East Asia

About: East Asia is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17591 publications have been published within this topic receiving 274073 citations. The topic is also known as: Eastern Asia.

Security architecture in Asia: the interplay of regional and global levels

Abstract: I argue that there is a distinct and longstanding regional structure in East Asia that is of at least equal importance to the global level in shaping the region's security dynamics. Without considering this regional level neither ‘unipolar’ nor ‘multipolar’ designations can explain East Asian international security. To make this case, I deploy regional security complex theory both to characterize and explain developments in East Asia since the end of the Cold War. The shift from bipolarity to unipolarity is well understood in thinking about how the ending of the Cold War impacted on East Asia. Less written about in Western security literature are the parallel developments at the regional level. Prominent among these are the relative empowerment of China in relation to its neighbours, and the effect of this, as well as of the growth of regional institutions, and the attachment of security significance to East Asian economic developments, in merging the security dynamics of Northeast and Southeast Asia. How...

Power transitions, institutions, and China's rise in East Asia: Theoretical expectations and evidence

Abstract: Power-transition theory and institutionalist theory offer sharply contrasting views about the implications of China's rise. Power-transition theory sees China's rise as most likely dangerous because it will pose a challenge to the international order underpinned by American power. Institutionalist theory sees China's rise presenting at least an opportunity for building cooperation, rather than intensifying conflict. The logic of these two theoretical perspectives as it pertains to China's rise is explained and their different implications for three flashpoints in East Asia (the South China Sea, Korea, and the Taiwan Strait) is set forth. These expectations are then compared with the still skimpy empirical record of the post-Cold War era. Events in the South China Sea and Korea mainly lend credence to the expectations of institutionalist theory, though the evidence is arguably inconclusive. In the Taiwan Strait, however, the evidence mainly lends credence to the expectations of power-transition th...

Family planning program effort and birthrate decline in developing countries.

Abstract: Preliminary results from a study of family planning program effort in 93 developing countries indicate that family planning programs can contribute substantially to increased contraceptive usage and declines in fertility. Questionnaires were used to rate countries on 30 items grouped into 4 components: policy and stage-setting activities service and service-related activities recordkeeping and evaluation and availability and accessibility of services. The countries with the highest program effort scores out of a possible 120 for 1982 were China (101) Republic of Korea (96.9) Singapore (95.3) Taiwan (92.6) Indonesia (87.1) Colombia (85.3) Mauritius (84.6) Hong Kong (82.6) and Sri Lanka (81.6). 4 countries--Kampuchea Laos Libya and Mongolia--had scores of 0. Unweighted mean program effort scores by region were 55 for South and East Asia 46 for Latin America 24 for the Middle East and North Africa and 18 for Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 9 countries that improved their program effort scores by 25% or more in 1972-82 7 are in South and East Asia or Latin America. 18 countries (including Brazil China Colombia Indonesia Thailand and Turkey) had declines in their crude birth rates of at least 25% in the 1965-80 period and an additional 16% had declines of 10% or more. However no significant fertility declines occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa or in most of the Arab and Muslim countries. Contraceptive prevalence in the 74 countries for which data were available ranged from 0-80% with an average of 26% of married women of reproductive age. The birth rate declines and contraceptive prevalence increases in an orderly manner as program effort and socioeconomic setting improve. The article concludes with case studies of countries representing each of 3 program effort categories: Colombia (strong) Malaysia (moderate) and Kenya (weak). It is suggested that the collection and analysis of program information can help program administrators government and private sector policy makers and donor agencies to improve program perforance. Final study results will be available in a forthcoming World Bank monograph. (summaries in ENG SPA FRE)

Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment in East Asia and South Asia: An Econometric Study

Abstract: Many recent FDI studies have focused on the effects of corruption on FDI inflows. Theoretically, corruption can act as either a grabbing hand by raising uncertainty and transaction costs, which should impede FDI, or a helping hand by “greasing” the wheels of commerce in the presence of weak regulatory framework, which should facilitate FDI. This study analyzes the impact of corruption on FDI inflows in East Asia and South Asia – two regions that have recently received huge FDI inflows. Using GLS methodology with 1995-2011 panel data, this study finds that the impact of corruption on FDI is significantly negative and robust, which validates the “grabbing hand” hypothesis. It is also found that, even after accounting for the economic fundamentals, East Asia seems to enjoy a locational advantage in attracting FDI vis-a-vis South Asia. These results further our knowledge of the FDI dynamics, which policymakers should find helpful in devising pro-FDI strategies.

A holistic picture of Austronesian migrations revealed by phylogeography of Pacific paper mulberry

Abstract: The peopling of Remote Oceanic islands by Austronesian speakers is a fascinating and yet contentious part of human prehistory. Linguistic, archaeological, and genetic studies have shown the complex nature of the process in which different components that helped to shape Lapita culture in Near Oceania each have their own unique history. Important evidence points to Taiwan as an Austronesian ancestral homeland with a more distant origin in South China, whereas alternative models favor South China to North Vietnam or a Southeast Asian origin. We test these propositions by studying phylogeography of paper mulberry, a common East Asian tree species introduced and clonally propagated since prehistoric times across the Pacific for making barkcloth, a practical and symbolic component of Austronesian cultures. Using the hypervariable chloroplast ndhF-rpl32 sequences of 604 samples collected from East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceanic islands (including 19 historical herbarium specimens from Near and Remote Oceania), 48 haplotypes are detected and haplotype cp-17 is predominant in both Near and Remote Oceania. Because cp-17 has an unambiguous Taiwanese origin and cp-17–carrying Oceanic paper mulberries are clonally propagated, our data concur with expectations of Taiwan as the Austronesian homeland, providing circumstantial support for the “out of Taiwan” hypothesis. Our data also provide insights into the dispersal of paper mulberry from South China “into North Taiwan,” the “out of South China–Indochina” expansion to New Guinea, and the geographic origins of post-European introductions of paper mulberry into Oceania.