by Kaisar | Feb 15, 2015 | Cross Cutting Issues, Technical Reports
An important part of the vision of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to ensure that the benefits of development and economic integration are equitably shared by all member states and their citizens. ASEAN’s work therefore aims to narrow the development gap between ASEAN member states (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) and between sub-regions within ASEAN. Written by a team of internationally recognised experts in development economics, this book communicates the latest findings on narrowing the development gap in a practical, policy-relevant way, in a format that can influence decision makers within ASEAN member states and international donors. There have been significant development achievements in many ASEAN countries over the last 20 years, but the ASEAN region continues to be characterised by significant development gaps, particularly in income. Gaps in development achievement are also seen at the regional and sub-national levels. This book offers a better understanding of development gaps, as they exist in 2012, and provides important context that can inform the strategic needs of decision makers in the ASEAN region. Due to improvements in conceptualising and measuring well-being, including through the use of multidimensional indicators, this book gives policy makers and scholars in development economics, development policy and Asian studies well-grounded insights into the nature of the development gaps within and between ASEAN countries as well as high-level policy advice on those interventions that can contribute to a narrowing of the development gap. Downloads Synopsis, Chapter Abstracts Policy Brief 1:The ASEAN Development Gap: Definition, Measurement and Monitoring Policy Brief 2: Enhancing Connectivity to Narrow the Development Gap...
by Kaisar | Feb 15, 2015 | Cross Cutting Issues, Technical Reports
The symposium was undertaken as part of a large project focused on the potential to develop an ASEAN-level regulatory reform program. It follows the first ASEAN dialogue on regulatory reform, which was held in 2011 and focused on sharing member country experiences of reform initiatives. It was determined at the time of the initial dialogue that an important focus of this symposium should be on reform activity in the logistics and supply chain connectivity sector. This reflects, in large part, the strongly export-oriented nature of many ASEAN member countries’ economies. Regulatory reform is widely identified as a means of enhancing economic competitiveness and performance, benefiting consumers and citizens and favouring the development of good public governance practices. Within the specific ASEAN context, regulatory reform has particular potential to assist Member States in meeting the challenges of global competition and, more broadly, can support progress in relation to all of the “four pillars” of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The specific purposes of the symposium were to enhance ASEAN Member States’ knowledge and understanding of strategies, issues and approaches in relation to regulatory reform, both in terms of specific activities being undertaken among member countries and, more broadly, in terms of the best practices that have been identified as a result of the extensive experience of a range of OECD Member countries. The symposium therefore included presentations covering reform experiences in relation to logistics and supply chain connectivity in three Member countries, a fourth presentation covering regulatory reform experience in the transport sector in Australia and a presentation on the use of de minimis exemptions from customs procedures (including collection...
