Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Region Research Articles

Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimation Using Extended Input–Output Tables for Thailand’s Biomass Pellet Industry

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Thailand’s biomass pellet production were comprehensively assessed, with a specific focus on wood and corn pellets. Employing the extended input and output tables, the anticipated economic and environmental effects of the rising demand for biomass pellets within the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation region, which is projected to see an increase exceeding 33% by the year 2050, were investigated. The estimations of CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions, which were conducted utilizing an open Leontief model based on the 2015 National Input–Output Tables, covered each stage of the production process. The results show that emissions from the production of corn pellets are expected to rise steadily, from 52.91 MtCO2e in 2022 to 75.77 MtCO2e by 2030, whereas emissions from wood pellet production are set to increase more substantially, from 210.30 to 301.18 MtCO2e within the same timeframe. Data derived from surveys and interviews with corn farmers and wood pellet manufacturers informed the lifecycle data for the biomass pellet supply chain from cradle to gate. The findings suggest that Thailand’s power sector could benefit significantly from the biomass potential in the northern part of Thailand, which boasts an estimated energy content of corncob at 39 ktoe (0.0016 TJ). Market demand scenarios were explored in two forms: one where it was assumed that all biomass pellets are to be exported to Japan and South Korea, expecting a combined demand of approximately 560,262 tons by 2030, and another positing that 10% of production will be reserved for the domestic market, with a forecasted annual increase of 10% from 2020 to 2050. This paper highlights the need to prioritize low-emission renewable energy sources, expand technologies with lower lifecycle emissions, optimize the biomass supply chain to enhance efficiency, and introduce sustainable energy practices. The detailed GHG emissions analysis provides critical insights for policy formulation, underscoring the importance of sustainable transitions in the context of increasing biomass demand.

Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the APEC Region (Case Studies in 5 Countries, namely Australia, Japan, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, and Indonesia for the Period 2012-2019)

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important factor in the development of a country and plays a crucial role in the growth and development of a country’s economy. FDI can be a source of capital in developing countries to help fund various sectors that are underfunded, this FDI also creates many new jobs so that the unemployment rate can be reduced. The entry of foreign investment is usually accompanied by technology transfer. One of the areas targeted by investors is the member countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). This study aims to determine the effect of inflation, interest rates, and trade openness on FDI (case studies in five APEC member countries, namely Australia, Japan, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, and Indonesia, period 2012-2019). The analytical method used in this study is the panel data regression analysis method with the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) model using STATA 16 software for data regression and Eviews 10 to test stationary data. The stationary test of the data in this study uses the Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) method at the first difference because the data level is not stationary. The results of research conducted using the SUR Model show that inflation has a negative and significant effect on FDI, interest rates have a positive and significant effect on FDI, and trade openness has a significant and negative effect on FDI.
 Keywords: foreign direct investment, inflation, interest rates, seemingly unrelated regression, trade openness

Lessons Learned from COVID-19 to better address future threats to global health security: A Critical Analysis of Experts Perspectives

Emerging infectious diseases have had a significant impact on the Asia-Pacific region in recent years, including a severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak that occurred in 2002-2003, which had a substantial impact on several Asia-Pacific economies, the outbreak of highly pathogenic Asian avian influenza A (H5N1) that followed in 2006, strains of H1N1, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). There is an increasing frequency and impact of emerging infectious diseases (EID), as demonstrated by the current global outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). The Asia-Pacific region is particularly vulnerable to the spread of EID across national borders. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Health Working Group conducted an International Workshop on Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases (MEID) in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 12–16 September 2022. The workshop focused on a lesson-learning approach and aimed to strengthen global and domestic preparedness for the next pandemic. Four key lessons can be drawn from the APEC region's COVID-19 pandemic. First, zoonotic outbreaks threaten health security, making One Health an urgent necessity. Secondly, collaboration and partnership are essential to combating the pandemic. Thirdly, decisive leadership is essential at all global and local levels. Finally, risk communication builds trust and acknowledges uncertainty during a crisis. These lessons could strengthen the evidence base for regional policy responses and better responses to future threats.

The SOFM-based city-type identification and scan of 231 cities in the APEC region

Cities play an important role in global and regional sustainable development, which has led to the focus of research and assessment work. In this paper, our work extends the focus on city centers and the areas that support their operation. The method applies the Self-organizing feature map (SOFM), and city natural environment and development indicators are used to identify 231 APEC (Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation) cities due to the critical influence of APEC cities on the global economy and sustainable development. Nine city types were obtained. This work, which looks at the achievements of the region's rapid development, shows that the performance of cities in emerging economies reflecting city per capita and efficiency indicators still needs to be further improved, even for international metropolises. In the global efforts to achieve the development goals of the SDGs, the methods and results of APEC city-type identification can provide the basis and inspiration for more work and help to build a widely connected knowledge network.

Does export product diversification spur energy demand in the APEC region? Application of a new neural networks experiment and a Decision Tree model

This paper aims to investigate the causal links among export diversification, per capita income, and energy demand for 20 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries. Human capital, industry share, and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) are included within a multivariate framework. Using data covering the 1995–2018 period, an innovative sequential Artificial Neural Networks experiment is developed. Empirical results highlight that the export diversification index negatively affects the neural target corresponding to energy demand. Conversely, per capita GDP displays a significant influence on the acceleration of the same energy target. Hence, findings suggest that export diversification plays a mitigating role in the demand for energy, which is congruent with the literature. Moreover, economic growth is found to be substantially driven by export diversification, while no evidence of a causal effect is found among export diversification, human capital, and FDI. Such inferences are finally corroborated by a Decision Tree model, conducted as a final robustness check. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adequate measures are suggested to improve energy savings along the supply chain, without hindering the economic performance of the Asian region.

The Implementation of the 2020 Roadmap to Promote Good Registration Management (GRM) in APEC Region.

To promote the efficiency and quality of registration for medical products, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Regulatory Harmonization Steering Committee (RHSC) has implemented a 2020 roadmap to promote the concept of GRM since 2011. Key outcomes of this roadmap are discussed in this article to provide recommendations for improved regulatory practices and accelerated regulatory convergence. Adoption of relevant guidelines and delivery of training programs from the APEC Training Centers of Excellence for Regulatory Science (CoEs) have played a key role to promote capacity building, cooperation and convergence in good review practices (GRevPs) and good submission practices (GSubPs) for medical products among APEC economies. A key performance indicator (KPI) survey among the drug regulatory authorities (RAs) of APEC economies was conducted to understand the progress of this roadmap. The CoE programs have provided a unique opportunity to promote dialogues between regulatory authorities and industry and efficiently disseminated the concept of GRM among APEC economies. The results of the KPI survey indicated significant progress in the status of implementing GRevPs over the last ten years. To accelerate regulatory convergence among APEC economies, it is necessary to promote mutual trust and cooperation in approval of medical products over the time. Continuous training in GRevPs and GSubPs through the CoE platform would set the stage to achieve the goal in the next decade.

Dynamic relationship between technological innovations, financial development, renewable energy, and ecological footprint: fresh insights based on the STIRPAT model for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation countries.

This article seeks to analyze the impact of technological innovations, financial development, renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and population on the ecological footprint in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries by utilizing the balanced longitudinal data set during the period from 1990 to 2017. This study creates a new technological innovation index through principle component analysis including three important indicators that represent the technology and employs a consistent environmental framework identified as Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) model. The second generation panel estimation technique is employed to calculate robust and reliable outcomes. After confirming the cross-sectional dependency among series, panel unit root tests confirm that all variables are stationary at their first integrated order. Furthermore, Westerlund cointegration test confirms the presence of long-run association among variables. The outcomes explore that financial development and renewable energy utilization significantly accelerate the environmental quality by 0.0927% and 0.4274%, respectively. While, the increase in technological innovation activities, economic growth, and population size has a detrimental effect on environmental quality in the long run by 0.099%, 0.517%, and 0.458%, respectively. Moreover, the results of panel Dumitrescu and Hurlin (D-H) non-causality test discovered the bidirectional causality relationship between financial development, technological innovations, renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and population size with the ecological footprint. These empirical findings provide some vital policy implications for central authority and policymakers to overcome the detrimental impact on environmental quality in the APEC region.

The APEC Digital Hub-WONCA Collaborative Framework on Integration of Mental Health into Primary Care in the Asia Pacific.

Mental ill health affects individual well-being and national economic prosperity and makes up a substantial portion of the burden of disease globally, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Integrating mental health into primary care is widely considered a key strategy to improve access to mental health care. Integration, however, is a complex process that needs to be addressed at multiple levels. A collaboration between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Hub for Mental Health and the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) is described in this paper, which outlines a framework and next steps to improve the mental health of communities in APEC economies. This paper notes gaps related to the integration of mental health into primary care across the region and identifies enablers and current best practices from several APEC economies. The potential of digital technology to benefit primary mental health care for populations in the APEC region, including delivery of training programs for healthcare staff and access to resources for patients, is described. Finally, key next steps are proposed to promote enhanced integration into primary care and improve mental health care throughout the APEC region.

Current status of pharmacovigilance regulatory structures, processes, and outcomes in the Asia‐Pacific region: Survey results from 15 countries

Regulatory discrepancies may exist in pharmacovigilance (PV) structure, process, and outcome status worldwide. Our study's objective was to survey the current status of PV in each regulatory body in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. A modified questionnaire was sent to the PV team heads of 21 PV agencies based in the APEC countries, between June 28 and September 12, 2017, to gather information on the structure, process, and outcome of PV status in these countries. Of the 21 APEC countries, 15 responded. We found harmonized laws and regulations for general PV and risk management systems. However, variations were found in PV structure: for example, 11 out of 15 countries had national regulatory representatives responsible for PV in pharmaceutical companies, while four did not. For PV process, discrepancies were also found in the source type of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports and reporting of medication errors and therapeutic ineffectiveness in cumulative ADR reports. With respect to PV outcomes, among countries that performed active surveillance, the United States of America was more active, with hundreds of projects including additional pharmacoepidemiological studies etc. Among the nine countries that responded, Japan had the greatest number of product label changes followed by Taiwan, Malaysia, and Korea. We have identified substantial variations in the structures, processes, and outcomes of PV status among the countries of the APEC region. Therefore, efforts to reduce variations in the PV administration and regulation are warranted for harmonization of PV within the APEC region.

Toward a Crypto-friendly Index for the APEC Region

This paper presents a new index concerning the extent of public policy accommodation towards usage of blockchain technology. The coverage of the index is for the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states, representing a significant bloc of global production, trade and economic development. The crypto-friendly index includes indicators related to four general categories of blockchain policy: (i) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency initial coin offerings; (ii) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency exchanges; (iii) taxation treatment toward cryptocurrencies; and (iv) type and extent of general public policy interest in blockchain-related activity. Based on data and information available as at October 2018, the index results reveal considerable diversity exists amongst APEC countries in terms of their degree of crypto-friendliness. Jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, the United States and Canada are seen as relatively crypto-friendly locations, whereas jurisdictions such as China, Vietnam and Peru have the greatest scope for pro-blockchain policy improvement. This paper suggests future avenues for index refinement, as well as the potential for additional research into the concept of crypto-friendliness using this and similar policy indexes.

Mental health indicators in APEC.

The World Economic Forum (2011) concluded that the economic impact of mental illness is the single most important contributor among all non-communicable diseases to loss of productivity. The 21 economies represented by Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) responded to that information with efforts to address mental health as an integral component of economic development. In order to help assess the progress of APEC region compared to other regions of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) granted us access to a subset of the 2014 Mental Health Atlas database containing health indicators from all 21 APEC economies. APEC-specific data were extracted using the same format used by WHO in its Mental Health Atlas to compare/contrast data in APEC versus the six WHO regions of the world. It was observed that mental health workforces in APEC include a higher number of psychiatrist providers compared with WHO regions. Suicide rates reported in three APEC economies are among the highest in the world. All APEC economies continue their individual and coordinated efforts to support their ' APEC Roadmap to Promote Mental Wellness in a Healthy Asia Pacific (2014-2020)'. Significant challenges for APEC members exist to coordinate regional efforts to improve mental health due to highly variable income levels, existing health infrastructures and social preferences. The findings in this report may serve as a helpful baseline for measuring success within the APEC region by 2020, the year in which progress in support of economic development will be reassessed.

Toward a Crypto-Friendly Index for the APEC Region

This paper presents a new index concerning the extent of public policy accommodation towards usage of blockchain technology. The coverage of the index is for the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states, representing a significant bloc of global production, trade and economic development. The crypto-friendly index includes indicators related to four general categories of blockchain policy: (i) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency initial coin offerings; (ii) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency exchanges; (iii) taxation treatment toward cryptocurrencies; and (iv) type and extent of general public policy interest in blockchain-related activity. Based on data and information available as at October 2018, the index results reveal considerable diversity exists amongst APEC countries in terms of their degree of crypto-friendliness. Jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, the United States and Canada are seen as relatively crypto-friendly locations, whereas jurisdictions such as China, Vietnam and Peru have the greatest scope for pro-blockchain policy improvement. This paper suggests future avenues for index refinement, as well as the potential for additional research into the concept of crypto-friendliness using this and similar policy indexes.

APEC HAS INDEED CREATED INTRA-REGIONAL TRADE: A SYSTEMATIC EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

The Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, whose approach is voluntary and non-binding in open regionalism, has been criticized for its alleged failure to develop a rapid liberalization process and to contribute to a greater level of intra-regional trade in the APEC region. Nonetheless, we find that APEC has been contributing to intra-regional trade creation, particularly in trade in manufactured goods as compared to trade in non-manufactured goods. This finding is robust to the various fixed-effect models and the first-differencing models which are applied to the gravity equation.

Energy efficiency and congestion assessment with energy mix effect: The case of APEC countries

To save energy and improve the environment has become a general consensus in the whole Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation region. This study focuses on the issue of energy congestion which has been considered as one of the key factors influencing energy efficiency. We employ a two stage Data Envelopment Analysis model to assess the energy efficiency and congestion of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries from 1995 to 2013. It is worth pointing out that the model takes undesirable outputs into account and is able to recognize energy mix effect on energy congestion. There are some discussions which based on the empirical results. It indicates that energy congestion has led to almost 20 percent of energy waste in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries. The conclusions are as follows: in general, energy efficiency of developing countries is lower than that of developed countries. Besides, energy congestion mainly comes from fossil energy use. However, the congestion of non-fossil energy shows a rising trend in recent years. In addition, a multiple liner regression analysis indicates that energy consumption and industry value added per GDP have positive effects on energy congestion, and GDP per capita has negative effect on energy congestion. At last, we promote several policy recommendations to improve energy efficiency.

Future Forecast of Trade Amount and International Cargo Flow in the APEC Region: An Application of Trade-Logistics Forecasting Model

When discussing a roadmap for realizing trade liberalization and transport efficiency, a comprehension of the quantitative effects of the related policies could be highly supportive and suggestive. The authors developed a successive prediction system on trade value and international cargo flow that provides an effective tool for quantifying the impacts of trade and transport policy on international cargo shipping. In this paper, a forecasting system called Trade and Logistics Forecasting System for the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) region is developed in such a way as to support the discussion for the realization of trade liberalization and transport efficiency among the APEC economies.

Air Passenger Transport In The APEC: Regulatory Impacts and Prospects for Asia Pacific Integration

This study aims at assessing the prospects for a more liberal air passenger transport regime in the Asia Pacific region under the auspices of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The decades-old bilateral air services regime has been under pressure to reform for several years. Notwithstanding the critical role that international air transport plays in the ongoing integration of Asia Pacific economies, the airline industry remains one of the region`s most heavily regulated. Estimates from the gravity equation employing the Air Liberalization Index (ALI) developed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat find a positive and statistically significant relationship between relaxing bilateral air services restrictions and air passenger traffic. The results hold for a wide range of specifications controlling for fixed effects, different sample sizes, and for all variants of the ALI. The preferred specification, the Anderson and Van Wincoop (2003) equation, provides the most conservative estimates. Prior to taking account of general equilibrium effects, the results imply that if APEC economies eased air transport restrictions to double the ALI scores with their aviation partners, both within and outside the APEC region, traffic would increase by 4.5%.

APEC Harmonization Center: Challenges and Issues Relating to Multiregional Clinical Trials in the APEC Region

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Harmonization Center (AHC) was established in 2009 with the purpose of promoting harmonization of regulatory processes for drugs and medical devices. The AHC held three training workshops on multiregional clinical trials (MRCTs); these workshops provided forums for discussing the value and potential benefits of MRCTs. Participants from regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, and academia identified many issues and made recommendations for resolving major challenges with the aim of improving the capacity of the Asia-Pacific region to carry out MRCTs.

Future Forecast of Trade Amount and International Cargo Flow in the APEC Region: An Application of Trade-Logistics Forecasting Model

When discussing a roadmap for realizing trade liberalization and transport efficiency, a comprehension of the quantitative effects of the related policies could be highly supportive and suggestive. The authors developed a successive prediction system on trade value and international cargo flow that provides an effective tool for quantifying the impacts of trade and transport policy on international cargo shipping. In this paper, a forecasting system called Trade and Logistics Forecasting System for the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) region is developed in such a way as to support the discussion for the realization of trade liberalization and transport efficiency among the APEC economies.

Interlaboratory comparison for the determination of pesticide residues in Chinese cabbage

The results of and findings from an interlaboratory comparison among laboratories carrying out food testing of pesticide residues in the APEC (Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation) region are presented and discussed to show critical roles of chemical metrology infrastructure in establishing traceability of measurements and in supporting existing measurement capability in safety and quality of food trade. The study material, which was prepared and certified by Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), was freeze-dried Chinese cabbage powder fortified with two organophosphorous pesticides (diazinon and chlorpyrifos). Among 14 participants, 12 laboratories were accredited based on ISO/IEC17025 and one laboratory was under assessment for the accreditation at the time of this study. Though all participants demonstrated very good intra-day repeatability and inter-day intermediate precision, many of them showed a large bias from the certified values. It is suggested that in addition to the accreditation system, economies are encouraged to develop appropriate chemical metrology infrastructure, which could effectively support laboratories to assure measurement traceability to SI, for which NMIs could play significant roles through their metrological services recognized in Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (Comite International des Poids et Mesures, CIPM).

Future technology analysis for biosecurity and emerging infectious diseases in Asia-Pacific

This paper presents a future-oriented technology analysis (FTA) project on the control and management of emerging infectious diseases (EID) in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation region. It combines several FTA methods. Technologies that are potentially effective in biosecurity and in combating EID were first identified by bibliometric analysis, online survey and scenario planning. Roadmaps of these technologies were then built. Workshops to conduct the foresight process were held in the region. Four scenarios and six technology roadmaps for the region were developed. The results show that many future technologies will converge to become most effective in dealing with biosecurity and EID. This paper deals with cross-disciplinary technologies in the context of a cross-boundary regional setting, which has important methodological implications. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.