A rich, comparative and grounded examination of modern theories of globalization, this book introduces an innovative perspective that highlights the significance of microglobalization in understanding quotidian lives in a context of ever expanding transnational exchanges and connectivities. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in globalization, cosmopolitanism, mobility, migration and transnationalism, (national) identity and everyday life.
In contrast to speculative, sweeping literature on globalization Global Exposure in East Asia grounds globalization theories in a detailed empirical analysis, providing a systematic investigation of what until now have been grand narratives of huge global phenomena. This book presents a micro-level explanation of globalization by examining individual global exposure and its influence in the values and perceptions of individuals, contending that individual and personal global experience, or 'microglobalization', is a key variable in understanding how modern mobile persons act and think in ways different from those who remain geographically immobile and constrained. Drawing on detailed empirical evidence from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Global Exposure in East Asia explores the structures of global exposure and their influences on values and identities in contemporary East Asia. A rich, comparative and grounded examination of modern theories of globalization, this book introduces an innovative perspective that highlights the significance of microglobalization in understanding quotidian lives in a context of ever expanding transnational exchanges and connectivities. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in globalization, cosmopolitanism, mobility, migration and transnationalism, (national) identity and everyday life.
In contrast to speculative, sweeping literature on globalization Global Exposure in East Asia grounds globalization theories in a detailed empirical analysis, providing a systematic investigation of what until now have been grand narratives of huge global phenomena. This book presents a micro-level explanation of globalization by examining individual global exposure and its influence in the values and perceptions of individuals, contending that individual and personal global experience, or 'microglobalization', is a key variable in understanding how modern mobile persons act and think in ways different from those who remain geographically immobile and constrained. Drawing on detailed empirical evidence from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Global Exposure in East Asia explores the structures of global exposure and their influences on values and identities in contemporary East Asia. A rich, comparative and grounded examination of modern theories of globalization, this book introduces an innovative perspective that highlights the significance of microglobalization in understanding quotidian lives in a context of ever expanding transnational exchanges and connectivities. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in globalization, cosmopolitanism, mobility, migration and transnationalism, (national) identity and everyday life.
In the coming decades, East Asian economies must face the challenges of an increasingly globalized marketplace. This book explores the changing parameters of competition in East Asia, and argues that success ultimately will depend on the ability of the region's firms to harness the potential of global production networks and to build their own innovative capability. Presenting the latest findings on global production networks and the evolution of technological capabilities, it provides researchers, students, and policymakers with in-depth information and analysis on key issues related to growth and development in East Asia. East Asian firms must not only achieve greater efficiency but also become more innovative, offering differentiated products in order to vie with other first-tier suppliers of multinational corporations. These firms will also need to develop a technological edge if they are to compete with corporations from the leading OECD countries and form their own global production networks. 'Global Production Networking and Technological Change in East Asia' argues that a development strategy linked to technological advance will be necessary to foster the growth of innovative national firms that can remain competitive in global markets.
COVID-19 has presented huge challenges to governments, businesses, civil societies, and people from all walks of life, but its impact has been highly variegated, affecting society in multiple negative ways, with uneven geographical and socioeconomic patterns. The crisis revealed existing contradictions and inequalities in society, compelling us to question what it means to return to “normal” and what insights can be gleaned from Southeast Asia for thinking about a post-pandemic world. In this regard, this edited volume collects the informed views of an ensemble of social scientists – area studies, development studies, and legal scholars; anthropologists, architects, economists, geographers, planners, sociologists, and urbanists; representing academic institutions, activist and charitable organisations, policy and research institutes, and areas of professional practice – who recognise the necessity of critical commentary and engaged scholarship. These contributions represent a wide-ranging set of views, collectively producing a compilation of reflections on the following three themes in particular: (1) Urbanisation, digital infrastructures, economies, and the environment; (2) Migrants, (im)mobilities, and borders; and (3) Collective action, communities, and mutual action. Overall, this edited volume first aims to speak from a situated position in relevant debates to challenge knowledge about the pandemic that has assigned selective and inequitable visibility to issues, people, or places, or which through its inferential or interpretive capacity has worked to set social expectations or assign validity to certain interventions with a bearing on the pandemic’s course and the future it has foretold. Second, it aims to advance or renew understandings of social challenges, risks, or inequities that were already in place, and which, without further or better action, are to be features of our “post-pandemic world” as well. This volume also contributes to the ongoing efforts to de-centre and decolonise knowledge production. It endeavours to help secure a place within these debates for a region that was among the first outside of East Asia to be forced to contend with COVID-19 in a substantial way and which has evinced a marked and instructive diversity and dynamism in its fortunes.
In contrast to speculative, sweeping literature on globalization Global Exposure in East Asia grounds globalization theories in a detailed empirical analysis, providing a systematic investigation of what until now have been grand narratives of huge global phenomena. This book presents a micro-level explanation of globalization by examining individual global exposure and its influence in the values and perceptions of individuals, contending that individual and personal global experience, or 'microglobalization', is a key variable in understanding how modern mobile persons act and think in ways different from those who remain geographically immobile and constrained. Drawing on detailed empirical evidence from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Global Exposure in East Asia explores the structures of global exposure and their influences on values and identities in contemporary East Asia. A rich, comparative and grounded examination of modern theories of globalization, this book introduces an innovative perspective that highlights the significance of microglobalization in understanding quotidian lives in a context of ever expanding transnational exchanges and connectivities. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in globalization, cosmopolitanism, mobility, migration and transnationalism, (national) identity and everyday life.
The World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update is a comprehensive, twice-yearly review of the region's economies prepared by the East Asia and Pacific region of the World Bank. In 2011, an estimated 38 million people will move out of poverty, and the proportion of people living on less than US $2 a day expected to decrease to about 24 percent, down two percentage points from 2010. Growth in developing East Asia in the first half of 2011 continued to moderate, mainly due to weakening external demand. Domestic demand in East Asian economies remained the largest contributor to growth, although it is easing driven by the normalization of fiscal and monetary policy. Real GDP in developing East Asia is projected to increase by 8.2 percent in 2011 (4.7 percent excluding China), while growth will slow to 7.8 percent in 2012. Given the outlook for protracted low global growth, any possible stimulus should be fiscally sustainable, well-targeted, and directed at promoting the structural transformation needed to sustain stronger, domestically driven growth. Further investment in disaster management and prevention is also becoming more important for the region.
World Development Indicators 2015 World Development Indicators 2015 provides a compilation of relevant, highquality, and internationally comparable statistics about global development and the fight against poverty. It is intended to help policymakers, students, analysts, professors, program managers, and citizens find and use data related to all aspects of development, including those that help monitor progress toward the World Bank Group’s two goals of ending poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Six themes are used to organize indicators—world view, people, environment, economy, states and markets, and global links. As in past editions, World Development Indicators reviews global progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and provides key indicators related to poverty. WDI 2015 includes: * A selection of the most popular indicators across 214 economies and 14 country groups organized into six WDI themes * Thematic and regional highlights, providing an overview of global development trends * An in-depth review of the progress made toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals * A user guide describing resources available online and on mobile apps A complementary online data analysis tool is available this year to allow readers to further investigate global, regional, and country progress on the MDGs: data.worldbank.org/mdgs. Each of the remaining sections includes an introduction; six stories highlighting specific global, regional or country trends; and a table of the most relevant and popular indicators for that theme, together with a discussion of indicator compilation methodology. WDI DataFinder Mobile App Download the WDI DataFinder Mobile App and other Data Apps at data.worldbank.org/apps. WDI DataFinder is a mobile app for browsing the current WDI database on smartphones and tablets, using iOS, Android, and Blackberry, available in four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Chinese. Use the app to: * browse data using the structure of the WDI * visually compare countries and indicators * create, edit, and save customized tables, charts, and maps * share what you create on Twitter, Facebook, and via email
This edited book complements and follows up on the book, Thompson and Volgy et al, Regions, Power and Conflict: Constrained Capabilities, Hierarchy, and Rivalry. It is predicated in part on the paucity of published material available on comparing regional international politics. Monadic, dyadic, and systemic approaches all have their uses and have been exploited extensively. The same cannot be said about comparative regional analysis. The premise is that a great deal of international politics takes place within regional parameters. Most states simply lack the capability or interest in devoting many resources to extra-regional affairs. Yet each region is distinctive. In some, military coups remain common while they have died out as a form of political practice in others. A few have been highly conflictual and then become more pacific, while others persist in their conflict intensity. Some have powerful neighbors with intervention tendencies, while others are surrounded by relatively weak states. Some are rich; others are poor. The point is that regions, all with proper names, have attributes that can be harnessed through comparison to explain why regional behavior differs greatly across the planet. The aim is to replace the proper names with the leading variables that appear to drive behavior. For instance, to shrug and say “that’s the Middle East for you” does not take us very far. Replacing the Middle East label with conceptualization about how a set of small, weak, autocratic states behave subject to high penetration by major powers might take us farther than shrugging off regional identity. We have good reasons to think that comparative regional analysis can deliver an explanatory value-added product just as much as alternative “levels of analysis” can. Ultimately, we might desire to integrate separate levels of analysis, rather than segregating them. But in the short term, we need to encourage comparative regional analysis because it is the least developed perspective. Why that might be the case can be debated, but it stems in part from our disciplinary tendencies for some analysts to specialize in regional behavior largely in a descriptive vein while others prefer to focus on explaining universal behavior. Comparative regional behavior tends to be squeezed out by regional scholars who suspect generalization about behavior and universal scholars who suspect particular contexts such as regions. Comparative regional analysis requires analysts who are willing to explore generalization but acknowledge regional contexts more explicitly than is customary. At the same time, more general substitutes for those regional labels must be introduced if explanatory headway is to be achieved.
