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on South East Asia |
| By: | Xiao, Keliang |
| Keywords: | International Development |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea25:360989 |
| By: | Minhaj Mahmud (Asian Development Bank); Yujie Zhang (University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the interplay between extreme temperatures and air pollution risks, the geographic and temporal distribution, as well as the population burden of climate shocks in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Viet Nam—countries severely impacted by climate change. Using ERA5-HEAT temperature data and PM2.5 pollution data, we first identify “hotspots” within and across the countries by analyzing district level trends in heat stress and pollution exposure. We further explore the correlation between temperature and pollution shocks. Finally, jointly considering the spatial distribution of populations and key climate and pollution hazards, we highlight the most vulnerable groups with population weighted exposure measures. Our findings reveal distinct country-specific patterns in both the correlation between heat stress and air pollution risk, and the population exposure to the hazards across demographic profiles. These results emphasize targeted policies to mitigate the compounded effects of climate and air pollution hazards on vulnerable populations across Asia. |
| Keywords: | heat;air pollution;climate change;Asia;population exposure |
| JEL: | J10 Q53 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026–01–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:022144 |
| By: | Record, Francis |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the extent to which the integration of Southeast Asian countries into the global economy has contributed to their economic growth. It uses regression analysis to model the relationship between trade openness and economic growth, identifying policy lessons on the key drivers of convergence for the next set of developing countries that seek to achieve rapid rates of economic growth in the context of a more challenging globalization context. |
| Keywords: | Southeast Asia, trade, globalization, economic growth |
| JEL: | F43 F63 |
| Date: | 2025–11–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127051 |
| By: | Huynh, Cong Minh |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether and how local governance quality shapes household economic resilience to climate shocks in Vietnam - one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable emerging economies. Combining nationally representative microdata from three rounds of the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (2018, 2020, 2022) with province-year indicators of disaster severity and governance performance (PAPI), we estimate a pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and interaction model with two-way fixed effects at the province and year levels to identify the moderating role of governance in the climate shock–income relationship. The results show that climate shocks significantly reduce household per-capita income, but higher-quality provincial governance substantially attenuates these losses. Marginal effects indicate that in high-governance provinces, the income-dampening effect of shocks becomes negligible. Moreover, governance benefits are markedly larger for vulnerable groups, including poor, rural, and agricultural households, suggesting that institutional quality can be inherently pro-poor in climate-stressed contexts. These findings advance the resilience and governance literature by providing micro-level causal evidence from a developing country and highlight governance strengthening as a core policy lever for climate adaptation, equitable development, and inclusive growth. |
| Keywords: | Climate shocks; Governance quality; Household economic resilience; Vietnam |
| JEL: | O17 O18 O43 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–12–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127322 |
| By: | Chen, Tzu-Hui |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea25:360763 |
| By: | Arpita Khanna (National University of Singapore); Minhaj Mahmud (Asian Development Bank); Nidhiya Menon (Brandeis University) |
| Abstract: | This study empirically investigates the impact of climate change on the incidence of noncommunicable diseases among older population in India. Using demographic and health surveys from 2019–2021 linked with georeferenced meteorological data at local levels, and a specification that controls for long-term local climate trends as well as individual and household characteristics, we show that unanticipated heat shocks have significant impacts on the prevalence of hypertension, high blood glucose levels, and overweight or obese status. The impact of heat shock on hypertension is somewhat more evident among urban, lower caste, and lower educated men, while the impact on glucose levels is more pronounced among the higher educated in urban settings. Body mass index is particularly sensitive to heat shocks in older rural women and individuals with higher education. Engagement in occupations more exposed to outdoor work (agriculture/manual) and lifestyle factors tied to wealth status are some explanatory mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | climate;temperature;older people;blood pressure;glucose level;BMI;India |
| JEL: | Q54 I12 J14 O13 |
| Date: | 2026–01–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:022142 |
| By: | WELS, Jacques; BRYSON, Alex; KAMBAYASHI, Ryo; KUWAHARA, Susumu; NAKAMURA, Akie |
| Abstract: | This study examines two decades of unionization trends in Japan, comparing administrative data from the Basic Survey on Labor Unions (OECD source) with three population-based surveys: the Survey on Work and Life of Workers (SWLW), Japan Household Panel Survey (JHPS), and Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS). While official statistics show declining union density (falling to 16.4% by 2022), survey data reveal consistently higher rates (23-30%) and upward trends. Using shift-share analyses and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition across two periods (X and Y), we identify workplace union presence as the primary driver of membership growth, accounting for a quarter of the observed increase. We find rising unionization among traditionally underrepresented groups: part-timers show significant unexplained membership gains (0.25 percentage points), suggesting successful outreach beyond compositional changes. Small firms ( |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hituec:776 |
| By: | Huaide Chen; Hailiang Yang |
| Abstract: | We compiled the first high-frequency rice price panel for Taiwan from August 1945 to March 1947, during the transition from Japanese rule to China rule. Using regression models, we found that the pattern of rice price changes could be divided into four stages, each with distinct characteristics. Based on different stages, we combined the policies formulated by the Taiwan government at the time to demonstrate the correlation between rice prices and policies. The research results highlight the dominant role of policy systems in post-war food crises. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.07492 |
| By: | Ravikumar, Aishwarya (Independent) |
| Abstract: | Governments seeking to raise labour productivity face a persistent policy dilemma between providing direct wage support and subsidising skill development. While wage support can stabilise incomes and boost labour supply in the short term, skill-development subsidies are often promoted as a means of enhancing long-term employability and productivity, though their effectiveness varies widely across contexts. This paper asks: under what institutional and incentive conditions do skill-development subsidies outperform direct wage support in improving long-term labour market outcomes? Using a comparative policy analysis based on secondary data from OECD, World Bank, and ILO evaluations, the paper examines how labour market incentives, employer participation, and institutional capacity shape policy performance. The analysis finds that skill-development subsidies generate superior long-term outcomes when programs are closely aligned with labour market demand, supported by credible employer involvement, and implemented by institutions capable of enforcing targeting and quality standards. In the absence of these conditions, direct wage support often delivers more predictable short- to medium-term results. The paper contributes to the labour economics literature by emphasising the conditional nature of policy effectiveness and by identifying design principles for integrating income support with human capital investment. |
| Date: | 2026–01–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:db8fc_v1 |
| By: | Marcus Vinicius de Freitas |
| Abstract: | China's ascent to the position of the world's most prominent energy consumer has altered global energy markets and fundamentally reshaped the geopolitics of energy security. As China navigates the complexities of sustaining its economic momentum, ensuring access to reliable, affordable, and diversified energy sources has become an existential imperative, intricately woven into its foreign policy strategy. In parallel, Africa's immense wealth of both conventional and renewable resources, coupled with its drive toward industrialization and sustainable development, presents a remarkable opportunity for a transformative partnership. This Policy Paper explores the strategic intersection between China's energy imperatives and Africa's developmental aspirations. It argues for a relational cooperation model that transcends a narrow transactional approach, and champions an inclusive, sustainable, and future-oriented partnership. Historically characterized by overseas investments in oilfields, critical infrastructure, and renewable energy projects, China's engagement is examined against Africa's chronic energy poverty and industrialization needs. China can enhance its energy security and gain access to Africa's abundant energy resources. At the same time, Africa can accelerate its progress towards the goals enshrined in Agenda 2063, improve its energy infrastructure, and boost its industrialization. However, the partnership is not without significant risks. Issues of debt sustainability, environmental and social governance, and political instability threaten to undermine the transformational potential of China–Africa energy cooperation. Accordingly, this Policy Paper stresses the imperative for transparent, inclusive, and sustainable modes of engagement, advocating for stronger environmental stewardship, enhanced local capacity-building, and greater alignment with Africa's regional integration agendas. This emphasis on transparency and sustainability is crucial to building confidence in the partnership. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:rpcoen:pp_27-25 |
| By: | Khim Lal Devkota (International Center for Public Policy, Georgia State University) |
| Abstract: | Upper houses play a critical yet often underutilized role in bicameral legislatures, particularly in federal and parliamentary systems where continuity, deliberation, and territorial balance are essential. NepalÕs Constitution of 2015 established the National Assembly (NA) as a permanent upper houseÑthe second chamberÑto strengthen continuity, inclusion, and federal balance within the parliamentary system. Despite its constitutional significance, the NA remains comparatively understudied and its institutional potential underrealized. Drawing on qualitative and comparative analysis of constitutional and legal provisions, parliamentary records, scholarly literature, and parliamentary practice, this paper argues that the NA performs meaningful functions in legislative revision and constitutional safeguarding, especially during periods of lower-house instability. However, its effectiveness is constrained by a limited constitutional mandate, weak committee systems, inadequate research and technical support, politicized nomination practices, and a narrow oversight role. The paper advances a practical reform agenda that can be pursued largely through legal, procedural, and institutional measuresÑimproving membership quality and nomination norms, strengthening committees and scrutiny tools, enhancing inter-house and intergovernmental coordination, and building dedicated research and analytical capacity. Strengthening these foundations is essential to developing a more effective, accountable, and resilient federal parliament in Nepal. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper2601 |
| By: | Tsuyoshi Nihonsugi (Department of Economics, Osaka University of Economics); Yoshio Kamijo (Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University); Satoshi Taguchi (Graduate School of Commerce, Doshisha University); Shigeharu Okajima (Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University); Hiroko Okajima (Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University) |
| Abstract: | This study examines how gender quotas influence job application decisions and occupational choices in Japan, and how these effects vary across individual characteristics. Using a choice-based conjoint experiment with 1, 167 participants, we analyze preferences for positions with and without gender quotas across different job types. We find that gender quotas significantly increase women's application likelihood by approximately 10 percentage points, with the strongest effects among high-performing employed women, while not discouraging applications from comparably qualified men. Beyond increasing female representation, quotas enable women to make occupational choices that better align with their preferences and are associated with higher expected productivity and workplace well-being. Further analysis reveals that support for gender quotas relates systematically to personality traits, gender role beliefs, and prior experiences—notably, men who recognize past gender advantages show greater support for quotas. These findings provide actionable insights for designing inclusive recruitment strategies and diversity policies in non-Western contexts, demonstrating that well-designed quotas can promote both equity and efficiency in labor markets. |
| Keywords: | gender quotas, affirmative action, gender gap, hiring discrimination, occupational segregation, labor market |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wap:wpaper:2529 |
| By: | Chuhong Wang (Fujian Normal University); Xingfei Liu (University of Alberta); Liang Wang (Concordia University); Jiatong Zhong (University of Alberta) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of child gender in financial responses to shocks among households in China, where having a son has deep historical cultural roots, especially in rural areas. Specifically, we compare investment and savings decisions between families with daughters and those with sons in both rural and urban settings by leveraging two quasi-natural experiments: land expropriation and housing demolition in China. Land expropriation primarily affects rural households, while housing demolition predominantly impacts urban households, offering a comparative lens to understand how households adjust financial portfolios under different contexts. We find that expropriation with hukou changes increases stock investments and reduces savings rates for rural households with a daughter relative to those with a son. In urban areas, households with a daughter are also more likely to invest in the stock market following housing demolition, but their savings rates remain unchanged. Our findings reveal the differential impact of child gender on household financial decisions following background risk shocks (expropriation) and wealth shocks net of background risk changes (demolition). |
| Keywords: | child gender; household financial decision; background risk; land expropriation; housing demolition |
| JEL: | D14 G11 H13 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–01–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:022119 |
| By: | Joel M Thomas; Abhijit Chakraborty |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the economic complexity of Indian states by constructing a state-industry bipartite network using firm-level data on registered companies and their paid-up capital. We compute the Economic Complexity Index and apply the fitness-complexity algorithm to quantify the diversity and sophistication of productive capabilities across the Indian states and two union territories. The results reveal substantial heterogeneity in regional capability structures, with states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Delhi exhibiting consistently high complexity, while others remain concentrated in ubiquitous, low-value industries. The analysis also shows a strong positive relationship between complexity metrics and per-capita Gross State Domestic Product, underscoring the role of capability accumulation in shaping economic performance. Additionally, the number of active firms in India demonstrates a persistent exponential growth at an annual rate of 11.2%, reflecting ongoing formalization and industrial expansion. The ordered binary matrix displays the characteristic triangular structure observed in complexity studies, validating the applicability of complexity frameworks at the sub-national level. This work highlights the usefulness of firm-based data for assessing regional productive structures and emphasizes the importance of capability-oriented strategies for fostering balanced and sustainable development across Indian states. By demonstrating the usefulness of firm registry data in data constrained environments, this study advances the empirical application of economic complexity methods and provides a quantitative foundation for capability-oriented industrial and regional policy in India. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2601.12356 |
| By: | Ryuichiro Hirano (Bank of Japan); Yutaro Takano (Bank of Japan); Kosuke Takatomi (Bank of Japan) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates Japan's trend inflation and its determinants using a trend-cycle BVAR decomposition. The estimation results indicate that trend inflation in Japan remained subdued as the public had gradually lowered their medium- to long-term inflation expectations following the collapse of the asset price bubble in the early 1990s. The analysis further reveals that subdued real income growth, relative to the labor productivity and labor supply growth, also exerted downward pressure on trend inflation during the period from the 2000s to the early 2010s, when trend inflation was particularly restrained. These findings suggest that monitoring medium- to long-term inflation expectations and trends in structural factors of the economy is important for assessing its long-run inflation trend. |
| Keywords: | Trend Inflation; Trend-Cycle BVAR Decomposition |
| JEL: | C22 E24 E31 E52 E58 |
| Date: | 2026–01–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boj:bojwps:wp26e01 |
| By: | Maiti, Adwaita; Jana, Sebak |
| Abstract: | Higher education in India today is at the crossroads. There is a gradual shift from education being a government responsibility to its privatisation. The number of private unaided colleges and private universities has increased, share of enrolment in private institutions increases for most of the states in India. The study focuses on the status of private higher education enrolment of all states/regions in India and the factors influencing private higher education in India. There are considerable inter-state and inter-regional disparities in private higher education enrolment in India. As per AISHE report, in 2020-21, in India, 65 per cent of degree colleges are private unaided, only 21.4 percent colleges are fully public funded, 40.1 per cent of universities are private. Share of enrolment in private unaided college is 44.4 percent and in private aided college is 21.1 per cent; total share of private enrolment is 65.5 per cent. NSSO 71st round unit level data reveals that the private enrolment in higher education in India is about 58.4 percent. Privatisation in Southern and Western states is much higher than other states of India. Private enrolment in general courses is 42.2 per cent and in technical/professional courses it is 71.1 per cent. The picture is very clear that in professional and technical courses private enrolment is too high compared to general courses. Binary logistic regression results suggest that different socio-economic factors like religion, caste, gender, education level and occupation of household, type of courses are responsible for private enrolment of students in Higher education in India. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education, Privatisation, India |
| JEL: | I21 I23 |
| Date: | 2025–10–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127223 |
| By: | Kunpeng Wang; Jiahui Hu |
| Abstract: | The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into China's economy presents a classic governance challenge: how to harness its growth potential while managing its disruptive effects on traditional capital and labor markets. This study addresses this policy dilemma by modeling the dynamic interactions between AI capital, physical capital, and labor within a Lotka-Volterra predator-prey framework. Using annual Chinese data (2016-2023), we quantify the interaction strengths, identify stable equilibria, and perform a global sensitivity analysis. Our results reveal a consistent pattern where AI capital acts as the 'prey', stimulating both physical capital accumulation and labor compensation (wage bill), while facing only weak constraining feedback. The equilibrium points are stable nodes, indicating a policy-mediated convergence path rather than volatile cycles. Critically, the sensitivity analysis shows that the labor market equilibrium is overwhelmingly driven by AI-related parameters, whereas the physical capital equilibrium is also influenced by its own saturation dynamics. These findings provide a systemic, quantitative basis for policymakers: (1) to calibrate AI promotion policies by recognizing the asymmetric leverage points in capital vs. labor markets; (2) to anticipate and mitigate structural rigidities that may arise from current regulatory settings; and (3) to prioritize interventions that foster complementary growth between AI and traditional economic structures while ensuring broad-base distribution of technological gains. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2601.03547 |