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12. The Global Economic Crisis and Its Implications for Asian Economic Cooperation
- Author:
- Michael G. Plummer
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- The economic crisis of 2008–09 is the second major crisis in just over a decade that Asia has endured. Unlike the Asian crisis of 1997–98, however, the current crisis originated mainly in the West. Asia's excessive reliance on net exports as the principal driver of economic growth since the 1997–98 crisis rendered it especially vulnerable to external shocks, and most Asian countries have paid dearly. The more open the economy, the more vulnerable it is to such shocks. The newly industrialized Asian economies (Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan), which are among the most open and dynamic in the world, are expected to contract by about 6 percent in 2009.
- Topic:
- Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, Global Recession, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Taiwan, Asia, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong
13. A New Geography of Knowledge in the Electronics Industry? Asia\'s Role in Global Innovation Networks
- Author:
- Dieter Ernst
- Publication Date:
- 08-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- Political debates about globalization are focused on offshore outsourcing of manufacturing and services. But these debates neglect an important change in the geography of knowledge––the emergence of global innovation networks (GINs) that integrate dispersed engineering, product development, and research activities across geographic borders.
- Topic:
- Emerging Markets, Globalization, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- Asia
14. Multitrack Integration in East Asian Trade: Noodle Bowl or Matrix?
- Author:
- Peter A. Petri
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- East Asian trade agreements are often described as a complicated "noodle bowl," which shows links in the region as a snarled, overlapping and intertwined mass. But this is a misleading representation--Asia's regional agreements may in fact be creating an order of a different sort, building the foundations for a stronger regional trading system. Asian trade arrangements can be more constructively seen in terms of a trade agreements matrix, in which multiple negotiations produce an orderly progression of agreements to liberalize all potential bilateral relationships and move the region toward a coherent system of freer trade. The various approaches to deeper economic integration--regional arrangements, trans-Pacific agreements, and global engagement--are complementary paths that should eventually lead to an open global trading system. East Asia is of growing importance in the global marketplace, and adopting an aggressive multitrack strategy--as the region appears to be doing--may be the fastest route toward a new global framework.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Israel and Asia
15. China and the Depreciating U.S. Dollar
- Author:
- Richard C. K. Burdekin
- Publication Date:
- 01-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- Over the past five years, U.S. exports to China have been dwarfed by imports from that country, with the resulting trade deficit igniting a bout of China bashing reminiscent of the Japan bashing of the 1980s. A major culprit in the trade imbalance, according to many U.S. analysts and policymakers, is China's currency: the renminbi, they say, is too cheap relative to the dollar. Some are calling for high tariffs on Chinese goods or for further exchange-rate adjustment that would revalue the renminbi significantly upward, making Chinese goods less competitive. But with just 10.4 percent of total U.S. trade attributed to China in the first half of 2005, it is unrealistic that any renminbi exchange-rate adjustment could rein in the burgeoning U.S. trade deficit. And if the adjustment were drastic the United States could be the big loser: driving China out of the market for U.S. treasuries would most likely have calamitous consequences, not only for the dollar but for U.S. credit markets and for the U.S. economy in general.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Asia, and North America
16. Banking Crises in East Asia: The Price Tag of Liberalization?
- Author:
- Ilan Noy
- Publication Date:
- 11-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- The banking crises that swept through East Asia in 1997– 1998 set off dramatic recessions in the affected countries and imposed heavy costs on the domestic taxpayers. Fear of further crises prompted searches causes and early warning signs. It soon became apparent that liberalization the domestic financial sectors of the countries in crises contributed to genesis of these crises, but policymakers, regulators, and economists disagree about the reason for this. Initial scrutiny fell on unregulated international capital flows, but a comprehensive study suggests that liberalization can to financial instability either because of insufficient regulation of the financial sector or because of erosion of previously granted monopolies of existing banks. These possibilities suggest varying policy implications for the current state domestic financial systems in East Asia, including the challenges inherent opening up ChinaÂ's banking system to foreign competition as mandated in China–World Trade Organization accession agreement.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Israel and Asia
17. Asian Oil Market Outlook: Role of the Key Players
- Author:
- Jeffrey Brown and Kang Wu
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- The Asia Pacific region's dynamic oil market is marked by strong growth in consumption, declining regional oil production, and over capacity in its highly competitive oil-refining sector. Its "key players" are China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea—a group that includes the region's five top consumers and three of its major producers—and developments in these countries will have commercial and strategic implications for the whole region. On the consumption side, Japan's slow growth in demand has failed to dampen regional growth, which is now driven by China and India's fast growing thirst for oil. On the supply side, Indonesia's inevitable transition to a net oil importer highlights the trend toward growing dependence on Middle East oil, which already comprises 42–90 percent of imports among the key players. In response to this trend, China, Japan, and South Korea are pushing to acquire overseas oil reserves, with Japan and China already locked in a fierce competition for projected Russian supplies—a type of struggle that will likely become more commonplace.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Indonesia, Middle East, India, Asia, and South Korea
18. The Move to Preferential Trade in the Western Pacific Rim
- Author:
- John Ravenhill
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- Western Pacific Rim states have been slow to participate in preferential trade agreements (PTAs). In the past four years, however, more than 40 PTAs involving these economies have been proposed or are being implemented. For the first time, Japan and China have either signed or are negotiating bilateral or plurilateral agreements. The new interest in PTAs reflects the perception that they have been successful in other parts of the world, and is reinforced by dissatisfaction with the region's existing trade groupings. Although arguments can be made in favor of PTAs, they amplify political considerations in trade agreements, may adversely affect the political balance in participating countries, impose costs on nonparticipants, and deplete scarce negotiating resources. Nevertheless, the number of western Pacific Rim states participating in PTAs continues to climb. Northeast Asian countries have been following Europe in exploiting loopholes in WTO rules on PTAs to protect their noncompetitive sectors, thereby strengthening their political positions, which will likely make global liberalization more difficult.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, and Australia/Pacific
19. Managing Asia Pacific's Energy Dependence on the Middle East: Is There a Role for Central Asia?
- Author:
- Kang Wu and Fereidun Fesharaki
- Publication Date:
- 06-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- The Middle East is Asia Pacific's largest energy supplier, satisfying a demand for oil that must keep pace with the region's continued economic growth. This dependence on the Middle East has caused Asia Pacific to join the United States and other Western nations in the hunt for alternative suppliers. Central Asia, located between the Middle East and Asia Pacific and already an oil and gas exporter, is an attractive possibility. With energy production projected to rise rapidly over the next decade, Central Asia is poised to become a major player in the world energy market. But the land-locked region's options for transporting oil and gas to Asia Pacific markets are limited and problematic. Passage via pipeline east through China presents construction challenges; south through Iran, or through India and Pakistan via Afghanistan, is fraught with political difficulties. Not until geopolitics become more favorable to the south-bound options, or technologies make the China route possible, will Asia Pacific be able to tap the energy resources of Central Asia.
- Topic:
- Security and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, China, Iran, Middle East, and Asia