External Sector Development Index:The Case of Chinese and ASEAN Economies

This paper introduces an alternative index to measure the external sector from a different focus. The indicator, called the “external sector development index” (SXi), is a new analytical tool for studying the external sector behaviour of any country or region. The SXi has four objectives. The first objective is to measure the vulnerability of the external sector of any country. The second is to evaluate the external sector performance. The third is to analyze the relationship between “the external sector main variable” ESi and GDP growth rates. The fourth is to evaluate the external sector (SXi) cycle based on the table of possible combinations between ESi and GDP. In our case, we apply the SXi on the Chinese and ASEAN economies.