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on South East Asia |
| By: | Murphy, Mike; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ambler, Kate; Ha Thi Thanh Nguyen; Sinh Dang-Xuan; Hung Nguyen-Viet; Unger, Fred; Bett, Bernard K. |
| Abstract: | Vietnam is a global hotspot for wildlife trade and farming, with thousands of licensed operations raising species such as civets, porcupines, bamboo rats, snakes, and wild boar for meat, traditional medicine, and the exotic pet trade (Van Thu et al., 2023). The sector poses significant public health risks due to the potential for transmission of novel zoonotic diseases (Latinne & Padungtod, 2025). Understanding the economics of this sector is critical to developing effective policy for managing and de-risking wildlife sup-ply chains but data is scarce, typically based on small sample sizes and limited study sites (Thuy et al., 2021). This note provides descriptive statistics regarding the economics of wildlife farming in two provinces of Vietnam, based on a survey of wildlife farming households. |
| Keywords: | economic aspects; wildlife; wild animals; trade in species; useful animals; zoonoses; supply chains; Vietnam; Asia; South-eastern Asia |
| Date: | 2025–12–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:178945 |
| By: | Utamawati, Herlina; Yusuf, Alia |
| Abstract: | Indonesia is abundant in the transition-critical mineral nickel. In 2020 the government banned exports of raw nickel to capitalise on its value at home and in global supply chains as it transitions to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. But the country also faces environmental and social trade-offs in the exploitation of this mineral. Lessons can be drawn from the Indonesian example in other countries facing similar resource and sustainable growth dilemmas. |
| JEL: | L81 N0 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:137796 |
| By: | Rivero III, Roberto; Atilano, Lesley Ann; Moreno, Frede |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) among Juris Doctor (JD) students in Zamboanga City, Philippines, combining empirical and doctrinal analysis. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, synthesizing data from surveys (N=150), interviews, and focus group discussions, alongside doctrinal review of Philippine legal education norms and professional responsibility standards. Findings indicate that students frequently adopt AI for research, case summarization, drafting, and exam preparation, yet institutional guidance and ethical clarity remain limited. Only 34% of students consistently disclose AI use, and faculty report inconsistent policies across courses. Doctrinal analysis identifies three guiding principles for AI integration: transparency, competence, and alignment with assessment objectives. Applying these principles, the study proposes that law schools develop localized pedagogical frameworks, including AI literacy instruction, disclosure protocols, and assessment strategies that emphasize reasoning processes. The research underscores a regulatory vacuum in Philippine legal education regarding AI, highlighting the need for institution-specific policies to maintain doctrinal rigor, academic integrity, and professional competence. By situating empirical evidence within doctrinal and pedagogical frameworks, the study provides actionable recommendations for responsible AI adoption, contributing to the scholarship on technology integration in legal education in non-metropolitan, Global South contexts. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence, legal education, Juris Doctor, pedagogy, ethical disclosure, Zamboanga City, Philippines |
| JEL: | I0 I2 I20 I21 I23 I26 I28 I29 K00 K10 K19 K30 Y50 Y80 Z0 |
| Date: | 2026–01–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127613 |
| By: | Zabala, Cedrick; Lee, Armand; Valerio, Aldrin; Marcos, Alex; Atilano, Lesley Ann; Salvador, Ivan Eric; Moreno, Frede |
| Abstract: | Local governments face compound uncertainty from demographic change, climate risk, fiscal pressure, and security threats. Futures thinking and strategic foresight offer governance tools that help public institutions anticipate disruption and guide long-term policy choice. This article examines the institutional adoption of futures thinking and strategic foresight within local governments in the Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX), Philippines. The study assesses leadership capacity, organizational readiness, planning practice, and intergovernmental coordination across provinces and cities in the region. The analysis uses official administrative data, development plans, budget records, and key informant evidence from provincial and city governments. Findings show that Region IX local governments rely on compliance-driven planning cycles, short-term investment programming, and fragmented data systems. Executive leadership turnover, limited technical staff, and weak foresight mandates constrain institutional learning. Local governments align plans with national frameworks yet lack anticipatory governance tools that support scenario building, horizon scanning, and adaptive policy design. The article presents a data-driven institutional matrix that maps foresight capacity across governance functions. Policy options focus on leadership development, statutory integration of foresight in local planning, regional knowledge platforms, and incentives within intergovernmental fiscal systems. The study contributes empirical evidence to local governance scholarship by linking futures thinking to leadership practice in a developing country context. |
| Keywords: | Local governance; strategic foresight; futures thinking; leadership capacity; regional planning; Philippines; Zamboanga Peninsula |
| JEL: | A1 A10 A12 A13 A19 I00 I2 I20 I28 I29 I31 I38 I39 M0 M1 M10 M12 M14 M19 M5 M50 M53 M54 M59 Z0 Z1 Z10 Z13 Z18 Z19 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127631 |
| By: | Atilano, Lesley Ann; Valerio, Aldrin; Moreno, Frede |
| Abstract: | Decentralization reforms assign extensive environmental governance responsibilities to local governments across the Global South, yet environmental outcomes remain uneven. This article examines how state capacity constraints shape decentralized environmental governance in Zamboanga City, a highly urbanized coastal city in the southern Philippines. The study situates the Philippine Local Government Code within broader debates on decentralization, multilevel governance, and local state capacity. Using qualitative process tracing supported by administrative, fiscal, and enforcement data from 2015–2023, the article analyzes three policy domains: solid waste management, coastal resource management, and urban watershed protection. Findings show that formal authority decentralizes faster than administrative capacity, fiscal autonomy, and enforcement power. Political incentives, intergovernmental fragmentation, and uneven technical capacity produce sectoral variation in governance performance. The study identifies policy innovations that emerge under constraint, including interlocal cooperation, hybrid enforcement arrangements, and civil society co-production. The article contributes to environmental governance scholarship by demonstrating how decentralized systems operate under persistent capacity gaps and by offering a framework for assessing policy performance in constrained local states. |
| Keywords: | decentralization; environmental governance; state capacity; local government; Philippines; coastal cities |
| JEL: | H00 H10 H11 H12 H19 H30 H32 H39 H40 H49 H50 H53 H70 H71 H72 H76 H79 H80 H84 H89 O20 O23 O38 Q0 Q00 Q01 Q20 Q28 Q29 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127630 |
| By: | Minten, Bart; Aung, Nilar; Aung, Zin Wai; Htar, May Thet |
| Abstract: | The livestock sector in Myanmar represents a significant component of the national economy, contributing approximately 6 percent to the country’s GDP. Beyond its economic role, the sector provides critical livelihood opportunities for rural households and underpins the supply of animal-source foods (ASF), which are essential for enhancing dietary diversity and nutritional outcomes. A resilient and efficiently functioning livestock sector also generates important multiplier effects, contributing to poverty reduction, employment creation, and overall economic growth (Diao et al. 2024). This note summarizes recent structural and market developments in Myanmar’s livestock industry and examines their implications for ASF price dynamics. |
| Keywords: | prices; animal source foods; price volatility; livestock systems; Myanmar; Asia; South-eastern Asia |
| Date: | 2025–11–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:178051 |
| By: | Minten, Bart; Aung, Zin Wai; Zu, A Myint; Mahrt, Kristi |
| Abstract: | This research note examines changes in food prices and their effects on the cost of both common and healthy diets, as well as on the purchasing power of casual wages. Data on food prices and casual wage levels were collected through interviews with food vendors in rural and urban areas across Myanmar, conducted between December 2021 and December 2024 as part of the ongoing Myanmar Household Welfare Survey (MHWS). |
| Keywords: | food prices; inflation; remuneration; surveys; Myanmar; Asia; Southern Asia |
| Date: | 2025–07–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:175601 |
| By: | Debin Ma (Fudan University); Jared Rubin (Chapman University); Weiwen Yin (University of Macau) |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits the old thesis of the contrasting paths of modernization between Japan and China. It develops a new analytical framework regarding the role of knowledge acquisition (propositional vs. prescriptive) and political centralization as the key drivers behind these contrasting paths. Our model and historical data highlight how the introduction of these elements contributed to Meiji Japan’s decisive turn towards the West and Qing China’s lethargic response to Western imperialism. Our analytical framework, developed from a comparative historical narrative and quantitative data, sheds new light on the importance of knowledge acquisition in enabling developing countries to reach the world’s economic frontier. |
| Keywords: | propositional knowledge, prescriptive knowledge, China, Japan, economic development, economic divergence, Meiji Reform, centralization, decentralization |
| JEL: | P52 N45 N40 Z10 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chu:wpaper:26-04 |
| By: | Ahmed, Akhter; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John F.; Rakshit, Deboleena; Roy, Shalini |
| Abstract: | Findings from this study will provide greater insight as to how and why transfer programs have mixed post-intervention effects across different contexts, and how gender and livelihood opportunities may influence these trajectories. These insights will help inform the future design of transfer programs that aim to support sustainable poverty reduction and gender-equitable livelihoods, including to guide modifications tailored to the local context. |
| Keywords: | social protection; cash transfers; food security; evaluation; consumption; livelihoods; food assistance; Bangladesh; Southern Asia; Asia |
| Date: | 2025–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:179365 |
| By: | Chaudhary, Arbind; Babu, Suresh Chandra; Chaudhary, Bibek |
| Abstract: | Located in the heart of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, Nepal plays a vital geopolitical and ecological role in South Asia’s climate landscape. Although the country contributes less than 0.03 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions (MoFE 2020) and has extensive forest cover of 46 percent (MoFE 2025), it faces disproportionate risks from climate-induced disasters, such as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), erratic monsoons, and prolonged droughts. The HKH region spans eight countries and hosts 10 major river basins and more than 87, 000 square kilometers of glaciers, delivering water and ecosystem services to more than 1.9 billion people downstream (ICIMOD 2025a). Within this complex hydrological system, Nepal's rivers—including the Koshi, Gandaki, and Karnali—not only sustain local livelihoods but also feed millions in India’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and even parts of China. Climate justice is imperative in this context: Nepal’s low emissions profile stands in stark contrast to its high vulnerability (CVF 2024), requiring urgent attention to equity, adaptation finance, and inclusive development pathways. This policy note discusses Nepal’s role in climate justice diplomacy, examines the regional and country-level context of climate risk, and assesses Nepal’s third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) to reframe climate action through a justice-centered lens. |
| Keywords: | capacity building; poverty reduction; climate change; natural resources; Nepal; Asia; Southern Asia |
| Date: | 2025–11–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:178267 |
| By: | LEE, Sunhee; LI, Yalan; OSAWA, Ayako; USUI, Emiko |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how gender and parenthood relate to time allocation among university faculty using survey data from a large research university in Japan. The data provide detailed information on time spent on research, teaching, administrative work, and household activities. We document substantial gender differences in time allocation. In particular, women spend less time on research and more time on household responsibilities than men, with the gap being especially pronounced among those with children. Teaching time remains relatively similar across groups. These findings suggest that family-related constraints affect the allocation of time differently for men and women, which may contribute to gender disparities in research productivity and academic careers. |
| Keywords: | Time Allocation, Academic labor market, Work–life balance, University researchers |
| JEL: | J16 J22 J44 |
| Date: | 2026–03–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:cisdps:709 |
| By: | Takagi, Shinji |
| Abstract: | We explore a phenomenon observed during the Second Sino-Japanese War in which the value of the Japanese yen in Shanghai fell below the official rate. Shanghai provided a parallel market in which yen could be traded indirectly against British pounds through the intermediation of the Chinese yuan. The implied yen-pound rate was broadly approximated by purchasing power parity (PPP) before a significant divergence from PPP emerged in favour of the pound. This likely reflected negative news that signalled, among other things, a prospective withdrawal of Japanese yen as occupation money, which meant that the parallel market would close. |
| Keywords: | China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, parallel foreign exchange market, occupation currency, Japanese occupation currency in China, Sino-Japanese War |
| JEL: | F31 F33 E42 N25 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agi:wpaper:02000262 |
| By: | Zhiguo He; Zehao Liu; Xinle Pang; Yang Su; Kunru Zou |
| Abstract: | Collateral constraints limit household migration to expensive locations by restricting financing for home purchases. Such endogenous location choice amplifies the impact of relaxing household borrowing constraints. Using China’s cash-based shantytown renovation program (2015-2018) as a natural experiment, we provide evidence that cash resettlement—by converting illiquid shanty houses into cash—facilitated household location upgrading and raised house prices in more expensive locations. A dynamic spatial model with collateral constraints confirms household migration responses to the cash transfer. Quantitatively, endogenous migration amplifies household housing expenditure responses by around 40%, and is able to explain more than 20% of the housing price growth in 2016-2020. |
| JEL: | D15 D50 G0 R0 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34982 |