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on South East Asia |
| By: | Masahiro Kawai (Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)); Henrik Schmiegelow |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses how financial crises in emerging Asia and Japan worked as catalysts for legal reforms. The responses of six Asian countries with different legal histories to financial crises that posed similar challenges are of both legal and economic interest. We first provide a theoretical framework that focuses on law and economics. We then review the basic approaches adopted by the Asian countries affected by financial crises in 1997–1998 to bank and corporate restructuring and to legal and other reforms. Finally we examine indicators that measure the quality of legal institutions (regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption) for the six countries to determine whether these indicators show improvement over time. We find that all six countries pursued significant legal and judicial reforms, but the indicators exhibit mixed results : the Republic of Korea shows clear improvements in all aspects, while the Philippines exhibits clear deterioration and Indonesia indicates a steep decline followed by remarkable improvement. We argue that reforms of the economic laws alone cannot improve the quality of entire legal and judicial systems of countries. What matters is the enforcement of substantive law by procedural law, the efficiency of the justice system, and other political and social factors. In the case of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, the colonial “transplant effect†of Western legal systems may have made the implementation of laws a significant challenge. In Thailand, implementation was affected by the “yellow shirts†(anti-Thaksin) versus “red shirts†(pro-Thaksin) conflict. Long time lags, perhaps of several decades, may be needed to observe how de jure changes to substantive laws lead to de facto improvements of legal institutions. |
| Keywords: | Financial crises, legal reforms, Japan, emerging Asia, the quality of legal institutions, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption` |
| JEL: | G01 G28 G33 K40 O16 O43 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:govern:23852&r=sea |
| By: | Shujiro Urata (Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)) |
| Abstract: | In May 2013 the ASEAN+6 countries began to negotiate the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The objective of this paper is to analyze the feasibility of constructing such a region-wide agreement and to examine ways to multilateralize it. The paper first reviews free trade agreement (FTA) developments, and discusses the characteristics and motives of FTAs in East Asia. It then analyzes the contents of major plurilateral FTAs in East Asia, that is ASEAN’s five FTAs each with the People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, and Australia/New Zealand, which are considered as a base for a region-wide FTA. Finally, the paper examines the feasibility of the RCEP by consolidating the ASEAN+1 FTAs and discusses the possible ways to multilateralize the RCEP. |
| Keywords: | ASEAN+6, RCEP, region-wide agreement, FTA, East Asia, ASEAN, ASEAN+1 |
| JEL: | F13 F15 O19 O24 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:govern:23853&r=sea |
| By: | THORBECKE, Willem |
| Abstract: | China runs surpluses of $400 billion-$500 billion in processing trade. In value-added terms, East Asia as a whole runs surpluses in processing trade with the West. This generates appreciation pressures on exchange rates throughout the region. Using data up to 2012, this paper reports that a concerted appreciation would rebalance trade. An appreciation in China accompanied by depreciations in other surplus economies such as Taiwan and South Korea would not reduce China's surplus in processing trade but would increase its deficit in ordinary (labor-intensive) trade. To rebalance, East Asia as a whole needs to give market forces greater play in determining exchange rates, and international organizations need to conduct surveillance on regional production networks. |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:14002&r=sea |
| By: | Simon J. Evenett (Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an account of the resort in recent years by governments in the Asia and Pacific region to discrimination against foreign commercial interests. As in previous systemic economic crises, policymakers altered the mix of discriminatory policies employed. This time around governments of higher income economies in the region frequently softened the budget constraints of firms, offering a range of financial incentives that went beyond high-profile bank sector bailouts. Meanwhile, many developing countries in the Asia and Pacific region relied more on traditional forms of protectionism. The result is a more fragmented set of markets in the Asia and Pacific region than before the crisis. |
| Keywords: | the Asia and Pacific region, financial incentives, traditional forms of protectionism, Global Trade Alert Database, financial sector bailout |
| JEL: | F13 F53 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:financ:23851&r=sea |
| By: | Choongjae Cho (KEIP - Korea Institute for International Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | This study tries to find the causal relationship between bilateral trade and FDI in India and East Asian countries using macroeconomic data and derive policy implications for regional integration. Since the late 2000s, Korea, Japan and Singapore’s trade and FDI with India have been rapidly increasing, but the causal relationship between trade and FDI could not be found, contrary to expectations. The relationship between trade and FDI in the US, the UK and Germany with India showed one-way or two-way causality, respectively. The estimation suggests that the causal relationship between trade and FDI in both countries could be formed by long-term economic exchange rather than a short-term surge in scale. |
| Keywords: | trade, FDI, Causality, India, East Asia |
| JEL: | C22 F19 O53 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:tradew:23857&r=sea |
| By: | Hayakawa, Kazunobu; Yang, Chih-Hai |
| Abstract: | The literature has revealed the positive impacts of free trade agreements (FTAs) on export prices by employing product-level trade data. This paper empirically examines the impacts of FTAs on import prices at the firm level. We focus on firm-level imports in China from ASEAN countries by employing China’s firm-product-level trade data. As a result, controlling for firm characteristics and product characteristics, we could not find significantly positive impacts of an FTA’s entry into force on import prices of FTA eligible products. Instead, we found a significant increase in import quantities of FTA eligible products. Thus, at the firm level, the gains from FTAs for exporters may be the increase in export quantities rather than the rise in export prices. |
| Keywords: | China, Southeast Asia, International trade, Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Imports, Prices, FTA utilization |
| JEL: | F10 F13 F15 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper436&r=sea |
| By: | Hayakawa, Kazunobu; Laksanapanyakul, Nuttawut; Shiino, Kohei |
| Abstract: | The literature on the use of free trade agreements (FTAs) has recently been growing because it is becoming more important to encourage the use of current FTAs than to increase the number of FTAs. In this paper, we discuss some practical issues in the computation of FTA utilization rates, which provide a useful measure to discover how much FTA schemes are used in trade. For example, compared with the use of customs data on FTA utilization in imports, when using certificates of origin data on FTA utilization in exports, there are several points about which we should be careful. Our practical guidance on the computation of FTA utilization rates will be helpful when computing such rates and in examining the determinants of those rates empirically. |
| Keywords: | Thailand, Asia, International trade, Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Certificates of Origin, FTA Utilization |
| JEL: | F10 F13 F15 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper438&r=sea |
| By: | Neda Trifković (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the interaction between food standards and vertical coordination in the Vietnamese pangasius sector. For farmers and processors alike, the adoption of standards is motivated by a desire to improve market access by ensuring high quality supply. Instead of encouraging the application of standards and contract farming, processing companies prefer to vertically integrate primary production largely due to concerns over the stable supply of pangasius with satisfactory quality and safety attributes. These tendencies increase the market dominance of industrial farming and worsen the position of small household farms. |
| Keywords: | food standards, motivation, vertical coordination, pangasius, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:foi:wpaper:2014_01&r=sea |
| By: | Firman Permana Wandani (Ministry of Public Works, JL); Yuichiro Yoshida (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the spatial dimensions of automobile and motorcycle trips on national roads between neighboring cities in Indonesia, using spatial econometric models. Vehicle trips are measured in terms of vehicle kilo- meters traveled (VKT) for both types of vehicles. The study finds that motorcycle trips are characteristically local because there is no sign of a spatial correlation with neighboring cities for such trips; by contrast, automobile trips are often made across city boundaries, although the models demonstrate only small spatial correlations among neighboring cities for automobile trips. The models also indicate that road capacity, gasoline prices, income in the region, population and worker density, city size, and number of public buses, have significant effects on VKT. The results suggest that in general, urban transportation policies for national roads could be less complex because local solutions may be more effective in solving the traffic problems of individual Indonesian cities. |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hir:idecdp:3-11&r=sea |
| By: | Hayakawa, Kazunobu; Laksanapanyakul, Nuttawut |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes new measures of the liberalization level of free trade agreements (FTAs). Our measures take three issues into account. First, in order to identify the differences in FTA liberalization level over time, we compute the annual liberalization level rather than the level during the whole period. Second, our measure includes information on tariff margins, i.e. the difference between FTA rates and most favoured nation rates. Third, the restrictiveness of rules of origin (RoOs) is also taken into account in order to penalize the liberalization level of products with more restrictive RoOs. In this paper, we compute such measures of FTA liberalization level for three FTAs in Thailand. |
| Keywords: | Thailand, International trade, Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Tariff, Trade policy, Rules of origin, FTA utilization |
| JEL: | F10 F13 F15 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper437&r=sea |
| By: | Qingyuan Du (Monash University); Shang-Jin Wei (Columbia University, National Bureau of Economic Research and Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research) |
| Abstract: | Motivated by recent empirical work, this paper formalizes a theory of competitive savings - an arms race in household savings for mating competition that is made more fierce by an increase in the male-to-female ratio in the pre-marital cohort. Relative to the empirical work, the theory can clarify a number of important questions: What determines the strength of the savings response by males (or households with a son)? Can women (or households with a daughter) dis-save? What are the conditions under which aggregate savings would go up in response to a higher sex ratio? This theory can potentially help to understand the savings patterns in China, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other economies that have experienced a dramatic increase in the pre-marital sex ratio. |
| Keywords: | Surplus Men, Savings Race, Trade Surplus, Global Imbalances |
| JEL: | F3 F4 J1 J7 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hkm:wpaper:252013&r=sea |
| By: | Hallingby, Hanne Kristine; Hartviksen, Gjermund; Elaluf-Calderwood, Silvia; Sørensen, Carsten |
| Abstract: | -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88517&r=sea |
| By: | Keesookpun, Chutipong; Mitomo, Hitoshi |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the analyses of the determinants of mobile carrier switching behaviour based on the idea that such the behaviour is the evidence of competition in the mobile market. Indeed, with the possibility to change a mobile service provider, there will be less concentration of customers towards any particular operator, and more distribution of market share among all competitors because the newcomer company can offer its competitive services and gain more subscribers. In order to extract the factors affecting switching decision, both quantitative and qualitative analyses are employed. Binary logit estimation is used as the quantitative method, while qualitative outcomes are derived from the composition of responses regarding carrier switching intention. This study uses a modified estimation model incorporating carrier-related switching costs inspired by Grzybowski (2008). Nevertheless, it is the analysis of a developing country in which Thailand is selected as ground for investigation. The data is collected from surveys randomly distributed within the whole country... -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88472&r=sea |
| By: | Benedetto Francesco, Ballatore |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to explore if the successful reform process of the Singapore Civil Service (carried out, since 1969, by the People Action Party) with the aim to transform Singapore into a modern industrial economy, can be applied in Italian public administration characterised by low levels of productivity and efficiency. To do that this paper will describe: 1) the Singapore Civil Service organization and the main reforms, which improved the quality of the public service delivered to the Singaporeans; 2) the main features, which afflict the Italian P.A. efficiency;3) the possibility to introduce Singapore's attitudinal and institutional reforms in the Italian public sector. |
| Keywords: | Singapore Civil Service, Italian public administration, Meritocracy, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Reform |
| JEL: | H11 |
| Date: | 2013–12–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52685&r=sea |
| By: | Thi Hong Van Hoang (Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier Business School, Montpellier Research in Management (MRM)); Hooi Hooi Lean (Economics Program, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia); Wing-Keung Wong (Department of Economics, Hong Kong Baptist University) |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afc:wpaper:05-13&r=sea |
| By: | Evans, Martin |
| Abstract: | This paper describes a new analytical framework for the quantitative assessment of international external positions. The framework links each country’s current net foreign asset position to its current trade flows, forecasts of future trade flows, and expectations concerning future returns on foreign assets and liabilities in an environment where countries cannot run Ponzi schemes or exploit arbitrage opportunities in world financial markets. It provides guidance on how external positions should be measured in the data, and on how the sustainability of a country’s current position can be assessed. To illustrate its usefulness, I study the external positions of 12 countries (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, The United States and The United Kingdom) between 1970 and 2011. In particular, I examine how changes in the perceived risk associated with future returns across world financial markets contributed to evolution of external positions before the 2008 financial crisis, and during the ensuing Great Recession. |
| Keywords: | Global Imbalances, Foreign Asset Positions, Current Accounts, International Debt, International Solvency, Great Recession |
| JEL: | F3 F32 |
| Date: | 2013–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52363&r=sea |