Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies最新文献

Rural transformation is critical for supporting inclusive economic development. This study assessed the effect of infrastructure and education on the process of rural transformation in Bangladesh using data from four waves of Household Income and Expenditure Surveys between 2000 and 2016. This study employed the Fixed Effects Model, Moment-Quantile Regression with Fixed Effects Model, and Feasible Generalised Least Squares for checking robustness. The results show that infrastructure and education positively affect rural transformation. The expansion of small-scale farms, improved healthcare accessibility, and land rental arrangements are key factors that facilitate transformation, whereas the rise of large-scale farming has a negative impact. Policy recommendations highlight investment in infrastructure and educational access, such as universal primary education, to enhance transformation. It also suggests encouraging land rentals, improving healthcare services, and supporting small-scale farming while addressing the drawbacks of large-scale farming to strengthen economic convergence between rural and urban areas.

Chinaʼs comprehensive administrative system for capital controls and ongoing capital liberalisation are unique features compared with other emerging economies. These allow us to investigate the effects of Chinaʼs capital controls and subsequent liberalisation policies, along with various global-push and domestic-pull factors, on its gross capital flows in a time series analysis. We collect various sources of information on Chinaʼs capital control policies from 2005 to 2022 and construct quarterly time series of Chinaʼs capital control indices for different types of gross flows. Using the bounds tests of cointegration and a conditional error-correction model, we show that Chinaʼs capital account liberalisation successfully encourages foreignersʼ investments aiming at production to maintain a long-term relationship with China, as well as their short-term financial investments to China. On the other hand, Chinese residents increase their long-term investments overseas during the liberalisation process. However, their portfolio investments abroad are not responsive to the relaxation of capital controls.

This study examines the complex interplay between rural transformation and water scarcity in China, focussing on how shifts towards high-value agriculture and non-farm employment affect water resources. Utilising data spanning 2 decades, it evaluates the impact of economic activities on water scarcity through the lens of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The analysis reveals regional variations in water usage and scarcity, highlighting the need for tailored water management strategies that incorporate both supply and demand aspects. By aligning rural economic development with sustainable water use, the paper offers insights into policy adjustments crucial for balancing growth with environmental stewardship, particularly in light of Chinaʼs green economy transition and its implications for similar developing regions.

In the pursuit of sustainable development, the escalating challenges of global environmental pollution and the imperative to mitigate energy intensity stand as paramount concerns. As a result, this study aims to construct a comprehensive framework that acknowledges the interplay between energy intensity, the stringency of environmental policies, and the integration of renewable energy within BRICS nations. Utilizing a panel dataset covering the years 1991–2021, this study employs a range of econometric methods such as cross-sectional dependence tests, second-generation unit root tests, and panel co-integration analysis. The results reveal the pivotal roles of energy intensity, the integration of renewable energy sources, and the enforcement of stringent environmental policies in mitigating carbon emissions. Additional analysis indicates that the impact of energy intensity in lowering carbon emissions is strengthened when institutional quality and research and development capabilities reach a certain threshold, thereby offsetting the impact of openness. In accordance, the present study suggests adopting a versatile and inclusive policy approach to effectively decrease carbon emissions, providing insights for policymakers in crafting climate change mitigation strategies and fostering sustainable development.

Australian-funded development programs aim to support the needs of partner governments but ultimately advance Australiaʼs national interests. This research unpacks this discourse on the major Australian-funded infrastructure development programs in Papua New Guinea. It has two key findings: first, the way program reporting speaks about geopolitics is implicit, while partnerships are made explicit. DFAT speaks between the lines on geopolitics in aid. Yet, external media and the aid community outside government bureaucracy are quick to speculate about links between the two. Second, political “goals” are achieved everywhere, and not through DFAT effort alone. In this dataset, individual advisers are a key vector of this under-reported influence. They often perform as political actors despite their position outside formal aid structures. Ultimately, actors are aware of the many aims of the aid program yet seem to make only a certain portion explicit and visible, just to ensure things work in practice.

This paper uses household panel data from the Thai Socio-Economic Surveys of 2012 and 2017 to examine the effects of parental health shocks on child education and labour. Three measures of parental health are analysed: chronic illness, hospitalisation, and functional health status. The results show that the parentʼs illness decreases school enrolment and leads to fewer years of education completed. Boys are less likely to have attended school if any parent was chronically ill or had any health problems. Parentsʼ chronic illness increases the probability of entering the labour force for youths aged 15 and over; however, only maternal illness increases their time spent at work. Additionally, parental illness significantly increases household health expenditures, but there is a significant decline in education expenditures. The results suggest that targeted government support to low-income families affected by major illnesses of parents could help them to maintain their children in school.

The high rice prices of 2023 have highlighted the need for increasing rice productivity. But improving productivity, especially in low-performing rice-producing regions, should also improve incomes for the numerous smallholder cultivators. This article examines what we can learn from the experience of high-performing rice-growing regions, which have both high rice yields and incomes. We focus on two best-performing villages from Kerala, southern India and Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Using a detailed case study approach combining farm budget analysis, counterfactual simulations using agricultural household models, and qualitative insights, our analysis shows the contribution of price support, irrigation, and agricultural research in these two regions to the current situation. While price support was the prominent factor in Keralaʼs village, irrigation and extending the cropping intensity was important for farm incomes in the Mekong Delta village. This comparative analysis demonstrates the need for an ongoing evaluation of price and non-price factors and supplementing farm incomes through specific interventions for developing low-performing rice-producing regions.

This paper investigates whether and how export growth to China varies following shocks in bilateral political relations between China and six Southeast Asian countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—between 2000 and 2019. High-frequency news data is used to quantify bilateral political relations between each of the six countries and China. Then, a net cooperation index, plus separate indices of political cooperation and conflict, are placed in an augmented gravity model of trade situated in a vector autoregression framework alongside real exchange rate and industrial production variables to examine the short- (months) and long-run (years) effects of shocks to bilateral political relations on each countryʼs exports growth to China. The results reveal that political relations with China played a role in Thailandʼs and Vietnamʼs exports growth to China but not in Indonesiaʼs, Malaysiaʼs, the Philippinesʼ and Singaporeʼs, and contribute new findings to the literature on politics and trade. Code and data for the analysis is available at: https://github.com/tradepolsrepository/tradepols.git.

When Australia deploys tools of statecraft in attempts to develop influence with Pacific Island neighbours, inherent colonial legacies exist which are not always recognised, but ultimately affect relationships. We examine Australian economic tools of statecraft applied to migration, trade and development aid, and how a colonial ‘logic of habit’ persists within their deployment which unintentionally undermines their effectiveness. In highlighting these historical hangovers, we suggest reimagining Australiaʼs perceptions of and relations with the Pacific—from neighbours with resources to be utilised, to mutually respected trading partners.