Production networks and the regional division of labor have been established in East Asia resulting in massive vertical intra-industry trade in parts and components within the region. This phenomenon is known as cross-border production sharing or the fragmentation of production processes into...

This paper explores the impacts of more rapid growth in labor productivity in the service sector in Asia based on an empirical general equilibrium model. The model allows for input-output linkages and capital movements across industries and economies, and consumption and investment dynamics. We...

This study investigates the economic growth and catch-up of the Republic of Korea over the past half-century. The gap of output per worker between the Republic of Korea and United States has decreased rapidly, as the Republic of Korea's lower per capita income, relative to its potential level,...

This paper analyzes the impact of infrastructure investment on tax revenues and on the economy of the region. In 1991, the Kyushu high-speed rail line was constructed and was completed in 2003. In 2004, the rail line started operating from Kagoshima to Kumamoto. The entire line was opened in...

This study suggests that the development process of a less-developed country can be divided into two stages, which demonstrate significantly different properties in areas such as structural endowments, production modes, income distribution, and the forces that drive economic growth. The two...

Certain stylized facts are common among successful economic latecomers: an inverse U-shaped gross domestic product and capital per capita growth rate, high growth rates during the catch-up period, and rapid structural changes. This paper, for the first time, proposes a general equilibrium...

We examine the issue of the widening wealth inequality in the People's Republic of China (PRC) from the perspective of housing. Using China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data from 2011, we find that the PRC's wealth inequality including housing is much larger than income inequality. Housing...

This paper analyzes the reasons for the middle income trap in Latin America, where countries have been at the middle income level for decades, and draws out lessons for Asia. The middle income trap captures a situation where a middle income country can no longer compete internationally in...

The impact of the expansion of the middle class in developing countries has been widely investigated in recent years. The middle class is generally apprehended by its overall demographic size, which, we believe, may hide crucial features and differences across nations because the composition of...

The aim of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for the middle-income trap (MIT). Firstly, we present an extensive literature review of what the MIT concept is, why economies become 'stuck' in the MIT, and how the idea is criticized. Secondly, we put together a list of countries stuck...