key
stakeholders from the Army, the Department of Defence, academia
and industry. This report is the authors’ summary of the
discussion. |
|
ASPI |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2016 #1: Making Sense of the Election Results in
Myanmar’s Rakhine and Shan States. This paper examines
why ethnic parties did well in Rakhine and Shan States despite
the fact that the National League for Democracy (NLD) was given
a manifest mandate by the Myanmar electorate to represent its
interests nationwide. In Rakhine State, the electorate chose the
Arakan National Party (ANP) over the other parties because of
the fear that their cultural identity and right to govern
themselves are threatened by Bamar political and cultural
hegemony and Muslim/South Asian encroachment from the western
border... |
|
ISEAS |
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Infrastructure Investment, Private Finance, and Institutional
Investors: Asia from a Global Perspective, January 2016.
This study evaluates infrastructure investment and finance in
Asia from a global perspective. It provides an overview on
infrastructure needs and the various sources of private finance,
globally and within Asia, and creates a “bigger picture” for the
demand and supply of capital for infrastructure by using a
simple framework, i.e., percentages of gross domestic product.
The picture is expectedly not uniform across Asia, but some
interesting features emerge from global comparisons. Overall,
the private sector still plays a relatively subdued role. Bank
loans dominate private infrastructure finance, and there is much
scope for the further development of capital markets... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Urbanization and Inequality in Hypertension Diagnosis and
Medication in Indonesia, January 2016.
Urbanization has been progressing quickly in Indonesia and the
consequences on health and health inequities are still not well
understood. In this paper, we present new empirical evidence on
the differences in the utilization of health care services
between rural and urban areas as well as for the respective
health inequities. Exploiting the rich dataset of the Indonesian
Family Life Survey, this paper measures the socioeconomic
inequality of health care utilization for the case of the
diagnosis of hypertension and its medication... |
|
ADB |
|
|
Impact of Gender Inequality on the Republic of Korea’s Long-Term
Economic Growth: An Application of the Theoretical Model of
Gender Inequality and Economic Growth, January 2016.
Calibrating a gender inequality growth model to fit Korean data,
we find that policies that seek to reduce gender discrimination
in the labor market or increase the time spent by fathers on
child-rearing can contribute positively to female labor market
participation and to the Republic of Korea’s per capita income
growth. When gender disparities at home and in the labor market
are completely removed, the female labor force participation
rate is shown to increase from 54.4% to 67.5%, and the per
capita income growth rate from 3.6% to 4.1% on average over a
generation. |
|
ADB |
|
|
Women’s Leadership and Corporate Performance, January 2016.
Is leadership diversified in Asian corporate boardrooms? How is
gender diversity in corporate leadership associated with
financial performance? What is the magnitude of potential gain
by allocating human talents more efficiently without gender
bias? What kind of policy might be useful to improve the gender
diversity in corporate leadership? This paper provides insights
into these questions through theoretical review and empirical
analyses. It examines the gender diversity in corporate
boardrooms in Asia and the Pacific and how the diversity affects
corporate performance. |
|
ADB |
|
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Policy Notes:
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PIDS |
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Economic Issue of the Day:
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PIDS |
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Development Research News:
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PIDS |
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January,
2016 |
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Asserting Statehood: Kazakhstan’s Role in International
Organizations, December 2015.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has developed
a record of being the most proactive and innovative former
Soviet republic in the sphere of international cooperation.
Kazakhstan’s multilateral relations have always expressed a
clear logic: to establish itself as a reliable and
constructive international actor. The core of this strategy
has been to create several foreign policy pillars – Russia,
China, the U.S., the EU, Turkey – without prioritizing one
too heavily over the other. However, in recent years the
Russian pillar has expanded heavily, thus compromising the
delicate balance of Kazakhstan's multi-vector foreign
policy... |
|
ISDP |
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The EU, Central Asia, and the Development of Continental
Transport and Trade, December 2015.
Since the collapse of the USSR, a number
of initiatives have embarked, separately or together, on the
momentous task of rebuilding trade and transportation
arteries across Central Asia and the Caucasus. The
underlying logic has been two-fold: by reconnecting the
landlocked new states of the region to their neighbors and
historic trading partners, the heart of Asia can become a
land corridor connecting Europe to Asia. This paper plots
out the main lines of transport and trade development in
Central Asia and their potential for both regional states
and the European Union... |
|
ISDP |
|
|
Happiness and Government: The Role of Public Spending and
Governance Effectiveness, July 2015. We apply ordered probit
regressions on World Value Survey data, government spending
data, public governance data, the median age of countries, etc.,
covering wave 5 and wave 6 that encompass 78 countries. We use
two alternative and entirely new methods to identify optimal
government spending. We found that, on average, countries
under-spend on healthcare and over-spend on education... |
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LINHK |
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Food
Security and Small Landholders in South Asia, Published 2015.
This paper surveys the status of food security in the South
Asian countries, particularly India. Particular attention has
been paid to small landholders (those households owning less
than 2 hectares of land). Using NSS data from 1993-94 and
2004-05 the paper shows that small
landholders are an increasing proportion of i) total rural
households, ii) rural households who are poor, and iii) rural
households who are undernourished. The paper then singles out
five disconnects in India’s recent economic performance as
constituting the reason for this outcome... |
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ASARC |
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Hong
Kong: High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current
Quarter Model: 2016Q1, January 2016. According to
its High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecast, real GDP is
estimated to grow by 2.0% in 15Q4, when compared with
the same period in 2014. It is estimated to growth by
2.4% for the year of 2015 as a whole. In 16Q1, real GDP
growth is forecast to be 1.8% when compared with the
same period last year. We expect Hong Kong GDP is likely
to grow below 2.0% in the year of 2016, slower than
2015. |
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HKU |
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MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters, December 2015. The
December 2015 Survey was sent out on 25 November 2015 to a total
of 28 economists and analysts who closely monitor the Singapore
economy. This report reflects the views received from 22
respondents (a response rate of 79%) and does not represent MAS’
views or forecasts. GDP growth in Q3 2015 was weaker than
expected. The Singapore economy
expanded by 1.9% in Q3 2015 compared with the same period last
year. This was lower than the median forecast of 2.1% reported
in the Sep 2015 Survey. For 2015 as a whole, the economy is
forecast to expand by 1.9%. The
respondents expect the economy to grow by 1.9% in 2015, a
decline from the 2.2% median forecast in the previous survey... |
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MAS |
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MAS
Financial Stability Review, November 2015. Uneven growth and
divergent monetary policies across the G3 pose risks to
financial stability in Asia and Singapore. At the same time,
weak commodity prices have put strains on commodity-related
firms with knock-on effects on banks, financial markets,
sovereign balance sheets, and economies. Recent geopolitical
developments could fuel further uncertainty. Meanwhile, China
faces a delicate balance between near-term economic performance
and asset market stability on the one hand and longer-term
structural reforms on the other. Strong intra-regional linkages
could increase contagion from a China-related shock, while
subdued regional growth adds to headwinds in Asia. Singapore’s
financial system remains sound, but industry must stand vigilant
against rising risks... |
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MAS |
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Black Flag Rising: ISIL in Southeast Asia and Australia,
December 2015.
Although the prime focus of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) has been on establishing a state—a caliphate—in the
Middle East, it has also sought to gain a presence beyond that
area. Southeast Asia is one region that’s now receiving
increased attention as a potential beachhead for the group. Most
concern has focused on Malaysia, Indonesia, the southern
Philippines and the Malay Muslim provinces of Thailand. The
paper considers how these nations are responding to the threat.
Beyond Southeast Asia, ISIL is showing a growing influence in
Australia. The measures the Australian Government are taking
have been generally well received. However, a number of concerns
have been raised about the pace and nature of Australia’s
emergent counterterrorist strategy and their implications for
the nation’s democratic character. |
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ASPI |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2015 #21: The Politics of the United
States-China-Vietnam Triangle in the 21st Century. Vietnams
balancing of power act, namely the policy of seeking a
counterweight to the China threat, and the politics of the
U.S.VietnamChina triangle, may have taken shape in the early
years of the twenty-first century, but it was deeply rooted in
the changing relations between the big powers in the 1980s and
Vietnams need to adjust its policy to these changes. A
combination of factors geographical proximity, ideological
affinity, and the need for regime survival tends to make
Vietnamese leaders more comfortable with China than with the
United States... |
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ISEAS |
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Obama
Doubles-down on Maritime Capacity Building in Southeast Asia,
December 2015.
Lyle J. Morris, Project Associate at the RAND Corporation,
explains that “By contributing to coast guard capacity building
by donating ships and funding, the United States has found an
important and politically viable avenue to bolster maritime
security to partners and allies in the region.” |
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EWC |
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ASEAN and Its
SMEs – A New Opportunity? December 2015.
Ganeshan Wignaraja, Advisor in the Economic Research and
Regional Cooperation Department at the Asian Development Bank,
explains that “In an era of moderating growth, ASEAN and its
SMEs involved in supply chains represent an opportunity for
investors and for sustaining growth.” |
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EWC |
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The Japan
Coast Guard (JCG) as a Foreign Policy Instrument in Southeast
Asia, December 2015.
Miha Hribernik, Non-Resident WSD-Handa Fellow with Pacific Forum
CSIS, explains that “As Japan’s strategic competition with China
intensifies, the Japanese Coast Guard is moving to the forefront
of Tokyo’s growing security cooperation with Southeast Asia.” |
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EWC |
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El Nino
Strengthens in the Pacific: Preparing for the Impacts of
Drought, December 2015.
A drought is moving through the Pacific Islands, brought by one
of the strongest El Niño events since record keeping began 60
years ago. It started in the southwest Pacific, where it has
brought famine to Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. It is expected
to reach the South Pacific, tropical West Pacific, and Hawaiian
Islands between December 2015 and May 2016, potentially
affecting 4.7 million people... |
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EWC |
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Alternative
Waste Solutions for the Pacific Region: Learning from the
Hawai'i Experience, November 2015.
With limited space and ever-growing trash, the islands of the
Pacific share unique challenges managing their solid wastes. The
traditional approach has been to collect waste in open dumps and
landfills. But overwhelmed sites and unsanitary conditions are
driving governments to seek alternative solutions... |
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EWC |
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Unconventional Monetary Policy, Spillovers, and Liftoff:
Implications for Northeast Asia, November 2015.
Unconventional monetary policy (UMP) has had predictable
effects. How exit plays out is scenario-dependent. Quantitative
easing has had the predictable effect of encouraging currency
depreciation and some partner countries may have attempted to
offset these exchange rate effects. Korea presents a
particularly interesting case: it is relatively small and
relatively open and integrated, in both trade and financial
terms, with the United States and Japan, two practitioners of
UMP... |
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EWC |
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Causes
and Remedies for Japan’s Long-Lasting Recession: Lessons for the
People’s Republic of China, December 2015.
Japan has suffered from sluggish economic growth and recession
since the early 1990s. In this paper, we analyze the causes of
the prolonged slowdown of the Japanese economy (the lost
decade). Economics Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has argued that
Japan’s lost decade is an example of a liquidity trap. However,
our empirical analysis shows that stagnation of the Japanese
economy comes from its vertical IS curve rather than a
horizontal LM curve, so the Japanese economy faces structural
problems rather than a temporary downturn... |
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ADB |
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Asian Economic Integration Report 2015: How Can Special Economic
Zones Catalyze Economic Development? Published 2015.
Special economic zones (SEZs) can play a catalytic role in
economic development, provided the right business environment
and policies are put in place. In Asia, SEZs can facilitate
trade, investment, and policy reform at a time the region is
experiencing a slowdown in trade and economic growth. The Asian
Economic Integration Report is an annual review of Asia’s
regional economic cooperation and integration. It covers the 48
regional members of the Asian Development Bank. |
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ADB |
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Managing the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: Perspectives,
Policies, and Practices from Asia, Published 2015.
The aim of this study is to share the experiences of developed
Asian economies and the lessons they have learned. The book
assesses the low-carbon and green policies and practices taken
by developed Asian countries, identifies gaps, and examines new
opportunities for low-carbon green growth. |
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ADB |
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Uncovering Value Added in Trade: New Approaches to Analyzing
Global Value Chains, Published 2015.
This book is a collection of research papers on new approaches
to measure trade in value added and the role of global value
chains in modern international trade. It introduces the input
output method for measuring trade and a direct approach for
measuring the domestic value added of the People's Republic of
China — the center of global assembly. In addition, it shows how
to analyze trade relations in the context of global value
chains. |
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ADB |
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Constraints to Indonesia's Economic Growth, December 2015.
In the near–term, growth is likely to be influenced by
continuing weaknesses in global economic activity, weak
international commodity prices, and rising foreign financing
costs. In the medium–term, however, Indonesia’s growth prospects
are good. Rising domestic demand, productivity improvement,
increased urbanization, the shift of labor from agriculture to
manufacturing and service sector activity, and increased trade
and investment flows should drive higher rates of economic
growth and development. |
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ADB |
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Summary of Indonesia's Finance Sector Assessment, December 2015.
Financial sector development is critical for reducing poverty
through better access to financial products and services for the
poor and low-income families. The Indonesian financial sector
remains small and far more dominated by banks than its regional
peers. Some of the reasons for the small size of the overall
financial sector are: fragmented regulatory structure;
regulatory framework not in line with international best
practices; and an enabling environment that is less conducive to
financial sector development, including lack of diversity in
capital market products. |
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ADB |
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Summary of Indonesia's Energy Sector Assessment, December 2015.
Indonesia has coal resources at around 120.5 billion tons,
proven oil resources at around 3.69 billion barrels, and proven
natural gas reserves at around 101.54 trillion cubic feet. This
translates into about 23 remaining years of oil reserves, 59
years of gas, and 146 years of coal at current production rates.
Indonesia’s renewable energy sources are also considerable. The
country is endowed with significant potential for hydropower,
micro/mini hydropower, solar, biomass, and wind, and holds 40%
of the world’s geothermal reserves... |
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ADB |
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Malaria Elimination, Published 2015.
The Regional Malaria and Other Communicable Disease Threats
Trust Fund supports developing member countries in developing
multi-country, cross-border, and multisector responses to urgent
malaria and other communicable disease issues... |
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ADB |
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Thailand: Industrialization and Economic Catch-Up, Published
2015.
This report identifies some of Thailand’s critical development
constraints and discusses policy measures and economic reforms
needed to accelerate economic transformation toward a more
modern and service-oriented economy. Thailand’s economic and
social transformation of the last 50 years has placed it in the
ranks of upper middle-income countries and made it an integral
part of global value chains. It has also established itself as a
regional hub for key transport and logistics, with a world-class
airport... |
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ADB |
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Promoting Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage through Carbon
Dioxide-Enhanced Oil Recovery in the People’s Republic of China,
Published 2015.
Injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) to improve the recovery of oil
from a depleted oil well is a proven process commonly known as
carbon dioxide–enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR). Since most of
the injected CO2 will be permanently isolated from the
atmosphere, capturing CO2 from an industrial plant (including
power plants) and utilizing it for CO2-EOR is commonly known as
carbon capture, utilization, and storage and is an effective
approach to mitigate CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel based
plants... |
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ADB |
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Addressing Climate Change Risks, Disasters, and Adaptation in
the People’s Republic of China, Published 2015.
It is vital for countries to identify climate risks, reduce
these risks through mitigation, and adapt to these risks—thereby
increasing resilience and reducing vulnerability. This study
informs decision makers regarding major climate change risks to
development and provides feasible policy recommendations for
consideration to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability in
the water, agriculture, and natural resource sectors of the
People’s Republic of China. |
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ADB |
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Achieving Environmental Sustainability in Myanmar, December 2015.Myanmar’s
long isolation from international markets and sources of finance
historically limited development, and thus, the pressure on its
environment. Many of its resources remain relatively intact,
despite an absence of effective environmental regulations. Yet,
as the country integrates into the global economy and its
economic development accelerates, resource degradation is rising
rapidly.
This paper aims to identify current and future environmental
problems in Myanmar, the pressures underpinning them, and the
policy measures that can manage them. |
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ADB |
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Public Debt Sustainability in Developing Asia: An Update,
December 2015.
The paper updates debt sustainability analysis (DSA) for
developing Asia, conducted in 2011. With the benefit of
hindsight, the accuracy of the earlier debt ratio forecasts and
underlying macroeconomic assumptions is assessed... |
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ADB |
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Myanmar Human Capital Development, Employment, and Labor
Markets, December 2015.
Human capital is one of the core prerequisites for rapid,
sustainable, and inclusive economic growth. Investments in
health and education—including technical and vocational
education and training—will be essential to engineer a
productive labor force in Myanmar while ensuring that all
population segments can contribute to and benefit from growth.
This paper focuses on developing human capital, with a focus on
health and education in the context of employment growth and an
employment-enabling environment. |
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ADB |
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Myanmar’s Agriculture Sector: Unlocking the Potential for
Inclusive Growth, December 2015.
With extensive land, water, and labor resources, as well as
proximity to fast-growing markets, the country’s agriculture has
key competitive advantages. This paper proposes key actions to
address agricultural constraints including improving land
tenure, expanding credit availability, investing in input
markets for nutrients and machinery, developing drainage and
irrigation systems, and enhancing rural transport and
electricity connectivity. This was written as a background paper
for the ADB Myanmar Country Diagnostics Study. |
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ADB |
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Nowcasting Indonesia, December 2015.
We produce predictions of the current state of the Indonesian
economy by estimating a Dynamic Factor Model on indicators
closely watched by market operators over the period of
2002–2014. Besides the standard difficulties associated with
constructing timely indicators of current economic conditions,
Indonesia presents additional challenges typical to emerging
market economies where data are often scant and unreliable. By
means of a pseudo-real-time forecasting exercise, we show that
our predictions are comparable to those of market operators.
Careful selection of indicators is also shown to be crucial for
better forecast performance when data quality is low |
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ADB |
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Innovations in Knowledge and Learning for Competitive Higher
Education in Asia and the Pacific, Published 2015.
Higher education institutions in Asia and the Pacific, modelled
on industrial age thinking that demands excellence in routinized
capacities, lack the ability to innovate and create new
knowledge enterprises. The transition to a knowledge economy is
affecting the purpose, content, pedagogy, and methodologies of
higher education. Nontraditional stakeholders such as
professional bodies, industry experts, think tanks, research
institutes, and field experts/practitioners are now involved not
only in planning but in providing higher education services. The
traditional model of “knowledge versus skills” is no longer
relevant. Higher education programs must consider lived
experiences, contextual knowledge, and indigenous knowledge. |
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ADB |
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Integrated Information and Communication Technology Strategies
for Competitive Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific,
Published 2015.
Higher education institutions must adopt an institution-wide,
holistic information and communication technology (ICT)
strategy, not a project-based approach, to avoid redundancies,
obsolescence, and large maintenance costs. A coordinated
top-down plus bottom-up intervention is best, with three areas
requiring attention: infrastructure, application software, and
staff development. ICT investments in higher education
institutions in support of teaching, research, and community
engagement are essential for developing and retaining
competitive advantage in the knowledge economy. |
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ADB |
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A Review and Evaluation of Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Labeling and
Consumer Information Programs, November 2015. The report is
based on desk-based research into the literature concerning VFEL
and a survey of 18 economies (13 of which are members of APEC).
The aim was to identify components of VFEL, and best practice
within each component. These findings were then used to evaluate
existing VFEL programs in order to highlight areas in which
individual programs met or fell short of best practice. |
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APEC |
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