Asia - World Economics - The journal of current economic analysis and policy

The paper examines the challenges that developing countries face in accelerating and sustaining growth. The cases of China and India are examined to illustrate a more general phenomenon which might be called model uncertainty. As a developing economy grows, its market and regulatory institutions cha ... Read more

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The Opium Economy: A Possible Approach to Reform
Jeremy Berkoff
Volume 8, Number 4, 2007, pages 9 - 45

This paper reviews options for reform of the opium economy within a holistic world context, emphasising the economic forces at work at each stage of the marketing chain. Rather than choosing between prohibition and legalisation, the paper proposes an incremental approach that would move steadily fro ... Read more

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The Future of North Korea is South Korea
(Or hope springs eternal)
Marcus Noland
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 27 - 52

North Korea's famine was in significant part a product of state failure, and unleashed an unintended grassroots process of marketization. Reforms undertaken in 2002 are more usefully interpreted as a response to this development than as a pro-active attempt to improve efficiency, and the government’ ... Read more

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The Emergence of a Regional Financial Architecture in Asia
Recent developments and prospects
Anthony Elson
Volume 7, Number 3, 2006, pages 167 - 184

This paper provides an assessment of monetary and financial cooperation in Asia since the regional financial crisis of 1997–98, with a view to determining whether the emerging Regional Financial Architecture in Asia is compatible with the global financial architecture and what are the prospects for ... Read more

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The Economic Growth of East Asia and Latin America in Comparative Perspective
Lessons for development policy
Anthony Elson
Volume 7, Number 2, 2006, pages 97 - 114

This paper attempts to identify key factors that can account for the divergent economic performance of East Asia and Latin America during the second half of the 20th century. Within the triad of so-called “deep determinants” of economic growth (geography, policy and institutions), the paper argues t ... Read more

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Can Iraq Overcome the Oil Curse?
Robert E. Looney
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 21 - 44

A growing literature suggests that the oil sector and the allocation of its revenues is the critical variable in shaping both the economic structure and political systems of countries like Iraq. For the most part this literature focuses on the so-called “oil curse” or the “paradox of plenty.” ... Read more

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The Nature of Corruption in Forest Management
Charles Palmer
Volume 6, Number 2, 2005, pages 1 - 10

Corruption is a well-documented and common feature of natural resource management in the developing world. This article investigates the nature of corruption and whether or not there is such a thing as a ‘tolerable’ level of corruption, particularly where there is an established culture of patronage ... Read more

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Reserve Accumulation in Asia
Lessons for holistic reform of the international monetary system
Graham Bird & Alex Mandilaras
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 85 - 99

In the aftermath of the 1997/1998 crisis, Asian economies have built up large holdings of international reserves. Although initially encouraged to do so by the IMF, more recently they have been criticised for maintaining undervalued currencies, running large current account balance of payments su ... Read more

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Trade in the Chinese 21st Century
Howard Davies
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 1 - 13

In this article Sir Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, offers some thoughts, first, on the political framework within which trade policy is determined, then about the way in which the globalization debate has developed, and finally some suggestions on ... Read more

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Governance Matters
The role of governance in Asian economic development
David E. Bloom, David Steven & Mark Weston
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 53 - 78

In recent years there has been a surge of interest in governance: good governance increasingly is seen as a vital adjunct to successful development efforts. This paper attempts to explain what governance is and why it is important, and assess which forms of governance are likely to best support a ... Read more

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Asian Drama
The pursuit of modernisation in India and Indonesia
Tim Lankester
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 75 - 93

The now largely forgotten book Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations by Swedish social scientist Gunnar Myrdal was published in 1968. Myrdal called his book “Asian Drama” because of the tensions he saw being played out in Asia between modern ideals and the traditional. But th ... Read more

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Globalisation and the Asia–Pacific Revival
Arne Bigsten
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 33 - 55

This paper reviews evidence on the evolution of international economic integration of Asia–Pacific countries, and discusses the extent to which this explains their recent growth success. It starts with a review of some theoretical arguments in the growth and globalisation debate, which is followe ... Read more

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The Quest for Development
What role does history play?
Areendam Chanda & Louis Putterman
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 1 - 31

It may be no coincidence that those countries that grew most rapidly in the late twentieth century—including South Korea, China, and, of late, India—were relatively developed civilizations when Western Europe began its overseas expansion five centuries ago. In this article the authors explore the ... Read more

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China’s Capital Market
Better than a casino
Stephen Green
Volume 4, Number 4, 2003, pages 37 - 54

Throughout the 1990s, China’s stock market was developed as a tool of industrial policy. It was used to supply capital to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that remained controlled by the state and whose performance usually declined after listing. Secondary market trading was poorly regulated, again ... Read more

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Exchange Rate Regimes
Is there a third way?
Vijay Joshi
Volume 4, Number 4, 2003, pages 15 - 36

This paper argues that (a) for many developing countries, the optimal external payments regime would be a combination of an intermediate exchange rate with capital controls and (b) the policy stance and advice of the IMF should reflect this judgement. The paper uses India as a case study to illus ... Read more

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Hydropower in Bhutan and Nepal
Why the difference?
Jeremy Berkoff
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 121 - 142

Bhutan and Nepal have followed differing hydropower development strategies. Bhutan has co-operated with India and power export earnings have helped fund a broadly successful economic, environmental and social programme. In contrast, Nepal turned to the World Bank and other donors to fund its powe ... Read more

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A Decade of Trade Reforms in India
How it compares with East Asia
Ramkishen S. Rajan & Rahul Sen
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 87 - 100

This paper summarises recent trade reforms in India and documents the extent to which the country has integrated with the global trading system. The paper argues that India has made important strides since the initiation of reforms in 1991. Although it lags significantly behind most of East Asia ... Read more

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Continuities and Discontinuities in Global Development
Lessons from new East/West comparisons
Kenneth Pomeranz
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 73 - 86

Much literature normalises a ‘North Atlantic’ pattern of development, and sees a regionally specific ‘East Asian’ path emerging relatively recently. However, development patterns in core regions of Europe and East Asia were surprisingly similar until almost 1800; Europe’s subsequent divergence wa ... Read more

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Japan’s Monetary and Economic Policy
Allan Meltzer
Volume 3, Number 3, 2002, pages 85 - 103

Japan has gone from very successful policies that promoted growth without inflation to a long period of slow growth, recessions and deflation. The Bank of Japan’s policies are a major reason for deflation. Although the Bank has purchased foreign exchange, it counteracts the inflationary effects of ... Read more

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Capital Controls
The experience of Malaysia
Jomo K.S.
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 125 - 143

Malaysia’s decision to adopt capital controls in September 1998 reminded the world that there are alternatives to capital account liberalisation. Unfortunately, there has been a tendency for both sides in the debate over the capital control measures to exaggerate their own cases, with little rega ... Read more

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Negotiating Trade
David Flath
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 19 - 28

If unilateral free trade is the best policy, then why are international treaties needed to achieve it? The reason may be found in the Becker theory of competition among political pressure groups. By entering wide-ranging negotiations, nations shift the political question from one of protecting a ... Read more

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The Emerging Northeast–Southeast Asia Divide and Policy Implications
Friedrich Wu
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 169 - 180

Since the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in mid-1997, the gulf between the Northeast Asian economies and Southeast Asian economies has widened as measured by GDP growth rates and size, direct and portfolio investment flows, stock market capitalisation and trading turnover, as well as foreig ... Read more

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Why Did the Protected Areas Fail the Giant Panda?
The economics of conserving endangered species in developing countries
Timothy M. Swanson & Andreas Kontoleon
Volume 1, Number 4, 2000, pages 135 - 148

Most biodiversity lies within the developing world, and much of it is under threat because of forces for change within these countries. In order to be effective, biodiversity conservation must be viewed as a development opportunity, rather than as a constraint on development. This implies manageme ... Read more

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Is there a Case for an Asian Monetary Fund?
Graham Bird & Ramkishen Rajan
Volume 1, Number 2, 2000, pages 135 - 143

The East Asian financial crisis has spawned a number of proposals for institutional reform. Some envisage reforming existing institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while others suggest that new institutions are needed. Amongst them is the idea of establishing an Asian Mone ... Read more

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