Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies最新文献

Under a centrally planned system, China made significant achievements in gender equality. Half a century later, China has joined the ranks of upper-middle-income countries, and decades of rapid growth have accompanied major structural changes in the economy. We assess the evolution of women's economic opportunities during the period, focusing on labour force participation, occupational segregation, leadership in business, and the gender wage gap, as well as informal sector employment and migration. We undertake a review of existing research and conduct new empirical analysis using a combination of data sources, including four waves of Chinese population census data through 2010, and province-level migration data. We focus especially on migrant women, a group typically excluded from similar studies. Although investments in human capital have advanced prospects for better-paid jobs for women, we find that rapid economic growth has not alleviated discrimination against women rooted in cultural and social norms and that the implementation of existing laws designed to protect and support women needs to improve.

Rural–urban migration is a defining feature of socio-economic change in contemporary China. It is estimated that internal migrants in China account for 20% of its population of 1.39 billion, providing manpower to the expanding urban industries. Yet internal migrants have long faced barriers to accessing health and other social services in urban destinations, and the migration process may expose them to novel health risks and inequities. Based on the analysis of policy documents and associated material, this article reviews the historical development of health policy in China in relation to internal migrants, identifying elements of continuity and change in the policy agenda and the ways in which migrants have been framed in policy formulations. Against this background, remaining gaps in the current policy framework and implementation challenges are discussed.

This paper argues that rising food staple prices can pose a significant barrier to the growth of labour-intensive manufacturing by raising real wage rates. This is important because an expanding manufacturing sector has both comparative static and dynamic effects on labour productivity growth. The experience of Indonesia is used to illustrate these ideas.

The sugar industry has shaped the development of Fiji's economy for over a century; but, for the past 15 years, sugarcane production has been declining. A study was undertaken of over 300 sugarcane farmers in Fiji to determine the benefits of crop diversification and to compare the level of profitability for farmers fully dedicated to sugarcane farming and sugarcane farmers who have diversified. The findings demonstrate that a farmer in the latter group was able to achieve 45% higher profitability than one in the former. Fiji has the potential to increase farm output from diversification, but the relevant stakeholders need to help farmers secure markets and provide appropriate guidance and training.

The Korean Peninsula is home to intermittent conflict and is an ongoing critical flashpoint. It is an entrenched, long-standing international problem—exactly what international commissions are designed to address. An international commission is an ad hoc transnational investigative mechanism, which dependent upon its sponsors and constitution can be thought of as either a temporary intergovernmental organization or nongovernmental organization (NGO). They are routinely led by senior, respected politicians or leaders and include a range of similarly respected commissioners, including government, military, academic, and NGO representatives. Their end goal is the production of a comprehensive and definitive report that will serve as a reference point for future diplomatic initiatives. Their strength lies in the power of ideas—the capacity to transform the way we think about entrenched, long-standing international problems. This article assesses the appropriateness of an international commission to address the long-term challenges of Korean Peninsula security and stability.

This study examines dependency on Australian aid in the introduction of inclusive education initiatives in the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati through data analysis of documents and individual interview responses with key stakeholders from both the recipient and donor sides. The results indicate that the catalyst for inclusive education initiatives has been Australian aid highlighting a social justice issue, namely the exclusion of children with disabilities from school programs. Australian aid has shaped policy, funded inclusive education initiatives, and directly managed the programs through the externally controlled Kiribati Education Facility. The long-term sustainability of inclusive education initiatives is uncertain if Australian aid priorities change and funding is withdrawn.

Using 2012 and 2016 input–output tables, the paper aims to assess the dispersion effects of bank credit on value added created by exporting activities of 17 sectors from Vietnam to Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The research contributes to the literature with respect to the role of the banks on providing credit to export in developing countries. Despite the increasing demand for export credit to ASEAN countries in the period of 2013–2017, Vietnamese export credit only accounted for roughly 30% of total credit. The research results indicate that capital requirements for exporting are always higher than other activities and keep growing during the recent period. It shows the importance of bank loans for exporting activities in Vietnam. Moreover, according to the research, exports to ASEAN countries have greater dispersion impact than exporting to other countries, and capital requirements for exporting to ASEAN countries are also higher. This implies bank credit for exporting activities to ASEAN countries should be encouraged. As a result of empirical evidence regarding the power of dispersion and level of value added induced by the increase of final demand, the study recommends that Vietnam should pay more attention to potential target countries like Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as prioritize some business sectors related to agriculture and services for funding.

The concepts of decentralization and devolution are not new phenomena to Sri Lanka. Since Independence (1948), the processes of decentralization and devolution have taken place at a varying pace to address changes in local socio-economic and political conditions. Nevertheless, effective decentralization, delegation, and devolution of political and administrative authority and responsibility have not yet evolved in Sri Lanka due to lack of political will and bureaucratic support, the dominance of central institutions, inadequate fiscal and human resources devolution, and political clientelism. In turn, lobbying groups and political leaders in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka continuously agitate for more powers through a federal system of government. This paper examines the federal system of government internationally with a focus on its implementation in the South Asia region. This paper argues that in a developing country context, federalism has not produced autonomous state governments and effective governance as expected by various lobbying groups.