Showing papers on "East Asia published in 2009"

Pensions at a Glance

Abstract: The report analyses the retirement income systems of 18 Asian countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam. It says that reform is needed because: coverage of formal pension systems is relatively low; withdrawal of savings before retirement is very common; pension savings are often taken as lump sums and often do not provide people with adequate income over their lifetime; pensions payments are not automatically adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living. In OECD countries, an average of 70% of the working-age population are eligible for a pension. However in South Asia, just 7.5% of the working-age population are eligible and in East Asia 18%. Furthermore, few countries in Asia/Pacific have social pensions to provide safety-net retirement incomes for people who are not members of formal schemes. Only in India are social pensions significant, with around 10 to 15% of older people covered.

Development, democracy, and welfare states : Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe

Abstract: List of Figures xi List of Tables xiii Preface and Acknowledgments xvii Abbreviations xxiii INTRODUCTION: Toward a Political Economy of Social Policy 1 PART ONE: The Historical Origins of Welfare Systems, 1945-80 25 CHAPTER ONE: Social Policy in Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe, 1945-80: An Overview 27 CHAPTER TWO: The Expansion of Welfare Commitments in Latin America, 1945-80 79 CHAPTER THREE: The Evolution of Social Contracts in East Asia, 1950-80 114 CHAPTER FOUR: Building the Socialist Welfare State: The Expansion of Welfare Commitments in Eastern Europe 143 PART TWO: Democratization, Economic Crisis, and Welfare Reform, 1980-2005 179 CHAPTER FIVE: The Political Economy of Welfare Reform 181 CHAPTER SIX: Democracy, Growth, and the Evolution of Social Contracts in East Asia, 1980-2005 221 CHAPTER SEVEN: Democracy, Economic Crisis, and Social Policy in Latin America, 1980-2005 262 CHAPTER EIGHT: The Legacy of the Socialist Welfare State, 1990-2005 305 CONCLUSION: Latin America, East Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Theory of the Welfare State 346 APPENDIX ONE: Cross-National Empirical Studies of the Effects of Democracy on Social Policy and Social Outcomes 365 APPENDIX TWO: Fiscal Federalism and Social Spending in Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe 370 APPENDIX THREE: A Cross-Section Model of Social Policy and Outcomes in Middle-Income Countries, 1973-80 372 APPENDIX FOUR: Regime-Coding Rules 379 APPENDIX FIVE: A Cross-Section, Time-Series Model of Social Spending in Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe, 1980-2000 382 APPENDIX SIX: Social Security, Health, and Education Expenditure in East Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, 1980-2005 387 References 399 Index 449

Demographic Change and Economic Growth in Asia

Abstract: Trade openness, high savings rates, human capital accumulation, and macroeconomic policy only accounted for part of the 1965‐1990 growth performance in East Asia. Subsequently, demographic change was shown to be a missing factor in explaining the East Asian growth premium. Since 1990, East Asia has undertaken major economic reforms in response to financial crises and other factors. We reexamine the role of the demographic transition in contributing to cross-country differences in economic growth through to 2005, with a particular focus on East Asia. We highlight the need for policy to offset potential negative effects of aging populations in the future.

Regional Development and the Competitive Dynamics of Global Production Networks: An East Asian Perspective

Abstract: Yeung H. W.-C. Regional development and the competitive dynamics of global production networks: an East Asian perspective, Regional Studies. The debate on the nature and dynamics of regional development in both academic and policy circles has now moved on from the earlier focus on endogenous regional assets to analysing the complex relationship between globalization and regional change. This position paper attempts to engage with this debate through the experience of regional development in East Asia. The paper shows that regional development cannot be understood independently of the changing dynamics of global production networks. While the existing literature on East Asia tends to focus on the state as the key driver of economic development at the national and regional levels, it is argued that the developmental state is a necessary but not sufficient condition for regional development to take place. Instead, one needs to study the complex strategic coupling of those economic actors, particularly large ...

Industrial Agglomeration and Development: A Survey of Spatial Economic Issues in East Asia and a Statistical Analysis of Chinese Regions

Abstract: In this article, we explore the issue of industrial agglomeration and its relationship to economic development and growth in the less-developed countries of East Asia. We present theoretical arguments and secondary empirical evidence as to why we should have strong expectations about finding a positive relationship between agglomeration and economic performance. We also review evidence from the literature on the roles of formal and informal institutions in East Asian regional economic systems. We then focus specifically on the case of China. We argue that regional development in China has much in common with regional development in other East Asian economies, although there are also important contrasts because of China's history of socialism and its recent trend toward economic liber- alization. Through a variety of statistical investigations, we substantiate (in part) the expected positive relationship between agglomeration and economic perfor- mance in China. We show that many kinds of manufacturing sectors are character- ized by a strong positive relationship between spatial agglomeration and produc- tivity. This phenomenon is especially marked in sectors and regions where liberalization has proceeded rapidly. We consider the relevance of our comments about industrial clustering and economic performance for policy formulation in China and the less-developed countries of East Asia.

Refined Geographic Distribution of the Oriental ALDH2 ∗ 504Lys (nee 487Lys) Variant

Abstract: Summary Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) is one of the most important enzymes in human alcohol metabolism. The oriental ALDH2*504Lys variant functions as a dominant negative, greatly reducing activity in heterozygotes and abolishing activity in homozygotes. This allele is associated with serious disorders such as alcohol liver disease, late onset Alzheimer disease, colorectal cancer, and esophageal cancer, and is best known for protection against alcoholism. Many hundreds of papers in various languages have been published on this variant, providing allele frequency data for many different populations. To develop a highly refined global geographic distribution of ALDH2*504Lys, we have collected new data on 4,091 individuals from 86 population samples and assembled published data on a total of 80,691 individuals from 366 population samples. The allele is essentially absent in all parts of the world except East Asia. The ALDH2*504Lys allele has its highest frequency in Southeast China, and occurs in most areas of China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Indochina with frequencies gradually declining radially from Southeast China. As the indigenous populations in South China have much lower frequencies than the southern Han migrants from Central China, we conclude that ALDH2*504Lys was carried by Han Chinese as they spread throughout East Asia. Esophageal cancer, with its highest incidence in East Asia, may be associated with ALDH2*504Lys because of a toxic effect of increased acetaldehyde in the tissue where ingested ethanol has its highest concentration. While the distributions of esophageal cancer and ALDH2*504Lys do not precisely correlate, that does not disprove the hypothesis. In general the study of fine scale geographic distributions of ALDH2*504Lys and diseases may help in understanding the multiple relationships among genes, diseases, environments, and cultures.

The rise of China and East Asian export performance: is the crowding-out fear warranted?

Abstract: This paper examines how China's emergence as a major trading nation is affecting export performance of its East Asian neighbours. Following a stage-setting overview of trends and patterns of China's export performance, it probes China competition in third country markets and emerging patterns of imports. The East Asian export experience is examined in a wider global context against the backdrop of the ongoing process of global production sharing. The findings indicate that the ‘China threat’ has been vastly exaggerated in the contemporary policy debate. China's rapid market penetration in traditional labour-intensive manufactured goods has occurred mostly at the expense of the high-wage East Asian countries, without crowding-out the export opportunities of low-wage countries in the region. More importantly, China's rapid integration into global production networks as a major assembly centre has created new opportunities for the other East Asian countries to engage in various segments of the value chain in line with their comparative advantage.

What ever happened to the East Asian Developmental State? The unfolding debate

Abstract: The Developmental State (DS) has been central to East Asia's rapid economic development over the last three decades. This analysis reviews the origins of the concept of the DS, the broader theoretical battles that provide the context in which the concept has been used, and the conditions that facilitated the emergence of the DS itself. The way in which the changing events in East Asia have influenced analyses of the DS will also be addressed with special attention paid to the onset of globalization, the end of the Cold War, and the impact of the Asian financial crisis. Finally, an assessment is undertaken of analyses of the DS that have appeared in the pages of The Pacific Review over the last twenty years.

Civilization and Empire: China and Japan's Encounter with European International Society

Abstract: Introduction 1. Socialization into International Society 2. The East Asian International Society 3. Acquiring Knowledge: Chinese and Japanese Perceptions of European International Society 4. Learning the Competence and Skill to be a 'Civilized' State: State Reconfiguration in China 5. Learning the Competence and Skill to be a 'Civilized' State: State Reinvention in Japan 6. Demonstrating 'Civilized' Identity: Dismantling the Tribute System. Conclusion.

The Role of Parental Control in Children's Development in Western and East Asian Countries

Abstract: Decades of research in Western countries such as the United States have supported the idea that parental control undermines children's psychological development. In recent years, investigators have asked whether this is also true in East Asian countries such as China, given that several aspects of East Asian culture have the potential to make children more accepting of parental control. We review research indicating that the effects of parental control on children's psychological functioning are similarly negative in the United States and China, the two countries where most research on this subject has been conducted. However, we also highlight specific contexts in which the effects may be stronger in the West.

Familial capitalism in global institutional contexts: Implications for corporate governance and entrepreneurship in East Asia

Abstract: Many of the world’s firms have a familial dimension; including some of the most dynamic and emerging markets of East Asia. However, this important aspect of organizing economic activity remains understudied and misunderstood. A central theme of this article is that while families matter in economic activity throughout the world, they matter in different ways depending on the institutional context. To illustrate this theme a varieties of capitalism perspective is used to develop a rudimentary global comparative framework. Institutional context is portrayed as a key determinant of the degree and type of family governance that typify national economies. Implications for corporate governance and entrepreneurship in East Asia are discussed.

Developmental States in East Asia: A Comparison of the Japanese and Chinese Experiences

Abstract: In the aftermath of the East Asian crisis and Japan's prolonged economic downturn , many observers considered that East Asia's distinctive model of state-led development had become redundant and irrelevant. And yet not only have aspects of this model persisted in Japan despite attempts to reform it , but China is actively embracing elements of neomercantilism and state interventionism that owe much to the

Molecular phylogeography of East Asian Kirengeshoma (Hydrangeaceae) in relation to Quaternary climate change and landbridge configurations

Abstract: Kirengeshoma comprises two species inhabiting warm temperate-deciduous forests in East China/South Japan (Kirengeshoma palmata) and South Korea (Kirengeshoma koreana). A survey of chloroplast (cp) DNA and inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) variation in Kirengeshoma was carried out to determine the population history of a plant taxon around the East China Sea (ECS). CpDNA and ISSRs revealed lower genetic divergence between China and Japan relative to the other contrasts, in line with intrageneric classification. Molecular dating suggests that K. koreana diverged at the Plio-Pleistocene boundary from the Japanese populations, whereas the latter migrated into China during the early-to-mid Pleistocene via the ECS basin. Vicariant segregation of Chinese and Japanese populations likely occurred during the mid-Pleistocene. Mismatch distributions and neutrality tests indicated that Chinese populations expanded their range during the Late Pleistocene, probably during a cold period, whereas those from Japan showed no significant population growth. We conclude that the current distribution and differentiation of components of presently isolated warm temperate-deciduous forests in China, Japan and Korea likely resulted from a combination of relatively ancient vicariant and immigration events, and those from Japan were particularly sensitive to range fragmentation and long-term refugial isolation throughout the Late Pleistocene.

The Rise and Fall of Capital: Corporate Malaysia in Historical Perspective

Abstract: This article argues that better informed insights into the benefits and repercussions of the form of development of East Asian economies could be obtained when the theoretical perspectives from two different bodies of literature are employed collectively. If the concepts from the discipline of political economy – specifically the body of literature dealing with the developmental state now commonly deployed in analyses of East Asian economies – are used in combination with concepts from the literature on business history based on the work of Alfred Chandler, the reasons for the rise and fall of major enterprises in East Asia can be better understood. A case study of enterprise and economic development in Malaysia is presented to substantiate this argument.

The effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade in East Asia

Abstract: In this paper, we empirically investigate the relationship between exchange rate volatility and international trade, focusing on East Asia. Our findings are summarized as follows: first, intra-East Asian trade is discouraged by exchange rate volatility more seriously than trade in other regions. Second, one important source of the discouragement is that intermediate goods trade in international production networks, which is quite sensitive to exchange rate volatility compared with other types of trade, occupies a significant fraction of East Asian trade. Third, the negative effect of the volatility is greater than that of tariffs and smaller than that of distance-related costs in East Asia.

Understanding China's regional rise: interpretations, identities and implications

Abstract: The literature on China's regional rise reveals divergent understandings of why China changed its regional strategy and when such a transformation occurred. There are also different understandings of the extent of China's power in the region—or more often, the extent to which US power in East Asia is already challenged by China's regional rise. Nevertheless, there is a consensus of sorts over how Chinese policy has changed with an emphasis on a combination of proactive diplomatic initiatives and ever increasing economic interactions. After providing a brief overview of the existing literature, the main part of this article considers the role of China's 'soft power' in reconfiguring power relationships in East Asia. It suggests that while the US might have lost some of its ideational appeal, it is through working within existing frameworks and 'norms' (rather than establishing new revisionist alternatives) that China has had most success in assuaging fears of the consequences of its rise. However, the way in which others conceive of China's rise and Chinese power (and subsequently act) does provide a form of 'non-hard' power that might help China's leaders attain their regional objectives particularly in light of the continuing global economic crisis.

China’s New Labour Contract Law: Is China Moving Towards Increased Power for Workers?

Abstract: Labour relations in modern China have long been unbalanced. During the Mao era, all workers were supposed to contribute their labour without reservation to the state-owned employing ‘units’, which were responsible for setting wages, as well as providing health care, housing, children’s education, and even arranging marriages. Beginning with Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in the 1980s, many state-owned enterprises were transformed into private businesses, but the organizational style — absolute power concentrated at the top of the enterprise — had not changed significantly. However, with the opening of China’s economy to outside investment and enterprises, labour-management relations characteristic of the rest of East Asia, as well as other non-communist nations, have increasingly replaced the older Maoist style relationship between enterprise and individual. Of course this shift to an overtly capitalist brand of labour relations has not by itself done anything to ameliorate the hierarchy and authoritarianism endemic to the Chinese workplace. Commissar or capitalist, management in modern China has too often ruled with an iron fist.

Hegemonic transition in East Asia? The dynamics of Chinese and American power

Abstract: The ‘rise of China’ is seen by some observers as a precursor of inevitable hegemonic competition in East Asia. At the very least, it seems likely that China’s influence in East Asia will grow at the expense of the United States. Whether this will eventually amount to a form of ‘hegemonic transition’ is far less clear. It is, therefore, an opportune moment to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of China and the US in East Asia. This paper suggests that the nature of hegemonic competition and transition is more uncertain and complex than some of the most influential theoretical understandings of hegemony would have us believe.

The Peopling of Korea Revealed by Analyses of Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosomal Markers

Abstract: Background The Koreans are generally considered a northeast Asian group because of their geographical location. However, recent findings from Y chromosome studies showed that the Korean population contains lineages from both southern and northern parts of East Asia. To understand the genetic history and relationships of Korea more fully, additional data and analyses are necessary.

The Role of Education in Economic Growth in East Asia: a survey

Abstract: This paper surveys the literature on the links between education and economic growth in East Asia. It finds that education is important for economic growth but it is not a sufficient condition. The complementarity between education and other factors in enhancing productivity and efficiency is commonly seen as the driving force of economic growth. However, the empirical evidence is ambiguous due to econometric problems. Statistical analysis suggests that education and economic growth in East Asia have two-way causality. Nevertheless, valuing education has been a widely-accepted part of Asian values. As a result, education consistently presents as a significant income determinant and consequentially a growth factor, regardless of whether education can increase productivity. East Asian education systems are also formed and extended in close relation to the stages of their economic development: the higher the level of economic development, the greater the demand for better and higher education systems.

The reform of the developmental welfare state in East Asia

Abstract: This article examines social policy reforms in East Asia and whether the welfare states in the region became more inclusive in terms of social protection while maintaining their developmental credentials. It draws on findings from the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) project on social policy in East Asia, covering China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Japan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan Province of China, and Thailand. It shows that East Asian economies responded differently to the crisis in terms of welfare reform. While Singapore and Hong Kong maintained the basic structure of the selective developmental welfare state, Korea, Taiwan, and, to a lesser extent, Thailand implemented social policy reforms toward a more inclusive one. Despite such different responses, policy changes are explained by the proposition of the developmental welfare state: the instrumentality of social policy for economic development and realization of policy changes through democratization (or the lack of it).

Birds of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia

Abstract: With 234 superb color plates, and more than 950 color maps, Birds of East Asia makes it easy to identify all of the region's species. The first single-volume field guide for eastern Asia, the book covers major islands including Japan and Taiwan, as well as the Asian continent from Kamchatka to the Korean Peninsula. The region's major bird families are presented and distinct species are noted, from the well-known Steller's Sea Eagle--the world's largest eagle--to those less familiar to Western ornithologists, such as the Scaly-sided Merganser, Oriental Stork, and Mugimaki Flycatcher. The maps provide useful information about the seasonal migratory patterns of all bird varieties. Birds of East Asia is a must-have resource for birdwatchers, ecotourists, and wildlife enthusiasts everywhere. * A handy single-volume guide to all the bird species of East Asia, including China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia *234 beautiful color plates * More than 950 color maps covering seasonal habitats and migration routes

A Question of Balance: Political Context and Military Aspects of the China-Taiwan Dispute

Abstract: The relationship between China and Taiwan is more stable in 2009 than it has been years; at the same time, the cross-strait military balance is shifting in ways that are problematic for Taiwan's defense. This volume examines the changing China-Taiwan political dynamic, evaluates key aspects of the cross-strait military balance, and considers how Taiwan might be successfully defended against a Chinese invasion attempt.

Discipline and Development: Middle Classes and Prosperity in East Asia and Latin America

Abstract: Perhaps the most commonly held assumption in the field of development is that middle classes are the bounty of economic modernization and growth. As countries gradually transcend their agrarian past and become urbanized and industrialized, so the logic goes, middle classes emerge and gain in number, complexity, cultural influence, social prominence, and political authority. Yet this is only half the story. Middle classes shape industrial and economic development, they are not merely its product; the particular ways in which middle classes shape themselves - and the ways historical conditions shape them - influence development trajectories in multiple ways. This is the story of South Korea's and Taiwan's economic successes and Argentina's and Mexico's relative 'failures' through an examination of their rural middle classes and disciplinary capacities. Can disciplining continue in a context where globalization squeezes middle classes and frees capitalists from the state and social contracts in which they have been embedded?

Japan's response to China's rise: regional engagement, global containment, dangers of collision

Abstract: Japan and China's ability to manage their bilateral relationship is crucial for the stability of the East Asian region. It also has a global impact on the security and economic development of other regions. For just as China's rise has inevitably involved an expansion of its global reach, so Japan's responses to the challenges posed by China have increasingly taken a global form, seeking to incorporate new partners and frameworks outside East Asia. Japan's preferred response to China's regional and global rise in the post-Cold War period has remained one of default engagement. Japan is intent on promoting China's external engagement with the East Asia region and its internal domestic reform, through upgrading extant bilateral and Japan-China-US trilateral frameworks for dialogue and cooperation, and by emphasizing the importance of economic power to influence China. Japan is deliberately seeking to proliferate regional frameworks for cooperation in East Asia in order to dilute, constrain and ultimately engage China's rising power. However, Japan's engagement strategy also contains the potential to tilt towards default containment. Japan's domestic political basis for engagement is becoming increasingly precarious as China's rise stimulates Japanese revisionism and nationalism. Japan also appears increasingly to be looking to contain China on a global scale by forging new strategic links in Russia and Central Asia, with a `concert of democracies' involving India, Australia and the US, by competing for resources with China in Africa and the Middle East, and by attempting to articulate a values-based diplomacy to check the so-called `Beijing consensus'. Nevertheless, Japan's perceived inability to channel China's rise either through regional engagement or through global containment carries a further risk of pushing Japan to resort to the strengthening of its military power in an attempt to guarantee its essential national interests. It is in this instance that Japan and China run the danger of a military collision.