Association Of Southeast Asian Nations Economies Research Articles

China-ASEAN Economic Ties: Balancing Growth amid Middle-Income Challenges and Opportunities

The introduction of a free trade area between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China (ACFTA) in 2012 brought China to a leading economic position in Southeast Asia (this was manifested in a significant, almost 2.2-fold, increase in the volume of trade) and turned it into a driving force of ASEAN’s economic prosperity. However, this increased economic interdependence creates challenges for both China and ASEAN: on the one hand, China seeks to make the transition from a high-income country to sustainable economic development in the ASEAN region, and on the other hand, ASEAN has concerns about excessive economic dependence on China. This situation requires a balance to be struck to avoid repeating the historical patterns seen in Japan in the 1960s and 1980s. This article examines the investment, trade and geopolitical relations between China and ASEAN in a historical retrospective of 2010-2022, assesses their economic dependence and the mechanisms of political-economic relations, identifies the factors that caused China’s rapid economic breakthrough, and outlines directions for overcoming the most modern challenges that have place in the context of this relationship through formulation of suggested frameworks. The article considers 2 research questions, for the solution of which the G/T (Grounded Theory) approach was used and a qualitative analysis of the 12 most relevant sources was carried out (limitation of their number – according to the concept of theoretical saturation), selected primarily through online databases, websites, international organizations’ data, analytical reviews, and scientific papers. RQ1: Identify the root causes of the problems faced by ASEAN middle-income countries in their engagement with China. The article identifies the following 3 main reasons through the empirical review analysis: 1) dependence of middle-income ASEAN countries on financial assistance, especially from China; 2) a noticeable decrease in unity in the ASEAN region; 3) China’s lack of recommendations on the advisory policy of economic development in the ASEAN countries. RQ2: development of recommendations for middle-income ASEAN countries to increase their ability to pave independent paths to sustainable economic development and reduce their economic dependence on China, taking into account the review of the balance of power in political relations with the United States and China. Using the qualitative analysis tool ATLAS.ti (version 24) for the G/T approach, it was concluded that to overcome the syndromes of lower-middle-income trap (LMIT) and higher-middle-income trap (HMIT), ASEAN economies should implement the following spontaneous strategies: infrastructure development, improvement of basic education and promotion of science and technology. In addition, it is important to raise awareness of political tensions between China and the US, apply the techniques of thoughtful diplomacy, fine-tuned policy formulation, and shared vision to establish a diplomatic balance between China, the US, and Japan in the context of geopolitical risk management.

The role of renewable energy in the energy–growth–emission nexus in the ASEAN region

BackgroundThe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) relies mainly on fossil fuels in their energy supply, leading to higher CO2 emissions, pollution, and further environmental degradation. This paper uses the panel vector autoregressive and the Granger non-causality test in the heterogeneous panels, together with long-run estimation techniques, to examine the dynamic link among energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon emissions with the focus on renewable energy for the ASEAN countries in the past three decades.ResultsThe findings from this paper indicate that carbon emissions are associated with energy consumption. In contrast, renewable energy usage reduces CO2 emissions, improving environmental quality. Economic growth is associated with increased energy consumption and carbon emissions in the ASEAN countries. The findings also indicate that the effects of energy consumption on economic growth are more significant than those of renewable energy in ASEAN. When considered together, these findings form a vicious circle regarding the energy–growth–emission nexus for the ASEAN economies. In addition, a bidirectional Granger causality among energy consumption, economic growth, CO2 emissions and renewable energy usage is confirmed.ConclusionsRenewable energy has emerged as an important viable option for the ASEAN nations to achieve their dual objectives of enhanced economic growth, reduced CO2 emission, leading to improved environmental quality.

Impact of green investments, green economic growth and renewable energy consumption on environmental, social, and governance practices to achieve the sustainable development goals: A sectoral analysis in the ASEAN economies

The study inspects the seven sectors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies to explore the impact of consumption of clean energy, green bonds, and green economic advancement on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices to attain sustainable development goals (SDGs). The ESG aspects are individually explored from 2011 to 2020. It is observed that the key determinants of ESG practices are green economic advancement, clean energy, and green financing. Moreover, these determinants positively and significantly track the ASEAN economies toward attaining SDGs. The determinants play a vital role in sustainable advancement even when explored individually using different regression models. The linkages between the explanatory and outcome variables remain consistent after controlling other variables like climate regulatory quality, foreign direct investment, and gross domestic product. The study provides solid implications for stakeholders, environmental activists, and governments of ASEAN economies. The findings also infer sustainable business practices via creating an association between ESG practices, green economy, clean energy, and green financing.

Financial stability nexus with oil prices shocks and business cycle uncertainty during COVID-19: empirical trends of ASEAN economies.

This study aims to analyze the correlation between financial stability, oil price shocks, and business cycle uncertainty in the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the interplay and effects of various factors on the economic resilience of the ASEAN region, utilizing data from ten-member countries spanning the years 2002 to 2022. The results underscore the notable impact of oil price shocks on financial systems' stability, suggesting that oil price variations have the potential to disrupt financial markets, particularly in the context of the ongoing pandemic. Moreover, the research illustrates that the presence of business cycle uncertainty amplifies the negative consequences of oil price shocks, thereby heightening their influence on the financial system's stability. The study also uncovers a robust correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened levels of business cycle uncertainty within the ASEAN economies. The ongoing global pandemic has increased market volatility, a deceleration in economic growth, and disruptions in supply chains, generating a heightened sense of uncertainty within the business landscape. As a result, the heightened level of uncertainty has impeded the efficacy of monetary and fiscal policies in preserving financial stability.

MODULATION OF CARBON EMISSIONS AND CLEAN ENERGY SOURCES: A NONPARAMETRIC GRANGER CAUSALITY-BASED EVIDENCE FROM ASEAN ECONOMIES

This study uses a dataset from 1990 to 2020 to investigate the impact of renewable energy sources in preventing further environmental degradation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies. This research aims to investigate using renewable energy sources to lower CO2 emissions in the area. In this investigation, a unique method known as nonparametric Granger causality was employed by using the quantiles approach. The findings showed a strong causal influence of green energy on the returns of CO2 emission at high quantiles of conditional distribution in six ASEAN countries. In addition, the results demonstrated a substantial causal connection between the use of green energy and the erratic levels of CO2 emission across the board, except in Indonesia. Because of this, this study suggested that the administration and officials introduce private and public investment toward green energy to lessen the environmental collapse occurring in ASEAN countries.

Spillovers and connectedness between Chinese and ASEAN stock markets during bearish and bullish market statuses

PurposeThis study aims to examine the tail connectedness between the Chinese and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stock markets. More specifically, the authors measure the return spillovers at three quantile levels: median (t = 0.5), lower extreme (t = 0.05) and upper extreme (t = 0.95). The connectedness at extreme upper and lower quantiles provides insightful information to investors regarding tail risk propagation, which ultimately suggests that investors adjust their portfolios according to the extreme bullish and bearish market conditions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ the quantile connectedness approach of Andoet al.(2022) to examine the quantile transmission mechanism among the ASEAN and Chinese stock markets.FindingsThe results show significant evidence of a higher level of connectedness between Chinese and ASEAN stock markets at extreme upper and lower quantiles compared to the median quantiles, which suggests the use of a quantile-based connectedness approach instead of an average-measure-based one. Furthermore, the time-varying connectedness analysis shows that the total spillovers reach the highest peaks during the global financial crisis, the Chinese stock market crash and the COVID-19 pandemic at the upper, lower and median quantiles. Finally, the static and dynamic pairwise spillovers between the Chinese and ASEAN markets vary over quantiles as well.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to examine quantile vector autoregression (VAR)-based return spillovers between China and ASEAN stock markets during different market statuses. Besides, the COVID-19 has intensified the uncertainty in Asian countries, mainly China and ASEAN economies.

The impact of transport energy consumption and foreign direct investment on CO2 emissions in ASEAN countries

This study assesses the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the energy consumption of the transport sector on CO2 emissions in five ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries for the period 1980–2019. The study employs the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), and uses a nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag model (NARDL) to analyze the data. The results suggest that carbon emissions and their determinants have a long-run equilibrium cointegrated relationship. Findings reveal that the EKC relation between income and CO2 emissions holds only for Singapore, whereas for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, income growth impacts CO2 emissions positively. Foreign direct investment and energy consumption in the transport sector also significantly impact CO2 emissions in the selected countries, except for Singapore. Transport energy consumption contributes more to CO2 emissions than FDI. Moreover, results suggest that FDI and energy consumption-led growth models are appropriate for ASEAN economies. The study recommends cautious growth policies, clean FDI inflows, and an emphasis on energy-efficient transport systems.

Assessing ASEAN’s Liberalized Electricity Markets: The Case of Singapore and the Philippines

The efforts towards the liberalization of electricity markets have sped up recently in some countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. This step of opening up the electricity markets is aimed at establishing competitive and efficient electricity markets that not only reduce electricity prices, but also support a sustainable future by reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from electricity generation and promoting the wider adoption of renewable energy (RE)-based electricity generation. This paper assesses the effects of the electricity market liberalization process in Singapore and the Philippines on these expected outcomes during the period 2015–2020. The regression analysis results suggest that in the specified period, the liberalization of the electricity market in Singapore has delivered both household and industry electricity price reductions and improvement in the RE share. However, there is no significant effect of the electricity market liberalization process on the electricity generated CO2 emissions. For the same period, the results imply that with the electricity market liberalization process in the Philippines, the electricity prices for household consumers and electricity-generated CO2 emissions have increased. Additionally, the liberalization process has no significant impact on both the RE share and industry electricity prices in the Philippines. To overcome the obstacles and strike a balance between the expected outcomes, policy recommendations are given for ASEAN economies following the pathway of liberalized electricity markets.

China's global value chain linkage and logistics performances in emerging ASEAN economies

AbstractThis paper aims to evaluate the extent of China's forward linkage of global value chains (GVCs) with emerging market economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) compared to those with the United States and Japan, and also to examine the nexus of China's forward GVC linkage with logistics performances in emerging ASEAN economies as China's trade partners. This study uses the UNCTAD‐Eora Database and applies a structural gravity trade model for empirical analysis. The statistical observations identified the major position of China's GVC, which has transformed from a backward linkage to a forward linkage since the mid‐2000s. The empirical estimation verified that there is less linkage in China's forward GVC with emerging ASEAN economies than with the United States and Japan, and demonstrated that the lack of logistics performances in emerging ASEAN economies has been a significant factor in explaining the less linkage in China's forward GVC with them.

Analyzing the green financing and energy efficiency relationship in ASEAN

PurposeThe need to improve energy efficiency as an essential factor for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through green financing is one of the most important issues worldwide. It is even more important for ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries because of their potential for economic growth and the challenge of their environmental problems. This paper therefore addresses the question of whether and how green finance (with the proxy of issued green bonds [GBs]) promotes energy efficiency (with the proxy of energy intensity) in the ASEAN member countries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper runs a two-stage generalized method of moments (GMM) system model for the quarterly data over the period 2017–2020. It also uses a linear interaction model to explore how the pandemic may affect the relationship between green finance and energy efficiency in this region.FindingsThe main results only demonstrate the short-term negative impact of GBs on energy intensity. Furthermore, per capita income, economic integration and renewable energy supply can be used as potential variables to reduce energy intensity, while modernization in ASEAN increases energy intensity. Establishment of digital green finance, long-term planning of a green finance market, trade liberalization and policies to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19 are recommended as golden policy implications.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study has several limitations. First, it accounts for explanatory variables by following a number of previous studies. This may lead to omissions or errors. Second, the empirical estimates were conducted for 160 observations due to the repositioning of GBs in ASEAN, which is not bad but not good for an empirical study.Originality/valueTo the best of authors' knowledge, there has not been any in-depth study focusing on the relationship between energy efficiency and green financing for the case of ASEAN economies.

Predicting entrepreneurial intention and economic development: A cross-national study of its policy implications for six ASEAN economies

In this study, entrepreneurial intentions (EI) among individuals in six ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries (Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore) were investigated by applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the underlying predictors of EI among three different stages of economic development. To investigate the predictors of EI according to TPB, the datasets of 13,358 respondents from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) national teams were analyzed using a binary logistic regression (BLR) model for each country, which was then grouped concerning the status of national economic development to compare the differences. The GEM datasets showed that attitude towards behavior (ATB) was highest in the Philippines (ATB1 = 81.8, ATB2 = 78.1), the subjective norm (SN) was highest in Vietnam (SN1 = 86.8), and Indonesia (SN2 = 69.2), the perceived behavioral control (PBC) was highest in the Philippines (PBC1 = 66.2) and Thailand (PBC2 = 47.3), which predicted that the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam have the highest EI amongst this group of six ASEAN nations. Furthermore, the analysis used multi-variables to predict EI, showing that the predictors influencing EI in factor-driven economies (Vietnam and Philippines) are only subjective norms (SNs) and PBC. However, predictors which influence the EI in efficiency-driven economies (Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia) and innovation-driven economies (Singapore) are ATB and SNs. The results strongly support that PBC can be the best predictor of EI for ASEAN adult populations (ages 18–64). These findings potentially give government and private sectors an advantage in policy management for new business creation concerning each stage of economic development for each respective nation.

ASEAN and the Mekong: A Functional Approach

ASEAN and the Mekong:A Functional Approach Le Dinh Tinh (bio) Until recently the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had largely marginalized Mekong River issues. The argument against including Mekong concerns in the association's agenda originates from a geographic factor: Southeast Asia consists of both maritime and mainland areas, and for a long time countries in the former grouping did not perceive the Mekong River as an important variable affecting their security and development or that of the entire region. But things have changed. In 2020 the Mekong made its way onto the official ASEAN agenda for the first time. This essay explains why the Mekong has assumed this new sense of importance to ASEAN and how it can be approached from a functionalist perspective for the betterment of the strategic and practical interests of the region as a whole and the Mekong subregion itself. Why the Mekong Increasingly Matters The Mekong is one of the biggest and most essential rivers in the world. The livelihoods of millions of people depend on the resources the river provides on a daily basis. Although the subregion is low in its level of development, foreign investors have considered it an attractive destination. The ASEAN economies have become more united through the organization's economic integration schemes such as the Initiative of ASEAN Integration, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025), of which the Mekong subregion is an integral part. Furthermore, severe nontraditional security challenges such as water security and climate change have turned the subregion into a hotspot and a top policy priority for the riparian states and their partners. What is new is the increasing great-power rivalry, namely between the United States and China, that has engulfed the subregion. This section further examines these dynamics. First, the Mekong basin supports the livelihoods of around sixty-six million people, equivalent to 10% of ASEAN's population, including "most of the population of Laos and Cambodia, one-third of Thailand's [End Page 63] sixty-five million, and one-fifth of Vietnam's ninety million people."1 Not until recently have maritime countries such as Singapore and the Philippines, for example, realized that their economies depend a great deal on the Mekong. Singapore has sizable investments in the Mekong subregion,2 while the Philippines imports most of its rice from the subregion.3 Second, despite starting from a low level of development, the subregion consists of some of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific. Vietnam's GDP growth rates averaged 6.8% during 2016–20. Cambodia registered a rate of more than 7% during 2018–19, only slowing in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. During that same 2016–20 period, the Laotian economy expanded by more than 5.5%. The Mekong subregion is also connected to China—the second-biggest economy in the world—and this brings a lot of potential. For this reason, it is attractive to foreign investors.4 Third, as a group, ASEAN comprises the fifth-largest economy in the world, with the promise of becoming both a single production base and market. However, there are different speeds and levels of economic development within ASEAN, which has pushed regional leaders to adopt the thinking that for the region to prosper sustainably and make the most of economies of scale, narrowing the gap between the regional economies is necessary. For example, MPAC 2025 takes into account subregional arrangements. In other words, for the plan to work, the Mekong subregion must play an integral part. The same logic could be applied to trade agreements within ASEAN (such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area) and between ASEAN and its partners (such as RCEP and bilateral free trade agreements). Fourth, almost all the emerging nontraditional security challenges currently facing the world find expression in the Mekong subregion, among [End Page 64] them being pandemics, climate change, and water security. Several recent studies have even made the extreme prediction that the Mekong could dry up by the middle of the 21st century.5 In Vietnam the Mekong River is called Cuu Long, or "Nine Dragons," representing the nine branches of...

The role of renewable energy and natural resources for sustainable agriculture in ASEAN countries: Do carbon emissions and deforestation affect agriculture productivity?

The adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015 shifted the attention towards sustainability-related concerns in both developing and developed counties. The aim of this paper is to examine how agricultural productivity – a key driver in achieving many of these SDGs – is affected by carbon emissions, deforestation, renewable energy consumption, natural resources, and regional integration for the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. Using the Mean Group (MG) class estimators, able to tackle the cross-sectional dependence in the data, empirical findings reveal that environmental degradation (in the form of CO2 emissions) reduces agricultural productivity in the region. Both the forest area and natural resource variables negatively affect the productivity of the agricultural sector, while the use of renewable energy sources positively contributes to the agricultural sector. However, despite being one of the highest integrated regions in the world, regional integration among the ASEAN members does not boost their agricultural productivity. The causality tests confirm the existence of bidirectional causality between agricultural productivity and renewable energy consumption, and unidirectional causality across a few other variables. Accordingly, the study provides policy recommendations for the governments of ASEAN economies on improving the environmental performance of agriculture and achieving the SDGs by 2030.

The assessment of environmental sustainability: The role of research and development in ASEAN countries.

Considering the set targets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to increase research and development (R&D) expenditures, this study probes the long-term and causal association between renewable energy (RE), nonrenewable energy (NRE), economic growth (GDP), and ecological footprints (EFs) in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Empirical evidence is based on the panel data throughout the period 1990-2016 for the selected six ASEAN economies. The Westerlund co-integration test confirms the long-run association between R&D, RE, NRE, GDP, and EF. The results of Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) confirm the presence of EKC and show that R&D expenditures lower EF significantly. A 1% increase in R&D and RE decreases EF by 0.01% and 0.27%, respectively. Moreover, a 1% increase in GDP and NRE increases EF by 5.52% and 0.17%, respectively. This means that investment in R&D will enhance air quality by lowering EF in estimated panel countries. Moreover, NRE consumption and GDP increase EF. The panel causality results confirm the bidirectional association between GDP, RE use, R&D expenditures, and EF. To achieve a desirable goal of a clean environment, R&D expenditures hold a strong position for ASEAN countries. This finding should encourage governments to involve public and private investments in R&D programs for energy efficiency. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:1313-1320. © 2021 SETAC.

US Policy towards ASEAN: the Impact on Regional Economic Relations

Cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is one of the important elements of the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The United States plans to expand its participation and capital investment in infrastructure building in the region, in renewable energy sources and in new technologies development, especially digital commerce. However, since the United States is not a member of neither the CPTTP nor the RCEP, US companies may be at a disadvantage compared to those from other countries. At the same time, ASEAN economies are actively cooperating with the PRC, including cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road and the Digital Silk Road project. One of the most important tasks of US economic diplomacy in the Asia Pacific is to create with allied countries a system of technological standards, as an alternative to the one lobbied by China. The changing situation in the region provides many new opportunities for Russian enterprises. For example, Russian companies have the potential to cooperate with the ASEAN economies in the production and trade of science-intensive products.  

Is Trade in COVID-19 Products in ASEAN Economies a Building or Stumbling Block?

Stumbling blocks to regional integration continue to pose a serious threat to the World Trade Organization (WTO), particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine the effect of regional economic integration on trade in COVID-19 products for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries using quarterly data for 2010–2020. A panel data model is estimated using the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood approach to address zero trade values, cross-sectional dependence, and heterogeneity problems. The findings of a case study on bilateral trade in COVID-19 products reveal that the ASEAN regional trade agreement is a stumbling block to the WTO’s rules-based multilateral trading system. The results indicate that the home country’s productive capacity, the host country’s absorptive capacity, the countries’ similarity in size and per capita income, and the countries’ remoteness have positive and significant relationships with trade in COVID-19 products in ASEAN economies. This study provides several policy implications for Southeast Asian countries.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: EVIDENCE FROM A PANEL OF 4-ASEAN ECONOMIES

Environmental degradation is increasing gradually due to economic activities by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN energy center estimated 4.4 percent increase in the consumption of final energy among ASEAN nations in 2030 which is greater than the average growth rate of 1.44%. The current study empirically analyzes the impact of economic activities on environmental protection across four largest ASEAN economies (Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia) over a period of 1998-2018. In order to achieve this objective, the study employs several panel econometric tests; ADF, panel cross-sectional dependence, Johansen-Fisher panel cointegration, FMOLS and country specific long run output method.” The study finds significant positive impact of non-renewable energy consumption (NRNC), GDP and labor force on CO2 emission. Renewable energy consumption (RNC) has negative impact on CO2 emission. As RNC causes reducing CO2 emission in the sample ASEAN economies, the study suggests the policy makers to inductee effective policies to encourage the generation of renewable energy and its uses across ASEAN economies. While the generation of non-renewable energy should be discouraged as it promotes CO2 emission.Keywords: Economic Activities, Energy Consumption, GDP, ASEAN, FMOLS.JEL Classifications: R11, K32DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10831

Quantitative linkage between global value chains\u2019 backward participation and logistics performance in the host country: a structural gravity model analysis of emerging ASEAN economies

This article addresses issues on the degree of participation in global value chains (GVCs) for emerging economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The main research question is whether there is a linkage between GVC backward participation, that is, vertical trade defined as the foreign value embedded in exports and logistics performance as a component of service links in the host country. The major contributions of this study are the usage of the UNCTAD-Eora Global Value Chain Database for describing vertical trade and the application of a “structural” gravity model setting for the specification of estimated equations. The statistical observations demonstrate that GVC backward participation in emerging ASEAN economies made substantial progress during the 1990s with per capita GDP growth, and a large gap occurred in the degree of GVC backward participation between forerunners and latecomers in the ASEAN economies. Empirical estimation can also identify a quantitative linkage between GVC backward participation and logistics performance in the host country.

Examining the Impact of Sustainable Energy on the Economy: Panel Evidence from ASEAN

Among the fast-developing economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a significant trend can be observed towards sustainable energy objectives. Although there is a strong trend of social and economic growth in the ASEAN region, the theoretical and empirical significance of sustainable energy is yet to be explored. This study aims to analyse the impact of sustainable energy on the economies of three countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand – using yearly observations from the years 2000 to 2019. Several dynamics of sustainable energy are investigated as explanatory variables, while economic trends are explored through GDP growth, financial development, and patent applications. For the purposes of data analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation matrices and fixed and random effect panel models are applied. The study findings of the correlational matrix indicate that there is no higher correlation among the study variables. The results of the panel models provide evidence that carbon emissions have an adverse impact on GDP growth, while the proportion of renewable energy out of total energy positively impacts the growth dynamic. Additionally, carbon emissions adversely impact financial development in all three ASEAN economies. Lastly, electricity prices and carbon emissions are observed to have an adverse effect on patent applications. However, this study has three major limitations, as it fails to apply advanced panel regression models like GMM, only considers three economies out of the total sample of the ASEAN region, and lacks comparative analyses between countries. Future studies are highly recommended to address these limitations.

The impact of COVID-19 on ASEAN

Starting in December 2019, COVID-19 had been spreading across the world on a limited scale for a quarter until March 2020 when the death toll in the countries comprising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) finally started to mount. However, despite the relatively late outbreak in the region, the ASEAN market had already plunged along with other regional markets across the world amid heightened concern about the economic impact of the biggest viral killer in 2020. In this paper, we examine the economic impact of coronavirus on different ASEAN countries separately by analysing their respective economic figures for the first two quarters in 2020. This allows us to delineate the overall picture of its impact on ASEAN countries as well as to provide an estimation for the future outlook of the ASEAN economic bloc. We propose that the slowing growth, the sluggish recovery of trade and the cross-country transmission of unemployment are three significant risk factors that the ASEAN economies are faced with.