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The Untimely Demise of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia: A Postmortem and the Way Forward * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2024-03-01 Suresh Narayanan, Abdul Rais Abdul Latiff
We discuss the reasons for the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia, its subsequent abolition, and the factors to consider if it is to be reinstated. The GST was implemented hastily to rein in mounting government deficits and debt. The lack of preparation to address its impact on the general price level, and incomes of poorer households in an economy already predisposed to inflation
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Resilience of Japanese Multinational Enterprise Production Networks during the COVID-19 Pandemic * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2024-03-01 Liang Licheng
We use COVID-19 as an exogenous shock to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Japanese multinational affiliates’ performance, determining that the pandemic adversely impacted performance in general, but severe disruptions did not last longer than one year. The COVID-19 shock also affected global transaction networks, and affiliates’ total sales were severely affected by procurement challenges
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Change from the COVID-19 Pandemic to a New Normal: Documenting Consumption Behavior of Two Years with Big Data * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2024-03-01 Yoko Konishi, Takashi Saito, Hajime Kanai, Naoya Igei, Junichi Mizumura, Kyoko Shiga, Keita Sueyasu, Ryosuke Hamaguchi
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our daily lives in terms of eating, learning, working, and leisure time. So far, Japan has experienced eight waves of widespread infection and three emergency declarations but has coped with the crisis without mandatory lockdowns, behavioral restrictions, and mandatory mask-wearing that were seen in other countries. The response has mainly been an encouragement
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The Threat of Economic Deglobalization from Cold War 2.0: A Japanese Perspective * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2024-03-01 Mitsuyo Ando, Kazunobu Hayakawa, Fukunari Kimura
The intensified geopolitical tension in Northeast Asia and the U.S.–China confrontation have shifted policy debates in Japan toward national security while the economic discussion has become thin. To regain more balanced policy talks, this paper tries to quantitatively comprehend the effect of the United States and its allies’ export controls on the East Asian machinery production networks and Japan's
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Reviews of Low Carbon Scenarios, Carbon Neutrality, and Net Zero Emissions in Thailand: Impacts on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Macroeconomy Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-10-01 Kannika Thampanishvong, Bundit Limmeechokchai
Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns result in global climate change. Human activities that burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas have been identified as the main driver of climate change. The extreme weather events, especially floods and droughts, have already caused severe economic impacts. These impacts will continue to intensify unless transformative and holistic
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Dissimilar FTA Strategies of Japan and the United States: An Analysis of the Product-Specific Rules of Origin * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-10-01 Mitsuyo Ando, Shujiro Urata, Kenta Yamanouchi
This paper investigates the trade restrictiveness of product-specific rules of origin (PSRs) in the comprehensive sets of free trade agreements (FTAs) for Japan and the United States, focusing on their similarities and dissimilarities. The most distinctive dissimilarities are the major PSR types and their variation among FTAs. Japan's FTAs use the selective type (“change in tariff classification [CTC]
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The Options in Decarbonization Pathways for Malaysia Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-10-01 Chiah Howe Fan, Yuen Yoong Leong, Wing Thye Woo
Two activities in Malaysia that emit large amounts of CO2 are electricity generation, and iron and steel production. To decarbonize the former, Malaysia should invest in a flexible energy system to overcome the intermittent characteristic of solar energy by influencing the pattern of demand with peak load pricing, increasing energy storage capability, and entering into a regional electricity grid arrangement
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Decarbonization Pathways in Laos: The Challenges and Solutions Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-10-01 Phouphet Kyophilavong
Climate change is a severe threat to humankind. To keep global warming limited to 1.5C, it must reach net-zero emission by 2050. It is ambitious and challenging for Laos to achieve the target. The main objective of this paper is to identify the challenges and solutions to the decarbonization pathway in Laos. The net-zero emission by 2025 goal is too ambitious for Laos and the LDC countries, and there
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Willingness-to-pay for a Haze Adaptation Program and a Haze Eradication Program in Singapore: The 2015 Transboundary Haze * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-10-01 Euston Quah, Wai-Mun Chia, Tsiat-Siong Tan, Nick Ho
In Southeast Asia, the seasonal transboundary haze pollution stemming from slash-and-burn practices of traditional Indonesian farmers affects several countries in the region including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. Despite both domestic and regional efforts that have been put in place to help fight against haze, Southeast Asian haze remains a long-term issue that recurs in a varying degree
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Diversified ESG Evaluation by Rating Agencies and Net Carbon Tax to Regain Optimal Portfolio Allocation * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-10-01 Naoyuki Yoshino, Tomonori Yuyama, Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary
Environmental, Society, and Governance (ESG) investments have become increasingly popular in recent years, and, at the same time, many rating agencies provide ESG scores for each company. This means that the ESG investment model may have moved from the traditional two-factor model of risk-return to a three-factor model adding an ESG component to it. This paper highlights the potential for distortion
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Sejong's Effects on People's Health: Consequences of a Long Commute * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-06-06 Seulgi Lim, Soohyung Lee
We examine the health impacts of long commute time by exploiting a large-scale placed-based policy in South Korea. The policy relocated public employers in the capital area to disadvantaged cities. However, some public employees kept their residences in the capital area and spend long hours commuting. Using this change, we estimate two-stage least squares models whose results suggest that having a
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From Farms to Factories and Firms—Structural Transformation and Labor Productivity Growth in Malaysia * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2023-04-08 Amanina Abdur Rahman, Achim Schmillen
Using data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia from 1987 to 2018 and decompositions that take account of both the static and dynamic efficiency gains from labor reallocation, this study documents that Malaysia has undergone structural transformation from an agriculture-driven to a services-driven economy. In contrast to common perceptions, however, the country's impressive growth in output per
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The Effect of Observability on Professed Moral Values and Pro-social Behavior in an Asian Context: An Experimental Study * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2022-10-05 Kean-Siang Ch'ng, Suresh Narayanan
Minority communities frequently draw upon voluntary donations to support their unique needs and giving prominent recognition to donors is a widely used strategy, although anonymous donors are not uncommon. Studies in the West suggest that consequentialists (those concerned with the overall benefit from the outcomes, including to themselves) value the recognition gained by engaging in pro-social behavior
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Does Corruption Discourage Entrepreneurship? * Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2022-10-05 Donghyun Park, Kwanho Shin
Although entrepreneurship plays a key role in economic development, its precise effect remains largely unknown. This is because it is challenging to objectively measure entrepreneurship and identify its determinants. In this paper, we analyze the effect of a particular feature of the institutional landscape, namely, corruption, on entrepreneurship. It is expected that corruption discourages entrepreneurship
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Frontier Technology, Trade, FDI, and TFP in the Electrical and Electronic Industries: Exporting or Processing Trade? Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Noor Aini Khalifah
Abstract Does “openness” determine “catching-up” of establishments to frontier technology and total factor productivity (TFP) in Malaysia's electrical and electronic (E&E) industries? We contribute to this debate by applying a new measurement of processing trade intensity. Utilizing stochastic frontier analysis and Levinsohn and Pertrin (LP) TFP, we investigate determinants of technical efficiency
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Re-examining Gender Earning Differentials in Malaysian Manufacturing Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Jia-Qi Cheong,Suresh Narayanan,Jacqueline Lisa Fernandez
Abstract The manufacturing sector is a major avenue for female employment in the urban labor market in Malaysia. Only two studies, both published more than two decades ago, have examined gender earning differentials in this sector. Since then, the percentage of women being educated has increased, along with their participation rate, and several laws protecting their rights have also been passed, making
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Estimating the Impact of Cumulative Rules of Origin on Trade Costs: An Application to Mega-regional Free Trade Agreements in the Asia-Pacific Region Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Chul Chung,Innwon Park,Soonchan Park
Abstract We investigate the effects of free trade agreements (FTAs), focusing on the impact of cumulative rules of origin (ROO) on trade costs. Using a gravity regression model, we estimate the effect of various cumulative ROO systems on the measured trade costs. We apply these estimates to static and capital accumulation computable general equilibrium models to compare the effects of mega-regional
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Unconventional Monetary Policy through Open Market Operations: A Principal Component Analysis Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Markus Heckel,Kiyohiko G. Nishimura
Abstract This paper examines the unconventional monetary policies of the Bank of Japan from 2002 to 2019 with a focus on open market operations. We apply a principal component analysis to investigate the complexity of monetary policy. Our results identify four principal components that explain the variance of measures taken by the Bank of Japan and its operations of various facilities: asset purchase
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Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies: Policy and Regulatory Challenges Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Barry Eichengreen,Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj
Abstract Stablecoins and central bank digital currencies are on the horizon in Asia, and in some cases have already arrived. This paper provides new analysis and a critique of the use case for both forms of digital currency. It provides time-varying estimates of devaluation risk for the leading stablecoin, Tether, using data from the futures market. It describes the formidable obstacles to widespread
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International Production Networks Are Overcoming COVID-19 Shocks: Evidence from Japan's Machinery Trade Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2021-01-01 Mitsuyo Ando,Fukunari Kimura,Ayako Obashi
Abstract This paper investigates the impacts of COVID-19 on international production networks in machinery sectors by shedding light on negative supply shocks, negative demand shocks, and positive demand shocks. Specifically, we examined changes in trade in the trade-fall periods amid COVID-19 in 2020 using Japan's machinery trade at the most disaggregated level and decomposed them into two intensive
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Decomposing Effects of Population Aging on Economic Growth in OECD Countries Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2021-01-01 Hyun-Hoon Lee,Kwanho Shin
Abstract In this paper, we investigate six channels through which population aging affects output growth per capita of 35 OECD countries where the old dependency ratio is already quite high. The six channels we consider are changes in: (i) physical capital; (ii) human capital; (iii) average working hours; (iv) labor participation rate; (v) age composition of 15–64 (the share of population aged between
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Saving Lives and Livelihoods in the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Have We Learned, Particularly from Asia? Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2021-01-01 Derek Qi Ren Kok,Wing Thye Woo
Abstract The key practices in successful government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are (1) early border controls to contain the initial spread of the virus from abroad; (2) rapidly increasing the capacity of national health systems in terms of mobilizing staff, securing supplies (e.g., protective equipment and respiratory devices), and optimizing space (e.g., ensuring adequate numbers of acute
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Wage Differentials in Malaysia: Public Employment, Gender, and Ethnicity Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2021-01-01 Robert L. Clark,Naohiro Ogawa,Norma Mansor,Shigeyuki Abe,Mohd Uzir Mahidin
Abstract The study examines the earnings differentials between the public and private sector in the Malaysian economy in terms of the moderations of the gender and ethnic wage differences in the public sector. The study uses the annual earnings from the Salaries and Wages Survey for 2011 and 2016. The key findings are that public employees are paid higher wages compared with private sector employees
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Teleworker performance in the COVID-19 era in Japan Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-12-01 Toshihiro Okubo, Atsushi Inoue, Kozue Sekijima
This paper investigates teleworkers' efficiency in Japan in the COVID-19 era by using unique survey data on telework. Many Japanese workers started teleworking during the pandemic and found both benefits as well as impediments. Overall, we find that telework experience and the work environment (e.g., having clearly specified tasks and a flexible working system), changes in work-life balance (e.g.,
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Impacts of Lockdown Policies on International Trade Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-11-25 Kazunobu Hayakawa, Hiroshi Mukunoki
The aim of this study is to quantify how lockdown policies implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic affected international trade in the first half of 2020. We examine monthly world trade data between January and June in both 2019 and 2020. Our findings can be summarized as follows. Stay-at-home orders did not have significant and robust effects on trade. Negative effects were found in only
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COVID-19 in Korea: Success Based on Past Failure Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-11-25 Byungho Lim, Emma Kyoungseo Hong, Jinjin Mou, Inkyo Cheong
This paper analyzes how the Republic of Korea (Korea) halted the massive transmission of COVID-19 in just two months. The quarantine was achieved successfully without any need for a national lockdown because, simply, Korean citizens actively followed quarantine guidelines. During the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, the country recognized the importance of an early response in
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Financial Spillover in Emerging Asia: A Tale of Three Crises Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-11-25 Iwan J. Azis, I G Sthitaprajna Virananda, Fauzi I Estiko
By measuring time-varying financial spillovers of five asset classes, we analyze the propagation of shocks originating in the United States and Japan into countries of Emerging Asia (EA). We compare the scale and nature of spillovers during the 2008-09 global financial crisis (GFC), the 2013 “taper tantrum” (TT), and the on-going COVID-19 pandemic (C-19). Based on the direct and indirect spillovers
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The Paradox of Thailand's Success in Controlling COVID-19 Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-11-09 Poum Tangkitvanich
Thailand has been very successful in containing COVID-19, limiting the number of total cases to only 3,400 and deaths to 59. In the past four months, Thailand has had only one domestically transmitted case, successfully avoiding a second wave. This paper argues that Thailand's success could be attributed to the high public fear and strict border control at the initial stage, followed by the centralization
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A Note on the Role of Cultural, Institutional, and Urbanization Features in the Covid-19 Pandemic Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-11-09 Pengfei Li, Ming Lu, Yilin Zheng
Countries have taken different approaches to controlling COVID-19. Analyzing the costs and benefits of different policies, Sachs (2020) has concluded that the total cost of using either low-cost epidemic control measures (e.g., hygiene, testing/tracing/isolating, travel restrictions) or high-cost control measures (e.g., economic shutdown) is lower than the cost of not controlling the epidemic at all
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Covid-19: Malaysia Experience and Key Lessons Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-11-09 Muhammed Abdul Khalid
Malaysia has been relatively successful in managing the Covid-19 pandemic, with the number of deaths and infections lower than neighboring countries and many developed economies. This paper will share Malaysia's experience in fighting the pandemic, particularly the key success factors in managing the health impact. The speedy preparation and planning by the Health Ministry even before the country registered
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How did Japan cope with COVID-19? Big Data and Purchasing Behavior Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-11-09 Yoko Konishi, Takashi Saito, Toshiki Ishikawa, Hajime Kanai, Naoya Igei
Japan has been recognized as having successfully controlled the spread of COVID-19. This study aims to gather insights to combat the spread of infection in our daily lives by observing our purchasing behavior. We use point of sales (POS) data from supermarkets, convenience stores, home centers, drug stores, and electronics retail stores for a nationwide analysis. Our analysis revealed the following
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A Framework for Regional Banking Regulation in ASEAN Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-10-01 Peter J. Morgan
This paper argues that there is a role for regional-level institutions of banking regulation in the ASEAN region. This is particularly important in an environment of increasing financial integration and harmonization, including exposures to shocks from volatile capital flows and cross-border banking institutions. The paper examines four aspects of financial regulation: microprudential regulation, macroprudential
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Total Factor Productivity Changes in Japanese Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in 1982–2016: Suggestive Indications of an IT Revolution? Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-10-01 Yoko Konishi, Takashi Saito
Since the information technology revolution in 2000, businesses worldwide have adopted information and communication technology (ICT) and big data. Recent studies attribute the origin of productivity growth in Europe and the United States to the depth of ICT utilization. We investigate whether that is the case in Japan. We measure the productivity of five manufacturing and eleven services industries
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Default Probability by Employment Status in South Korea Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-10-01 Hosung Jung, Hyun Hak Kim
This paper analyzes the factors behind the loan defaults of borrowers by their employment status (whether they are self-employed) using the Korea Consumer Credit Panel data held by the Bank of Korea, and estimates the probability of default and the fragility of the financial sector. This is done using the concept of exposure at default for individuals. Using individual data on loans and delinquencies
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Comparing Covid-19 Control in the Asia-Pacific and North-Atlantic Regions Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-08-21 Jeffrey D. Sachs
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Enhancing Financial Connectivity Between Asia and Europe: Implications for Infrastructure Convergence Between the Two Regions Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Naoyuki Yoshino, Monzur Hossain, Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary
This paper explores the methods and policies that could enhance the financial connectivity between Europe and Asia in infrastructure investments. We argue that if Asian governments agree to enter into a long-term repayment commitment with a share of spillover tax revenues of public infrastructure projects under a regulatory framework, it could attract European long-term institutional funds in Asia's
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Toward an Asian Monetary Fund: Ideas for Transition Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Suk Hyun, James F. Paradise
Creation of an Asian Monetary Fund might be a way to improve the financial safety net in Asia. This paper presents ideas for reforming the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM)—and its sister organization the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)—to move Asia in that direction. Among the ideas presented are making the CMIM an international treaty-type organization with paid-in capital
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Reforms and Crises in Government Statistics: The Case of Japan Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Masahiro Higo, Kiyohiko G. Nishimura, Yukie Sakuragawa
The calculation of government statistics faces multiple challenges in many countries, of which Japan may have the most acute. This paper examines comprehensive statistics reforms in Japan, especially regarding GDP and related statistics, to identify and rectify the problems. This paper then explains the recent revelation of serious errors in vital wage statistics caused by mismanagement in the Ministry
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Financial Integration in Asia: A Systemic View on Currency Markets Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Dayong Zhang, Wanli Zhao, Fei Wu, Qiang Ji
Using a systemic approach, this study investigates the time-varying linkages among currency markets of Japan, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the five core ASEAN economies to understand financial integration in Asia. We first construct a vector autoregressive model and use the Diebold and Yilmaz (2014) approach to quantitatively identify the connectedness within the system
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Exchange Rates and Firm Exports: The Role of Foreign Ownership and Foreign Subsidiaries Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-06-01 Hyelin Choi, Hyo Sang Kim
This paper examines the role of global production linkages on exchange rate elasticities by using Korean firm-level data. Firms with foreign ownership or with foreign subsidiaries, which are linked to global production, tend to weaken the effects of exchange rate movements on firm exports. We find the exchange rate elasticities of firm exports are significant and tend to have a negative effect on domestic
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Economic Integration and Network Trade: A Comparison of East Asia and the European Union Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-04-01 Son Thanh Nguyen, Yanrui Wu
The emergence of production networks has changed the structure of international trade, which is characterized by a large share of intra-regional trade flows and a rising value of intermediate goods trade or network trade between countries within the same region. This paper investigates the change in impact of trade determinants with the formation of regional production networks. At the global level
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Market Design for Multilateral Trade of Electricity in ASEAN: A Survey of the Key Components and Feasibility Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2020-04-01 Yanfei Li, Tsani Fauziah Rakhmah, Junichi Wada
The member states of ASEAN have together identified a need to develop the ASEAN Power Grid and enable the multilateral cross-border trade of electricity in a coordinated manner within ASEAN. This has been set out in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2016–25. Moving forward from the current situation, this paper reviews the key components and feasibility of establishing an interconnected
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Defending the Rule-based Trading Regime: The Multilateral Trading System at Risk and Required Responses Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Fukunari Kimura
The current trade turmoil is not limited to negative economic effects stemming from the series of recent trade measures erected by the United States as part of the escalating U.S.–China trade war. The more serious issue that will unfold in the middle to long term is the potential collapse of the rule-based trading regime. The weakening of the multilateral trading system centered by the World Trade
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Trade Wars and the Disarray in the Global Trading System: Implications for the Philippines Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-12-01 Maria Joy V. Abrenica, Ricardo Rafael S. Guzman, Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista
This study uses the Caliendo and Parro (2015) multi-sector, multi-country, general equilibrium Ricardian trade model with national and international input-output linkages to assess the impact on welfare of higher tariffs due to the U.S.–China trade war in the case of the Philippines. A sample of 65 countries including a constructed rest of the world is used, with 31 ICIO tradeable and non-tradeable
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Heterogeneous Impacts of Free Trade Agreements: The Case of Japan Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-06-01 Kenta Yamanouchi
This paper investigates the trade creation effects of Japan's free trade agreements (FTAs) using aggregate trade data for the years 1996–2015. We estimate various specifications of a gravity model. Our main finding is that the effects of Japan's FTAs are not clearly observed when the gravity model is specified with three types of fixed effects (i.e., exporter-year fixed effects, importer-year fixed
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Commodity Price Cycles, the Agricultural Trap, and Thailand's Incessant Subsidies Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-06-01 Bhanupong Nidhiprabha
During Thailand's economic development, the shares of output and employment in agriculture have been consistently higher than in other countries at the same level of income. There are push and pull factors for labor transformation. This paper demonstrates that the slow transformation from rural to urban economy is the result of the agricultural trap, which keeps agrarian labor inside the farm sector
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Early Life Exposure to Air Pollution, Cognitive Development, and Labor Market Outcome Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-06-01 Rashesh Shrestha
In this paper, I study the impact of early life exposure to air pollution caused by the 1997 Indonesian forest fires on cognitive ability, an important determinant of success in the labor market. To isolate the effect of pollution exposure, I use a difference-in-differences approach where exposure to pollution is determined by timing and region of birth. The results suggest that pollution lowered cognitive
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The Long-Term Financial Sustainability of the Civil Service Pension Scheme in Malaysia Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-03-01 Sheila Rose Darmaraj, Suresh Narayanan
The civil service pension scheme (CSPS) in Malaysia is a defined benefit (DB), non-contributory system directly funded from the budget. An aging population, rising life expectancy, and ballooning pension payments underscore the need for reform. An annual pension deficit model was used to estimate the pension deficit over a period of 75 years under eight scenarios that compare the current scheme with
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Money Demand in a Dollarized Economy: Evidence from Laos PDR Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-03-01 Phouphet Kyophilavong, Gazi Salah Uddin, Muhammad Shahbaz, Charles Harvie, Teerawat Charoenrat
This paper uses a time series perspective to examine the determinants and stability of the money demand function in the case of Laos PDR. An autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach to cointegration in the presence of structural breaks and Granger causality in a vector error correction method framework are applied to data covering the period 1992:Q1 to 2013:Q4. The results indicate that
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Impact of Financialization and Financial Development on Inequality: Panel Cointegration Results Using OECD Data Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-03-01 Hochul Shin, Keun Lee
This study compares the long-run impact of financialization and financial development on inequality through the panel cointegration approach using OECD country data. Results show that financialization, especially high-dividend tendency in non-financial corporations, is one of the causes of rising inequality measured as the share of the top 10 percent richest. Other measures of financialization, such
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Push vs. Pull Factors of Capital Flows Revisited: A Cross-country Analysis Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-03-01 Tae Soo Kang, Kyunghun Kim
This paper examines the major determinants of net capital inflows. To account for meaningful differences in responses, 47 countries used for the empirical analysis are divided into advanced economies (AEs) and emerging market economies (EMEs). These countries are further divided into subgroups to consider the heterogeneous determinants for AEs and EMEs. Our empirical examination reveals notable heterogeneity
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Is There an “East Asian Education Model”? A Study on Varieties of Education Regimes Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2019-03-01 Supanutt Sasiwuttiwat, Somkiat Tangkitvanich
There have been limited empirical studies on the varieties of education models. This paper applies clustering analysis to classify 59 education systems in the world into clusters based on their institutional arrangements (or regimes). Using a data set obtained from the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) survey in 2015, we discover three main findings on the varieties of education models
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Are Production Networks Passé in East Asia? Not Yet Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-10-01 Ayako Obashi, Fukunari Kimura
Many people have a vague notion that the room for expanding international production networks is almost exhausted and that therefore international trade has slowed down since the recovery from the great trade collapse. This paper presents evidence against such a belief in the East Asian context by classifying finely disaggregated trade data based on the stages of the production process. The trade slowdown
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Sustainable Development and Currency Exchange Rate Behavior Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-10-01 Mohamed Ariff, Alireza Zarei
We discuss currency volatility as a measure of currency instability using 15 currencies from developed and emerging economies. The IMF and others have recorded how countries manage their exchange rates to promote sustainable economic growth by designing exchange rate regimes as a pillar within economic policy. The findings herein show how to track currency instability using a given currency's volatility
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Explaining Multidimensional Poverty: A Household-Level Analysis Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-10-01 Carlos C. Bautista
A multidimensional poverty index is constructed for the Philippines using the Alkire-Foster methodology and data from a 2011 annual poverty indicators survey. This is disaggregated into urban and rural population groups, as well as by dimension and administrative region. At the province level, the study finds a positive relation between poverty incidence and intensity, but the highest intensity levels
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Climbing the Ladder: Socioeconomic Mobility in Malaysia Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-10-01 Muhammed Abdul Khalid
This study investigates the existence and extent of intergenerational mobility in Malaysia in terms of educational attainment, occupational skills level, and income level. It compares the status of working adults born between the years 1945 and 1960 and their adult children born between 1975 and 1985, using non-linear transition matrix techniques. On average, the majority of adult children have better
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On the Demand for Female Workers in Japan: The Role of ICT and Offshoring Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-06-01 Kozo Kiyota, Sawako Maruyama
This paper examines the determinants of the demand for female workers, focusing on the role of information and communication technology (ICT) and offshoring. Estimating a system of variable factor demands for manufacturing industries between 1980 and 2011, we find that, whereas the ICT capital stock has significantly positive effects on the demand for low-, middle-high-, and high-skilled female workers
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Capital Control and Monetary Policy in Asian Emerging Market Economies Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-06-01 Yongseung Jung, Soyoung Kim, Doo Yong Yang
This paper explores two policy options in emerging market economies (EMEs) to cope with volatile capital flows due to external monetary policy shocks; capital control policy and choice of exchange rate regime. Both tools reinforce each other when a foreign exchange risk premium shock hits the economy. A contractionary U.S. monetary policy shock has significant real effects in EMEs. Conventional wisdom
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What Explains Current Account Surplus in Korea? Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-06-01 Chirok Han, Kwanho Shin
Since the currency crisis in 1998, Korea has experienced continuous current account surpluses. Recently, the current account surplus increased more rapidly—amounting to 7.7 percent of GDP in 2015. In this paper, we investigate the underlying reasons for the widening of Korea's current account surpluses. We find that the upward trend in Korea's current account surpluses is largely explained by its demographical
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Are Capital Flows Fickle? Increasingly? And Does the Answer Still Depend on Type? Asian Economic Papers (IF 1.098) Pub Date : 2018-02-01 Barry Eichengreen, Poonam Gupta, Oliver Masetti
According to conventional wisdom, capital flows are fickle. Focusing on emerging markets, we ask whether this conventional wisdom still holds in our contemporary world. Our results show that, despite recent structural and regulatory changes, much of it survives. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are more stable than non-FDI inflows. Within non-FDI inflows, portfolio debt and bank-intermediated