The paper investigates the situation of middle-income economies around the world. Since 1965, only 18 economies with a population of more than 3 million and not dependent on oil exports have made the transition to being high income. Many more have not been able to move beyond the middle-income...

Over the last decade, a growing body of literature dealing with the phenomenon of the "middle-income trap" (MIT) has emerged. The term MIT usually refers to countries that have experienced rapid growth and thus reached the status of a middle-income country (MIC) in a very short period of time,...

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...

Based on the variable rate of gross domestic product per capita growth and its sources, this paper first identifies five phases of economic development that are common to China, Japan, and Korea: M (Malthusian), G (government-led), K (à la Kuznets), H (human capital based) and PD (post...

Globally, 1.7 billion adults still lack access to formal financial services, with a large percentage living in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Current financial inclusion strategies provide these vulnerable populations with access to a wide array of financial services that aim to build more...

The primary objective of this research is to identify key factors that explain the observed wide variation in patterns of inclusiveness of economic growth - defined here as gross domestic product (GDP) growth that leads to significant poverty reduction - in Asia. In exploring this relationship,...

Many developing countries have attempted to pursue the East Asian growth model in recent decades. This model is widely perceived to have been based on export-led growth. Given that developed countries are likely to grow at a slower rate and be less willing to run trade deficits in the...

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...

The problem faced by many of the economies making up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is whether they can avoid the middle-income trap and advance to the high-income level. What is needed for them to avoid the middle-income trap? This paper attempts to answer this question by...