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on South East Asia |
| By: | Donehower, Gretchen (University of California, Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | Aging populations in Asia are worried that they are facing a “care crisis, ” with many older people in need of care having no one to care for them. However, we do not have a clear picture of current care patterns: How much care is currently being consumed? Who is providing that care? Are women and men serving equally as paid or unpaid caregivers? We explore the methods for answering some of these basic empirical questions about unpaid care work using the National Time Transfer Accounts, which show that older people are far from being a major source of unpaid care demand, but are making net transfers of time to other age groups well into their elder years. In our group of Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Thailand, Türkiye, and Viet Nam), these time transfers come on average from women. |
| Keywords: | eldercare; childcare; unpaid care work; time use; transfers |
| JEL: | J13 J14 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2025–04–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0777 |
| By: | Ceballos, Francisco; Aguilar, Francisco; de Brauw, Alan; Nguyen, Trang; van den Berg, Marrit |
| Abstract: | Concurrent with its rapid economic growth, Viet Nam has been experiencing a food systems transformation. Broad changes in the food environment have been a key part of this transition. While the availability of processed food is ubiquitous, the food environment continues to be largely dominated by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). So, to build strategies to improve the availability and affordability of healthy foods, MSMEs are a key entry point. In this paper, we use primary survey data to separate key sources of variation in MSMEs’ organizational dimensions and business practices by type of outlet, rural-urban location, and gender of the owners. We focus on outcomes related to employment, food sources, business finance, good business practices, and nutrition knowledge and attitudes. We find limited differences in this set of outcomes in terms of whether an outlet is located in a rural, peri-urban, or urban area, or in terms of the gender of its owners. Instead, most of the variation in outcomes can be linked to the type of outlet, raising specific types of outlets as a key focus when seeking to foster the supply of healthier foods in the food environment. |
| Keywords: | enterprises; food environment; food systems; gender; Vietnam; Asia; South-eastern Asia |
| Date: | 2025–04–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:174099 |
| By: | Athaya, Haura; Simatupang, Togar M |
| Abstract: | In this era, digital transformation become a key driver in enhancing the efficiency of the pharmaceutical supply chain. This study conducts a bibliometric literature review on digital transformation and pharmaceutical supply chains to identify research trends, literature gaps, and further development opportunities. The data are taken from Google Scholar and Scopus up to 2025, this research analyzes publications with the keywords “digital transformation” and “pharmaceutical supply chain” utilizing VOSviewer software. The findings indicate the adoption of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and supply chain resilience. Furthermore, while there is extensive global research on digital transformation in supply chains, studies focusing on the pharmaceutical industry are limited in Indonesia. However, this study provides insights into the importance of digitalizati on in the pharmaceutical supply chain. It also encourages further research to understand the gap, regulatory implications, and collaborations, especially in the Indonesian context. |
| Date: | 2025–04–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:bm489_v1 |
| By: | Bayudan-Dacuycuy, Connie; Vargas, Anna Rita P.; Epetia, Ma. Christina F.; Ocbina, John Joseph S. |
| Abstract: | Since the 1970s, the Philippines has faced a persistent skills mismatch, producing more college graduates than the economy can absorb. This has led to lower wages, decreased job satisfaction, reduced productivity, and higher turnover rates. Addressing this issue requires a well-functioning Labor Market Information System (LMIS). This study contributes to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Skills Anticipation and Prioritization of Skills Requirements (SAPSR) Framework, which helps identify skills needs. The study highlights valuable existing data sources and LMIs but points out significant areas for improvement in data collection, capability building, and institutional arrangements. The paper offers recommendations for enhancing the LMIS and SAPSR through partnerships, skills taxonomy, more detailed data collection, and collaboration with other initiatives like PhilJobNet and the Philippine Skills Framework. Training to utilize emerging data sources and qualitative and quantitative methods is also emphasized to ensure long-term success. |
| Keywords: | TESDA;labor market information system;skills anticipation and prioritization of skills requirements framework;skills need anticipation;Technical Education and Skills Development Authority |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:rpseri:rps_2025-03 |
| By: | Thomas Lloyd; Dean Yang |
| Abstract: | How does early educational quality affect longer-term academic outcomes? We shed light on this question via a natural experiment in the Philippines—the implementation of a mother tongue education policy in public schools in kindergarten to Grade 3. This policy led to an unexpected decline in educational quality, but differentially in a subset of schools strongly predicted by pre-policy student language composition. We use language composition variables as instrumental variables for treatment. Leveraging panel data and confirming robustness to pre-trends, we find that the policy led to declines in standardized test scores in public primary schools. Employing a triple-difference strategy with Philippine Census data (across cohorts, localities, and decadal censuses), we show that by 2020, cohorts fully exposed to the policy completed 0.3 fewer years of schooling. By revealing how a policy-induced reduction in early education quality reduces educational attainment in later years, our results underscore the importance of investing in the quality of education in the first years of schooling. |
| JEL: | H75 I21 I28 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33600 |
| By: | Kunimoto, Takashi (Singapore Management University); Zhang, Cuiling (Singapore Management University) |
| Abstract: | Efficient, voluntary bilateral trades are generally not implementable in an interdependent values environment where agents’ information is ex ante symmetric (i.e., both parties have private information and each party’s valuation depends on the other’s information in the same way). Thus, we seek more positive results by employing two-stage mechanisms in which (i) the outcome (e.g., allocation of the goods) is determined first; (ii) the agents partially learn the state via their own outcome-decision payoffs; and (iii) transfers are finally made. We propose the approximate shoot-the-liar (AS) mechanism and generalized shoot-the-liar (GS) mechanism and identify mild conditions for each mechanism to have the desired properties. The AS mechanism ensures “approximately” efficient, voluntary trades. We also establish that if we ensure (exactly) efficient, voluntary trades, there is no loss of generality in focusing on the GS mechanism. We then identify a necessary and sufficient condition for the GS mechanism to implement efficient, voluntary trades. |
| Keywords: | bilateral trade; interdependent values; two-stage mechanisms |
| JEL: | C72 D78 D82 |
| Date: | 2025–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:smuesw:2025_001 |
| By: | Ghorpade, Yashodhan (World Bank); Imtiaz, Muhammad Saad (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between violent conflict and the willingness of potential migrants to accept lower skilled work (occupational downgrading). We develop a theoretical model of migration decisions, which we test using an innovative survey module administered to high-skilled youth in Myanmar. Consistent with the predictions of the model, we show that insecurity induced by conflict reduces the additional wage premium that individuals would typically demand for taking on lower-skilled work, indicating greater amenability to occupational downgrading. These effects are particularly pronounced for disadvantaged groups, such as women, ethnic minorities, and those with weaker labor market networks or English language skills. The results are driven by respondents from areas under territorial contestation, and those interviewed after the sudden activation of a conscription law during the survey. This further confirms how security considerations may override the preference for skill-appropriate job matching, suggesting that conflict may worsen labor market outcomes and reduce potential gains from migration, especially for disadvantaged groups. |
| Keywords: | occupational downgrading, migration, conflict, compensating differential, Myanmar |
| JEL: | J61 O15 F22 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17735 |
| By: | Kok, Chun Chee (Monash University); Lim, Gedeon (Hong Kong university); Shariat, Danial (UC Berkeley); Siddique, Abu (Royal Holloway, University of London); Tsuda, Shunsuke (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | We exploit a population resettlement program of ethnic minorities in Malaysia to identify long-run effects of interethnic proximity on economic and political development. From 1948 to 1951, the colonial government moved 500, 000 rural Chinese into hundreds of isolated, mono-ethnic camps. In ethnic majority Malay communities adjacent to these camps, we find greater economic prosperity and lower vote shares for the ethno-nationalist Malay party. Effects are stronger in areas with historical, interethnic economic complementarities. Primary survey data suggests that trust-building and social integration were key channels. Our findings highlight the importance of persistent, localized contact in the co-evolution of economic and political development. |
| Keywords: | Malaysia, development, political preference, ethnicity, Chinese |
| JEL: | D72 O15 R23 J15 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17776 |
| By: | Jacob Funk Kirkegaard (Peterson Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | As the world and especially other Asian and European economies enter the accelerated process of aging that Japan experienced from the mid-1990s onwards, learning the right policy lessons from Japan's response is crucial. This paper argues that, overall, Japan has done relatively well by implementing a response that--even if often belatedly so--has mitigated some of the worst economic effects of aging. Japan has successfully raised domestic labor utilization and immigration levels, integrated its economy more with the rest of the world, and implemented a fiscal policy based on debt expansion that has seen debt costs decline. Other advanced Asian economies and China now face aging processes materially faster than Japan's and will age simultaneously rather than alone like Japan. In addition, many advanced economies will age during a period of much slower global economic growth and less rather than more global trade and investment opening than what Japan faced from the mid-1990s. These less benign international economic and political circumstances mean that many advanced economies will likely not age with the same relative political and economic stability seen in Japan in the last 30 years. In time, this paper argues, "Japanification" will no longer mean a slowly developing economic disaster but will come to mean competent management of a very difficult economic transition. |
| Keywords: | Japan, Aging, Demographics, Labor Utilization, Immigration, Productivity, Fiscal Policy, Government Debt and Deficits |
| JEL: | E24 E63 F22 H30 H51 H55 H62 J11 J13 N15 N35 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp25-4 |
| By: | Kunimoto, Takashi (Singapore Management University); Saran, Rene (University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati,); Serrano, Roberto (Brown University) |
| Abstract: | When the normative goals for a set of agents can be summarized in a set-valued rule and agents take actions that are rationalizable, a new theory of incentives emerges in which standard Bayesian incentive compatibility (BIC) is relaxed significantly. The paper studies the interim rationalizable implementation of social choice sets with a Cartesian product structure, a leading example thereof being ex-post efficiency. Setwise incentive compatibility (setwise IC), much weaker than BIC, is shown to be necessary for implementation. Setwise IC enforces incentives flexibly within the entire correspondence, instead of the pointwise enforcement entailed by BIC. Sufficient conditions, while based on the existence of SCFs in the correspondence that make truthful revelation a dominant strategy, are shown to be permissive to allow the implementation of ex-post efficiency in many settings where equilibrium implementation fails (e.g., bilateral trading, multidimensional signals). Furthermore, this success comes at little cost: all our mechanisms are well behaved, in the sense that best responses always exist. |
| Keywords: | rationalizability; implementation; correspondences; setwise incentive compatibility; setwise dominance; ex-post efficiency |
| JEL: | C72 D78 D82 |
| Date: | 2025–05–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:smuesw:2025_002 |
| By: | Ghorpade, Yashodhan (World Bank); Imtiaz, Muhammad Saad (World Bank); Han, Theingie (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | In recent years Myanmar has witnessed considerable economic and political instability, leading many young people, particularly the higher-skilled, to consider migrating abroad for improved prospects. We employ an innovative method to quantify migration intentions among high-skilled youth by analyzing the take-up of migration at different wage premia. A randomized survey experiment then evaluates how hypothetical political and economic stabilization scenarios impact these intentions. We find that 35 percent of the respondents would be willing to take a similar job abroad for pay equal to their current income. Randomization within the survey indicates that political stabilization would potentially reduce high-skilled workers' desire to migrate by about 15 percent, especially among men, those living in high conflict areas, and persons with lower absolute income, but higher perceived relative income. In contrast, prospects of economic stabilization do not have a significant effect on migration intentions. Economic stabilization, in the absence of political stability and a reduction in conflict, is unlikely to reduce talent outflows among the young. |
| Keywords: | migration, emigration, Myanmar, brain drain, high-skilled migration, conflict |
| JEL: | J61 O15 D74 F2 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17736 |
| By: | Pablo Sanguinetti; Andrés Feroce |
| Abstract: | Latin America and the Caribbean have underperformed in economic growth compared to other developing regions like Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe. This has implied a low rate of income convergence with developed economies. For example, the average income per capita was around 0.20 of that of the USA in 1960 and went up to only 0.26 at the end of the second decade of the XXI century. Most growth accounting exercises (see Jones, 2019; Alvarez et al., 2018) show that weakened productivity dynamics is a critical immediate cause of this lack of convergence. In other words, the LAC countries have not improved their efficiency when using their resources at the firm level, sectors, and the aggregate economy. |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udt:wpecon:2025_04 |
| By: | Fritz, Manuela; Luck, Nathalie; Sawhney, Udit |
| Abstract: | Social norms and perceptions within farming networks can influence the adoption of new agricultural practices. In Indonesian rice farming communities, norms around the desired level of rice plant greenness are widespread, with some farmers valuing deep green plants. Since greenness levels depend on the content of chlorophyll in the plants, which in turn depends on nitrogen fertilizer inputs, these norms can lead to high usage of chemical fertilizer. This study uses a mixed-method approach to examine whether social norms, personal beliefs, and perceptions about peers’ opinions influence rice farmers’ fertilizer input decisions. We combine quantitative regression analyses with qualitative content analysis to explore these dynamics. Our findings show that farmers who are unaware of a saturation point for fertilizer application tend to use more chemical nitrogen and less organic fertilizer. These farmers are also less willing to experiment with new farming practices that might reduce plant greenness but improve soil health. However, second-order perceptions – beliefs about whether lower greenness levels lead to talking within the farming community – do not significantly affect fertilizer use or farmers’ willingness to try new methods. A survey experiment further confirms that increasing the salience of potential talking has little effect on farmers’ willingness to experiment with new practices. Dyadic regressions reveal that actual fertilizer adoption behaviors of neighboring farmers are more predictive of fertilizer input decisions than neighbors’ greenness norms. This suggests that while social norms around plant appearance exist, farmers’ decisions are more strongly influenced by their own knowledge and the observable actions of their peers. |
| Date: | 2025–03–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:qxndc_v1 |
| By: | Baston, George |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into trading ecosystems from 2020 to 2023. It outlines the historical progression of AI applications in financial markets, emphasizing the transition from rule-based algorithms to data-driven machine learning models. The analysis covers AI-driven innovations in biometric identity verification, predictive analytics, and personalized trading systems. The economic contributions of AI are quantified using institutional estimates, with a focus on regional implementation strategies. Regulatory structures, particularly in Singapore, are examined in the context of their role in enabling AI adoption while ensuring compliance. Challenges including data governance, ethical constraints, regulatory inconsistencies, and technical limitations in blockchain infrastructure are analyzed. The discussion also highlights the impact of expertise shortages and the critical need for government-industry collaboration in fintech development. |
| Date: | 2025–04–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:te83v_v1 |
| By: | Seoyeon Chang (School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University); Sonoko Ishikawa (School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University); Naoki Miyamoto (School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University); Ryo Takahashi (Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara) |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether gender bias in health communication reduces the effectiveness of information provision and explores the mechanism behind it. Specifically, it investigates whether the bias is driven by statistical discrimination—misperceptions about women’s competence—or by tastebased discrimination. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in Cambodia, where participants watched a video featuring either a male or female health instructor explaining the benefits of iron supplements for anemia prevention. To test the mechanism, half of those assigned to the female instructor condition received a corrective message addressing misperceptions about women’s abilities. The results show that willingness to pay for the supplement was significantly lower when the information was delivered by a female instructor, but this gap disappeared when the corrective message was provided. Similar patterns were observed in a list experiment measuring implicit bias. These findings suggest that gender bias reduces the effectiveness of health communication and is primarily driven by misperceptions about women’s competence rather than by taste-based discrimination. |
| Keywords: | anemia, gender bias, discrimination, misperception, list experiment |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wap:wpaper:2501 |
| By: | Alejandra Martínez-Martínez (University of Valencia and INTECO Research Group); Rafael Llorca-Vivero (University of Valencia and INTECO Research Group) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyse the extent to which the increase in global temperatures affects both the level of citizens' discomfort and energy consumption. We use countries' yearly average temperatures, the summation of cooling and heating degree-days, and primary energy consumption as the variables of interest on a sample of 67 countries over the period 1986-2016. The descriptive analysis reveals that the increase in global temperatures is widespread but shows distinct geographical patterns. Specifically, the increase is most pronounced in Europe and least significant in the Americas, while Africa and Asia hold an intermediate position, albeit experiencing the highest levels of heat stress. Our findings reveal that higher temperatures primarily reduce discomfort levels in cooler regions, such as European countries and North America, while they predominantly increase discomfort in warmer areas of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. This phenomenon has consequences for energy consumption efficiency, generally improving for the former and worsening for the latter. From this perspective, there are winners and losers from climate change. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; cooling and heating degree-days; discomfort; energy consumption |
| JEL: | Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:2507 |
| By: | Condie, Abbie; Bakhtawar, Alsa; Ireland, Erika; Afroz, Farhana; Hathiari, Neha; kyzy, Syrga Kanatbek; Erdenebat, Munkhshur; Mohammad, Gazi Golam; Das, Utpal Kumar; Meek, Kristin |
| Abstract: | Urban resilience has become a central theme in addressing the complex challenges faced by rapidly growing cities. The Asia Resilient Cities (ARC) Project aims to foster resilience through a co-creation approach that combines participatory systems mapping (PSM) and community engagement. This paper outlines ARC’s methodology, which integrates diverse stakeholder perspectives, including marginalized groups, into urban resilience planning in four cities: Rajkot, India; Khulna, Bangladesh; Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The paper discusses how ARC adapted lessons from previous projects, emphasizing early and meaningful resident involvement to shape work plans that reflect the lived realities of city residents. Initial results highlight both the strengths and learnings from integrating resident feedback into resilience strategies, demonstrating how co-creation can align technical expertise with local context to create more inclusive, actionable plans. Key themes include the role of systems thinking, multistakeholder participation, and adaptive learning in urban planning. The findings underscore the need for contextualized, collaborative approaches to address the “wicked problems” inherent in urban development and resilience building. |
| Date: | 2025–04–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:c8w2d_v1 |
| By: | Cevat Giray Aksoy; Jose Maria Barrero; Nicholas Bloom; Steven J. Davis; Mathias Dolls; Pablo Zarate |
| Abstract: | Key MessagesWorking from Home (WFH) is highest in North America, UK and Australia, and lowest in Asia.WFH levels fell from 2022 to 2023 but have since stabilized.Employees with children are more likely to split their workweeks between home and employer’s location, while those without children are more likely to work in a fully remote or fully onsite capacity.WFH levels are similar for men and women in every major region of the world.The desire to WFH is highest among women with children. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:econpb:_73 |
| By: | George A. Alessandria; Shafaat Yar Khan; Armen Khederlarian; Kim J. Ruhl; Joseph B. Steinberg |
| Abstract: | We study how trade-policy dynamics affect the dynamics of trade volumes and the implications of these effects for estimates of the trade elasticity. We use data on US imports and trade policy from 1974–2017 for China and Vietnam—the countries with the largest import growth and the largest tariff reductions over the last fifty years—and a heterogeneous-firm dynamic trade model to recover the dynamic path of the trade elasticity following an unanticipated, permanent tariff change. We estimate a short-run trade elasticity of about three and a long-run trade elasticity of about 14, and find that it takes about five years to close half of the gap between the current and long-run levels of trade. We argue that the expected dynamics of future trade policy before and after these reforms biases down reduced-form estimates of the long-run trade elasticity and biases up estimates of the short-run elasticity. We argue that these measurement issues are even more problematic for other trade reforms, especially those within the Normal Trade Relations (NTR) regime that constitute the majority of the data. |
| JEL: | F12 F13 F14 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33568 |
| By: | Erel, Isil (Ohio State U and ECGI); Ge, Shan (New York U); Ma, Pengfei (Singapore Management U) |
| Abstract: | We examine how healthcare providers' financial health affects their opioid prescription decisions, using changes in house prices in providers' residential neighborhoods as shocks to their wealth. We find that providers increase opioid prescriptions when experiencing adverse financial conditions: a one-standard-deviation decrease in house price growth leads to a 3% increase in opioid prescriptions. Results are robust to including provider office-year fixed effect and using the subsample of providers who live far away from their offices, which largely rules out a patient-demand explanation. Providers living in zip codes with price changes in the bottom half during 2007-2009 increased their opioid prescriptions by approximately 16% more in 2010-2012 than others. The effect is stronger among providers with greater home equity, those in competitive markets, and those serving vulnerable populations. Our findings reveal a previously undocumented channel through which providers' financial incentives affect opioid prescriptions. |
| JEL: | G51 I11 I13 I14 I18 L15 R30 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:ohidic:2024-27 |