Tiger Economies Under Threat

In recent years, growth rates in the so-called 'Tiger economies' of Southeast Asia have been above the average not only for developing countries but for the world as a whole. Yet they fall short of the economic growth experienced during 1975 95. The underlying worry for policy makers is that the decrease presages the beginning of a downward trend, a worry that has been sharpened by the global recession. But are the Tiger economies under threat? And if so, what are the causes and how can they be addressed? This book employs a comparative analysis of the Southeast Asian Tiger economies, centered on Malaysia, to tackle these questions. The findings presented will be of particular interest to policy makers, academics, business people, and researchers.

A Great Burst Of Globalization brought the 20th century to a close, creating upheaval in the world economy from roughly 1995 to 2008. And now, with the new century barely commenced, a second upheaval is in the offing following the severe financial crisis that plunged the global economy into recession in 2008-09. The first upheaval witnessed a massive migration of manufacturing and certain business services that transformed Asia into the industrial heartland of the world. The second upheaval will likely consolidate Asia's industrial preeminence and could result in a concentraion of industrial activities in the two most populous and fastest-growing Asian economies---China and India. As the two Asian giants become the industrial equals of the United States, Germany, and Japan, the ramifications will affect trade and growth worldwide, the future of development in China and India, and industrialization throughout Asia. Changing the Industrial Geography in Asia: The Impact of China and India examines these developments, focusing specifically on China and India. Its analysis and conclusions will be of particular interest to policy makers and academics, as well as anyone with an interest in how China and India are likely to reshape industry throughout Asia. "Changing the Industrial Geography inAsia is rich in detailed analysis of the continuing transformation of the manufacturing sector in Asia, both in terms of its moving geography and its composition. For those intrested in understanding the prospects of post-financial crisis Asia, this book is a must read. It is a refreshing return to economic fundamentals, including the new problems of climate change and dwindling energy resources, and will remain the leading reference on Asian transformaton for a long time to come." "The authors consolidate a remarkable amount of data and analysis on the on the industrial structure of Asia and its emergence as theindustrial center of the global economy."

Countries worldwide are struggling to imitate the industrial prowess of the East Asian pacesetters, but growth accelerations have proven remarkably transient. Building a portfolio of tradable goods and services and steadily raising the level of investment in these activities, has generally defied the best policy efforts - in particular, bringing investment ratios on par with East Asian averages has presented the greatest challenge. Hence the search is on for growth recipes not so tightly bound to investment, to manufacturing activities, and to the export of manufactured products. In casting around for such recipes validated by demonstrated results, the experience of economies which have relied more on other drivers of growth - human capital and knowledge - is highly attractive. Finland and Ireland are among the tiny band of small nations that grew rapidly for well over a decade by achieving the maximum mileage from an adequate investment in physical assets and by harnessing the potential of human capital and technologies. Singapore combined high investment with a comprehensive and complementary strategy of building high quality human and knowledge assets. This approach enabled the three countries to diversify much faster into higher tech manufactures and tradable services and profit from globalization. The approach adopted by these three countries may be of greater relevance in the highly competitive global environment of the early 21st century because it does not necessarily assume heroic levels of investment. Moreover, it may be better tailored to the opportunities for middle and lower middle income economies threatened by the middle income trap and seeking growth rates in the 6 percent range, and for the smaller, late starting, low income countries with youthful, rapidly increasing populations that need to grow at high single digit rates in order to create enough jobs and to double per capita incomes in 10 years.

The financial crisis and the ‘great recession’ have generated the need for new thinking in economics and for new economic policies to secure sustainable and equitable economic development. The new thinking in economics is an interdisciplinary approach to economic problems that acknowledges and respects insights and analyses from other disciplines, and recognizes complexity and evolutionary theory as relevant for understanding economic systems and economic behaviour. New Economics is concerned with institutional behaviour, expectations and uncertainty as opposed to traditional economics with its emphasis on equilibrium, mathematical formalism and deterministic solutions. With the financial crisis brought on by the unrestrained pursuit of personal and corporate profit, sanctioned by traditional economics, this is an opportune moment to establish a new way of approaching economic understanding based on new economic theory. It is also a good time to instigate new ideas on the approach to economic policy across a wide range of areas, such as macroeconomic and global governance, employment and unemployment, social security and pensions. This book is devoted to developing economic policies from the new thinking. It was originally published as a special issue of the International Review of Applied Economics.

Now available in paperback, this Handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the major themes that have defined the politics of Southeast Asia. It provides a comprehensive and cutting-edge examination of this important subject. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the theoretical and ideological themes that have dominated the study of the region's politics and presents the different ways the complex politics of the region have been understood. The contributions by leading scholars in the field cover a range of broad questions about the dynamics of politics. The Handbook analyses how the dominant political and social coalitions of the region were forged in the Cold War era, and assesses the complex processes of transition towards various forms of democratic politics. How institutions and systems of governance are being forged in an increasingly global environment is discussed and whether civil society in Southeast Asia has really evolved as an independent sphere of social and political activity. The Handbook examines how national governments are dealing with growing tensions within the region as matters such as labour, human rights and the environment spill beyond national boundaries, and how they are establishing a place in the new global framework. By engaging the Southeast Asian experience more firmly with larger debates about modern political systems, the Handbook is an essential reference tool for students and scholars of Political Science and Southeast Asian studies.

Introduction -- The Lure and Challenges of the Automobile Industry -- Institutions, Politics and Developmental Divergence -- Thailand: Early opening and Export success -- The Philippines and Indonesia: Extensive Development Arrested and Delayed -- Korea: Successful Intensive Industrialization -- Malaysia: How Intensive Development Strategies Fail in the Absence of Appropriate Institutions -- China: Revamping socialist institutions for a market economy -- Taiwan: Balancing independent assembly, MNCs, and parts promotion in a small market -- Conclusion.

This is the eighteenth volume in an annual series in which leading economists provide a concise and accessible evaluation of major developments in trade and trade policy. Examines key issues pertinent to the multinational trading system, as well as regional trade arrangements and policy developments at the national level The 2011 issue analyses global trade policy in areas such as Malaysia, West Africa and China Includes a review of antidumping, safeguards and countervailing duties from 1990–2009 Includes chapters exploring WTO issues, and a special section on agricultural trading issues Provides up-to-date assessments of the World Trade Organization's current Trade Policy Reviews A vital resource for researchers, analysts and policy-advisors interested in trade policy and other open economy issues

The Routledge Handbook of the History of Global Economic Thought offers the first comprehensive overview of the long-run history of economic thought from a truly international perspective. Although globalization has facilitated the spread of ideas between nations, the history of economics has tended to be studied either thematically (by topic), in terms of different currents of thought, or individually (by economist). Work has been published in the past on the economic thought traditions of specific countries, but this pioneering volume is unique in offering a wide-ranging comparative account of the development of economic ideas and philosophies on the international stage. The volume brings together leading experts on the development of economic ideas from across the world in order to offer a truly international comparison of the economics within nation-states. Each author presents a long-term perspective on economics in their region, allowing global patterns in the progress of economic ideas over time to be identified. The specially commissioned chapters cover the vast sweep of the history of economics across five world regions, including Europe (England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy Greece, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Russia and the Ukraine), the Americas (the USA, Canada, Mexico and Central America, Spanish-Speaking South America, Brazil and the Caribbean), the Middle East (Turkey, Israel, Arab-Islamic Economics, Persia/Iran, North Africa), Africa (West Africa, Southern Africa, Mozambique and Angola), and the Asia-Pacific Region (Australia and New Zealand, China, Southeast Asia, the Asian Tigers, India.) This rigorous, ambitious and highly scholarly volume will be of key interest to students, academics, policy professionals and to interested general readers across the globe.