Let’s dream of our bright and prosperous future. In the year of 2020, sixteen East Asia Summit (EAS) member countries can reach doubled per capita income compared with their income level in 2008 with proper policy guidance; eight countries may join developed countries with per capita income...

In services markets, there may be legitimate reasons to regulate. Integration efforts should target regulatory restrictions that explicitly limit competition, and those that are intended to meet legitimate objectives, but are clearly more burdensome than need to be. In health and maritime, ASEAN...

This paper provides an empirical analysis of potential constraints to SMEs upgrading their capability to innovate, and assesses the effectiveness of government support in overcoming these constraints. The justification for government support is that market failures can hinder SMEs’ access to...

The role of education is crucial in process of economic development. Initially, investments in training and education produce the necessary technical workers. At higher levels of economic development, the formation of highly skilled technicians, engineers, and professionals are made through...

ASEAN countries have liberalized intra-ASEAN trade over the last 20 years by establishing the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). This paper aims to examine the impact of trade liberalization under AFTA on intra-ASEAN trade. By applying a gravity model, we find positive and significant trade creation...

It is widely believed that EMI in East Asia is beneficial for both developed and developing countries. However, such benefits are more often stated in qualitative ways than in quantitative ways. Since the benefits of EMI are not without questions, it is useful to do further quantitative studies...

The services sector plays a critical role in the economy as it makes available to other productive sectors an environment to be more efficient by providing inputs in their production and distribution activities. However, in a globalized setting, a more efficient services sector does not only...

The 41st ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) held in Bangkok in 2009, as conveyed by the AEM 2011 Chair, H.E. Mari Elka Pangestu’s 15 April 2011 letter to the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) together with the Terms of Reference, requested ERIA to assist ASEAN in...

Energy security and climate change are very important issues in the world. At the 2nd East Asia Summit (EAS) in Cebu Island of the Philippines, January 2007, the leaders of the region declared that East Asia could mitigate these problems by strong leadership on several countermeasures. These...