Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
Competitiveness
The research projects examine the rationale behind the use of competition policy as growth strategy and how it affects the productivity of firms.
ASEAN Digital Community 2045
02 November 2023
Over the last decade, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has undergone significant development in digitalisation. The rapid digital transformation in ASEAN, however, has … Read More
Human Resource Development, Employment, and International Migration of Nurses and Caregivers in Asia and the Pacific Region
12 July 2023
The population in Asia is ageing, resulting in an increased demand for nurses and care workers. Consequently, the capacity of healthcare and long-term care needs … Read More
Capital Cost, Technology Choice, and Demand for Skills in Industries in Viet Nam
03 July 2023
This paper explores the consequences of a policy regime in which state firms enjoy privileged access to capital while private firms are crowded out. Consequently, … Read More
Does the Skill Premium Influence Educational Decisions? Evidence from Viet Nam
15 May 2023
Viet Nam’s economy has grown and changed in dramatic ways since WTO accession in 2007. Much of the growth and change is due to expanded … Read More
Indonesia’s Local Content Requirements: An Assessment on Consistency with Free Trade Agreement Commitments
04 February 2022
Local content requirements (LCRs) are one of several economic instruments used by governments to protect infant domestic industries or to generate employment. Indonesia has LCR … Read More
Innovation, Product Sophistication and Export Market Survival: A Study of Indian Manufacturing
17 December 2021
The present study investigates the role of innovation on global market survival of Indian manufacturing firms. Specifically, the study examines whether research and development (R&D) … Read More
13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit
11 November 2021
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is a unique cooperation initiative, bringing in scope for transnational cooperation between Partner countries, through regional and sub-regional activities. ASEM is … Read More
Summary of ERIA Research Projects 2020-2021
01 July 2021
The Summary of ERIA Research Projects 2020-2021 provides an overview of both new and ongoing projects that ERIA researchers are currently working on as of … Read More
Birth Order, Sibling Sex Composition, and Quantity–Quality Trade-offs – Evidence from India
23 February 2021
We use two waves of data from the India Human Development Survey to investigate the effect of family size on (i) parental expenditures on children’s … Read More
Getting to Grade 10 in Viet Nam: Challenges from Deprivation, Discrimination, and a Booming Job Market
18 February 2021
Viet Nam has enjoyed more than a generation of rapid economic growth, led by labour-intensive exports. This form and pace of growth has increased schooling … Read More
Gender Digital Equality Across ASEAN
08 February 2021
This paper provides an overview of the participation of women in the digital economy across ASEAN. By using available data sources, it compares and analyses … Read More
Women’s Participation in the Digital Economy: Improving Access to Skills, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership Across ASEAN
08 February 2021
This policy brief provides evidence of the persistent digital gender divide across ASEAN and explains how it is of key importance to close this divide … Read More
Food Value Chain in ASEAN: Case Studies Focusing on Local Producers
27 August 2019
A key question for the bottom-up development of the food value chain (FVC) is how agri-food producers, mainly characterised by small-scale and unstable management, can … Read More
Cool Japan, Creative Industries, and Diversity
14 June 2019
This paper critically considers the operation and objective of Japan’s ‘creative industry’ policy and suggests how to redesign it to align it with recent attention … Read More
East Asia Updates | Quarterly Edition - October 2018
12 October 2018
The challenging economic conditions in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018 continued into the third quarter (Q3). Economic performance in advanced economies remains on two … Read More
East Asia Updates | Quarterly Edition - June 2018
17 July 2018
Economic performance in the East Asian region remained favourable in the first quarter of 2018, but entering the second quarter, the economic environment became more … Read More
Transparency in Non-tariff Measures: An International Comparison
13 November 2017
The growing literature on trade has proven that transparency has positive effects on trade and investment. This is particularly important in non-tariff measures, which are … Read More
Globalisation and Trade Liberalisation in Supporting GVCs Upgrade: The Case of the Republic of Korea
20 September 2017
The Republic of Korea (henceforth Korea) has managed to achieve sustained economic growth by moving up the value chains. It took Korea only 15 years … Read More
Competition Policy vs. Industrial Policy as a Growth Strategy
03 April 2017
This paper examines the rationale behind industrial policy and competition policy as growth strategies, and shows that competition policy, rather than industrial policy, generated the … Read More
ASEAN as an FDI Attractor:
How Do Multinationals Look at ASEAN?
31 January 2017
This policy brief presents an overview of the ASEAN economy in terms of its economic relationship with multinationals, particularly Japanese companies, that have … Read More
Indonesia and China: Friends or Foes?
Quality Competition and Firm Productivity
05 December 2016
We define and measure "firm-product-destination-year-specific export quality" and investigate how quality competition from China affects Indonesian firm productivity in the domestic and export markets. Our … Read More
Cambodia National Energy Statistics 2016
07 October 2016
Insufficient information and inadequate capacity to carry out comprehensive energy planning are identified as the main contributing factors to the current circumstances of … Read More
Towards a Circular Economy: Corporate Management and Policy Pathways
21 September 2016
The transition to a circular economy is a unique opportunity for fast-growing Asian economies to be resource efficient, competitive, and innovative. The circular … Read More
Impact of Free Trade Agreement Utilisation on Import Prices
31 August 2016
We examine the impact of free trade agreement (FTA) utilisation on import prices. For this analysis, we employ establishment-level import data with information on tariff … Read More
The Development of Regulatory Management Systems in East Asia: Country Studies
04 August 2016
The ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 emphasises that 'the drive towards a competitive, dynamic, innovative and robustly growing ASEAN entails that the regulations … Read More
The Development of Regulatory Management Systems in East Asia: Deconstruction, Insights, and Fostering ASEAN's Quiet Revolution
31 July 2016
As H.E. Deputy Minister Rizal Lukman of Indonesia said in 2015: 'The emergence of the ASEAN Economic Community is putting the pressure on each ASEAN … Read More
Asia-Europe Connectivity Vision 2025: Challenges and Opportunities
15 July 2016
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) enters into its third decade with commitments for a renewed and deepened engagement between Asia and Europe. After 20 … Read More
Globalization and Performance of Small and Large Firms
23 May 2016
ERIA Microdata Research FY 2013 examines whether and how globalization has differential effects on small and (or versus) large firms and aims at … Read More
Challenges of Indonesian Competition Law and Some Suggestions for Improvement
26 January 2016
This paper discusses the problems in the implementation of Law No. 5 of 1999, the Indonesian Competition Law, explains the substance of the … Read More
Competition Law Enforcement of Viet Nam and the Necessity of a Transparent Regional Competition Policy
10 December 2015
Competition is becoming an important issue among the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, having a transparent and positive … Read More
The Competition Act 2010--Issues and Development since Coming into Force
10 December 2015
Abstract Competition law was almost unheard of in the first hundred years after the Sherman Act was passed. However, the number of jurisdictions with a … Read More
Development of Competition Laws in Korea
26 November 2015
Abstract Economic development policies that were export-focused and biased toward unbalanced growth were initially implemented through government-led initiatives in Korea since the 1960s. These resulted … Read More
Neutralising the Advantages of State-Owned Enterprises for a Fair Playing Field
26 November 2015
Despite Vietnamese competition authorities' attempts to control state monopolies in domestic markets during the last 10 year of establishment, this appears to be … Read More
Improving the Regulatory and Support Environment for Migrant Workers for Greater Productivity, Competitiveness, and Social Welfare in ASEAN
24 November 2015
Abstract Migration between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states will increase when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) stimulates economic development within the … Read More
Framing the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Post- 2015
16 November 2015
An inclusive, sustainable, resilient, and dynamic community that engages and benefits the people is what ASEAN aspires to in the post-2015 period. This … Read More
Non-Tariff Measures: Not All that Bad
29 October 2015
While tariffs have been reduced, the number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) is increasing, and is often blamed to be one source of the … Read More
Spatial Patterns of Manufacturing Agglomeration in Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Thailand
28 September 2015
Due to lowering trade and transport costs, participation in the global value chains (GVCs) is becoming one of the most effective development strategies … Read More
East Asian Integration (First Edition)
21 August 2015
Abstract The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) presents a historic opportunity for East Asia to deepen cooperative commitment to the reforms that are needed to … Read More
Investing in Higher Education, and Its Potential Impact on Research and Development for Technology Upgrading, Innovation, and Competitiveness
04 August 2015
Abstract The aim of this paper is to review the state of higher education development in ASEAN and formulate how research and development should proceed … Read More
AEC Scorecard Phase IV: Furthering the Implementation of the AEC Blueprint Measures The Singapore Country Report
22 June 2015
Singapore is an open economy that is critically dependent on leveraging external resources to achieve its economic growth. To achieve that objective, the … Read More
The Challenge of China and the Role of Deepening ASEAN Integration for the Philippine Semiconductor Industry
16 April 2015
From a rising share in the global semiconductor market in the 1990s, which peaked at 7.7 percent in 1999, the standing of the … Read More
Exporting and Firm-Level Credit Constraints - Evidence from Ghana
30 March 2015
Abstract This paper models how firms finance their fixed costs of exporting through internal financing from retained earnings and external financing (borrowing from banks). The … Read More
Transmission Channels of Economic Shocks in ASEAN
17 March 2015
This Policy Brief is based on ERIA Discussion Paper 2013-18 titled "Managing Economic Shocks and Macroeconomic Coordination in an Integrated Region: ASEAN Beyond … Read More
The Garment Industry in Laos: Technological Capabilities, Global Production Chains and Competitiveness
24 February 2015
This article examines the relationship between institutional support and regional production linkages, and technological capabilities and firm performance in the garment industry in … Read More
Industrial Upgrading in Global Production Networks: The Case of the Chinese Automotive Industry
18 February 2015
Abstract This article examines the development of China's automotive industry. The evidence shows that integration in global production networks has stimulated upgrading of technological capabilities … Read More
Impact of Free Trade Agreements on Trade in East Asia
09 January 2015
Abstract The number of bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) in East Asia has increased rapidly after the 2000s behind the world trend … Read More
Financial Integration Challenges in ASEAN Beyond 2015
25 August 2014
Abstract Financial integration has many potential economic benefits. However, it also carries potential risks. In ASEAN, since its financial sector is generally bank-dominated, the … Read More
Delivering Results in Standards and Conformance in ASEAN: the Critical Roles of Institutional Strenghthening and the Private Sector
20 August 2014
Addressing technical barriers to trade is a key priority of ASEAN as part of trade facilitation in achieving an integrated economy under the … Read More
Import Penetration, Export Orientation, and Plant Size in Indonesian Manufacturing
07 July 2014
This paper empirically examines differential impacts of globalisation on plant size among plants with different characteristics, including initial plant size, import and export … Read More
Japanese Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises' Export Decisions: The Role of Overseas Market Information
02 July 2014
This paper examines how the Japanese firms' export decision is affected by the availability of information on export markets, focusing on whether the … Read More
ASEAN Rising: ASEAN and AEC Beyond 2015
30 June 2014
ASEAN RISING: ASEAN and AEC Beyond 2015 puts together ideas, thoughts and papers from more than 30 experts and specialists in the region … Read More
The ASEAN Single Aviation Market: Liberalizing the Airline Industry
18 June 2014
Abstract This Policy Brief presents an overview of the barriers facing air transport liberalization in ASEAN. It lays out the policies that governments should undertake … Read More
ASEAN Food Security: Towards a More Comprehensive Framework
23 May 2014
Abstract This Policy Brief is based on the Issues Paper on ASEAN Food Security: Towards a More Comprehensive Framework. The key message is that food … Read More
Offshoring and the Shortening of the Quality Ladder: Evidence from Danish Apparel
12 May 2014
Recently a small and growing empirical literature has attempted to analyze the role that quality plays in our understanding of trade. In particular, … Read More
Korea's Policy Package for Enhancing its FTA Utilization and Implications for Korea's Policy
12 May 2014
Abstract Korea's trade with most of its 46 free trade agreement (FTA) partner countries has been expanded continuously. Its FTA utilization ratios were as low … Read More
Multiproduct Firms, Export Product Scope, and Trade Liberalization: The Role of Managerial Efficiency
14 April 2014
This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effects of one-sided tariff cuts on firms' export product scope. The theoretical model … Read More
Study on the Development Potential of the Content Industry in East Asia and the ASEAN Region
28 March 2014
List of Project Members MR. SIRISAK KOSHPASHARIN (PROJECT LEADER): Executive Committee, National Committee of Film & Video, Ministry of Culture, Thailand. MR. FANG … Read More
Competition Law Enforcement in Malaysia: Some Recent Developments
10 January 2014
The enactment of the Competition Act 2010 represents a significant progress in the implementation of competition policy in Malaysia. The Malaysian Competition Commission has been … Read More
Evolution of Machinery Production Networks: Linkage of North America with East Asia
23 November 2013
Abstract This paper investigates the developing pattern of machinery trade and the extent and depth of production networks in North America from the perspective of … Read More
Standards Harmonisation in ASEAN: Progress, Challenges and Moving Beyond 2015
13 November 2013
Addressing technical barriers to trade is a key priority of ASEAN as part of trade facilitation in achieving the Single Market and Production Base under … Read More
