Transboundary Pollution in Southeast Asia: The Indonesian Fires

Uncontrollable forest fires in Indonesia have caused much environmental damage in Southeast Asia with immediate countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and even Southern Thailand bearing most of it. The intentional burning of forests has engendered a transboundary haze pollution problem with severe economic ramifications in both victim and perpetrator countries. This paper reviews the related issues and suggested policy responses from the different interdisciplinary perspectives. Identification and analysis by way of a “stakeholders approach” to the possible sharing of costs in certain programs to combat the fires and haze is suggested. The paper also discusses the role of economic incentives in managing forest fires.     

Asia/Pacific Regional Trade Agreements: An empirical study

At the same time as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been encouraging trade liberalized, there has been a proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). These RTAs also aim to reduce trade barriers, but they do so it in a preferential way. There is continued debate as to whether such RTAs are an effective way of achieving free trade, or if increased trade among members causes less trade with non-member countries? If RTAs increase total trade, this is known as ‘trade creation’, whereas if the extra trade occurs at the expense of non-members, this is called ‘trade diversion’. Trade creation implies improved welfare, whereas ‘trade diversion’ may adversely affect welfare. This paper examines five different RTAs using a gravity model to see if they have been trade creating or trade diverting. Annual data from 26 countries covering five RTAs in the Asia and Pacific region for the years 1980–2000 was used.The results show that the effects of the different RTAs varied remarkably. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Australian and New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER) fostered greater trade with trading partners and with the rest of the world. While the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) tended to be trade diverting, that is, they expanded intra-bloc trade at the expense of trade with others.     

IAI亚太设计师联盟唱响世界凝聚业界动力

IAI亚太设计师联盟2008年诞生在中国香港特别行政区,是目前亚太地区具有国际影响力的大设计团体组织,这是一个名符其实的国际设计团体组织,其核心成员来着世界各国,大都是设计界泰斗、学界权威以及业界精英.该组织近些年日益活跃在国内乃至亚太地区的设计界,从北国的哈尔滨到南部的珠海,从海峡对岸的台湾到西部的新疆,甚至远至欧美、东南亚、中东地区都留下了IAI致力于在各地组织开展设计创意与学术交流的印记.     

Professor Ronald W. Jones and his influence on Asia Pacific economics

Professor Ronald W. Jones is one of the greatest general equilibrium theorists, who has illustrated the economic force underlying a general equilibrium adjustment in a very elegant manner. With his friendly personality, at the same time, he has made an enormous contribution to Asian Pacific economic research and the formation of a strong network of economists in our region. This essay intends to explain what I think of as the essence of his economics and his contributions to Asia Pacific economics.     

构筑亚太共同体及茂物、大阪会议

1989年1月,鲍勃·霍克在韩国进行的一次演讲中,提出应该在亚太地区建立一个新的经济组织.1989年11月,第一届亚太经合组织部长级会议在堪培拉举行.亚太经济合作组织作为一个论坛,很快就发展成为一个横跨太平洋的组织.对亚太地区的国家来说,亚太经合组织为他们在贸易安排和战略组织方面阐述自己的看法提供了一席之地.     

峰会九大精彩媲美一流国际会议

本届峰会是重庆历史上最大规模的国际盛会,吸引了来自世界各地的政界精英、商界名流参加,使峰会成为亚太地区城市间全方位交流的平台和重庆展示实力、广交朋友的平台.峰会内容丰富,亮点纷呈,成就斐然,获得了41个国家和地区的嘉宾一致赞誉.华盛顿市市长安东尼·威廉姆斯称:这是他在任市长期间参加的最好的一次会议.而重庆市人民政府外事办公室副主任张海清也自豪地说:我们可以媲美一流国际会议的组织水平.     

Workers' Remittances,Capital Inflows,and Economic Growth in Developing Asia and the Pacific

This paper examines the impact of remittances on economic growth, using developing countries in Asia and the Pacific as a case study. Using data for the period 1993–2013, our results show that remittances only generate negative and significant impacts on economic growth if they reach 10 percent of GDP or higher. A remittances‐to‐GDP ratio of below 10 percent could still impact growth negatively, but the effect is statistically insignificant. The present study finds some degree of substitutability between remittances and financial development. Foreign direct investment (FDI), but not other types of capital inflow, contributes significantly to economic growth. Other traditional growth engines, including education, trade openness, and domestic investment, are crucial in promoting growth in developing Asian and Pacific nations.     

Seamless sustainable transport connectivity in Asia and the Pacific: prospects and challenges

In view of the ongoing financial and economic crisis originated during 2008?C09 and the possibility of a double dip recession in advanced economies, export-dependent economies of Asia and the Pacific need to rebalance its growth toward domestic and regional demand for sustainable growth of Asia and the world. Despite remarkable growth during the last decade, the region still faces extensive basic infrastructure needs such as transport, energy, telecommunications and water. Asia, therefore, needs to enhance its connectivity through developing transport infrastructure at the national and regional level to rebalance its growth through enhancing intraregional trade, to enhance economic integration and to meet basic infrastructure needs. Transport plays a significant role in enhancing connectivity within and across Asian economies. However, building massive transport infrastructure will have profound implications on environment and climate change at the national, regional and global levels. In this evolving scenario, Asia needs to build efficient, safe, affordable, timely, world-class, socially and environmentally sustainable and seamless transport connections within the region, and with the rest of the world, in order to be competitive and prosperous. This paper analyzes the major challenges in developing sustainable transport connectivity, by fostering regional cooperation toward a seamless Asia. The paper examines the needs and benefits of transport connectivity and financing requirement for 2010?C2020. It examines the impact of transport connectivity on environment and the prospects and challenges for developing seamless sustainable transport connectivity. Finally, the paper provides policy recommendations on what the region can do to meet these challenges.     

地区主义的本质特征--多样性及其在亚太的表现

作为一种介于全球主义和民族主义之间的意识形态或思潮,地区主义(Regionalism)以新的面目再次出现在世人面前,向世纪之交的国际政治经济提出了新的挑战.其突出表现是,世界经济以地区为中心聚合发展,越来越趋向于形成三大地区性经济区,即欧洲、北美和东亚.受这种"经济地区主义"的促发,国际政治安全领域以及更加错综复杂的世界政治经济领域里,也明显出现了按照传统的地缘主义和块化思想发展演变的趋向.如何认识和解释这一新的地区主义思潮(也称"新地区主义"),在国际关系理论界已经引起日益加强的兴趣.在新一波地区主义研究浪潮中,一个日益突出的关键问题是,地区主义的本质特征是什么?本文在现有研究的基础上就此问题提出一些探讨性的看法.