MetaTOC stay on top of your field, easily

Asian-Pacific Economic Literature

Impact factor: 0.333 5-Year impact factor: 0.306 Print ISSN: 0818-9935 Online ISSN: 1467-8411 Publisher: Wiley Blackwell (Blackwell Publishing)

Subject: Economics

Most recent papers:

  • Earnings Satisfaction in South Korea.
    Nikolas Tromp, Woosik Yu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. 2 days ago
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper explores drivers of earnings satisfaction in South Korea using Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) data for 2009–2023. We find that both earnings level and earnings rank are associated with higher earnings satisfaction, highlighting the importance of both absolute and relative pay. While the positive associations of earnings are stronger for men, the negative associations of work hours are stronger for women. Personal performance pay is linked to lower satisfaction for men, whereas company performance pay is linked to higher satisfaction for women. Men exhibit a midlife dip in earnings satisfaction, and marriage is associated with lower satisfaction for men but higher satisfaction for women. Self‐employment and years of tenure are linked to lower earnings satisfaction, while for women, daily employment is linked to higher satisfaction. These findings are benchmarked against job and life satisfaction, and the research and policy implications are discussed in the conclusion.\n"]
    April 29, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70046   open full text
  • Cross‐Border E‐Commerce and the Reduction of Import Trade Costs: Evidence From Linguistic Dimensions.
    Yong Chen, Xueyao Guo.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 07, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper investigates the causal impact of Cross‐Border E‐commerce (CBEC) on China's import trade costs, focusing on the mitigation of non‐geographic barriers. We first quantify China's bilateral trade costs using a structural trade‐cost measurement framework. To establish causality, we employ a Difference‐in‐Differences (DID) model with a novel, industry‐level identification strategy based on the official ‘CBEC Retail Import Commodity List’. Results show that the CBEC policy significantly lowers overall import trade costs. Furthermore, by constructing a detailed Linguistic Barrier Index, we find that the negative impact of linguistic barriers substantially diminishes under the CBEC model, enabling freer trade despite language differences. We also note the persistent role of English as a trade lingua franca. These findings offer a novel identification strategy and hold important implications for CBEC enterprises seeking strategic localisation in multilingual markets.\nJEL Classification: F14, Z13\n"]
    April 07, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70041   open full text
  • Green Credit Interest Subsidy Policy and Corporate Environmental Governance Performance: Evidence From a Quasi‐Natural Experiment in China.
    Wang Yujue, Nur Syazwani Mazlan.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 07, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWith the rapid development of China's economy, green finance has emerged as a pivotal instrument for promoting corporate green transformation and sustainable development. Using data from Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2022, this study adopts a generalised difference‐in‐differences (DID) approach to assess the influence of green credit interest subsidy policies on corporate environmental governance performance (GGP). The results demonstrate that these subsidies significantly contribute to enhancing firm's governance performance. Mechanism analysis reveals that the improvement in GGP is primarily driven by reduced financing costs and heightened environmental attention. Moreover, further analysis shows that the policy effects vary significantly across firms of different types and sizes. Firms characterised by higher institutional ownership, stronger profitability, and those in non‐heavy pollution industries exhibit more pronounced improvements in GGP under the green credit subsidy policy. This study provides robust empirical evidence in support of sustainable development and offers valuable insights for the optimisation of green finance policies.\n"]
    April 07, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70042   open full text
  • Monetary Policy, Bank Competition, and Corporate Investment.
    Japan Huynh.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. March 17, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper investigates the moderating role of bank competition in the link between monetary policy and corporate investment, using data from Vietnamese commercial banks and non‐financial listed firms from 2007 to 2023. After verifying the corporate investment channel of monetary policy, we show that higher bank competition enhances the effectiveness of monetary policy in driving corporate investment. Further analysis reveals that this effect is especially pronounced among bank‐dependent firms, which rely heavily on external financing from banks and thus respond more strongly to policy shifts in competitive banking markets. Besides, state‐owned firms, which benefit from government‐backed financial support, exhibit a weaker response to the combined effects of bank competition and monetary policy than private firms. Our results suggest that promoting a competitive banking sector could strengthen the impact of monetary policy on corporate investment, particularly for firms reliant on bank financing and non‐state‐owned firms.\n"]
    March 17, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70040   open full text
  • Global Apparel Value Chain in the Post‐MFA Era: Exploring Bangladesh's Competitive Edge.
    Abul Bashar Mohammed Fakhruzzaman.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. March 16, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study revisits Bangladesh's competitive edge by examining patterns of global apparel trade during the post‐Multi‐Fibre Arrangement (MFA) era using a large bilateral panel of 27 leading apparel exporters trading with 163 destinations with coverage of 90% of the world apparel exports. Utilising a theory‐consistent structural gravity framework estimated with the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator, this study finds that long geographical distance from major markets such as the US and the EU has not placed Bangladesh in a specific disadvantageous position in this industry. While standard gravity expectations suggest that remoteness should penalise distant Asian suppliers, the results reveal a more nuanced pattern. Bangladesh's exports are less affected by distance at the aggregate level, and for core basic apparel items such as T‐shirts and denim trousers, the Bangladesh‐distance interaction is positive and statistically significant, with contiguity turning negative. This reflects product specialisation, whereby global buyers source standardised, time‐insensitive apparel from distant but low‐cost, scale‐efficient suppliers. Wage competitiveness and bilateral real exchange rate (RER) conditions are also associated with performance, although interpreted as correlated rather than strictly causal. Overall, the findings suggest that Bangladesh successfully leveraged specialisation, scale and cost advantage to overcome the ‘tyranny of distance’ in the post‐MFA global apparel market.\n"]
    March 16, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70036   open full text
  • Reputation Incentive or Resource Curse? The Impact of Alumni Network on Firms' Green Innovation.
    Jing Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. March 13, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nUsing empirical data from China, this paper empirically studies the impact of alumni networks amongst business people on firms' green innovation. Empirical results show that the chairperson's core position in the alumni network can increase a firm's green innovations. The social connections of chairpersons have a reputation motivation effect on green innovation. Besides, social networks complement formal institutions during economic transition in emerging markets. When the regulation from formal institutions is weak, such as when environmental regulation is weak, or the firm is not on the list of pollution monitoring by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the effect of alumni networks is more significant. The effect of the alumni network on economic activities is subtle and still exists even in regions with a high degree of marketization. But it should not be ignored that the positive effect is more significant on strategic green innovation than on substantive green innovation.\n"]
    March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70039   open full text
  • Evaluating the Impact of the National Innovative City Pilot Policy on Green Total Factor Productivity: Evidence From China.
    Lingzhe Li, Zhichen Yang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. March 11, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nGreen total factor productivity (GTFP) has been used to assess the degree of economic growth and environmental protection. Therefore this study treats GTFP and China's national innovative city pilot policy (NICPP) as research objects, using panel data from 270 prefecture‐level cities between 2007 and 2022. The empirical results demonstrate that NICPP significantly promotes GTFP, with the effect being more pronounced in cities characterised by strong market potential, favourable locational conditions, sound business credit environments, and weaker foundations in traditional industry. Mechanism analysis in a further step reveals that the policy primarily affects GTFP through four channels: promoting digital financial inclusion, increasing government attention to digital technologies, optimising urban functional division, and optimising R&D capital allocation efficiency. These outcomes offer empirical evidence and valuable options for the enhancement of GTFP.\n"]
    March 11, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70038   open full text
  • The Impact of Government‐Business Relations on Entrepreneurship: A Study From China.
    Wei Feng, Hang Yuan.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. February 04, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nImproving government‐business relations is critical to fostering entrepreneurship. Using panel data from 282 Chinese cities over 2017–2022, this study empirically examines the impact of government‐business relations on entrepreneurship. The findings are as follows: (1) Government‐business relations stimulate both innovation entrepreneurship and business entrepreneurship, particularly when the relations are close. (2) For innovation entrepreneurship, this positive effect is stronger in non‐resource‐based cities, central cities, and transportation hub cities. For business entrepreneurship, the effect is more pronounced in port cities, cities with flat terrain, and cities with a better commercial credit environment. (3) Mechanism tests indicate that government‐business relations foster both types of entrepreneurship by enhancing market potential, reducing institutional costs and improving environmental governance performance. These findings not only enrich the theoretical understanding of the relationship between government‐business relations and entrepreneurship but also deepen insights into how institutional environments influence innovation and business, providing policy implications for local governments to optimise government‐business relations, improve the business environment, and promote innovation and business.\n"]
    February 04, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70033   open full text
  • Shaping Agricultural Imports: The Roles of Tariffs and Non‐Tariff Changes of China's RTAs.
    Meixiu Cheng, Yangfen Chen.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. February 02, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nSince joining the WTO, China has seen rapid growth in agricultural imports, accompanied by the signing of an increasing number of regional trade agreements (RTAs). This study aims to investigate how RTAs influence China's agricultural imports using HS 6‐digit level data on agricultural trade and tariffs between China and its 121 partner countries from 2002 to 2021, with a focus on disentangling the respective roles of tariffs and non‐tariff changes. The research finds that both tariffs and non‐tariff changes of China's RTAs significantly boost agricultural imports, with non‐tariff changes exerting a stronger effect, and the effects are larger for imports from developing countries. By product, tariff cuts broadly raise imports but are weak or even negative for sensitive cereals and animal products, whereas non‐tariff changes mainly facilitate imports in land, capital, and technology‐intensive and processed sectors, including horticultural and animal‐based products, where China lacks comparative advantages.\n"]
    February 02, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70032   open full text
  • Mutual Recognition of Geographical Indications Between China and the EU and Enterprises' Price Mark–Up: Theoretical Mechanisms and Empirical Facts.
    Weiwen Qian, Yuchen Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. January 07, 2026
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study uses enterprise price mark‐up to comprehensively investigate the net value of the positive spillover and negative competition effects associated with mutual recognition of geographical indications to export enterprises and constructs a price mark‐up model. Utilising data from Chinese listed companies and Chinese Customs from 2007 to 2016, it empirically examines the effect and mechanism of mutual geographical indication (GI) recognition between China and the EU on the price mark‐up of exported agricultural products using a multiple time point difference‐in‐differences model. The relevant results are fourfold. (1) Mutual GI recognition between China and the EU increases enterprises' price mark‐up of exported agricultural products. (2) Regarding mechanisms, the effect of mutual GI recognition on enterprises' price mark‐up of exported agricultural products reveals positive quality‐upgrading spillover effects and efficiency enhancement in addition to negative market competition and cost increase effects. (3) A heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the positive effect of mutual GI recognition on enterprises' price mark‐up of exported agricultural products is greater for enterprises exporting primary agricultural products, core products and exported to EU countries. This is attributed to such enterprises having stronger cost‐shifting and factor‐adjustment capabilities. (4) Mutual GI recognition is also found to reduce the dispersion of firms' price mark‐ups and significantly improve resource allocation efficiency. Based on GTAP simulations, expanding China‐EU mutual recognition of GIs through a targeted strategy is projected to sustainably increase Chinese agricultural exporters' price mark‐ups by 1.6730 percentage points and their net profit by 5.7670%.\n"]
    January 07, 2026   doi: 10.1111/apel.70031   open full text
  • Coupling and Coordinated Development Between Informal Environmental Regulation and the Efficiency of Government Environmental Protection Expenditure in China: Spatial–Temporal Difference and Driving Factors.
    Lei Nie, Purong Chen, Shunfeng Song, Zhifang Wu, Jing Zhang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. December 18, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe coordinated development of informal environmental regulation (IER) and the efficiency of government environmental protection expenditure (EGEPE) is key to enhancing the effectiveness of environmental governance. This study focuses on 30 provinces in China over the period from 2008 to 2020, developing a multi‐indicator assessment framework that encompasses both IER and EGEPE. We employ a suite of analytical methods, including the SBM (slack‐based measure) model with undesirable outputs, the entropy technique, a coupling coordination model and a two‐way fixed‐effects model, to dissect the regional disparities, spatiotemporal dynamics and determinant factors influencing the coupling coordination between IER and EGEPE. The results show: ① The coupling coordination degree of IER and EGEPE in the three major regions of China has been on an upward trend, but presents pronounced regional disparities, characterised by East > West > Central regions; ② The number of areas with high‐level coordination has gradually increased, mainly concentrated in the eastern region, while the central and western regions show a trend of ‘low‐level equilibrium trap’ and the trend surface analysis presents a spatial pattern of ‘low in north and high in south—high in east and low in central and western’; ③ Technological innovation plays an important role in promoting the coupling coordination of IER and EGEPE, reflecting the key position of technological development and efficiency improvement in environmental governance.\n"]
    December 18, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70030   open full text
  • Role of Inward Foreign Direct Investment and Network Effects on Indian Emigration: Empirical Evidence From Bilateral Data Analysis.
    Monalisa Khatua, Bikash Ranjan Mishra.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. December 10, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAs one of the world's most populous and economically emerging countries, India's relative position in the global economy is much influenced by a dynamic linkage between the migration of its people and an increase in foreign investment. Therefore, this study investigates the inward FDI and its network effects on Indian emigration using bilateral emigration stock data. The empirical estimation of this study employs both static and dynamic panel data econometric estimation techniques, considering India as a reporting country with 88 partner countries for the period 2000–2023. Our analysis shows that the bilateral inward FDI that India received mainly from its 88 partner countries positively stimulates its bilateral emigration towards their partner countries. Additionally, this study also confirms that the network effects of both FDI and migration on an individual basis and their mediating interaction terms on a joint basis also significantly and positively impact bilateral emigration. Furthermore, the robustness test results also confirmed similar outcomes. Therefore, a set of holistic and strategic external policies needs to be effectively executed that can cater to the dynamism of India's international factor mobility and can improve India's economic benefits and contribute to its long‐term prosperity.\n"]
    December 10, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70029   open full text
  • Research on the Influence of Restricted Export Trade Policy on the Technological Innovation of Chinese High‐Tech Enterprises.
    Min Chen, Yong Hong Tang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. December 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis article examines the influence of the restricted export trade policy on technological innovation in Chinese high‐tech companies. The data of A‐share listed firms from 2006 to 2020 are selected as the sample from a micro‐enterprise level. The PSM‐DID method is used to research the innovation input and innovation output. The research findings conclude that the restricted export trade policy will promote high‐tech companies to enlarge their investment in R&D manpower and funds at the cost of the innovation output and quality. For the action mechanism, human capital flow effect and competitive effect play a significant positive intermediary role in innovation input, while learning effect and external cost effect play a negative intermediary role in innovation output. From the perspective of enterprise heterogeneity, enterprises with different sizes, equity structures and life cycles present differently in technological innovation in high‐tech industries when they are impacted by the restricted export trade policy.\n"]
    December 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70028   open full text
  • The Impact of Airline Short Video Marketing on Air Passenger Volume: Evidence From Chinese Aviation Market.
    Wenliang Ma, Fenglong Ren, Dianyi Xu, Xiangru Wu, Kun Wang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 19, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWith the widespread adoption of short videos on social media platforms, airlines have increasingly leveraged them as key tools for digital marketing. However, systematic research on their impact on consumers' actual travel behaviour remains limited. This study investigates the effect of short video marketing on civil aviation passenger volume based on monthly panel data from 10 major Chinese airlines between January 2023 and December 2024. The empirical results show that short video marketing significantly increases economy class passenger volume, with improvements in video quality and posting frequency both exerting positive effects. Moreover, stronger marginal effects are observed in the international market and among low‐cost carriers (LCCs). In contrast, business class passengers and full‐service carriers (FSCs) passengers exhibit weaker responsiveness to short video marketing, suggesting that short videos are more effective for leisure and price‐sensitive consumer groups. This study enriches the empirical research on digital marketing in the air travel sector and provides practical insights for airlines to develop differentiated short video strategies.\n"]
    November 19, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70027   open full text
  • Market Structure and Impact of Vertical Separation: Evidence From Mobile Sector in China.
    Shengfei Han, Dan Pei.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 14, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nIn year 2014, a mobile tower company was established in China as a nationwide monopoly. This paper tested the impact of this major structural change or ‘reform’ on China's mobile operators with important policy implications. As a measure to improve the efficiency of state‐monopolised network‐based industries, the government has repeatedly reiterated since 2013 in a series of official files a fundamental guideline of separating network and retail markets and liberalising the competitive sectors. However, the issues like whether the network sectors are intrinsically non‐competitive natural monopolies and whether and how the choice of market structure matters in determining the effectiveness of the reform remain to be evaluated. Answers to these questions may seem to be theoretically obvious, but do have important empirical significance in China's setting, particularly for the new round of changes in mobile market place with 5G technology. Results show that the tower sector is not a natural monopoly and the single‐firm market arrangement has not been conducive to improving the operators' performance. Policy recommendations are provided at the end of the article.\n"]
    November 14, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70024   open full text
  • Digital Agricultural Technology Extension and Farmers' Use of Biopesticides: Evidence From Rural China.
    Zhaoliang Li, Yurong Yang, Yan Zhang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 14, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nActive promotion of biopesticides represents a critical pathway towards achieving sustainable agricultural development in China. In the context of ongoing agricultural digitization, digital extension has emerged as a transformative approach for disseminating agricultural technologies. Based on survey data collected from 793 farmers in China, this study employed a propensity score matching (PSM) method to analyse the impact of digital extension on farmers' biopesticide adoption behaviour. Furthermore, we examined the heterogeneous effects of different digital extension modes. The findings reveal that digital extension increased the likelihood of biopesticide use by farmers by approximately 2.6%–4.3%. Among the various digital modes—graphic‐based extension, live broadcasting and short videos—the short video format proved most effective in promoting biopesticide application. Additionally, digital extension and traditional technical training were found to exhibit a complementary effect, enhancing each other's influence. The positive impact of digital extension was more pronounced among young and middle‐aged farmers, while an observable digital divide limited its effectiveness among older farmers. These results underscore the significance of designing targeted, mode‐aware digital promotion strategies to encourage environmentally sustainable farming practices. They also highlight the need for complementary integration of online and offline agricultural extension services to maximise outreach and efficacy.\n"]
    November 14, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70026   open full text
  • Tax Administrative Penalties and Corporate Tax Compliance: Evidence From China.
    Jing Wang, Luxi Li, Zhen Yang, Wenlong Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 14, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study investigates the impact of tax administrative penalties on corporate tax compliance using data from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System of China. The findings show that tax administrative penalties significantly deter corporate tax evasion. Specifically, penalties help regulate corporate behaviour by reducing agency costs, limiting collusion between taxpayers and tax officials, and increasing the costs of capital thinning and accrual‐based earnings management. The deterrent effect is stronger in regions with higher local fiscal pressure, greater enforcement attention, and more advanced information technologies. Moreover, tax administrative penalties produce spillover effects, improving tax compliance among firms in the same industry or region as penalised companies. These results highlight the critical role of tax enforcement in managing tax risks and strengthening compliance. This study recommends improving the uniformity of tax discretion benchmarks across regions to optimise the penalty system and provide institutional support for building a unified national market.\n"]
    November 14, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70023   open full text
  • Does Inclusive Digital Finance Foster Rural Household Entrepreneurship: Evidence From the China Family Panel Studies.
    Danxia Peng, Yijing Zhang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 13, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWith an increasing number of home‐bound workers launching businesses in their hometowns, rural household entrepreneurship has become a crucial avenue for achieving the shared prosperity goal in China. This study utilised the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) from two periods, 2018 and 2020, and correlated it with the digital inclusive finance index from the same years. The findings revealed that digital inclusive finance fosters entrepreneurial activities among rural households, with the depth of usage exerting the most significant influence on rural entrepreneurship and passing robustness tests. The household income gap serves as a key mechanism through which the depth of usage impacts rural entrepreneurship. Greater depth of digital inclusive finance usage mitigates income disparities in rural areas, thereby promoting rural household entrepreneurship. Additionally, this deeper usage of digital inclusive finance notably enhances the entrepreneurial prospects of rural households with weak social networks and those in the middle‐income bracket across central, western, and northeastern China. The inclusive nature of digital inclusive finance has been substantiated. Therefore, supporting self‐employment among rural households and expanding access to digital inclusive finance is a promising strategy for rural rejuvenation in China.\n"]
    November 13, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70019   open full text
  • Government‐Level Political Risk Perception and Corporate Violations: Evidence From China.
    Lin Zhang, Sinmyong Sok.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 13, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper investigates the impact of government‐level political risk perception on corporate violations. Using data from A‐share listed companies in China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2000 to 2022, we construct an index system to measure the intensity of geopolitical risk perception and incorporate it into the analysis of corporate misconduct. The results show that stronger government perception of geopolitical risk is associated with a higher likelihood of corporate violations. Mechanism analysis reveals that political risk perception increases the probability of corporate misconduct by amplifying capital market volatility and weakening financial regulatory intensity. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the effect is more pronounced among firms operating in regions with higher levels of marketisation, lower quality of information disclosure and lower levels of analyst and media attention. This study provides a novel perspective on how macro‐level political uncertainty shapes micro‐level corporate behaviour and offers theoretical insights for the formulation of regulatory policies.\n"]
    November 13, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70025   open full text
  • The Cross‐Industry Contagion Network of Systemic Risk: Evidence From China.
    Limei Sun, Qing Shen, Xiaoqing Huang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 104-121, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study employs the Lasso–Granger algorithm, in combination with sliding window technology, to construct a dynamic directed complex network that captures the dynamics of systemic risk transmission between the financial industry and the real economy. By analysing the network's characteristic indicators among the banking, securities, and insurance sectors, we explore variations in systemic risk transmission across these three major financial sectors and the real economy. Additionally, the CONCOR algorithm is used to detect community structures within the complex network, enabling a dynamic assessment of these communities' attributes over time. The empirical results show that the ability of the insurance, banking, and securities sectors to receive systemic risk weakens progressively. The insurance sector has the strongest capacity to transmit systemic risk, whereas the banking sector has the weakest capacity to transmit systemic risk. The banking and insurance sectors exhibit similar role attributes in the process of systemic risk transmission. The risk transmission relationship between the real economy and the financial industry shows heterogeneity.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12446   open full text
  • Does China's Technological Innovation Affect China–US Relation, or Vice Versa?
    Kai‐Hua Wang, Li‐Li Liu, Hong‐Wen Liu, Lu Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 161-173, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study investigates the causal relationship between China's technological innovation (CTI) and China–US relation (CUR) using full‐sample and subsample Granger causality tests. This study revealed that CTI has both positive and negative effects on CUR. CTI has enhanced China's economic strength by promoting industrial upgrading and enhancing China's international status, which has had a complex impact on CUR. In contrast, CUR has a positive effect on CTI. The deterioration of CUR affects China's technological R&D, industrial chain supply and patent application, reducing the speed of China's innovation. In addition, the analysis determines the interaction results of two variables in multiple subperiods and verifies the channels of influence, which deepens the understanding of the relationship between them. China's improved technology will lead to higher prices for imports into the United States, which could hurt American consumers. In recent years, the United States has adopted a policy of ‘decoupling’ from China's economy, which has made CUR tense. US economic progress has been somewhat impacted by trade cooperation between China and the United States, which has been directly impacted by the conflict between the two nations. Facing complex international circumstances, the development of CTI and CUR should be coordinated. China and the United States should use a peaceful dialogue to resolve long‐term technological disputes. China's government should fully use multiple resources to support technological innovation.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12454   open full text
  • The Proposed Smart Supply Chain Management of Operations and Distributions in Forest and Agricultural Products.
    Trung Tuan Nguyen, Hai Van Pham, Thu Huyen Nguyen, Minh Hoan Pham, Thi Minh Ngoc Tong.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 147-160, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nRecently, optimising the supply chain operation in forest and agricultural products plays significant roles in sustaining natural resources for economic development. To align with the global agricultural product standards, farmers, suppliers, and managers must make every effort in improving the processing with an attempt to ensure that every product is transparent in terms of origins. However, the conventional supply chain systems are facing restraints in the distributions and management of forest products. This paper presents a novel model that embeds algorithms into the operations of the forest ecology products market in supply chain systems. The proposed system has provided a platform for gathering various sources such as distributors, agencies, and customers as inputs of data for better management; cutting costs of manufacturers, agencies, and suppliers; improving product quality that will be helpful to stakeholders participating in the ecosystem. Experimental results in case studies in real‐world problems have demonstrated the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed system for supply chains control improvements in forest products.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12453   open full text
  • The Effects of Environmental Policy Stringency on Firms' Performances: Focusing on Korean Manufacturing Industry.
    Jinhee Lee, Cheol Jong Song.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 47-60, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study analysed how stringent environmental policy affects firms' performances in Korean manufacturing. The environmental policy stringency index published by the OECD was used as the main explanatory variable. As for the firms' performances variables, real total cost, real total sales and real EBIT were used, which capture the impact‐response‐outcome of environmental policies, respectively. By and large environmental policy stringency had a negative effect. Environmental policy stringency also had a more delayed effect on EBIT than on cost and sales. In addition, firms responded differently to the cost increase by firms' characteristics such as size and financial soundness.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12441   open full text
  • ‘Gold Miss’ or ‘Earthy Mom’? Evidence From Thailand.
    Lusi Liao, Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 174-185, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study investigates the impact of Thai women's education on their marriage behaviour and fertility. It first uses the data set from the Labor Force Survey to estimate the effect of education on the marriage market. The result from applying the recent doubly robust inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) indicates that obtaining a university degree decreases women's probability of marriage by 14.8%, emphasising the rise of the ‘Gold Miss’ phenomenon in Thailand. The study further examines the effect of education on fertility. By applying both the instrumental variable using the compulsory education reform as an instrument and pseudo‐panel approaches to take into account the endogeneity of schooling, the result shows that education causally reduces fertility, which provides a convincing sequential explanation for the dramatic decline in fertility in Thailand.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12455   open full text
  • Cash Subsidies for the Poor: Evaluating Thailand's State Welfare Card Programme.
    Wannaphong Durongkaveroj.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 134-146, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper examines the causal effects of Thailand's 2017 large‐scale unconditional cash transfer programme (‘the state welfare card programme’) that covered over 20% of the country's population. The study uses regression discontinuity methods and data from the 2019 nationally representative household socio‐economic survey. Results show that this programme had no significant impact on consumption expenditure and food expenditure, as intended. However, the programme caused a significant increase in non‐consumption expenditure, especially items paid for in cash. Also, the programme significantly increased in‐kind consumption expenditure, demonstrating the payment modality of the programme. Given a large evidence base showing the poverty‐reducing effects of cash transfer programmes in developing countries, the findings point to the need to revamp the programme at both design and implementation stages.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12452   open full text
  • Job Employment and Vertical Mismatch: Evidence From Thailand.
    Siritas Kettanurak.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 122-133, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe augmented matching function is modified to identify the determinants of job employment and the pattern of vertical mismatch in Thailand's labour market during 2017–2022. Specifically, using the General Method of Moments technique, the results show that job employment in each skill group is positively affected by its own lagged variable, the number of unemployed workers and job vacancies but negatively influenced by the congestion externalities of job vacancies in other skill groups. In terms of elasticity, the elasticity of job employment with respect to unemployment and job vacancies is around 0.36–0.46 and 0.31–0.43, respectively. Furthermore, overskilling is observed in both semi‐skilled and low‐skilled positions, while underskilling occurs only in semi‐skilled positions regarding the coefficient values for the congestion of job vacancies. Finally, the provision of more job‐matching platforms and upskilling courses is suggested as a policy recommendation to mitigate the problems of overskilling and underskilling, respectively.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12447   open full text
  • Firm Survival in China's Steel Industry: The Impact of ICT.
    Feng Yu, Qiaomin Li, Jianfeng Ma.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 90-103, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWhile China's steel industry has experienced significant entry and exit, our understanding of the factors determining firm survival within this sector remains limited. This paper aims to identify factors influencing firm survival from an ICT perspective. Utilising a meticulously verified dataset on firm exit, we observe that the average exit rate of Chinese steel firms stands at 11.4% from 2000 to 2013. The results of a complementary log–log model show that ICT adoption significantly reduces the hazard rate. A two‐step IV probit model and a cross‐sectional model verify the ICT impact. We further adopt a mediational model to detect the mechanism of the ICT impact. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) functions as a vital transmission mechanism. Heterogeneity tests demonstrate that the ICT impact is less significant for State‐Owned Enterprises (SOEs) during the study period. Our findings support the digitalisation of steel firms.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12445   open full text
  • Do Fiscal Regimes Matter for Fiscal Sustainability in India?
    Arjun, Bibhuti Ranjan Mishra.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 74-89, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nGovernments, economists, and policymakers in India have long been concerned about India's unsustainability of public debt. Therefore, the present study seeks fresh evidence of India's fiscal sustainability from 1980–81 to 2020–21. This study employs linear (model‐based) and three non‐linear models (quadratic, cubic, and kinked) to examine the fiscal sustainability in India. The regime changes are quantified using a ‘regime‐switching model‐based fiscal stability test’ that does not consider the linear fiscal response function method. The findings from the analysis point to a statistically significant fiscal sustainability outcome for the linear model but not for the non‐linear model. There is also the sign of a ‘regime‐switching’ fiscal rule in India from 1980–81 to 2020–21. The unsustainable fiscal regime has been identified only in three periods: 1983–84 to 1993–94, 2009–10 to 2012–13, and 2018–19 to 2020–21. For other periods, sustainable regimes are evident. The study finds that India's fiscal policy satisfies the ‘non‐Ponzi game condition’, as revealed by the regime‐specific reaction coefficients and the average periods of fiscal regimes. However, the country's long‐term fiscal sustainability has been jeopardised, as the debt‐stabilising condition is strictly violated. Regime‐based insensitivity, which results in an unsustainable fiscal regime lasting for more than 3 years, might expose the country to long‐term fiscal unsustainability.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12444   open full text
  • The Impact of State‐Owned Assets Supervision System Reform on the Performance of State‐Owned Enterprises: Evidence From the ‘Two Types of Companies’ Pilot Policy in China.
    Guangqian Ren, Man Jing, Li Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 61-73, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPromoting the transformation of the state‐owned assets supervision system (SASS) from ‘managing assets’ to ‘managing capital’ is the key direction of the new round of state‐owned assets reform. This article takes the policy implementation of state‐owned capital investment and operation companies (‘two types of companies’) as a quasi‐natural experiment, selects Chinese A‐share listed state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) from 2009 to 2022 as the research sample, and investigates the impact of SASS reform on the performance of SOEs using a multi‐period difference‐in‐differences model. The results suggest that SASS reform can significantly improve the performance of SOEs. Mechanism analysis indicates that SASS reform enhances the performance of SOEs by weakening government intervention, increasing external pay gaps, and reducing agency costs. Heterogeneity analysis shows that SASS reform on the performance of SOEs is affected by the administrative levels, industry attributes, and external institutional environments. The performance‐enhancing effect of SASS reform is more significant in central SOEs, competitive SOEs, and SOEs with a better external institutional environment. The findings enrich the research on the economic consequences of SASS reform and the factors affecting the performance of SOEs, providing empirical evidence for deepening the reform of state‐owned capital and SOEs and promoting the high‐quality development of SOEs.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12442   open full text
  • Corporate Financial Performance Following the Opening of China's High‐Speed Rail: A Firm‐Level Perspective on Supply Chain Performance.
    Fei Xu, XingRui Kang, Jiao Zhang, LiWei Qi, Zhuo Xu, Yi Lv.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 30-46, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nIn the context of China's successful high‐speed railway (HSR) construction, this study examines the micro‐mechanisms of financial performance related to the opening of HSR from a firm‐level supply chain perspective. This study's findings are as follows: (1) Supply chain performance significantly increased by 14.71% on average after the HSR opening. (2) After the HSR opened, real earnings management (REM) significantly reduced, especially overproduction and abnormal cash flow manipulation. (3) HSR reduced REM by promoting supply chain performance. (4) With a reduction in REM, HSR improved stock pricing efficiency, which is reflected in the reduction of stock price synchronisation and crash risk. The conclusions continue to hold after controlling for other traditional urban transportation, major urban events and strategic corporate M&A arbitrage events.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12440   open full text
  • Do Children Come First? Evidence From the Impact of Two Major Economic Crises on Children Education in Thailand.
    Aeggarchat Sirisankanan, Papar Kananurak.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 03, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Volume 39, Issue 2, Page 3-29, November 2025. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study examined the impact of two major crises: the 1998 financial crisis and the 2021 COVID‐19 outbreak as well as the 1996 and 2019 non‐crisis period on child educational spending by Thai households. Using Thailand Socio‐Economic Survey (SES) data along with limited dependent variable models with an emphasis on correcting endogeneity problems were employed to achieve the objective. The results showed that households reduced educational spending in response to unemployment in both the 2021 crisis year and the 2019 non‐crisis period. More importantly households decreased educational spending due to unemployment in the 1998 and 2021 crisis period more than in the 1996 and 2019 non‐crisis period. Additionally, we only found households in the second and third income quartiles cut educational expenditure in response to unemployment.\n"]
    November 03, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12439   open full text
  • Unleashing Digital Trade Potentials: How DEPA Modular Requirements Can Boost China's Digital Services Trade Efficiency With Its Trading Partners.
    Jiangyuan Fu, Yuxin Gong, Huidan Xue, Liming Wang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 31, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nDigital services trade has emerged as a global growth engine and regional trade agreements have received increased attention for addressing digital trade issues. The Digital Economic Partnership Agreement (DEPA) stands as the pioneering international agreement exclusively dedicated to digital trade. It has established a high benchmark, with numerous countries indicating their willingness to become signatories. However, the empirical investigation of international regulations and standards' impact on digital trade remains understudied. This paper employs a time‐varying stochastic frontier gravity model and a trade inefficiency model to conduct an analysis of how complying with the provisions of DEPA Modules can affects the efficiency and potential of digital services trade between China and its 30 trading partners, using data from the years 2014 to 2019. The results indicate that fulfilling the provisions of DEPA Modules could significantly improve trade efficiency. Specifically, high tariff rates, a closed environment for e‐payment systems, and weaker protection of intellectual property rights can impede digital services trade. In contrast, higher penetration rates of secure internet servers and mobile cellular networks, and enhanced government effectiveness can promote trade efficiency. Therefore, complying with the DEPA Modular requirements yields benefits for digital services trade between China and its trading partners.\n"]
    October 31, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70017   open full text
  • Digital Economy and Urban Innovation Quality: Unlocking the Power of Collaborative Innovation.
    Jing Ma, Xinyue Li, Qing Li, Wenyan Zhao, Jianfeng Zhou.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 29, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study explores the impact of the digital economy on urban innovation quality, using data from 265 Chinese cities over the period 2012–2023. The results show that digital economy initiatives significantly enhance urban innovation quality, with pilot zones outperforming non‐pilot zones by 15%. The mechanism analysis emphasises the mediating role of collaborative innovation. Compared to the breadth of collaborative innovation, the digital economy has a relatively small effect on the depth of collaborative innovation; the depth of collaboration plays a more significant role in improving innovation quality. Further analysis shows that the digital economy's impact on innovation quality is stronger in regions with higher internet penetration and advanced industrial structures. In cities with higher internet penetration, innovation quality improves through deeper collaboration, whilst in cities with lower penetration, it improves mainly through broader networks. In cities with advanced industrial structures, the digital economy boosts both the breadth and depth of collaboration, enhancing innovation quality. This study enhances our understanding of how the digital economy drives urban innovation by unravelling the complex mechanisms behind collaborative innovation.\n"]
    October 29, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70021   open full text
  • Revisiting the Export‐Led Growth Hypothesis in Korea: New Insights From the Quantile ARDL Approach.
    Soo‐Eun Kim, Jun Ho Seok.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 29, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study examines the export‐led growth (ELG) hypothesis in Korea by considering possible nonlinearity. Utilising yearly data from 1990 to 2020 and the quantile autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, we find long‐run nonlinearity between exports and economic growth. Specifically, the marginal long‐run effect of exports shows a decreasing trend with the quantiles. In the long term, capital is positively associated with economic growth. Additionally, the marginal long‐run effect of capital shows an increasing trend with the quantiles. On the other hand, labour does not have a long‐run relationship with economic growth, except in the 70th and 80th quantiles. Our study provides some contributions and implications for previous studies on the ELG hypothesis based on the long‐run nonlinearity in exports, capital, and labour.\n"]
    October 29, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70020   open full text
  • The Impact of Environmental Regulations on Green Technology Innovation: Evidence From Chinese Transportation Industry.
    Qihang Hu, Yuan Lyu, Jie Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 26, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study addresses the gap in existing literature regarding the impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation within the transportation sector. Using a sample of listed Chinese companies from 2004 to 2021, employing two‐way fixed effects models, the research explores the relationship between environmental regulation and green technology innovation. Heterogeneity analyses consider property rights, geographical location, agency cost, and equity concentration. The key findings are: (1) Environmental regulations effectively stimulate green technology innovation, following an inverted U‐shaped pattern. (2) State‐owned enterprises respond more significantly than non‐state‐owned counterparts. (3) Eastern and central Chinese enterprises demonstrate enhanced capabilities in green technology innovation under environmental regulations. (4) High agency costs impede green technology innovation, while (5) high equity concentration fosters it. This study supports the Porter hypothesis, contributing to environmental regulation literature and offering policymakers comprehensive recommendations.\n"]
    October 26, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70018   open full text
  • Local Corruption and Corporate Investment: Political Catering or Innovation Driven?
    Xixiong Xu, Lingling Duan, Yaoqin Li.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 20, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study investigates how local corruption influences corporate investment. We propose that corruption causes firms to pay more attention to nonmarket strategies and thus alter corporate investment choices. Empirical tests show that firms headquartered in more corrupt regions invest more in fixed assets and less in research and development (R&D) activities. Moreover, the relation between corruption and corporate investment choices is stronger for firms with lower state‐owned equity and institutional ownership. Further analysis reveals that corruption primarily affects firms' investment orientation by enhancing their political catering motivations. Overall, the findings reveal the unique logic of corporate investment decision‐making in weak institutional environments and provide an explanation for the lack of innovation in firms from the view of regional corruption.\n"]
    October 20, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70022   open full text
  • From Fields to Online Markets: How E‐Commerce Development Drives Rural Household Entrepreneurship in China.
    Chunkai Zhao, Binhui Wei, Wenjun Cai, Mingzhong Luo.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 19, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe benefits of e‐commerce development for rural households have received extensive attention, but we still know little about its effect on entrepreneurial behaviours in China. We regard the national e‐commerce demonstration city construction (NEDCC) policy as a quasi‐natural experiment and use a staggered difference‐in‐differences (DID) method to determine the potential causal effect. Results show that e‐commerce development significantly promotes rural household entrepreneurial behaviours, supported by several robustness tests. In particular, we use the Bacon decomposition method to guarantee the reliability of staggered DID estimates and exclude potential spillover effects. Moreover, industrial upgrading, credit constraint easing, informational advantages and social capital accumulation may explain this positive effect. Furthermore, we reveal the inclusive impact of e‐commerce development, finding that it is more likely to stimulate rural household entrepreneurship in some disadvantaged areas. However, this effect is limited by the digital divide due to the threshold for e‐commerce tool users. Our findings contribute to research on digital entrepreneurship and the welfare of e‐commerce development in developing countries.\n"]
    October 19, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70016   open full text
  • Effect of Minimum Wage on Firms' Innovation Investment: Evidence From Korea.
    Jung Joo La.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 13, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study analyzes how a minimum wage increase affects firms' innovation investment. Unlike previous studies that focus on the Chinese context, this study based on data from Korea finds a negative relationship between the minimum wage and innovation in small firms, which are directly affected by minimum wage increases. This study reveals for the first time that a change in innovation investment by general firms, which pay labour costs according to wages determined in the labour market, is due to a change in the price of intermediate goods resulting from the subcontracting relationship between small and general firms, rather than a direct effect of the minimum wage. The calibrated results obtained using data from Korea show that a 16.4% increase in the minimum wage is associated with 1.09% and 0.25% decreases in innovation in small firms and total innovation investment, respectively.\n"]
    October 13, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70014   open full text
  • Facilitation or Inhibition? Exploring the Influence of Social Capital on (Genuine) Overeducation in China.
    Rui Jin, Daiyan Peng.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 12, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study examines the effect of social capital on the incidence of genuine overeducation among employees in mainland China. Utilising unbalanced panel data from the 2012–2018 China Labor‐force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) and employing an instrumental variable (IV) approach, we find that social capital has a significant negative effect on genuine overeducation—a dual mismatch of schooling and skills with occupational requirements. This impact remains robust across various tests. Further analysis shows that social capital primarily improves skill allocation rather than educational matching, with social networks and trust serving as the main driving components. Mechanism analysis suggests this effect is driven by an information channel, which outweighs a statistically weak favouritism channel. Additionally, the benefits of social capital are more pronounced for vulnerable groups facing greater information barriers. Our findings underscore the importance of social capital in improving labour market outcomes in developing countries.\n"]
    October 12, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70013   open full text
  • Spillover Effects of Australia's Conventional and Unconventional Monetary Policy Shocks on the Philippine Stock Market: An SVAR Approach.
    Raluca Maran, Eugenia Ramona Mara.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 10, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAustralia is one of the Philippines' largest trade and investment partners, with bilateral ties set to expand. Monetary policy implemented in Australia is, therefore, likely to spill over to the Philippine economy. In order to explore these linkages, we use factor analysis to build a monetary policy index for Australia and distinguish between conventional and unconventional policy. We then feed these indicators together with a set of macroeconomic variables for the Philippines into a structural vector autoregression model. Results from impulse‐response functions show that a positive shock to conventional monetary policy in Australia is associated with a quick response of industrial production, monetary policy, money supply and stock prices in the Philippines. By contrast, the transmission of shocks to unconventional monetary policy is rather different. The response of the monetary policy rate and stock prices in the Philippines is, in this case, more muted and much slower than for a conventional policy shock. The low magnitude of the responses overall suggests relatively weak linkages between Australia's monetary policy and the Philippine macro‐financial variables.\n"]
    October 10, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70015   open full text
  • Unravelling the Complex Interplay Between China's Local Government Debt Dynamics and Banks' Non‐Performing Loan Ratios.
    Mingyao Cao, Keyi Duan, Haslindar Ibrahim.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 10, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nChina implemented the ‘New Budget Law’ in 2015, after which local government bonds gained recognition as a pivotal financial instrument. This empirical study examines the intricate relationship between local government debt (GD) dynamics and bank non‐performing loan (NPL) ratios. By leveraging data from various Chinese provinces for the period 2015–2021 and employing the fixed‐effects model, our analysis reveals a significant negative correlation between GD and NPL ratios, with a pronounced impact observed within the domain of city commercial banks.\n"]
    October 10, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70012   open full text
  • Two Birds With One Stone: Digitisation of Tax Administration and the Digital Transformation of Firms.
    Huiqiang Ni, Zhen Yang, Wenlong Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. September 09, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe digitisation of tax administration is essential for the taxation and digital transformation of firms. This study examines the effect of digitalising tax administration, driven by the third stage of the China Tax Administration Information System pilot, on the digital transformation of enterprises. Using data from Chinese listed companies between 2009 and 2020 and staggered difference‐in‐differences estimates, this study finds that tax revenue management digitisation significantly promotes enterprise digital transformation, alleviates internal and external financing constraints, and encourages investment in research and development and the accumulation of intangible assets. This positive effect is particularly pronounced on private enterprises, small‐scale firms, capital‐intensive businesses, and those facing high financing constraints. Furthermore, as digital transformation advances, the benefits to total factor productivity and industry chain integration become increasingly substantial. These findings underscore the importance of leveraging big data in tax governance to enhance enterprise performance. They also offer strategic insights for policymakers as they focus on improving tax administration efficiency and sustainable development.\n"]
    September 09, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70011   open full text
  • Multiple Large Shareholders and Corporate R&D Manipulation: An Agency Cost Perspective.
    Hao Ding, Chunlin Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. September 04, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nR&D manipulation by enterprises has become an important issue affecting the quality of innovation and market equity. From a shareholding structure perspective, this paper tries to test the association between multiple large shareholders and R&D manipulation. Employing Chinese listed firms' data from 2009 to 2023, we find that multiple large shareholders promote corporate R&D manipulation behaviour by exacerbating agency problems. In addition, media attention and analyst attention can play a governance role and help weaken the multiple large shareholders' promoting effect on R&D manipulation behaviour. This paper delves into the impact of collusive motives on R&D manipulation in the context of multiple large shareholders coexistence. Drawing on agency cost theory, this paper constructs a theoretical model in which multiple large shareholders raise agency costs, ultimately leading to elevated corporate R&D manipulation. In the practical sense, this paper provides a path reference for enterprises to establish a collaborative monitoring mechanism for large shareholders, which is an important managerial inspiration for curbing R&D manipulation and ultimately realising sustainable development.\n"]
    September 04, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70010   open full text
  • Impact of the Development of Rural E‐Commerce on Rural Income and Urban–Rural Income Inequality in China: A Panel Data Analysis.
    Sho Komatsu, Aya Suzuki.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. July 16, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWhile correcting urban–rural income inequality is an essential challenge in China, rural e‐commerce may solve this problem. Our objective is to reveal the impact of rural e‐commerce on rural income and urban–rural income inequality. Using county‐level panel data from nine provinces for 2011–2021, we reveal that rural e‐commerce increases rural income and reduces urban–rural income inequality particularly in the eastern region. As a potential mechanism, rural e‐commerce is found to increase employment opportunities, the added value of the secondary sector, and the number of industrial enterprises above designated size. This study provides the evidence for promoting rural e‐commerce to increase rural income and reduce urban–rural income inequality in developing countries. Local governments are encouraged to further promote rural e‐commerce to increase rural incomes and reduce income inequality.\n"]
    July 16, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70007   open full text
  • Research on the Impact of Foreign Intellectual Property Protection on the Export Scale and Quality of China's Manufacturing Industry.
    Guosong Wu, Yuanyuan Wang, Xiaolong Ma.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. July 15, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nChina's economy has achieved significant growth by relying on manufacturing‐ and export‐oriented economic models. However, with the transformations in the global economic environment (particularly the increase in the complexity of trade friction and economic globalisation), news of intellectual property disputes confronted by Chinese enterprises in international markets is emerging continuously. Intellectual property has become an essential focus for Chinese enterprises participating in international competition. This study examines the impact mechanism of external intellectual property protection on China's manufacturing export trade and evaluates the comprehensive impact of foreign intellectual property protection on the scale and quality of China's manufacturing exports. The study uses relevant data on China's exports to 60 countries (regions) from 2001 to 2019 as a sample, establishes a gravity model, and empirically examines the effects of foreign intellectual property protection on the scale and product quality of China's manufacturing exports. The conclusions drawn from this study can also provide a reference for China and other developing countries to shift their manufacturing industries towards high‐quality development.\n"]
    July 15, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70009   open full text
  • Determinants of Intra‐Industry Trade of a Least Developed Landlocked Country: A Case of Nepal's Exports to South Asia.
    Sunit Shrestha, Ramesh C. Paudel, Raghu B. Bista.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. July 14, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study provides the first granular analysis of intra‐industry trade (IIT) in Nepal using six‐digit harmonised system (HS) product‐level data (2013–2022), addressing a critical gap in South Asian trade literature. By applying the Grubel–Lloyd Index (GLI) to Nepal's top 62 export products, we precisely differentiate between horizontal IIT (HIIT) and vertical IIT (VIIT), overcoming aggregation bias inherent in prior studies reliant on one, three and four‐digit SITC classifications. Our findings reveal significant IIT levels (over 40% in key categories) for differentiated goods, such as dentifrices, medicaments, plastics and stainless‐steel kitchenware. Panel regression results from an augmented gravity model (AGM) highlight manufacturing value addition as a key driver of IIT, while GDP dissimilarity and tariffs hinder it. Using six‐digit HS data not only refines Nepal's IIT measurement but also uncovers actionable insights for leveraging VIIT (e.g., cost‐efficient intermediates) and HIIT (e.g., herbal products) to diversify exports. These results challenge Nepal's reliance on comparative advantage, advocating for dual strategies to enhance product differentiation and regional value chain integration. The study's methodological innovation, high‐resolution data paired with VIIT/HIIT thresholds, offers a replicable framework for analysing IIT in landlocked developing economies, where disaggregated trade dynamics remain underexplored.\n"]
    July 14, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70008   open full text
  • Analysis of Trade Creation and Trade Diversion Effects Between Korea and South/North Asia.
    Byung Min Soon, Sumin Cho, Jinhyoung Kim.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. June 29, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nKorea has established various policies to expand trade between Southern Asia and Northern Asia, and an analysis of the impact of these policies is required. Hence, this study used a gravity model to estimate the impact of trade creation and diversion effects on Southern and Northern Asia, focusing on their trade relationships with Korea. The panel data for this study was collected from 47 countries, which included Korea, Northern Asia, Southern Asia and Korea's top 23 trading partners. Our study makes a significant contribution to the literature as it provides policy implications to support trade policies in South and North Asian countries. While some studies have examined the impact of free trade agreements among Asian countries, few have focused on the regional impact of trade between Southern Asia‐Korea and Northern Asia‐Korea. As such, our results offer valuable insights into the development of trade policies in these regions.\n"]
    June 29, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70004   open full text
  • Does the Belt and Road Initiative Affect the Institutional Quality of Participating Countries?
    Kunling Zhang, Biwei Chen, Qian Liu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. June 19, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nExpanding the theory of foreign influence on domestic institutions from the perspective of developing countries, this study investigates the institutional effects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It applies Instrumental Variable regression technique with panel data covering 180 countries from 2005 to 2021 to examining the impact of the BRI on the institutional quality of the Belt and Road countries (BRCs). Contrary to widespread western narratives, the results show that the BRI has an overall positive yet weakly significant effect on the institutional quality of the BRCs. Heterogeneity analysis further detects a more pronounced effect on countries that signed the BRI cooperation agreement than countries along the Belt and Road region. Compared with the positive and significant institutional effect found among the higher income and higher institutional quality countries, the BRI does not seem to generate any notable institutional effect on the lower income and lower institutional quality economies.\n"]
    June 19, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70000   open full text
  • Does Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Management Reduce Employee Turnover? Evidence From South Korea.
    Hanna Jung, Joonmo Cho.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. June 18, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study analyses the effect of environmental, social and governance (ESG) management on employee turnover rates using Korean ESG evaluation data linked to administrative employment databases. Employee turnover is depicted as a distinction between involuntary turnover, which includes layoffs, and voluntary turnover resulting from changes in working conditions and accompanied dissatisfaction. The empirical analysis showed that companies with active ESG engagement had a lower probability of layoffs but a higher probability of voluntary turnover. The empirical analysis revealed similar results in models that addressed aggregation bias in firm‐employee data using multilevel regression model. The results implied that the suppression of layoffs in ESG has a ballooning effect on other HR practices. Specifically, when layoffs constrained by ESG evaluations are suppressed, there exists an unintended negative effect on other HR options (such as wage reduction and relocation) in recovering from deficits, leading to an increase in voluntary turnover.\n"]
    June 18, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70005   open full text
  • Two‐Sided Effect of Preferential Rules of Origin on Export Resilience of Firms.
    Xue Zhenxiang, Cui Wenrui.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. June 17, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe current international political and economic landscape is increasingly complex and volatile, posing significant challenges to firms' export activities. Against this backdrop, enhancing the resilience of firms in the face of export‐related risks has become a critical issue. This study takes preferential rules of origin as its analytical entry point and conceptualises export resilience in terms of two dimensions: risk resistance capacity and risk recovery capacity. The analysis simultaneously considers the negative impact of restrictive preferential rules of origin on export resilience, while also exploring the positive influence of the core functional logic of preferential rules of origin on firms' ability to withstand and recover from external shocks. Empirical results indicate that a one‐unit increase in the restrictiveness of preferential rules of origin leads to a 1.1% improvement in firms' risk resistance capacity but reduces the likelihood of export recovery by 1.7%. Further analysis reveals heterogeneous effects across firm characteristics and contexts. Specifically, the positive impact of preferential rules of origin on risk resistance is more pronounced for large‐scale firms, firms exporting to non‐OECD countries and those located in eastern China. In contrast, the negative impact on risk recovery is more significant for small‐scale firms, firms whose export destinations are non‐OECD countries and those also situated in eastern China. Mechanism analysis suggests that preferential rules of origin enhance firms' risk resistance by strengthening value chain linkages between China and its FTA partners and by boosting technological innovation at the firm level. However, preferential rules of origin also increase firms' export‐related costs, which in turn impede their ability to recover from adverse shocks. This dual effect underscores the nuanced role of preferential rules of origin in shaping export resilience, with both enabling and constraining consequences depending on firm‐specific and contextual factors.\n"]
    June 17, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70002   open full text
  • Does Green Technology Innovation Reduce Urban Carbon Emissions? The Case of Chinese Cities.
    Hui Meng, Yating Zhao, Ning Ma, Tingting Han, Tsun Se Cheong.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. June 16, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study investigates the nuanced relationship between green technological innovation (GTI) and urban carbon emissions, addressing the persistent ambiguity in the literature regarding GTI's decarbonisation efficacy. Utilising panel data from 247 Chinese prefecture‐level cities (2006–2020), we employ a spatial Durbin model (SDM) to simultaneously estimate local and spillover effects of GTI while evaluating heterogeneous impacts across non‐pilot cities, innovation pilot cities, low‐carbon pilot cities and dual‐pilot cities (joint innovation‐low‐carbon pilots). Three key findings emerge. First, GTI exhibits an inverted U‐shaped relationship with carbon intensity, where initial innovation accumulation exacerbates emissions before triggering net reductions. Spatial spillovers amplify this effect. Second, emission reductions are contingent on threshold conditions: a minimum GTI output and economic development level. Third, policy design critically mediates outcomes: innovation‐focused pilots local emission reductions and stronger spillovers than low‐carbon pilots, while dual‐pilot cities—through synergistic integration of innovation incentives and carbon pricing—outperform non‐pilots. These results establish that institutional frameworks prioritising innovation‐led policy hybridisation, coupled with inter‐city knowledge diffusion, constitute vital mechanisms for unlocking GTI's decarbonisation potential. The analysis provides actionable insights for designing spatially coordinated, phase‐sensitive urban climate policies.\n"]
    June 16, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70003   open full text
  • Differential Impacts of Stock and Housing Returns on the Conditional Distribution of Consumption Growth Rate During the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Evidence From Taiwan.
    Kuang‐Liang Chang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. June 16, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper empirically investigates (i) whether the conditional distribution of the consumption growth rate is skewed, (ii) whether housing and stock assets influence the conditional distribution of the consumption growth rate, (iii) whether the impacts of housing and stock assets differ between the global financial crisis of 2007–2009 and the COVID‐19 pandemic, and (iv) whether the magnitude of the impact differs between housing and stock assets. Empirical analysis data from Taiwan reveals that (i) the conditional distribution of the consumption growth rate is left‐skewed and fat‐tailed, (ii) housing and stock assets significantly influence the conditional distribution, (iii) the conditional distribution becomes more left‐skewed during the global financial crisis, while the magnitude of left‐skewness weakens during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and (iv) housing assets have a slightly stronger impact than stock assets.\n"]
    June 16, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.70001   open full text
  • Heterogeneous Effect of Cost‐Of‐Living Crisis: Evidence From South Korea.
    Taiwon Ha.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. June 04, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe global economy faced a severe cost‐of‐living crisis due to the War in Ukraine and COVID‐19‐related supply chain damages. However, the official Consumer Price Index, which represents the average changes, has limitations in drawing a fuller picture of actual heterogeneity for policymakers. In this regard, this study calculated a household‐specific index and conducted unconditional quantile regression to analyse the heterogeneous effects of the cost‐of‐living crisis on Korean households. Unlike previous inflation, the results indicate that upper‐middle‐income households experienced higher pressures than low‐income households. Specifically, vehicle's fuel and meal expenses had the greatest contributions to the recent price increase. According to unconditional quantile regression with socio‐demographic variables, female, unemployed, highly educated and older householders experienced lower pressure. Meanwhile, home‐owning households also calibrated consumption patterns due to monetary policy normalisation. Among them, households that faced higher household‐specific price changes are more likely to adjust their consumption behaviours actively. In this regard, government measures should be more targeted considering consumption pattern changes during inflation, and providing information for smart consumers could be an alternative measure.\n"]
    June 04, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12458   open full text
  • Housing Debt and Home‐Work Separation: Evidence From China.
    Xiaofen Yu, Dingpei Hu, Chengfu Zhao, Mingzhi Hu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 30, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper investigates the impact of housing debt, measured by loan‐to‐value (LTV) ratios, on the separation between homeowners' residences and workplaces. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we find that housing debt significantly increases home‐work separation, after controlling for various demographic characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and individual‐ and year‐specific effects. These results are robust to the endogeneity issue, the inclusion of unobservable time‐varying provincial‐specific factors, sample selection bias, and the exclusion of irrational homeowners. Furthermore, we find that the positive effect of housing debt on home‐work separation is particularly pronounced among low‐ and medium‐skilled homeowners. We also observe a significant positive relationship between home‐work separation and homeowners' job income. Overall, our findings highlight that homeowners with higher leverage are more likely to experience home‐work separation due to the burden of mortgage repayments, which may lead them to seek high‐paying jobs that involve longer commuting distances.\n"]
    May 30, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12457   open full text
  • Do Taxpayers Embrace Social Norms to Comply? Empirical Evidence From Indonesia.
    Yon Arsal, Arifin Rosid, Agung Satyadini.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 28, 2025
    ["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study explores the powerful role societal norms play in shaping taxpayers' behaviour in Indonesia, with a focus on how the prevalence of compliance influences both tax filing and payment practices. By examining the ratio of tax evaders to compliant taxpayers in specific regions, we measured the strength of these norms and explored their impact using a regression discontinuity design. Our findings highlight that stronger societal compliance norms significantly boost tax filing compliance within communities, yet they do not have a substantial effect on the amount of taxes paid. This supports our hypothesis that taxpayers' behaviour is not solely driven by deterrence mechanisms, but also by the influence of societal norms. In other words, individuals' perceptions of their peers' compliance can reinforce their own compliance behaviour, extending the economic deterrence model and offering new insights into the complexities of tax compliance.\n"]
    May 28, 2025   doi: 10.1111/apel.12459   open full text
  • Host countries’ growth opportunities and China's outward FDI.
    Jun Shen, Li Li.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 11, 2017
    In 2014, China proposed the Belt and Road policy, which has pushed China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) to over tens of billions of US dollars. However, existing studies have not reached a consensus about the decisive factors in China's OFDI. To verify whether China's OFDI activities are motivated by profits, this paper applies a measure of country‐specific growth opportunities adopted by Bekaert et al. (2007) to measure the growth opportunities of the target countries for China's OFDI. A multinational panel data model, based on data from 51 countries from 2003 to 2012, is used to explore the relationship between host countries’ growth opportunities and China's OFDI. Overall, the analysis finds that China's OFDI does not follow the host countries’ growth opportunities but exhibits different features toward developed countries and developing countries. For developed countries, China's OFDI follows host countries’ growth opportunities to some extent. In the case of developing countries, China's OFDI does not follow host countries’ growth opportunities. When we consider factors such as a host country's financial development and political stability, improvement in these factors improves the attractiveness of the host country to China's OFDI. It is also found that the 2008 global financial crisis did not have a very significant impact on China's OFDI activities.
    October 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12192   open full text
  • The Asian crisis: what did we learn and when did we learn it?
    Stephen Grenville.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 05, 2017
    This paper steps back from the detail of the Asian crisis, to ask whether the 1997 crisis advanced our broad understanding of the age‐old problem of economic crises. Some immediate lessons were learned from the failures of the crisis‐response in Indonesia, which was the worst‐affected economy. It is notable, however, how little changed to address the ongoing systemic weaknesses. Three areas of unresolved vulnerability can be identified. First, the sudden stops and reversals of international capital flows. Second, the intrinsic fragility of a financial system that borrows short and lends long. Third, unanchored exchange rates, where the market's price‐discovery can take the rate to levels far from equilibrium, for sustained periods. For more than a decade after the Asian crisis, international capital flows continued to be seen as unambiguously beneficial, with any attempts at capital flow management rejected. At a global level, it was not until the 2008 financial crisis that widespread financial fragility was addressed through tighter regulation and higher capital requirements. On exchange rates, misleading advocacy of corner solutions—either pure floating exchange rates or immutable fixed rates—continued in the face of the real‐world experience that sometimes intervention is needed to maintain an exchange rate close to equilibrium.
    October 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12194   open full text
  • The emerging core characteristics of Vietnam's political economy.
    Adam Fforde.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 05, 2017
    This paper offers an understanding of the core drivers of the political economy of the ruling Communist Party in Vietnam. In the absence of political reform, the regime does not possess the powers required by the new conditions of a market economy and an increasingly open society. Designed for Soviet totalitarianism, and without popular support or authority, the formal political institutions are anachronistic and thus limit the range of powers available to the Party. As the regime is thus unable to reliably deploy policy unless it feels threatened, politics becomes a competition over spoils. Thus, if macroeconomic instability actually or potentially threatens the regime, the Politburo gains authority to act, and policy is deployed. Yet, as popular discontent mounts over corruption, favourable treatment of politically connected businesses, public education and health, and other areas not seen as regime‐threatening, the disequilibrium leads to use of the security forces and increasing violence against popular opposition.
    October 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12191   open full text
  • How growth deceleration in the PRC affects other Asian economies.
    Minsoo Lee, Donghyun Park, Arief Ramayandi.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. October 04, 2017
    Developing Asia has benefited greatly from the rise of the People's Republic of China (PRC), primarily through the trade channel. The PRC and its neighbours have collectively formed a regional production network, and the PRC is becoming an increasingly important source of final demand. Two empirical techniques are used to examine the likely economic impact of growth deceleration in the PRC on other Asian economies: (1) a single‐equation approach that captures the trade channel; and (2) a global vector autoregressive model that captures the effects beyond the trade channel. The results of both analyses confirm that deceleration in the PRC will have a non‐negligible negative effect on other economies, especially on East and Southeast Asian economies. An out‐of‐sample analysis to tease out the effects of slower growth in the PRC from the recent growth performance of selected Southeast Asian economies suggests that the PRC effect is contributing to the growth dynamics of this region but is not always dominant.
    October 04, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12193   open full text
  • Industry competition in China: an external governance mechanism or an external incentive.
    Tingting Zhang, Weiqiang Zeng, Ruohan Zhong, Yanxi Li.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. September 07, 2017
    We focus on the impact of industry competition on earnings management in listed companies in China. Empirical analysis reveals the following: (1) When competition within an industry is relatively low, it lowers the extent of earnings management; (2) when competition is relatively high, earnings management is promoted.; (3) within an industry, the more intense the competition, the more companies manipulate earnings when in an inferior competitive position; and (4) state‐owned enterprises that are at a competitive disadvantage within an industry rely more on real earnings management strategies, whereas these effects are insignificant in private firms.
    September 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12187   open full text
  • TBT and SPS impacts on Korean exports to China: empirical analysis using the PPML method.
    Jacob Wood, Jie Wu, Yilin Li, Jungsuk Kim.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. August 29, 2017
    Since diplomatic relations were established between China and Korea, the two countries have expanded their relationships, especially in trading commodities and services. However, in recent years, as tariff levels have fallen, China has sought to implement other protectionist mechanisms. The use of non‐tariff measures has added another dimension to international trade activities that need to be better understood. The paper analyses the impacts that two forms of non‐tariff measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, have on Korean exports to China. To measure the impacts, we use an adapted version of the gravity model and the Poisson pseudo‐maximum likelihood method. The results show that Chinese sanitary and phytosanitary measures, estimated using both the coverage ratio and the frequency index, have positive correlations with Korean agricultural exports; however, Chinese TBT measures, when estimated by the coverage ratio, were found to depress Korean manufacturing exports and exports as a whole. However, using the frequency index, Chinese TBT measures were found to have a statistically insignificant negative impact on Korean exports to China.
    August 29, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12186   open full text
  • Determinants of bilateral trade: evidence from ASEAN+3.
    Dong Phong Nguyen, Xuan Vinh Vo.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. July 27, 2017
    In this research, we investigate the determinants of international trade, employing a dataset of bilateral trade and economics characteristics in the ASEAN+3 countries. We include a large number of dependent variables that potentially drive international trade. We also use various standard gravity model variables to maintain consistency with the current literature. The results provide some important insights into the determinants of bilateral trade and offer policy implications regarding the promotion of international trade for governments worldwide. In particular, we find that output asymmetry between countries positively explains bilateral trade. Moreover, the findings suggest that making use of comparative advantage by differentiating the export product structure is important in promoting international trade. We do not find a consistent impact from bilateral exchange rate volatility on bilateral trade. This result points to the importance of providing opportunities for the hedging of currency uncertainty to avoid its adverse effects on trade. The results for other standard gravity model variables are consistent with the results of previous theoretical and empirical research.
    July 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12185   open full text
  • Exporter responses to FTA tariff preferences: evidence from Thailand.
    Juthathip Jongwanich, Archanun Kohpaiboon.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 22, 2017
    This paper focuses on how exporters respond to free trade agreement (FTA) preferential schemes by analysing the administrative records of FTA implementation at the product level in Thailand. The key finding is that while there is growth in the number of FTAs with a potentially larger membership than existing FTAs, firms tend to prioritise existing FTAs. Moreover, only a narrow range of products are involved in applications for FTA preferential schemes. As a result, only one‐third of exports are covered by such arrangements. The key determinants of firms applying for preferential schemes include tariff margins, the ability to comply with rules of origins (ROOs) and the economic fundamentals influencing trade. Hence, it is less likely for FTAs to open up export opportunities for products that are either yet to be traded or of low prospective trade volume. Estimates of the costs of complying with ROOs average 8.6 per cent of tariff equivalence. The cost approaches zero for developed countries but is substantially higher for developing nations. The key policy inference is that the export‐enhancing effects of FTAs are passive at best, working only after economic fundamentals are established. For us to harness the trade‐inducing effects of FTAs, reducing costs incurred from the presence of ROOs from both exporting and importing countries should be the prime focus.
    May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12172   open full text
  • Exchange rate policy in the pacific: an evaluation of currency basket regimes.
    Naoyuki Yoshino, Matthias Helble, Ahmad Danu Prasetyo.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 22, 2017
    The Pacific island countries have opted for exchange rate regimes with varying degrees of flexibility. Whereas several microstates have adopted an external currency as their legal tender, others have decided to use a basket currency, and yet others have chosen a managed float. The choice of exchange rate regime can have far reaching economic consequences. In the paper, we study the basket currency arrangements by Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga. We first build a new four‐country exchange rate model that illustrates how monetary authorities should best determine the weights of the basket currencies given certain macroeconomic objective functions. In this model, we explicitly include tourism flows. In the second part of the paper, we estimate the de facto weights of foreign currencies in the currency basket of the four countries. We show how the composition has changed amid the global financial crisis. Finally, we demonstrate that the current weights are not optimal compared with the predictions of our model.
    May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12174   open full text
  • Real exchange rate misalignment of Asian currencies.
    Dosse Toulaboe.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 22, 2017
    This paper examines the size of real exchange rate (RER) misalignment in seven developing Asian counties and Japan. An analytical framework is developed to estimate the equilibrium RERs, which are then used to derive the RER misalignments. The estimation results from the model indicate that RERs have been misaligned in most of the Asian countries during the sample period, although not to the extent claimed in some studies. The real exchange behaviour in these countries is mostly consistent with the economic fundamentals and the magnitude of measured RER misalignment is not alarming.
    May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12173   open full text
  • Impacts of household loan regulation on financial stability: evidence from Korea.
    Dong Jin Shin, Brian H.S. Kim.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 22, 2017
    The paper examines whether banking regulations and monetary policy contributed to controlling the fragility of household debt in Korea. The results show that housing loan regulations such as debt to income regulation contributed to a lower household debt delinquency ratio. Lowering the target interest rate provided additional stabilisation of the delinquency ratio. It is recommended that the government adopt an appropriate mix of regulation and monetary policy to control household financial fragility. The financial supervisory services need to be involved in managing debt to income regulation and minimising financial instability and financial market distortions. Further, the monetary authority has to adopt a more effective position in controlling the real lending interest rate and the delinquency ratio of household loans. Such a policy mix will improve effectiveness in controlling financial fragility, especially at a time of financial crisis.
    May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12177   open full text
  • Privatisation and trade performance: evidence from China.
    Jing Yan.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 22, 2017
    Many studies have shown that privatisation has the potential to apply the forces of competition and high‐powered incentives to reduce costs and innovate. However, few studies investigate whether privatisation can enhance export performance through higher levels of efficiency. Using China's National Bureau of Statistics surveys and customs trade data, we explore the causal effect of privatisation on trade. The wave of 2002 Chinese state‐owned enterprise reforms provided a natural experiment that enables us to use the difference‐in‐differences approach to examine this question. Consistent with the theoretical predications, the empirical results show positive and significant effects of privatisation on all the examined indicators of export performance, including total export value, the intensive margin, and the extensive margin.
    May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12176   open full text
  • The impact of tax rebates on export performance: China's textile exports to the USA.
    Qun Bao, Jack Hou, Kunwang Li, Xiaosong Wang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 22, 2017
    The paper evaluates the effectiveness of China increasing its tax rebate on textile exports to the USA. Using the difference‐in‐differences technique and employing The Harmonized System six‐digit data, it is found that the tax rebate policy boosted the growth of textile exports to the USA. Approximately 6 to 25 per cent of the growth can be attributed to this policy. The difference‐in‐differences technique appears useful in evaluating such policies and opens the door to studies measuring the impact of polices. The effectiveness of the export tax rebate policy should be a lesson for policymakers facing slumps in their exports in economic downturns and perhaps become part of the standard trade policy arsenal.
    May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/apel.12175   open full text
  • Trade openness and income inequality in China and the SAARC Region.
    Muhammad Zakaria, Bashir Ahmed Fida.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 24, 2016
    The paper empirically examines the effects of trade liberalisation on income inequality in China and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries. Panel data analysis is conducted for the period of 1973 to 2012. The results show that liberal trade policies have increased income inequality in these countries. These results are robust to alternative liberalisation measures. The control variables used have differing effects on income distribution. Per capita income has an increasing effect on income inequality, while education, financial development, financial openness, democracy, and government size are shown to reduce income inequality. These outcomes can be expected to have important policy implications for the use of trade liberalisation in these countries.
    November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12152   open full text
  • Union relevance in the Malaysian labour market.
    Hazrul Shahiri, Zulkifly Osman, Kihong Park.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 24, 2016
    The study estimates the effect of union membership on workers' wages using individual‐level data from a survey conducted among employees in various sectors in Malaysia in 2012. Initial results show that union membership has a positive effect on wages. However, after controlling for endogeneity, union membership or the presence of a labour union within a firm is not statistically significant for individual wage levels. Because there is no trade union wage premium, the study suggests that the revival of labour union membership is not going to be an easy task.
    November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12153   open full text
  • Understanding FDI and production networks in East Asia.
    Willem Thorbecke, Nimesh Salike.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 24, 2016
    We provide evidence from the electronics industry in East Asia supporting Kojima's (1973) hypothesis that FDI moves from capital‐exporting countries' disadvantaged industries into host countries' advantaged industries. These results imply that FDI and trade are complementary, unlike in Mundell's (1957) model where they are substitutes. The results also indicate that exchange rate volatility deters trade, implying that reductions in the service link costs between production blocks can promote fragmentation. These findings imply that host countries in East Asia can receive technology transfers by lowering service link costs.
    November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12147   open full text
  • Assessing the trade impacts of the ASEAN + 6 FTA for Lao PDR.
    Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy, Hsiao Chink Tang, Alisa DiCaprio.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 24, 2016
    Using an unbalanced panel dataset of bilateral exports from 1992 to 2009, we assess the potential trade impacts of the expansion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ASEAN + 3 and ASEAN + 6 on the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). It is found that bilateral exports are positively related to overall bilateral country size and similarity in country size but inversely related to the factor endowment differences, transportation costs, and import tariffs. Simulation results show that the formation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) between ASEAN and the Plus‐6 economies (the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea in East Asia; and the other three economies of Australia, India, and New Zealand) could increase bilateral trade between the Lao PDR and ASEAN + 6 by US$1 billion, and ASEAN + 3 by US$981 million. Nonetheless, the trade balance of the Lao PDR is likely to worsen in both the ASEAN + 3 and ASEAN + 6 PTAs because they stimulate more imports than exports.
    November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12148   open full text
  • From share issue privatisation to non‐tradable share reform: a review of privatisation in China.
    Feng Xie, Jing Chi, Jing Liao.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. November 24, 2016
    Privatisation in China has proceeded on a gradual path over 30 years. In this paper, we present a detailed review of China's privatisation programmes from its Share Issue Privatisation (SIP) to its Non‐tradable Share (NTS) reform. The SIP was a primary offering process with state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) issuing new shares to private investors, but after their Initial Public Offering (IPO) approximately two‐thirds of the shares remained non‐tradable and were mainly held by the government. The SIP achieved only limited success because of its partial trading and partial privatisation, which led to the implementation of the NTS reform in 2005. The NTS reform aimed to dismantle the split share structure and provide opportunities for improving corporate governance and further privatisation. The review shows that the NTS reform has yielded greater success in improving firm performance and corporate governance than the SIP.
    November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12149   open full text
  • The ‘trilemma’ hypothesis and policy implications for Fiji.
    Hyeon‐seung Huh, Philip Inyeob Ji, Cyn‐Young Park.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 31, 2016
    This paper examines the trilemma constraint for Fiji; that is, we investigate how trilemma policy variables were used to address policy trade‐offs among the three objectives of exchange rate stability, monetary autonomy, and financial openness. Fiji makes an interesting case because of its policy orientation towards a stable exchange rate and adequate foreign reserves. Our results suggest that the trilemma constraint is binding for Fiji and policy priority is given to exchange rate stability and monetary policy independence, while less emphasis is placed on financial market openness. We also find that the actual policy levels do not deviate substantially from optimal levels, which evidences that Fiji's policy management has been efficient under the trilemma constraint. Finally, we also study the effects of various trilemma policy combinations and foreign reserve holdings on output growth and inflation.
    May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12136   open full text
  • Trade facilitation in ASEAN countries: harmonisation of logistics policies.
    Anh T. Nguyen, Thuy T. Nguyen, Giang T. Hoang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 31, 2016
    This paper studies the effectiveness of the implementation of trade facilitation measures in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). We evaluate trade facilitation performance and indicate trade facilitation needs and priorities that vary between ASEAN members. In particular, we examine logistics‐related costs in ASEAN and whether the current level of logistics‐related costs could be a burden or an advantage for ASEAN countries. We also identify critical barriers that have impacts on logistics services related to foreign investment and customs across ASEAN. Finally, we propose recommendations for the harmonisation of logistics policies in ASEAN countries aimed at the development of the ASEAN Economic Community.
    May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12130   open full text
  • Firm agglomeration and local poverty reduction: evidence from an economy in transition.
    Long Thanh Giang, Cuong Viet Nguyen, Tuyen Quang Tran.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 31, 2016
    We examine the linkages between firm agglomeration and the welfare of households in Vietnam. We measured firm agglomeration by per capita firm output at the district level and household welfare by per capita income, expenditure, and poverty. We find that firm agglomeration helps households move from the informal sector to the formal sector. As a result, there is a positive effect of firm agglomeration on per capita income, per capita expenditure, and poverty reduction, albeit of a small and time‐decreasing magnitude. The effect of firm agglomeration on per capita expenditure tends to be higher for households with men, younger, and more educated heads than households with women, older, and less educated heads. Households in rural areas and those that do not have crop land are more likely to benefit from firm agglomeration than those living in urban areas and having crop land.
    May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12131   open full text
  • Death of linkages in host countries? A firm‐level study on the channels of productivity spillovers in the Malaysian manufacturing sector.
    Andrew Jia Yi Kam.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 31, 2016
    Productivity spillovers from multinational corporations (MNCs) to local firms have been an area of keen research interest in developing economics. Claims of positive spillovers in the form of technology transfers have been questionable, in part because of the many ambiguous conclusions obtained. The paper argues that the lack of focus in the mechanisms underpinning spillovers may be one of the reasons for the ambiguity. Using local input–output linkages as the mechanism for technology transfer, this study examines the presence and the enabling conditions for spillovers. Accounting for the variations in firms' characteristics, the findings show that skills‐oriented MNCs participating in international production networks transmit horizontal spillovers to local establishments. Vertical spillovers from MNCs are mostly relevant only to lower‐skilled establishments. For skilled and export‐oriented local establishments, technologies learned from producing for international production networks are more significant than forming linkages with MNCs in the domestic market.
    May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12135   open full text
  • ‘Thailand‐plus‐one’: a GVC‐led development strategy for Cambodia.
    Ikuo Kuroiwa.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 31, 2016
    This paper discusses the location choices of export‐oriented firms in the context of a global value chain‐led development strategy. The results of a firm survey are used to examine, for the case of Cambodia, how less developed countries can participate in global value chains by specialising in a niche segment of the value chain. The survey results, which focus on the location choices of Cambodian firms that have mother factories in Thailand, show that the border region has advantages for access to suppliers and markets, while there are disadvantages for recruiting and retaining workers. Metropolitan areas, on the other hand, have advantages in the pooling of human resources, expatriates' living conditions, and access to government services, while inland transport costs are a burden for firms located in metropolitan areas. Policy implications are developed.
    May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12134   open full text
  • A state‐level analysis of the economic impacts of medical tourism in Malaysia.
    Jeroen Klijs, Meghann Ormond, Tomas Mainil, Jack Peerlings, Wim Heijman.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 31, 2016
    In Malaysia, a country that ranks among the world's most recognised medical tourism destinations, medical tourism is identified as a potential economic growth engine for both medical and non‐medical sectors. A state‐level analysis of economic impacts is important, given differences between states in economic profiles and numbers, origins, and expenditure of medical tourists. We applied input–output (I–O) analysis, based on state‐specific I–O data and disaggregated foreign patient data. The analysis includes nine of Malaysia's states. In 2007, these states were visited by 341,288 foreign patients, who generated MYR1,313.4 m ($372.3 m) output, MYR468.6 m ($132.8 m) in value added, and over 19,000 jobs. Impacts related to non‐medical expenditure are more substantial than impacts related to medical expenditure, and indirect impacts are a substantial part of total impacts. We discuss management and policy responses and formulate recommendations for data collection.
    May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12132   open full text
  • Myanmar: building economic foundations.
    Ronald Findlay, Cyn‐Young Park, Jean‐Pierre A. Verbiest.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 31, 2016
    Myanmar began a multifaceted economic reform process in 2011, soon after its political opening. The reform process is far from complete, and its impacts remain questionable. The paper examines progress to date and assesses opportunities and challenges for further reforms. Given the extensive list of development challenges remaining and the limited resources, careful prioritising of reforms is essential. Understanding of its strengths and weaknesses will help identify and sequence reforms and investments so as to maximise the growth dividends. This paper briefly reviews Myanmar's history and its legacy, examines the economy and some of the main policy reforms undertaken since 2011, assesses development potential and weaknesses, and outlines medium and long‐term growth strategies based on the country's specific context and international experiences and practices.
    May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/apel.12133   open full text
  • Commodity prices and monetary policy in emerging East Asia during the global financial crisis.
    Hsiao Chink Tang.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 27, 2014
    In the first phase of the global financial crisis, rising inflation was a major concern for emerging East Asian central banks. Coupled with a slowing US economy, regional central banks faced a monetary policy dilemma of either addressing higher inflation or supporting moderate growth. Higher food and fuel prices were the major drivers of headline inflation. Their causes, however, were a confluence of mutually reinforcing cyclical and structural factors. Understandably, different economies faced a different balance of risks between price stability and growth; but to attribute the inflation to supply shocks alone was misleading. This was unsettling given that inflation and inflation expectations were on the rise, and without much credibility, the reluctance of many central banks to raise interest rates risked repeating the mistake the advanced economies made in the 1970s. Without credibility, inflation expectations are unlikely to be well anchored. To gain credibility, a central bank must ‘walk‐the‐talk’, and understandably it must have the autonomy to do so.
    April 27, 2014   doi: 10.1111/apel.12049   open full text
  • Export survival pattern and its determinants: an empirical study of Chinese manufacturing firms.
    Dahai Fu, Yanrui Wu.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 27, 2014
    While empirical studies of export entry have proliferated, less attention has been devoted to the study of export survival in foreign markets. This paper explores the patterns and determinants of export survival using data on Chinese manufacturing firms for the period 1998–2007. The analytical methods used include non‐parametric techniques and the estimation of a discrete‐time duration model. Our results show the high probability of exit of exporters at the start of the period. We also find that large, highly productive and more export‐oriented firms are more likely to export for a longer period. In addition, foreign ownership is found to be an important determinant of export survival, while state ownership increases the risk of export failure.
    April 27, 2014   doi: 10.1111/apel.12050   open full text
  • Poverty identification: practice and policy implications in Vietnam.
    Cuong Viet Nguyen, Anh Tran.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 27, 2014
    To identify poor households, the government of Vietnam applies a combination of proxy means tests and quick collection of income data. This paper examines how well the government's poverty identification reaches the really poor in Vietnam. It is found that there is a large difference between the poverty rate for provinces and districts reported by the government and the rates estimated using expenditure and income data from independent household surveys. There is also a large difference between the poverty status of households identified by local authorities and the poverty status identified by income or expenditure data. More than 50 per cent of the poor households identified by local authorities are not poor in terms of income or expenditure measures. A better identification approach would be to use only proxy means tests and not income data collected using the simple questionnaire.
    April 27, 2014   doi: 10.1111/apel.12046   open full text
  • Is there income mobility in the Philippines?
    Arturo Martinez, Mark Western, Michele Haynes, Wojtek Tomaszewski.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 27, 2014
    Despite a more robust economic performance over the past decade compared with the 1980s and 1990s, growth in average household income is still far below what might be expected given the pace of economic expansion in the Philippines. Inequality of household income has also remained high, which leads to the question: is there income mobility in the Philippines? Using longitudinal data from three years of the redesigned Philippine Family Income and Expenditure Survey (2003, 2006, and 2009) and a variety of analytical tools, we examine the mobility of Filipino household income and show that it is less stagnant than is conventionally perceived. Empirical evidence suggests that significant positive and negative mobility exists; albeit, the two tend to offset each other, contributing to slow household income growth at the aggregate level. In addition, there is some evidence that transitory fluctuations contribute significantly to the observed level of income mobility. Overall, the findings are robust across different analytical tools used in measuring income mobility.
    April 27, 2014   doi: 10.1111/apel.12047   open full text
  • Developing ASEAN‐5 bond markets: what needs to be done?
    Simon Gray, Joshua Felman, Ana Carvajal, Andreas A. Jobst.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 27, 2014
    This paper examines development challenges facing bond markets in the ASEAN‐5 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand). It first assesses their level of development, finding that bond market frameworks—that is, the quality of the physical infrastructure, monitoring, and regulation—compare favourably with those in other emerging markets. The paper then considers possible further enhancements, including changes in disclosure practices as well as reforms of ratings agencies, central bank liquidity management, and taxation. It also considers steps to develop derivatives markets, which in some countries remain quite small. Finally, the article draws lessons from the global financial crisis in developed markets for the future development of ASEAN‐5 markets.
    April 27, 2014   doi: 10.1111/apel.12069   open full text
  • ASEAN‐5 bond market development: Where does it stand? Where is it going?
    Joshua Felman, Simon Gray, Mangal Goswami, Andreas A. Jobst, Mahmood Pradhan, Shanaka Peiris, Dulani Seneviratne.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. April 27, 2014
    Since the late 1990s' Asian crisis, ASEAN‐5 countries have expended considerable effort in developing their bond markets. However, the size of these markets relative to GDP has hardly changed. Can we explain this? And does it mean that domestic markets have not, in fact, developed? The article argues that bond market growth has been held back by a sharp fall in business investment, which has left firms with little need for bond borrowing. Even so, markets have developed in other ways, to such an extent that substantial amounts of foreign portfolio investment have begun to flow into ASEAN‐5 bonds. These developments have important ramifications. With the investor base growing and infrastructure investment likely to rise, ASEAN‐5 bond markets could expand rapidly, holding out the prospect that the region could finally achieve ‘twin engine’ financial systems in the near future.
    April 27, 2014   doi: 10.1111/apel.12051   open full text
  • Legal frameworks and credit information systems in China, Korea, and Singapore.
    Kwangsuk Han, Yeonho Lee, Chanil Park.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    We analyse the relationship between Public Credit Registries and Credit Bureaus in East Asia by observing credit information markets, in particular, in China, Singapore, and Korea. Singapore's credit information system consists of only a Credit Bureau. China and Korea have gone in different directions. Public Credit Registries play the role of credit information sharing in China, while Public Credit Registries and Credit Bureaus coexist in Korea. The results suggest an important relationship between the development of financial markets and credit information systems. The lower the income level and the heavier the government's hand in financial markets, the greater the need for Public Credit Registries; whereas, financial liberalisation and rising incomes encourage Credit Bureaus.
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12007   open full text
  • Coastal‐inland interactions in Burmese history: a long‐term perspective.
    Ronald Findlay.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    The history of Burma, like that of many Southeast Asian countries, can be viewed in terms of the interaction between coastal regions and kingdoms, on the one hand, and more densely populated inland agrarian states on the other. In the case of Burma this division also largely coincides with ethnic differences between the Mon and the Arakanese in the former category and the Burmans and the Shans in the latter. External influences have typically been transmitted through overseas contact, with India and Ceylon as in the case of the pervasive cultural force of Buddhism, and later with the impact of firearms introduced by the Portuguese during the 16th century, that formed the background to the protracted conflicts between the Burmese Toungoo, Ava and Konbaung kingdoms and the Thai kingdom of Ayuthia. The beginning of the 19th century saw the start of the three wars between the Konbaung Dynasty and India‐based British imperialism in which the major role was played by disputes over trade and the Bengal‐Arakan frontier. British rule in Lower Burma after 1826 and 1854 transformed the economic system of the country even before the complete occupation after 1885 by integrating it with the expanding world economy through rice and teak exports. Between 1885 and the Japanese invasion of 1942 the impact of international trade, foreign direct investment and immigration was the major force of both expansion and contraction of the economic system, as well as of social and political change and instability, eventually culminating after 1945 in the achievement of independence. The economic policy of independent Burma, during both the civilian and subsequent military regimes, was largely shaped by the fraught legacy of overseas contact in Burmese history as noted above. The recent change of the capital from the commercial port of Rangoon to the new inland ‘city’ of Naypyidaw is thus of more than merely symbolic significance since it may reflect a desire to return to the apparently safe isolation of the interior ‘heartland’ over the vicissitudes of international trade and overseas contacts. But is that a wise choice in the increasingly globalized world of the 21st century?
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12000   open full text
  • Development trajectories: Hong Kong vs. Shanghai.
    Niv Horesh.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    Over the past three decades, Shanghai and Hong Kong, leading cities in China's Yangzi River Delta and Pearl River Delta, respectively, have seen rapid economic development and institutional transformation. Shanghai has experienced a major breakthrough in its export‐driven economy and in industrial upgrading since the opening of the Pudong area in the 1990s. Shanghai has also ramped up its efforts to catch up with Hong Kong and has already become one of the world's foremost manufacturing and export hubs. At the same time, and particularly following the 1997 Asian economic crisis, Hong Kong has redoubled efforts to identify shortcomings in its economic architecture; and has explored plans to transcend its traditional role as a financial hub, to attract entrepreneurial hi‐tech talent, and to overcome inequitable income growth. This paper explores the development trajectories of these two cities and how they depart from the pre‐1978 development models. The paper also examines the extent to which the current trajectories are complementary or in competition.
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12001   open full text
  • Education and human capital development in the giants of Asia.
    Gavin Jones, Divya Ramchand.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    Educational development has proceeded at a different pace and under different planning regimes in India, China, and Indonesia. This paper provides an overview of the role of education in their recent development—in particular their ability to capitalise on favourable trends in dependency ratios—and presents some key issues facing education planners and policy hurdles to overcome in further improving their level and quality of human capital. Common findings and useful strategies are highlighted in the conclusion, as well as the importance of seizing the opportunity of low dependency ratios to effect policies that will help develop human capital.
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12002   open full text
  • Gender exclusion in social security protection: evidence from Korea.
    Joonmo Cho, Jaeseong Lee, Taehee Kwon.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    This study provides an evaluation of the impact of Korea's stratified labour market on the gaps in wages and social security coverage using the raw data from the supplementary surveys conducted by the Korean National Statistics Office. The study confirms the existence of a labour market stratified by employment type/gender/unionised or non‐unionised/firm size. The labour market structure is not only reflected in the distribution of wages but also in the social security coverage. The empirical result suggests that gender and employment type are the key variables determining the likelihood of social security exclusion. With the other conditions controlled, the female worker has a 65 per cent likelihood of exclusion, and the non‐standard worker has a 40.9 per cent likelihood. For female non‐standard workers, the situation is worse. Their likelihood of exclusion from social security soars to 80.1 per cent. The empirical results with respect to other fringe benefits not mandated by law exhibit the same pattern of social security exclusion. The empirical results emphasise the limitations of gender policy intended to rectify gender discrimination or exclusion alone and suggest a matrix policy that takes into consideration the complex labour market structure.
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12003   open full text
  • Corruption in Southeast Asia: a survey of recent research.
    Krisztina Kis‐Katos, Günther G. Schulze.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    This paper surveys the empirical literature on corruption in Southeast Asia with a focus on the methodological approach that the contributions take to identify the extent, determinants, and consequences of corruption and the remedies against it. We present the major topics that empirical corruption research has focused on and point out the methodological challenges that this line of research has to address. We discuss the empirical corruption studies on Southeast Asia and describe the empirical approach that they have taken.
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12004   open full text
  • Real exchange rate appreciation, resource boom, and policy reform in Myanmar.
    Koji Kubo.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    Over the six‐year period 2006‐11, the real exchange rate of the Myanmar kyat appreciated 200 per cent, resulting in the value of the US dollar in Myanmar falling to one‐third of its pre‐2006 level. While the resource boom is suspected to be the source of the real exchange rate appreciation, administrative controls on foreign exchange and imports had much more impact. Foreign exchange controls limited the convertibility of the kyat to foreign currencies and spurred negotiated transactions of foreign exchange outside the banking sector, hampering the foreign exchange market interventions of the government and Central Bank. Import controls repressed imports, aggravating excess supplies of foreign exchange. Relaxation of administrative controls is necessary for moderating currency appreciation.
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12005   open full text
  • International production networks and host country productivity: evidence from Malaysia.
    Andrew Jia‐Yi Kam.
    Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. May 14, 2013
    In the 1990s, Malaysia, along with other East Asian countries, achieved rapid economic growth rates. Research has yet to ascertain the extent to which this rapid economic growth was due to the development of global production networks. The main objective of the paper is to examine the impact of international production fragmentation on productivity growth. The paper hypothesises that international production fragmentation increases productivity growth through trade and foreign direct investment, and that productivity growth increases due to skill‐intensive industries producing within an international production network.
    May 14, 2013   doi: 10.1111/apel.12006   open full text