Future economic development and the well-being of citizens in South East Europe (SEE) increasingly depend on greater economic competitiveness. Realising the region’s economic potential requires a holistic, growth-oriented policy approach. Against the backdrop of enhanced European Union (EU) ...
While economic globalization benefited Southeast Asia, especially during the 1990s boom, the region now seems to be caught between two emerging economic giants - China and India. What challenges and opportunities does the rise of China and India pose for Southeast Asia and how should policy-makers respond? Are bilateral free trade arrangements and bilateral economic partnerships a boon or bane for competitiveness? In identifying approaches and strategies to coping with these challenges and leveraging on the opportunities available, this book also links the quest for competitiveness with the necessity of social protection. The link comes in the form of the people who work for firms as human resources, and as users and innovators of technology. The book acknowledges and discusses the problems of inadequate technological and innovative capacity and the problems of managing labour productivity in Southeast Asia. However, the book also cautions against focusing on people solely as productive labour, whether in production or the knowledge sector. By highlighting the adverse social, economic and political consequences of ignoring social protection issues and challenging the myth that addressing social protection undermines competitiveness, the book emphasizes the social responsibilities incumbent on governments and firms in this age of growing economic insecurities.
The outstanding export performance of South Asian countries (India in particular) over the 1990s has prompted some observers to see in it the roots of an export-led growth similar to that of its Southeast Asian neighbors. We employ export unit values (UVs) cum real competitiveness analysis to the manufacturing sector of four South Asian countries (with particular focus on India), in order to investigate the determinants of this apparent success. Shifts toward higher UVs relative to technology leaders serve as the most appropriate indication of underlying structural changes, and such change is manifested in technology closing-up processes among countries. According to our indices, the export competitiveness of South Asian countries (except Pakistan) seems to have slightly improved relative to its Southeast Asian comparators, but not relative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. South Asian export growth has been mainly driven by relative quantity expansion through a reduction in relative costs rather than relative quality improvement. Such expansion has been concentrated in natural-resource-intensive, standard technology-intensive (in India), and labor-intensive sectors (in Bangladesh). On the other hand, the more technology-intensive sectors in India still suffer from a significant gap relative to Thailand, which has not been closing up in the last decade. These findings suggest some notes of caution in interpreting the recent good export performance of South Asian economies.
In an age in which it is increasingly necessary for nations to consider their competitiveness and at a time when the world economy is facing recession, this book explores the possible trajectory of ASEAN arguably one of the most dynamic areas in the world as a regional economic and political bloc. This important and timely study focuses on the role of foreign direct investment in advancing the performance of ASEAN and the competitiveness of its firms, whereas other studies typically focus solely on the role of trade. The expert contributors an interdisciplinary assembly of economists, lawyers and political scientists present a comprehensive view of ASEAN s experiences over the past decade, addressing the industrial competitiveness of ASEAN and analysing the role of MNEs against the background of the challenges of integration. They illustrate that regional integration will only be a success if ASEAN s linkages are broadened with global partners through negotiations of Free Trade Agreements. The book concludes that although much still remains to be done, and many promises are still to be unveiled, ASEAN s coming of age is an historic milestone. Competitiveness of the ASEAN Countries will appeal to a broad readership including students, academics and researchers with an interest in Asian studies, international business, international economics and international law.
This book answers the recently topical questions of how China’s processed trade affects the trade of Southeast Asia. What is Southeast Asia’s role in Factory Asia, the region’s complex of cross-border supply chains? What is Southeast Asia’s involvement in building or joining production networks in the region? And, most important, how can Southeast Asia increase the value added of its products and improve its competitiveness? This book provides rigorous analysis of how trade policy affects value added, highly disaggregated at the firm and product level, of the six Southeast Asian countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Viet Nam – and combines this with thorough examinations of their trade, industrial and labour policies.
This book analyses the growth, development and crisis experiences of the Southeast Asian economies, in particular, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- also known as ASEAN-5. The proposition is developed that the robust economic performance of the Southeast Asian economies during the past four decades has been attributed to the various factors, developments and independent national policies which have been pursued by the individual member countries rather than to any regional economic framework. The book covers eleven topics which is suitable for a one-semester course on the economics of Southeast Asia. Also, it has a narrower area coverage as it focuses only on the five economies, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The sectoral treatment of the crisis impact and the analytical treatment of policy responses to the crisis differentiate this book from other publications on the same topic. Finally, the book provides an analysis of national developments, policies and factors which have contributed to the economic transformation of the respective Southeast Asian economies.
Originally published in 1987. This study evaluates micro- and macroeconomic determinants for the export performance of European suppliers to the markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). By comparing marketing strategies and the respective economic environment of suppliers from ElH"ope , Japan , and the U S - the major exporter
Competitiveness of a country requires continuous upgrading and, sometimes, major transformation. Thailand is at the crossroad. It can no longer pursue a strategy based on low-cost advantages, but its capability achievements are still too low to become an advanced economy. This book points out weaknesses of Thailand's national innovation system or education and suggests how the country should develop new capabilities to survive and prosper in the globalized and fiercely competitive world. It will be useful to researchers and students who want to learn more about Thailand and emerging countries, and also to policy-makers and executives involved in economic and industrial development. Co-published with IRASEC (Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia), Bangkok
