Showing papers on "East Asia published in 2006"

Managing the Noodle Bowl: The Fragility of East Asian Regionalism

Abstract: The paper argues that East Asian regionalism is fragile since (i) each nation's industrial competitiveness depends on the smooth functioning of 'Factory Asia' - in particular on intra-regional trade; (ii) the unilateral tariff-cutting that created 'Factory Asia' is not subject to WTO discipline (bindings); (iii) there is no 'top-level management' to substitute for WTO discipline, i.e. to ensure that bilateral trade tensions - tensions that are inevitable in East Asia - do not spillover into region-wide problems due to lack of cooperation and communication. This paper argues that the window of opportunity for East Asian 'vision' was missed; what East Asia needs now is 'management' not vision. East Asia should launch a 'New East Asian Regional Management Effort' with a reinforced ASEAN+3 being the most likely candidate for the job. The first priority should be to bind the region's unilateral tariff cuts in the WTO.

Fostering Stability or Creating a Monster? The Rise of China and U.S. Policy toward East Asia

Abstract: This article explores two starkly contrasting analytic approaches to assessing the performance of U.S. security strategy in East Asia since 1991: a positivesum approach, emphasizing the danger of security dilemmas and spirals of tension, and a zero-sum approach, emphasizing power competition and the long-term dangers posed by China's rise. In the policy world, the differences between these apparently irreconcilable perspectives are not so clear. Certain policies—for example, maintaining a strong U.S.-Japan alliance—flow from either logic. Moreover, each approach sometimes counsels counterintuitive policy prescriptions that are generally associated with the other. Relatively assertive U.S. security postures apparently have furthered positive-sum regional goals by catalyzing China to adopt reassuring policies toward its neighbors as a hedge against potential U.S. encirclement. From a zero-sum perspective, the United States often competes more effectively for regional influence by cooperating with China than...

The East Asian welfare model

Abstract: This article aims to outline main features of the East Asian welfare model, to understand its past development and assess lessons that can be learned for other developing and developed countries. It describes the particular path of welfare state development in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, by focusing particularly on developmental and political aspects of welfare state development. In the final part of the study, particular features of the East Asian welfare model are outlined, and thus the existence of a distinct, ideal-typical welfare regime in East Asia substantiated.

Large‐scale drainage capture and surface uplift in eastern Tibet–SW China before 24 Ma inferred from sediments of the Hanoi Basin, Vietnam

Abstract: Current models of drainage evolution suggest that the non-dendritic patterns seen in rivers in SE Asia reflect progressive capture of headwaters away from the Red River during and as a result of surface uplift of Eastern Asia. Mass balancing of eroded and deposited rock volumes demonstrates that the Red River catchment must have been much larger in the past. In addition, the Nd isotope composition of sediments from the Hanoi Basin, Vietnam, interpreted as paleo-Red River sediments, shows rapid change during the Oligocene, before similar to 24 Ma. We interpret this change to reflect large-scale drainage capture away from the Red River, possibly involving loss of the middle Yangtze River. Reorganization was triggered by regional tilting of the region towards the east. This study constrains initial surface uplift in eastern Tibet and southwestern China to be no later than 24 Ma, well before major surface uplift and gorge incision after 13 Ma.

Mathematics Education in Different Cultural Traditions-A Comparative Study of East Asia and the West

Abstract: Mathematics Education in Different Cultural Traditions: A Comparative Study of East Asia and the West.- Mathematics Education in Different Cultural Traditions: A Comparative Study of East Asia and the West.- Research on Affect in Mathematics Education: A Reconceptualisation.- Mathematics Education in East Asia and the West: Does Culture Matter?.- Context of Mathematical Education.- A Traditional Aspect of Mathematics Education in Japan.- From Wasan to Yozan.- Perceptions of Mathematics and Mathematics Education in the Course of History - A Review of Western Perspectives.- Historical Topics as Indicators for the Existence of Fundamentals in Educational Mathematics.- From "Entering the Way" to "Exiting the Way": In Search of a Bridge to Span "Basic Skills" and "Process Abilities".- Practice Makes Perfect: A Key Belief in China.- The Origins of Pupils' Awareness of Teachers' Mathematics Pedagogical Values: Confucianism and Buddhism - Driven.- Curriculum.- Some Comparative Studies between French and Vietnamese Curricula.- An Overview of the Mathematics Curricula in the West and East.- Classification and Framing of Mathematical Knowledge in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, and the United States.- Comparative Study of Arithmetic Problems in Singaporean and American Mathematics Textbooks.- A Comparative Study of the Mathematics Textbooks of China, England, Japan, Korea, and the United States.- A Comparison of Mathematics Performance Between East and West: What PISA and TIMSS Can Tell Us.- Case Studies on Mathematics Assessment Practices in Australian and Chinese Primary Schools.- Philippine Perspective on the ICMI Comparative Study.- Teaching and Learning.- The TIMSS 1995 and 1999 Video Studies.- Proposal for a Framework to Analyse Mathematics Education in Eastern and Western Traditions.- Cultural Diversity and the Learner's Perspective: Attending to Voice and Context.- Mathematics Education in China: From a Cultural Perspective.- Mathematics Education and Information and Communication Technologies.- Cultural Awareness Arising from Internet Communication between Japanese and Australian Classrooms.- The International Distance Learning Activities of HSARUC.- Distance Learning between Japanese and German Classrooms.- Values and Beliefs.- Comparing Primary and Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics, Mathematics Learning and Mathematics Teaching in Hong Kong and Australia.- The Impact of Cultural Differences on Middle School Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs in the U.S. and China.- U.S. and Chinese Teachers' Cultural Values of Representations in Mathematics Education.- A Comparison of Mathematical Values Conveyed in Mathematics Textbooks in China and Australia.- Values and Classroom Interaction: Students' Struggle for Sense Making.- Trip for the Body, Expedition for the Soul: An Exploratory Survey of Two East Asian Teachers of Mathematics in Australia.- Conceptualising Pedagogical Values and Identities in Teacher Development.- Outlook and Conclusions.- Elements of a Semiotic Analysis of the Secondary Level Classroom in Japan.- Other Conventions in Mathematics and Mathematics Education.- What Comes After This Comparative Study - More Competitions or More Collaborations?.

Drought in Late Spring of South China in Recent Decades

Abstract: Late spring (21 April–20 May) precipitation to the south of the Yangtze River in China along the East Asian front is a salient feature of the global climate. The present analysis reveals that during 1958–2000 South China (26°–31°N, 110°–122°E) has undergone a significant decrease in late spring precipitation since the late 1970s. The sudden reduction of the precipitation concurs with a notable cooling in the upper troposphere over the central China (30°–40°N, 95°–125°E). The upper-level cooling is associated with an anomalous meridional cell with descending motions in the latitudes 26°–35°N and low-level northerly winds over southeastern China (22°–30°N, 110°–125°E), causing deficient rainfall over South China. The late spring cooling in the upper troposphere over the central China is found to strongly link to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the preceding winter. During winters with a positive NAO index, the upper-tropospheric cooling occurs first to the north of the Tibetan Plateau in early–middle spring, then propagates southeastward to central China in late spring. It is suggested that the interdecadal change of the winter NAO is the root cause for the late spring drought over South China in recent decades.

International Production and Distribution Networks in East Asia: Eighteen Facts, Mechanics, and Policy Implications*

Abstract: International production/distribution networks in East Asia developed in the 1990s and after have distinctive features in their significance, extensiveness, and sophistication. This paper first lists “18 facts” on production/distribution networks in East Asia that have been identified by a number of studies using international trade data, microdata of Japanese multinational enterprises, and casual observations. It then presents a concept of two-dimensional fragmentation as a starting point of theoretically formalizing the phenomena of fragmentation and agglomeration. It finally discusses the policy environment in which the formation of production/distribution networks has been accelerated and policy implications of the existence of such networks for economic integration in East Asia.

Male demography in East Asia: a north-south contrast in human population expansion times

Abstract: The human population has increased greatly in size in the last 100,000 years, but the initial stimuli to growth, the times when expansion started, and their variation between different parts of the world are poorly understood. We have investigated male demography in East Asia, applying a Bayesian full-likelihood analysis to data from 988 men representing 27 populations from China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan typed with 45 binary and 16 STR markers from the Y chromosome. According to our analysis, the northern populations examined all started to expand in number between 34 (18-68) and 22 (12-39) thousand years ago (KYA), before the last glacial maximum at 21-18 KYA, while the southern populations all started to expand between 18 (6-47) and 12 (1-45) KYA, but then grew faster. We suggest that the northern populations expanded earlier because they could exploit the abundant megafauna of the "Mammoth Steppe," while the southern populations could increase in number only when a warmer and more stable climate led to more plentiful plant resources such as tubers.

Balance of Power Politics and the Rise of China: Accommodation and Balancing in East Asia

Abstract: Realists agree that great powers balance the military power of rising powers, but there is little agreement regarding secondary-state responses to rising powers. First, there are differences regarding whether secondary states balance or accommodate rising powers. Second, there are differences among realists regarding the distinct roles of economic and military factors in secondary-state alignment policies. Third, some scholars argue that state alignments are not necessarily determined by realist variables, but can reflect preferences shaped by intentions, historical experiences, or cultural influences. This paper addresses these issues in balance-of-power theory. Its empirical focus is the impact of the rise of China on secondary-state alignments in East Asia. After examining the complex mix of China's military and economic reach in East Asia, it concludes that secondary-state behavior is sensitive to local variation in the great power capabilities and that secondary states tend to accommodate rather than...

Education reform and education policy in East Asia

Abstract: Table of contents List of figures List of tables Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction Part One: Education systems, policy change and education reforms 1. Globalization and structural adjustments: changing policy 2. Instruments and regulatory arrangements in education 3. Education systems and policy change in East Asia 4. Education in East Asian Tigers: regulation, provision and funding 5. Higher education in East Asia: common challenges and emerging trends Part Two: Globalization and national responses 6. China's response to globalization: educational decentralization and marketization in Post-Mao China 7. Hong Kong's responses to globalization: questing for entrepreneurial universities 8. Singapore's responses to globalization: marketization of education 9. Taiwan's responses to globalization: changing governance in higher education 10. South Korea's responses to globalization: internationalization of education 11. Japan's responses to globalization: corporatization and changing university governance 12. Discussions and conclusions: globalization and education References Index

Managing the Noodle Bowl: The Fragility of East Asian Regionalism

Abstract: The paper argues that East Asian regionalism is fragile since (i) each nation's industrial competitiveness depends on the smooth functioning of 'Factory Asia' - in particular on intra-regional trade; (ii) the unilateral tariff-cutting that created 'Factory Asia' is not subject to WTO discipline (bindings); (iii) there is no 'top-level management' to substitute for WTO discipline, i.e. to ensure that bilateral trade tensions - tensions that are inevitable in East Asia - do not spillover into region-wide problems due to lack of cooperation and communication. This paper argues that the window of opportunity for East Asian 'vision' was missed; what East Asia needs now is 'management' not vision. East Asia should launch a 'New East Asian Regional Management Effort' with a reinforced ASEAN+3 being the most likely candidate for the job. The first priority should be to bind the region's unilateral tariff cuts in the WTO.

Welfare Orientalism and the search for an East Asian welfare model

Abstract: Since the early 1980s the West has taken a burgeoning interest in the developmentally dynamic societies of East Asia and the lessons which might be learned from them. This interest started with attempts to explain the extraordinary success of the postwar Japanese economy. It then spread to other countries, notably the ‘newly industrialised countries’ (NICs) of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. During the 1990s, interest has spread further to include Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand and Malaysia, mainland China and the wider web of trade and investment linking China itself with overseas Chinese business in East and Southeast Asia.

Why Is China So Competitive? Measuring and Explaining China's Competitiveness

Abstract: This paper evaluates factors responsible for the competitiveness of China in the world economy and relative to its East Asian rivals. China has been highly successful in capturing world export markets. Chinese competitiveness is not just a matter of an undervalued exchange and extremely low labor costs. It reflects primarily the coincidence of favorable cost conditions with improvements in China’s ability to produce products that meet world market specifications. These improvements are closely related to foreign participation in China’s economy through foreign direct investment and joint venture enterprises.

A possible impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the east Asian summer monsoon precipitation

Abstract: [1] This letter reports on a possible delayed impact of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the following east Asian summer monsoon precipitation. An analysis of weather station data shows significant correlations between the December NAO index and precipitation over Korea and China in the subsequent summer. It appears that the correlation may be related to a wave train pattern which originates from the North Atlantic. The east Asian branch of this wave train can affect large-scale circulation and the precipitation over east Asia in early summer. We also found a significant interdecadal change of this relationship, which is possibly linked to a climatological change of the east Asian jet stream.

Chronology of the earliest pottery in East Asia: progress and pitfalls

Abstract: The origin of pottery is among the most important questions in Old World archaeology. The author undertakes a critical review of radiocarbon dates associated with the earliest pottery-making and eliminates a number of them where the material or its context are unreliable. Using those that survive this process of ‘chronometric hygiene’, he proposes that food-containers made of burnt clay originated in East Asia in the Late Glacial, c. 13 700-13 300 BP, and appeared in three separate regions, in Japan, China and far eastern Russia, at about the same time.

Emergent Economies, Divergent Paths: Economic Organization and International Trade in South Korea and Taiwan

Abstract: Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Business Groups and Economic Organization: 1. The problem of economic organization 2. Interpreting business groups in South Korea and Taiwan 3. A model of business groups: the interaction of authority and market power in the context of competitive economic activity 4. Economic organization in South Korea and Taiwan: a first test of the model Part II. Emergence and Divergence of the Economies: 5. The origins of capitalist economic organization 6. The rise of intermediary demand: a reassessment of the 'Asian miracle' 7. Global matching, demand responsiveness, and the emergence of divergent economies 8. Trade performance of South Korea and Taiwan: a second test of the model Conclusions Appendix A. Mathematical model of business groups Appendix B. Examples of differential pricing practices of Korean groups Appendix C. Hypothesis tests of the model Appendix D. The role of debt in the Korean financial crisis, 1997 References Index.

Global and regional exposure to large rises in sea-level: a sensitivity analysis

Abstract: This report examines the implications of large rises in sea level, both over the 21st century and beyond. Using GIS methods, an exposure analysis assesses the land area, existing population and existing economic activity situated within 10-m of present sea levels – these areas are not threatened within the 21st century, but looking further into the future these areas may be threatened if deglaciation of Greenland and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet occurs. The results emphasise the high impact potential of any rise in sea level. Regionally, most threatened land is in North America and Central Asia, with much being relatively unpopulated Arctic coastlines. In terms of population, East and South Asia dominate due to the their large populated delta areas. In terms of economic activity, East Asia, Europe and North America dominate, although this distribution is most likely to change during the 21st century. Using the FUND model, an impact assessment is also conducted over the 21st century for rises in sea level of up to 2-m/century and a range of socio-economic scenarios. This considers impacts assuming economically-optimum protection responses, so the actual impacts are less than the GIS analysis would suggest, but investment in the protection is required. While the costs of sea-level rise increase due to greater damage and protection costs, an optimum response in a benefit-cost sense remains widespread protection of developed coastal areas, as identified in earlier analyses. The socio-economic scenarios are also important in terms of influencing these costs. In terms of the four components of costs considered here, protection seems to dominate, with substantial costs from wetland loss under some scenarios. The regional distribution of costs shows a few regions experience most of the costs, especially South Asia, South America, North America, Europe, East Asia and Central America. However, there are some important limitations which suggest that protection may not be as widespread as suggested in the FUND analysis. Nonetheless, this analysis suggests that protection is much more likely and rational than is widely assumed, even with a large rise in sea level. In conclusion, this analysis confirms the significant exposure that exists to sea-level rise, but stresses that human responses including protection are rational even under large changes. Assuming widespread protection, investment is diverted from other uses. Much research remains to refine our understanding of these important issues.

Business Cycle Synchronisation in East Asia

Abstract: Against the background of the rapid inter- and intra-regional integration of East Asia, we examine the extent and nature of synchronisation of business cycles in the region. We estimate various specifications of a dynamic common factor model for output growth of ten East Asian countries. A significant common factor is shared by all Asian countries considered, except China and Japan. The degree of synchronisation has fluctuated over time, with an upward trend particularly evident for the newly industrialised countries. Synchronisation appears to mainly reflect strong export synchronisation, rather than common consumption or investment dynamics. Cross-country spill-over effects explain only a small part of the comovement in the region. More importantly, a number of exogenous factors, such as the price of oil and the JPY-USD exchange rate, play an important role in synchronising activity. In addition, economic linkages with Europe and North America may also have contributed to the observed synchronisation.

Foreign investment, divestment and relocation by Japanese electronics firms in East Asia

Abstract: Although foreign divestment and international relocation by multinational firms carry important economic implications for the industrialization of East Asian countries, there has been little empirical research on these issues. In this paper we analyze the magnitude and pattern of foreign divestment and relocation by Japanese electronics firms in nine East Asian countries during 1995‐2003. The average annual divestment rate of electronics manufacturing affiliates is 3 percent, but divestment patterns diverge strongly across countries. Divestments are much more frequent in higher labor cost countries and in approximately one-third of cases are accompanied by relocations to lower wage countries, particularly to China. Evidence is found for rivalry between China and ASEAN countries in attracting foreign direct investment, but the growing attractiveness of China has not been accompanied by a reduction in employment in Japanese affiliates in ASEAN countries (with the exception of Singapore). Divestments and relocations are related to Japanese firms’ strategy to reconfigure their Asian production networks in response to changing competitiveness, regional integration, and changes in local investment environments.

Do Asian Values Deter Popular Support for Democracy in South Korea

Abstract: This article examines whether Confucian Asian values are incompatible with liberal democracy. Analyses of the East Asia Barometer Survey conducted in South Korea reveal that attachment to those values makes it more difficult to reject authoritarian rule than to embrace democracy. These findings suggest that Asian values detract from cultural democratization primarily by keeping the mass public oriented toward the virtues of authoritarian politics.

Aging in Southeast and East Asia: issues and policy directions.

Abstract: Population aging is unique in Asia given the speed at which it is occurring and the immense social and economic changes that the region is experiencing at the same time. Compared to their Western counterparts, Asian governments have much less time to prepare for population aging. Asian countries that have traditionally relied on family-based support for older family members are worried that increased numbers of older adults may stress these family systems. At the same time, information concerning the effectiveness of formal programs for older adults is scarce. This paper reviews current research on informal support versus formal support of older adults in Southeast and East Asia, with a larger aim of assessing the current well-being of older Asians and suggesting areas of policy concern. Current research reveals that formal programs in the majority of Southeast and East Asian countries have very low coverage of today's older adults, and the figures for future generations are not that much higher. However, family support of older persons may not be deteriorating as predicted by modernization theory. Asian families continue to play a major role in supporting older members, thus policies should focus on enabling Asian families to provide this support.

Changes in Onset and Withdrawal of the East Asian Summer Rainy Season by Multi-Model Global Warming Experiments

Abstract: Baiu-Changma-Meiyu is a rainy period in early summer over East Asia (Japan, Korea and China) and its variability and change is one of the major focus in climate change projections in these areas. We analyze the changes in intensity and duration of Baiu-Changma-Meiyu rain by global warming using daily precipitation data of fifteen coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) simulations under the SRES AIB scenario at the end of the twenty-first century. It is revealed that a delay in early summer rain withdrawal over the region extending from Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands to the south of Japan is contrasted with an earlier withdrawal over the Yangtjze Basin, although the latter is not significant due to inconsistent sign of changes among the models. Higher mean sea-level pressure anomalies in the tropical western Pacific in the future may be related to these late withdrawals. Changes in onset dates are relatively less compared to those in withdrawal dates.

Real Output Co‐movements in East Asia: Any Evidence for a Monetary Union?

Abstract: of integration in the region would greatly shape the economic structure of each individual economy an d has direct implications for the effectiveness of domestic stabilisation policy and policy coordination. This paper empiricall y examines the feasibility of forming a monetary union in East Asia by assessing the real output co-movements among these economies. As suggested by the optimum curr ency area (OCA) theory that losing monetary independence would be the major cost for adopting

Economic Integration in East Asia: Trends, Prospects, and a Possible Roadmap

Abstract: This paper, which is a revised version of the ADB Working Paper on Regional Economic Integration No. 2, reviews trends in East Asian regionalism in the areas of trade and investment, money and finance, and infrastructure. It finds that trade and, to a lesser extent, financial integration is starting to increase in the region. It also finds that business cycles are starting to be more synchronized, enhancing the case for further monetary integration among these countries. The paper also outlines a roadmap for East Asian integration.

Archaeology of Asia

Abstract: Series Editors' Preface.Acknowledgments.Notes on Contributors.List of Figures.List of Tables.Part I: Introduction:.1. Contextualizing an Archaeology of Asia: Miriam T. Stark (University of Hawai'i, Manoa).Part II: Contexts of Asian Archaeology:.2. Some National, Regional, and Political Uses of Archaeology in East and Southeast Asia: Ian Glover (Institute of Archaeology, University College London).3. Archaeology in the Two Koreas: Sarah Nelson (University of Denver).4. Self-identification in the Modern and Post-Modern World and Archaeological Research: A Case Study from Japan: Koji Mizoguchi (Kyushu University).Part III: Formative Developments:.5. East Asian Plant Domestication: Gary Crawford (University of Toronto, Mississauga).6. Asian Farming Diasporas? Agriculture, Languages, and Genes in China and Southeast Asia: Peter Bellwood (Australian National University).Part IV: Emergence and Development of Complex Asian Systems:.7. Early Communities in East Asia: Economic and Sociopolitical Organization at the Local and Regional Levels: Anne Underhill and Junko Habu (The Field Museum, University of Illinois, Chicago, and Northwestern University University of California, Berkeley).8. Sociopolitical Change from Neolithic and Bronze Age China: Li Liu and Xingcan Chen (La Trobe University Chinese Academy of Social Sciences).9. Marks and Labels: Early Writing in Neolithic and Shang China: David N. Keightley (University of California, Berkeley).10. Secondary State Formation and the Development of Local Identity: Change and Continuity in the State of Qin (770-221 BC): Gideon Shelach and Yuri Pines (both Hebrew University, Jerusalem).Part V: Crossing Boundaries and AncientAsianStates:.11. Frontiers and Boundaries: The Han Empire from its Southern Periphery: Francis Allard (Indiana University of Pennsylvania).12. States on Horseback: The Rise of Inner Asian Confederations and Empires: William Honeychurch and Chunag Amartuvshin (Smithsonian Institution Institute of Archaeology, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia).13. Historicizing Foraging in Asia: Power, History, and Ecology of Holocene Hunting and Gathering: Kathleen Morrison (University of Chicago).14. The Axial Age in Asia: The Archaeology of Buddhism (500 BC - AD 500): Himanshu Ray (Jawaharlal Nehru University).15. Imperial Landscapes of South Asia: Carla Sinopoli (University of Michigan)Index

Hiring native-speaking English teachers in East Asian countries

Abstract: ENGLISH is the most commonly used language in the world. As it has become the language that provides access to higher education and job opportunities, and has become almost exclusively the language of diplomatic discussion and business negotiation (cf. English APEC Strategic Plan, 2004), there has been a growing interest in hiring native-speaking English Teachers (NSETs) in Asian countries. The aim of this paper is to report policies and practices that invite NSETs to Asian countries, including China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, with emphasis on public education sectors. Through surveying both similar policies and the implementation of policies in several Asian countries, we seek to find practical suggestions for hiring NSETs. We survey policy goals, recruitment procedures, and the qualifications of NSETs. The analysis will be based on the premise that ‘language planning cannot be understood without reference to its social contexts’ (Cooper, 1989:3).