Association Of Southeast Asian Nations Integration Research Articles

Promoting ASEAN Integration

Abstract This article analyses Vietnam’s proactive and in-depth integration in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with a particular focus on the first decades of the 21st century. The paper argues that Vietnam’s more active and largely responsible contributions to ASEAN integration are fundamentally shaped by its perceptions on opportunities and challenges caused by China’s rise. By maintaining ASEAN’s non-aligned status, reinforcing its strategic autonomy, centrality, and unification, Vietnam seeks to make the Association strong enough to take a unified position towards China’s aggressive behaviour in the disputed waters close to its shores. However, ASEAN’s internal limitations, China’s great power diplomacy, and geo-strategic constraints, as well as countervailing incentives, lead us to expect there will be further challenges to Vietnam’s efforts.

Ethno-Cultural Diversity: A Challenging Parameter for Asean Regional Integration

The presence of diverse ethnic and cultural groups poses a challenging yet crucial obstacle to the process of integrating the ASEAN region. This review article examines the impact of the diverse range of races, languages, faiths, and cultural traditions in Southeast Asia on the political, economic, and social aspects of ASEAN's integration efforts. The primary objective of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to foster regional tranquillity, stability, and economic collaboration. However, in order to accomplish these aims, ASEAN must effectively navigate the complex terrain of variety. The article commences by analysing the historical backdrop of ethno-cultural variety in the region, emphasizing the influence of colonial legacies and historical migrations on current demographic patterns. Subsequently, it examines the political ramifications of this variety, namely how ethnic and cultural disparities can both pose challenges and enhance the policy-making procedures within ASEAN. The review examines the impact of cultural diversity on trade, investment, and economic policies, highlighting how it can create hurdles as well as stimulate creativity and growth through varied perspectives. Economic integration is also a key focus of the discussion. The evaluation of social cohesiveness takes into account the impact of ethno-cultural variety on regional identity and solidarity. The article examines the several measures and structures that ASEAN has put in place to handle diversity, including cultural exchange programs and educational activities designed to promote mutual understanding and respect among member states. This essay offers a thorough examination of the relationship between ethno-cultural diversity and ASEAN integration, providing valuable insights into possible approaches to promoting unity amidst diversity.

ASEAN as network governance: An alternative lens to evaluate policymaking and performance

Background: This article offers a new perspective of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as network governance (NG) using the policy network theory (PNT) for the analysis. Methods: Two case studies were selected from the ASEAN Community to examine the applicability and effectiveness of NG in promoting ASEAN cooperation. These case studies were chosen due to their prominence and the prevalence of critical comments about their effectiveness in promoting cooperation. The content analysis utilised primary data from ASEAN reports, documents, research articles and processes, and studies on NG and policy networks. A literature review was conducted using online academic databases and ASEAN-related websites. The search covered the period from June 2019 to March 2021, with further searches conducted between January and July 2023. These data collection efforts provided a robust analysis of the case studies within the NG and ASEAN integration contexts. Results: The findings show ASEAN as a hybrid structure which has supported its survival and relevance. This approach provides legitimacy for ASEAN globally by purposefully adopting structures similar to the EU without the supranational elements. It also showcases ASEAN’s motivation for asserting its centrality. Adopting a hybrid structure has led to ASEAN's soft institutionalisation, driven by its norms and characterised by a less empowered secretariat, where the member states are the decision-makers and implementors of policies. It opens a pathway to recognising ASEAN states’ autonomy, where the actors’ will and interests affect decision-making and defines performance. Conclusions: This article demonstrates NG's viability in promoting ASEAN's centrality in regional cooperation and institutional arrangements and allows for a nuanced assessment of its performance considering the context of the issue and ASEAN's history and emphasising the member states' primacy in policymaking. The NG framework contributes to ASEAN’s legitimacy, regional cooperation and performance despite its inherent limitations.

Expert insights into the impact of aeropolitics on regional air market integration in ASEAN

By 2015 the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) planned to achieve regional air transport liberalisation through the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM) to enhance connectivity, economic development and regional integration. However, progress on ASAM has not met initial expectations. To explore the factors influencing air market integration in ASEAN this paper focuses on the concept of aeropolitics, as the literature suggests it plays a significant role in shaping regional integration. A survey (n=50), supported by semi-structured in-depth interviews (n=15), were conducted amongst experts in Southeast Asia to examine the impact of key aeropolitical factors on regional air market integration in ASEAN. Respondents agreed on the importance of factors such as national interest, the influence of political elites with vested interests, regional identity and the involvement of superpowers. By examining experts' perceptions, this paper uncovers complexities and challenges related to the aeropolitical dynamics in ASEAN. Results unearthed a range of key insights and provide the basis for further research and policy development. Centrally, ASEAN is not following the European model with its supranational top-down approach, but rather is incrementally standardising and harmonising air transport across the region based on consensus and mutual interest under the umbrella of the ‘ASEAN way’. Progress for ASAM to date has been more than critics admit, yet less than supporters would like. Within these mixed results lies a story of regional integration that may hold important insights for other regions of the world.

동티모르의 아세안 가입 지연 원인 분석

This study aims to analyze the process of Timor-Leste's accession to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in light of its use of three-level games approach. Timor-Leste is located in Southeast Asia, but is the only country in the region that has not yet joined the regional association. Timor-Leste delegations have visited ASEAN member states on several missions to strengthen the capacity of diplomatic officials from this new nation, while also taking the opportunity to express their intention to join ASEAN. To date, however, there has been no formal commitment yet to join ASEAN. This has led some observers to ask why Timor-Leste appears to be dragging its heels on their membership application. This study presents a critical analysis Timor-Leste's potential ASEAN membership and ASEAN's position in relation to existing member with a particular focus on the factors informing its slow progress. We argue that Timor-Leste's primary aim in joining ASEAN is to secure the legitimacy of an independent state and to secure a bridgehead to the international community through the membership of regional cooperative institution. Recognizing that the pursuit of regional stability is prioritized by ASEAN member states in their considerations of Timor-Leste's potential membership, the ambiguity and delays in Timor-Leste's accession to ASEAN can be related to earlier debates that accompanied the membership applications of Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia during the phase of the ASEAN's expansion since the 1990 as well as to its complex relationship to Indonesia – the largest ASEAN member state -, under which Timor-Leste was previously incorporated. This study thus explains not only the possible foreign policy implications of Timor-Leste's flirtation with ASEAN membership, but also highlights variables will have a major impact on ASEAN integration in the future.

A nexus between intra-ASEAN outward FDI, intra-ASEAN exports and economic growth of ASEAN-10: evidence using panel causality analysis

PurposeThe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has evolved into ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which aims to pursue a single market and production base to transform ASEAN into a dynamic, competitive and global region. ASEAN is inherently heterogeneous that potentially could promote further economic integration, fundamentally, through the interactions between intra-regional outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), export trade and economic growth. Hence, this paper attempts to explore the causal relationship between intra-ASEAN OFDI, intra-ASEAN exports and economic growth of ASEAN-10 countries.Design/methodology/approachThis paper attempts to explore the causal relationship between intra-ASEAN OFDI, intra-ASEAN exports and economic growth of ASEAN-10 countries, using regional panel data based on Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) non-causality analysis, which allows us to take into account of the heterogeneity in terms of causal relationships.FindingsThe empirical study shows bidirectional causality between intra-ASEAN export and intra-ASEAN OFDI, a bidirectional causality between intra-ASEAN export trade and intra-ASEAN economic growth and a unidirectional causality running from the real GDP of ASEAN-10 countries to intra-ASEAN OFDI.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings have implications for the extent of intra-ASEAN production fragmentation, policy formulations for furthering intra-regional OFDI, and trade to achieve the ASEAN integration agenda.Originality/valueThe main contribution of the current study is to use the panel causality analysis for an emerging dynamic region, specifically, the AEC. As far as we know, this is the first study ascertaining whether there is a causality relationship between intra-ASEAN OFDI, intra-ASEAN export trade and economic growth of ASEAN-10, which is a longstanding objective of ASEAN integration agenda.

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...

Regionalizing Development Cooperation?

Abstract This article investigates Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-level development cooperation, a relatively overlooked dimension in assessing regionalism in Southeast Asia, by examining the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). The IAI provides a unique case of experimenting with multilateral South-South development cooperation based on regional solidarity; however, despite the declared aspirations and commitments to the program, this article finds that the IAI’s actual development has been quite contrary to the declared goals. First, unlike what was expected, IAI has not been able to provide institutional benefits to help pool ASEAN-6’s resources regionally and coordinate their development programs. Second, the principle of solidarity made the IAI valuable, but it did not stand out in its actions. Third, although its primary goal was to narrow the gap among members, IAI ironically created unwanted diplomatic divide and discontent. The observations confirm a perspective that constructing ASEAN as a regional community is both driven and constrained by member states’ nationalistic priorities.

Enhancing Healthcare Professional Practice in the Philippines toward ASEAN Integration through the Continuing Professional Development Law

The Republic Act 10912, otherwise known as the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Act of 2016, was passed into law to promote and upgrade the practice of healthcare professions in the Philippines. Since the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC), CPD has been considered an area of development through which Filipino professionals are trained to become globally competitive. The Philippine government upholds several agreements made among ASEAN member-states, including recognizing professionals in every ASEAN country, facilitating the mobility of professions within the region, exchanging expertise on standards and qualifications, promoting best practices, and providing valuable opportunities for the training and capacity building. This policy analysis paper evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of the new law in terms of enhancing the capability of professionals through CPD programs. Thus, this article identified the benefits and burden experienced by Filipino healthcare professionals since its enactment. To name a few, the advantages include improving professional competencies, acquiring and refining the necessary knowledge and skills for career advancement, achieving personal and professional growth, and becoming globally competitive while the disadvantages include high cost and expense, inaccessibility and unavailability of CPD programs, additional requirement despite the work overload, lack of support, time constraints among family and loved ones, and limitations of rest and relaxation. Policy directives in addressing these salient issues in the implementation of the law are also recommended. The CPD is indeed a critical factor in ensuring that Filipino healthcare professionals are empowered and globally competitive. In return, their societal contributions will benefit the country’s welfare and economic growth, continued development toward AEC and globalization, and community engagement within the ASEAN region through mobility.

Regulatory regionalism and the limits of ASEAN banking integration: The case of Indonesia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aims to integrate the banking industry in the region. To achieve this, ASEAN members have agreed to create the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF) to support such integration. Despite being endorsed in 2014, the framework remains vague and lacks clear policy coordination arrangements as well as standardisation instruments that enable ASEAN member states to integrate their banking sectors. This article examines why the member states agreed to such regulatory arrangements. Building upon the regulatory regionalism approach, we argue that the regulatory arrangement is underpinned by a socio-political struggle among dominant social forces in ASEAN. The article further argues that the political endeavour to internationalise domestic capital through the banking integration project remains problematic, given that local banking players seem to largely focus on protecting and penetrating domestic markets rather than regional expansion. This has hindered the progress of regional banking integration in ASEAN. To substantiate this argument, we use Indonesia’s engagement in the process as a case study. This article contributes to the study of political economies of banking integration outside of the European experiment by emphasising the importance of state–society relations in shaping the outcome of regional integration.

A Chronicle of Change: the Core Values We Cherish

A Chronicle of Change: the Core Values We Cherish

E-commerce and Digital Connectivity: Unleashing the Potential for Greater India–ASEAN Integration

Digital connectivity and e-commerce are emerging as important drivers to connect small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries to their domestic and global markets. India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have emerged as fastest growing e-commerce and digital markets. Studies show that digital connectivity and e-commerce will help SMEs and marginalised groups in the two economies to diversify their client base at lower costs, while consumers will have access to a wide range of products. To support digitalisation and e-commerce, several initiatives have been taken by the governments in India and ASEAN. Many of them are related to enhancing cross-country trade and collaboration. The ASEAN–India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity 2016–2020 is one such initiative. However, SMEs so far have not gained much from such initiatives. This article provides an overview of the current status of digtalisation and e-commerce in India and ASEAN. It examines their comparative positions in terms of technology adaptation and policy regimes and then presents the participation of these countries in bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral agreements and forums. Apart from infrastructure issues, restrictive regulations like data localisation requirements and lack of standards along with the defensive position of countries in international forums is adversely impacting the ability of their SMEs to scale up. The article provides recommendations on use of technology to help SMEs to scale up through a joint innovative knowledge sharing and e-commerce platform.

Mostly 'men in suits': The ASEAN summit and integration as news in Southeast Asia

This article is a preliminary examination of how Southeast Asian media frame the regional integration of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a news topic. Without grassroots engagement, the ASEAN integration will inevitably fall short of its grand objectives, and crucial to building grassroots engagement is media coverage capable of building audience interest and appreciation. Based on articles published during the major ASEAN summit events in 2018, the authors identified resonant themes in the reportage and discussed these vis-a-vis the documented character of the different media environments in the region. It was found that the axis of the reportage is the declarations and actions of the heads of state, with very few human interest and context-building stories that would have built audience engagement in what is otherwise an affair revolving around ‘men in suits’. Moreover, the journalistic emphasis on consensus and state initiatives reflects continuing adherence to the tenets of the development journalism framework, but this can also be interpreted as the dominance of ‘prominence’ as a news value (i.e. stories are framed according to the gestures of prominent individuals). These findings call attention to the need for re-thinking reportage on potentially high-stake phenomena such as the ASEAN integration.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Its Implications for Regional Economic Integration in ASEAN

This article explores the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It argues that technologies of the 4IR can bring huge benefits such as empowerment for small- and medium-sized enterprises and opportunities for countries to leapfrog traditional pathways of development. It will also bring tremendous challenges such as deep disruption to labour markets and the potential of rising inequality. To address the challenges and seize the opportunities of the 4IR, ASEAN will need a new way of formulating policy and regulation that will require: (a) evolution of the ASEAN Secretariat to become a ‘platform organisation’, (b) greater delegation of key activities to affiliated functional bodies, (c) a shift from long-term blueprints to three-year rolling plans, (d) democratise and decentralise and (e) establish multi-country test beds. JEL Codes: F14, F15

Collective Food Security under the Framework of the ASEAN Community: A Reflection from Indonesia’s Food Policy

Since its inception in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been based upon the common interests of its member states and the principle of solidarity. These two cornerstones have played an important role in the efforts for development of this regional organization. Under the principle of solidarity, ASEAN configures a distinct intergovernmentalism subjected to collective decision-making which emphasizes common understanding, including on how it approaches security concerns. This article aims to discuss and analyze the prospect of the collective food security in ASEAN by taking into account the legal frameworks of food security in the ASEAN community and Indonesia. Specifically, this article reflects the development of ASEAN and the member states’ common problem of providing food for national consumption. ASEAN’s development shows that it has committed to food security. For instance, ASEAN signed the Agreement on the ASEAN Food Security Reserve. However, this institution has not paid enough significant attention to food security and the ASEAN integration pillars are often justified to exempt food security amongst its priorities. Therefore, this article clarifies that food security is an essential part of the pillars. By the inclusion of food security to such pillars and taking account of Indonesia’s experiences, there is an importance for ASEAN to re-consider food security. This consideration is not only to achieve part of its ultimate objectives to bring prosperity but also to ensure regional stability.

China–Malaysia Trade, Investment, and Cooperation in the Contexts of China–ASEAN Integration and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Construction

With trade volume registering more than US$10 billion in recent years, Malaysia has already been China’s largest Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trading partner since 2008 and its third biggest Asian trading partner after Japan and South Korea. It is expected that China–Malaysia bilateral trade with an 8% annual growth rate will continue to expand, and this strong bilateral tie is set to be strengthened in the face of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s efforts to enhance regional connectivity and especially maritime linkage by proposing the “One Belt One Road” (OBOR) construction. Malaysia is well placed, probably even better than most of its ASEAN neighbors, to embrace the opportunities brought about by the surge of infrastructure development and trade deals that is going to come with the progress in constructing the ocean-based Maritime Silk Road (MSR), one of the two initiatives of OBOR, the other being the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt. With Malaysia’s traditional linkage with China’s southeastern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, and as the holder of the Strait of Malacca, Malaysia is occupying a key strategic location that can serve well as China’s gateway to the ASEAN Economic Community. A statement made by the Malaysian transport minister has declared that a few ports in Malaysia has been identified to be part of the MSR. The close ties between both countries have resulted in cooperation in the transportation field such as railway projects and purchasing of trains from China. Indeed, Malaysia is in the process of developing inter–port city collaboration between China’s Qinzhou Port and Malaysia’s Kuantan Port. In recent years, China’s Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group has bought a 40% stake in Malaysia’s Kuantan Port Consortium from the construction group IJM Group for a total of US$102 million. It is in such context and with due consideration of such developments that this paper will explore the prospects and challenges facing China–Malaysia cooperation within the overall framework of China–ASEAN strategic relations.

Understanding regionalisation in Philippine higher education

Purpose Regionalisation in education has gained increased interest and importance because of the increasing collaborations among neighbouring nations. Definitions of the term vary, and more so the regionalisation practices and initiatives of higher educational institutions. In the Philippines, the emphasis on regionalisation has become even more pronounced with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Integration Vision. This vision of the ASEAN is geared towards enhancing regional collaboration and the creation of an ASEAN identity and puts education at the forefront, considering it as a strategic objective to achieve the region’s development agenda of economic, social and cultural growth. It becomes of paramount importance then to examine how regionalisation in education is understood by university constituents, its manifestations in terms of institutional activities and especially, how the ASEAN Integration shapes these initiatives and constructions of regionalisation. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Using a multiple case study design that looked at three higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines, this study found that regionalisation is associated and interchanged with internationalisation in terms of purpose, goal and activities, but is differentiated in dimensions of geographical location and orientation. Findings Institutional initiatives pertaining to regionalisation were largely functional and mostly open and soft collaborations. The ASEAN Integration creates an ASEAN-centric consciousness, and functions as an opportunity for expanding partnerships, institutional niches and programmatic initiatives; and for legitimising regionalisation and internationalisation goals. Originality/value These definitions and approaches to regionalisation have significant policy implications as HEIs strive to respond to the challenges of the Integration.

Examining the coherence of legal frameworks for ecosystem services toward sustainable mineral development in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Within the context of growing economic integration in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), recent questions have been raised with regard to how member states employ law as a means of regional integration to promote sustainable development. Taking into account the primacy of ecosystem services for sustainability, this study examines the coherence of legal frameworks for ecosystem services among ASEAN member states toward a unified regional legal agenda for sustainable mineral development. Analyzed along three aspects of the Ecosystem Services Approach, the paper reviews the different mining related legislations and implementing regulations of member states, and examines whether there is convergence in their legal provisions for ecosystem services. The study shows that all member states provide legal mechanisms for ecosystem management in their mining operations. However, the following could be noted: 1) a lack of coherent identification and targeting of ecosystem services despite ‘intermediate’ services being embedded in provisions for ecosystem conservation; 2) a lack of legal provisions for integration of ecosystem services in mining impact assessments, and for ecosystem services valuation, which render environmental impact assessments, compensation structures and royalty regimes inadequate; and 3) a density of legal differentials around how states allocate regulatory authorities for ecosystem management in mining. These represent a prevailing fragmentation among member states’ legal frameworks for ecosystem services, which does not create an enabling condition for legal integration in ASEAN’s regional mineral strategies for sustainable development.

Myanmar SMEss Participation in ASEAN and East Asian Regional Economic Integration With a Focus on Processed Food and Apparel Manufacturing

For decades, Myanmar’s economic system has been characterized by economic isolation and central planning. Today, however, as Myanmar is in the middle of a far-reaching political and economic transition, it is leaving this past behind. For Myanmar’s enterprises, and Small and Medium Sizes Enterprises (SMEs) in particular, the opening of the country’s economy in general and the intensification of regional economic integration more specifically, most notably through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC), bring both opportunities and challenges. It is in this context that the present study investigates the extent of Myanmar SMEs’ participation in ASEAN and East Asian regional economic relations as well as the challenges they face and the policy support they need for deeper integration. More specifically, this research attempts to address the following four questions: What is the state of Myanmar SMEs’ participation in regional trade, production networks, and investment activities? What are the enabling factors and obstacles to SME participation in regional economic activities? How have regional and preferential trade agreements affected SMEs’ activities and performance? And what are the policy imperatives to promote active participation of Myanmar SMEs in regional economic integration? To find answers to these questions, this study, on the one hand, analyzes existing secondary data while, on the other hand, also drawing on a new dataset collected by the Myanmar Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD) through a survey among Myanmar enterprises, particularly in the food-processing and garment sectors.

Assessing Market Integration in ASEAN with Retail Price Data

AbstractWe assess the extent of market integration the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) using a comprehensive data set that contains actual local retail prices for 131 goods and services in ASEAN countries (except Laos and Myanmar) over the period of 1990–2013. We conduct two different, but complementary, approaches: analyzing price dispersion and testing for convergence to the law of one price via panel unit root tests. The 1997 Asian crisis and, to a lesser extent, the 2008 global crisis appear to have caused a considerable disruption in the process of market integration. Despite significant tariff reduction under the ASEAN Free Trade Area commitments in the past two decades, the level of price dispersion across ASEAN is higher in 2013 than in 1990. Panel unit root tests accounting for cross‐section dependence show that convergence to the law of one price holds for only a minority of retail prices, including those of traded goods, in the ASEAN markets. We also consider a nonlinear exponential smooth transition autoregressive approach and a structural break as alternative adjustment dynamics in the panel unit root tests. Overall, our results suggest that there is much to be done in ASEAN to achieve a meaningful ASEAN economic community.