Showing papers on "East Asia published in 2003"

Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security

Abstract: Part I. Introduction: Developing a Regional Approach to Global Security: 1. Theories and histories about the structure of contemporary international security 2. Levels: distinguishing the regional from the global 3. Security complexes: a theory of regional security Part II. Asia: 4. South Asia: inching towards internal and external transformation 5. Northeast and southeast Asian security complexes during the Cold War 6. The 1990s and beyond: an emergent east Asian complex Conclusion Part III. The Middle East and Africa: Introduction 7. The Middle East: a perennial conflict formation 8. Sub-saharan Africa: security dynamics in a setting of weak and failed states Conclusions Part IV. The Americas: 9. North America: the sole superpower and its surroundings 10. South America: an under-conflictual anomaly? Conclusion: scenarios for the RSCs of the Americas Part V. The Europes: Introduction: 11. EU-Europe: the European Union and its 'near abroad' 12. The Balkans and Turkey 13. The post-Soviet space: a regional security complex around Russia Conclusion: scenarios for the European supercomplex Part VI. Conclusions: 14. Regions and powers: summing up and looking ahead 15. Reflections on conceptualising international security.

Evolution of ENSO-Related Rainfall Anomalies in East Asia

Abstract: The present study documents seasonal rainfall anomalies in East Asia during different phases of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) using station rainfall and the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis for the period of 1951–2000 through lag–lead correlation/regression and extended singular value decomposition analyses. The ENSO-related rainfall anomalies consist of two major evolving centers of action: one positive and the other negative. The positive center of action affects southern China, eastern central China, and southern Japan during the fall of an ENSO developing year through the following spring. The negative center of action is over northern China during the summer and fall of an ENSO developing year. Seasonal rainfall variance explained by ENSO is about 20%–30% in southern China in fall and winter, about 20% in eastern central China in spring after the mature phase of ENSO, and around 15%–20% in western north China in summer and fall of an ENSO developing year. The two main rainfall anomalies are induce...

The Formation of International Production and Distribution Networks in East Asia

Abstract: The international production and distribution networks consist of vertical production chains and distribution networks extended across a number of countries. This paper claims that the international production and distribution networks in East Asia present distinctive characters in their significance in the regional economy, their geographical extensiveness involving a large number of countries in the region, and their sophistication of both intra-firm and arm's-length relationships across different firm nationalities. The paper starts from reviewing crucial changes in policy framework observed in the developing East Asian countries a decade ago and sketching the theoretical thoughts explaining the mechanics of international production and distribution networks. Then, the empirical part of the paper examines the micro data of Japanese corporate firms to make a closer look at the nature of networks through the pattern of FDI after analyzing overall trade patterns of the major East Asian countries to confirm the importance of international trade of machinery parts and components. In addition, the paper quantifies the magnitude of economic activities of Japanese firms through different channels of transactions, using the firm nationality approach. The last part of the paper discusses policy implication of the networks.

Turnaround in East Asian firms: evidence from ethnic Overseas Chinese communities

Abstract: Research done primarily in the United States has shown that firms in decline enjoy better odds of returning to health when strong measures are taken. The culture of the Overseas Chinese of East Asia has helped to shape the region's prior commercial success but it also impacts responses to firm decline and turnaround. This research provides the first empirical investigation of the turnaround strategies of Overseas Chinese firms in East Asia. The evidence gathered shows that the utility of the predominantly U.S. model of firm turnaround has limits in East Asia. In particular, the role of strong owner-managers and the importance of relationships among business people constrain the applicability of prior U.S. research to East Asia. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The unusual summer of 1994 in East Asia: IOD teleconnections

Abstract: [1] An extremely hot and dry summer of 1994 was reported in East Asian countries Using observational data, we have demonstrated that the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is at least one possible cause of the abnormal East Asian summer climate An anomalous cyclonic circulation over the western Pacific and the southern China weakened the monsoonal northward flow in the lower troposphere An anomalous anticyclonic circulation with the equivalent barotropic structure around Japan, Korea and the northeastern part of China caused the hot and dry summer of 1994 This accumulation of the lower potential vorticity in the Far East is related to the wave activity from the Mediterranean/Sahara region The monsoon-desert mechanism connects a Rossby wave source with the IOD-induced diabatic heating around the Bay of Bengal Another Rossby wave-train pattern was generated in the upper troposphere and propagates northeastward from the southern China Both the Rossby wave patterns influenced the circulation changes over East Asia

Ancient China and its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History . By Nicola Di Cosmo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ix, 369 pp. $70.00 (cloth).

Abstract: Introduction Part I: 1. The Steppe Highway: the rise of pastoral nomadism as a Eurasian phenomenon 2. Bronze, iron and gold: the evolution of nomadic cultures on the northern frontier of China Part II: 3. Beasts and birds: the historical context of early Chinese perceptions of northern peoples 4. Walls and horses: the beginning of historical contacts between horse-riding Nomads and Chinese states Part III: 5. Those who draw the bow: the rise of the Hsiung-nu Nomadic Empire and the political unification of the Nomads 6. From peace to war: China's shift from appeasement to military engagement Part IV: 7. In search of grass and water: ethnography and history of the North in the Historian's Records 8. Taming the North: the rationalization of the nomads in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's historical thought Conclusion.

Constructing an ‘East Asian’ concept and growing regional identity: from EAEC to ASEAN+3

Abstract: The concept of East Asia as a region is relatively new. Until the appearance of the abortive East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC) idea, which was put forward by Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia in the early 1990s, there was no strong conceptual framework for regionalism in East Asia as a whole. At that time, the idea of an integrated East Asia, joining Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia in regional unity, was not yet firmly enough established to gain the consensus necessary to form a regional institution based on the larger framework. Following the constructivist approach, which emphasizes the significance of analysing how regional ‘togetherness’ can be strengthened and how this influences the formation of a regional institution, this article examines how and why the first proposal for East Asian regionalism, EAEC, failed to be realized, and then analyses the successful establishment and development of ASEAN+3. The article stresses the significance of the emergence and increasing acceptance of the concept ...

Spatial and temporal comparisons of droughts over Korea with East Asia

Abstract: To investigate the spatial and temporal relationships of drought occurrence and intensity between Korea and East Asia, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), calculated from Climatic Research Unit (CRU) monthly precipitation data, was used from 1951 to 1996. It is found that the frequency of occurrence of droughts in Korea has significant time intervals of 2–3 and 5–8 years and has been increasing since the 1980s. Correlation and composite analyses showed that the occurrence of droughts over central eastern China, Manchuria, and the north coast of Japan was highly correlated with those in Korea. However, the time scales of occurrence of droughts over the three regions were different. Droughts in eastern China represented in-phase variations with those in Korea with a time interval of 5–8 years, whereas those in Manchuria occurred with a time interval of 15 years, and those in Japan had no coincident variations. To assess the feasibility of usage of proxy climate data in eastern China for the research of droughts in Korea during the pre-instrumental period, dry–wet indices in six regions of eastern China were correlated to the SPI values in Korea for the period of 1951–92 considering several time scales. Dry–wet indices of region V showed a larger correlation and the most similar trend to the droughts in Korea with a time scale of 5–11 years. This suggested an effective utilization of historical records and other proxy data in eastern China to understand extreme climatic events in Korea for the past 500 years. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.

Trade Integration and Business Cycle Synchronization in East Asia

Abstract: As trade integration deepens in East Asia, closer links among the business cycles of East Asian countries can be expected. Theoretically, however, increased trade could lead to either closer or looser business cycles across trading partners. This paper seeks to understand how the business cycles of 12 Asian economies have been influenced by increased trade among them. It finds that the increasing trade itself is not necessarily associated with an increased synchronization of their business cycles. Intra-industry trade, rather than inter-industry trade or the volume of trade itself, is the major channel through which their business cycles become synchronized. This result has important implications for the prospects for a unified currency in the region.

The new bilateralism in the Asia Pacific

Abstract: For most of the past half-century, Western Pacific countries largely eschewed preferential trade agreements. Their preferred form of trade liberalisation was unilateral action on a non-discriminatory basis. In the past four years, however, more than 20 preferential schemes involving two or more Western Pacific countries have been put forward. The new interest in bilateralism is explained by: an increasing awareness of the weakness of existing regional institutions and initiatives; perceptions of positive demonstration effects from regional agreements elsewhere; and changing configurations of domestic economic interests. Contrary to arguments that emphasise a new sense of collective identity in East Asia post-crises, as many agreements have been proposed with prospective partners outside East Asia as with other East Asian countries. The agreements will have little impact on overall trade or economic growth because they typically involve countries that are relatively insignificant economic partners for one ...

China and Asean: Renavigating Relations for a 21st-century Asia

Abstract: In East Asia, few relationships have evolved as much as that between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. While important differences remain, relations have seen a marked improvement over the past decade, especially when compared to the considerable suspicion that once defined their relations. Changing U.S. priorities in Asia have played an important part in that evolution.

Innovative East Asia: The Future of Growth

Abstract: This is the main volume in a series of publications based on a study cosponsored by the government of Japan and the World Bank to examine the future sources of economic growth in East Asia. The study was initiated in 2000 with the objective of identifying the most promising path to development in light of emerging global and regional changes, signaled by the crisis of 1997-98 and the challenges faced by the crisis-hit countries as they sought to resume rapid growth. This volume explores each issue and consequent policy choices in greater detail. The principal message is that sustained economic growth in East Asia will rest on retaining the strengths of the past -stability, openness, investment, human capital development- on overcoming the sources of current weakness in financial, corporate, judicial, and social sectors, and on implementing the changes required by the evolving economic environment. East Asia needs to sustain its hard-earned stability by recalibrating its fiscal and exchange rate policies. Strengthening social safety nets and governance, and invigorating financial, regulatory, and legal institutions. Yet these are only preconditions; future economic performance will depend on keying growth to productivity.

Strategic Innovation and the Administrative Heritage of East Asian Family Business Groups

Abstract: Using the case of Chinese Family Business Groups (FBGs) in East Asia, this paper examines the relationship between the strategic behaviour exhibited by an organisational form and it's administrative heritage. To do so, we trace the origins of the strategic behaviour that scholars commonly attribute to FBGs to the environmental conditions prevailing during their emergence in the turbulent post-Colonial era of East Asia. We explain how fundamental changes brought about by shifts in the post-Cold war environment of East Asia have confronted FBGs with new opportunities and organising imperatives which their administrative heritages have left them ill-equipped to deal with. In concluding, we explain how the lack of fit between a dominant organisational form and contemporaneous environmental conditions may have significant implications for the organisations themselves and the economies whose landscapes they dominate.

Relation-based versus Rule-based Governance: an Explanation of the East Asian Miracle and Asian Crisis

Abstract: The paper aims to establish a theory of relation-based governance to explain both the “East Asian miracle” and the Asian crisis. The author first defines “relation” and “relation-based governance” in terms of information and enforcement, and then analyzes the nature and dynamics of relation-based governance, comparing its benefits and costs with that of “rule-based governance” in terms of observability/verifiability, commitment, and transaction costs. The theory is applied to examine a particular relation-based governance system—the Japanese model—to explain both the East Asian miracle and the Asian crisis. The framework provides foundations for studies of East Asian catching-up and economic development in general.

Continent-ocean interactions within the East Asian Marginal seas

Abstract: Interactions between continents and oceans are a frontier area for the Earth sciences in the 21st century. An AGU Chapman Conference, Continent-Ocean Interactions within the East Asian Marginal Seas, examined the nature of these interactions in the marginal seas of east Asia. The objective was to highlight both recent advances, and especially the contributions made by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)semi; as well as to identify key future science goals. The types of continent-ocean interactions discussed were wide-ranging, including climate-tectonic interactions, continental-oceanic climate linkages, and the material flux from the rivers of Asia to the ocean, as well as how continental tectonic evolution since the India-Asia collision has influenced the tectonics of the western Pacific and vice-versa. The marginal seas of east Asia form the transition between the world's largest continent and its largest ocean, and are major repositories of information on the interaction between the two.

Women’s Working Lives in East Asia

Abstract: Tables and figures Acknowledgments 1. Married women's labor in East Asian economies Mary C. Brinton 2. Married women's employment in rapidly industrializing societies: South Korea and Taiwan Mary C. Brinton, Yean-Ju Lee, and William L. Parish 3. Family demands, gender attitudes, and married women's labor force participation: comparing Japan and Taiwan Wei-hsin Yu 4. Women, work, and marriage in three east Asian labor markets: the cases of Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea Yean-Ju Lee and Shuichi Hirata 5. Women's education and the labor market in Japan and South Korea Mary C. Brinton and Sunhwa Lee 6. Women's solidarity: company policies and Japanese office ladies Yuko Ogasawara 7. Mothers as the best teachers: Japanese motherhood and early childhood education Keiko Hirao 8. Women's education, work, and marriage in South Korea Sunhwa Lee 9. Taking informality into account: women's work in the formal and informal sectors in Taiwan Wei-hsin Yu 10. The 'boss's wife' and Taiwanese small familt business Yu-Hsia Lu 11. Daughters, parents, and globalization: the case of Taiwan Nidhi Mehrotra and William L. Parish Notes References Index.

Major trade trends in East Asia: what are their implications for regional cooperation and growth

Abstract: This study's empirical findings have positive implications for further efforts to expand East Asian regional trade and cooperation initiatives. Since the mid-1980s regional intra-trade has grown at a rate roughly double that of world trade, and at a rate far higher than the intra-trade of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) member countries or the European Union. Evidence based on intra-industry trade ratios or statistics on international production sharing show economic linkages and the interdependence of East Asian economies have considerably strengthened over the past two decades. On a global scale, East Asia (excluding Japan) now originates 19 percent of world trade, which is approximately the same share as the NAFTA member countries.

Synchronized Business Cycles in East Asia and Fluctuations in the Yen/Dollar Exchange Rate

Abstract: Because many authors have proposed stimulating the ailing Japanese economy by monetary expansion and yen depreciation, we explore the repercussions of depreciating the yen against the dollar on the other East Asian economies - which largely peg to the dollar Since 1980, economic integration among Japan's neighbors - China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand - has intensified and (except for China) their business cycles have been highly synchronized These cycles have been closely linked to fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate - through changes in their export competitiveness and inflows of foreign direct investment We show that a major yen devaluation would have a negative impact on incomes in other East Asian economies and that it is not a sensible policy option for Japan

Centennial-scale dry-wet variations in East Asia

Abstract: This study attempts to combine four independent long-term climatic data and modern observations into one cohesive set; to describe the spatial and temporal patterns of variability of dry and wet periods in East Asia over the past one thousand years; and to examine physical causes of the pattern variations. The data include the 220-year observed precipitation in Seoul, South Korea, the dryness-wetness intensity data in eastern China for the last 530 years, and other two independent chronologies of dryness-wetness grades in the past millennium in eastern China based on instrumental observations and historical documents. Various analysis methods including wavelet transform and rotated empirical orthogonal function were used in revealing climate variations from these datasets. Major results show that the dry and wet anomalies initially appeared in the north part of eastern China and then migrated southward to affect south China. This process is repeated about every 70 years. However, in contrast in the last two decades of the twentieth century a dry situation appeared in north China and a wet climate predominated in the south part of the country. The multidecadal variations of the monsoon circulation in East Asia and the thermal contrast between inland Asia and its surrounding oceans may contribute to the dry-wet phase alternation or the migration of dry-wet anomalies. In regional scale variations, a consistent dry or wet pattern was observed spreading from the lower Yangtze River valley to South Korea. Frequencies of severe dry-wet situations were low in the eighteenth and nineteenth century and they were higher in the twentieth century. The recent increasing trend in frequencies of severe dry-wet chances occurred along with global warming and regional climatic changes in China.

Synchronized Business Cycles in East Asia and Fluctuations in the Yen/Dollar Exchange Rate

Abstract: Because many authors have proposed stimulating the ailing Japanese economy by monetary expansion and yen depreciation, we explore the repercussions of depreciating the yen against the dollar on the other East Asian economies—which largely peg to the dollar. Since 1980, economic integration among Japan's neighbors—China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—has intensified and (except for China) their business cycles have been highly synchronized. These cycles have been closely linked to fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate—through changes in their export competitiveness and inflows of foreign direct investment. We show that a major yen devaluation would have a negative impact on incomes in other East Asian economies and that it is not a sensible policy option for Japan.

North Korea: Another Country

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ASEAN Plus Three and the Rise of Reactionary Regionalism

Abstract: The course of regional integration in East Asia has been shaped by a complex mix of internal and external factors. Although the emergence of initiatives like 'ASEAN Plus Three' appears to indicate that East Asia is assuming a more independent and regionally-oriented place in the international system, this paper argues that the future trajectory of ASEAN Plus Three, and of the region more generally, will continue to be constrained by internal tensions and - especially - by the continuing influence of the United States. In short, for the foreseeable future East Asia will be marked by a form of 'reactionary regionalism' in which regional initiatives are designed to mediate and moderate external influences.

Financial Integration and Consumption Risk Sharing in East Asia

Abstract: This paper estimates the degree of consumption risk sharing and analyzes the channels of consumption risk sharing among the 10 East Asian countries. Estimation results show that a bulk of cross-sectional variance of GDP, about 80 percent, is not smoothed within the region which suggests that the degree of consumption risk sharing is far from complete and very low in the region. Capital markets play a minimal role and credit markets provide a positive but limited role. These results imply that the market channels do not function well in smoothing idiosyncratic output shocks. To be consistent, we also found that the potential welfare gains from consumption risk sharing within East Asia are quite large. Compared to the OECD countries, the degree of risk sharing achieved is lower and the potential gains are larger in the East Asian countries, but the degree of risk sharing and the potential gains are similar in relatively more developed East Asian countries.

Molecular phylogeny of wood mice (Apodemus, Muridae) in East Asia

Abstract: Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (1140 bp) and nuclear IRBP (1152 bp) genes were used to assess the evolutionary history of Apodemus, using the complete set of Asian species. Our results indicate that speciation in Asia involved three radiations, which supports an earlier study. The initial radiation yielded A. argenteus (Japanese endemic), A. gurkha (Nepalese endemic), and the ancestral lineage of the remaining Asian species. This lineage subsequently diverged into four groups: agrarius-chevrieri (agrarius group), draco-latronum-semotus (draco group), A. peninsulae, and A. speciosus (Japanese endemic). The final step consisted of divergence within two species groups as a consequence of the geography of the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau and Taiwan. The ecological ability of two Apodemus species to inhabit one locality via niche partitioning likely drove the second radiation and shaped the basic geographical pattern seen today: A. argenteus and A. speciosus in Japan, A. agrarius and A. peninsulae in northern China, and the A. agrarius and A. draco groups in southern China. The three radiations are estimated to have occurred 7.5, 6.6, and 1.8–0.8 Mya respectively, using the IRBP clock, based on rat–mouse divergence 12 Mya. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 80, 469–481.

Understanding venture capital in East Asia: the impact of

Abstract: Venture capital in East Asia has played a significant economic role in the region's development and is expected to play an even more significant role in the future. However, our understanding of the industry remains very limited. It is known that institutions present in East Asia shape the behavior of organizations that are present in the region. This article examines how institutions, particularly those related to the regulatory environment and culture of East Asia, shape the venture capital industry and create differences from the venture capital industry in the West. These differences are true despite the fact that many venture capitalists have been trained in Western venture capital firms and share similar beliefs about how venture investments are to be made. The article concludes with a research agenda for building a fuller understanding of how venture capital works in East Asia and what outside investors and firms need to familiarize themselves with.

Islam in China: Accommodation or Separatism?

Abstract: Many of the challenges China's Muslims confront remain the same as they have for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society, but some are new as a result of China's transformed and increasingly globalized society, and especially since the watershed events of the 11 September terrorist attacks and the subsequent “war on terrorism.” Muslims in China live as minority communities, but many such communities have survived in rather inhospitable circumstances for over a millennium. This article examines Islam and Muslim minority identity in China, not only because it is where this author has conducted most of his research, but also because with the largest Muslim minority in East Asia, China's Muslims are clearly the most threatened in terms of self-preservation and Islamic identity. I argue that successful Muslim accommodation to minority status in China can be seen to be a measure of the extent to which Muslim groups allow the reconciliation of the dictates of Islamic culture to their host culture. This goes against the opposite view that can be found in the writings of some analysts, that Islam in the region is almost unavoidably rebellious and that Muslims as minorities are inherently problematic to a non-Muslim state. The history of Islam in China suggests that both within each Muslim community, as well as between Muslim nationalities, there are many alternatives to either complete accommodation or separatism.

Networking the region? The emergence and impact of Asia-Pacific bilateral free trade agreement projects

Abstract: This paper analyses the emergence and rapid expansion of Asia-Pacific bilateral free trade agreement (APBFTA) projects from the late 1990s onwards: by mid-2002, thirteen Asia-Pacific states had initiated or completed thirty-three APBFTA projects in total. It examines the reasons why new APBFTA projects first came about, primarily attributing this to the confluent trade institution failures of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) to push ahead their respective trade liberalization agendas after the 1997–98 East Asian financial crisis. How APBFTAs must subsequently coexist alongside APEC and WTO trade regimes is thereafter debated, with particular reference to contrasting reciprocity choice. In profiling key APBFTA perpetrating states, various domestic–international interface problems are discussed, as well as the different ‘strategic purposes’ now underlying many projects. T...