This study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) score on the financial performance of listed companies in the Southeast Asia. The study contributes to the existing literature in providing an empirical evidence for a regional analysis in developing countries,...

In light of recent pronouncements of tariff hikes in the United States (US) and the retaliatory responses of major economies such as China, Canada, and Mexico, this paper revisits the global value chains (GVC) experience of the Philippines amid the trade tensions between China and the US from...

High trade costs pose substantial barriers to the process of trade liberalization. This study aims to measure trade costs and explore the driving forces behind the growth of bilateral trade between Cambodia and its top 30 trading partners from 1993 to 2019. Using a micro-founded measure of trade...

This compelling exploration delves into President Xi Jinping's ambitious efforts to restore China to its historical role as a global leader through innovative economic means. Bridging the philosophies of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, Xi's approach is a unique synthesis of...

Southeast Asia has long been a foreign policy priority for Japan, but Tokyo has intensified its engagement - both with the ASEAN Community as a whole and with individual member states - since 2012. Japan views China's growing influence in Southeast Asia as a major foreign policy challenge and is...

Firms in production networks often prefer liberalization through free trade agreements (FTAs) to multilateral liberalization, due to its potential discriminatory effects against firms outside the FTA (outside the scope of this study), but also in relation to competing firms within the FTA. The...

This paper investigates the responses of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions in South-East Asia to the demands of industry's digital transformation in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). TVET institutions play a crucial role in bridging the...

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations are becoming increasingly vital in corporate decision-making, especially for global companies, and in evaluating corporate performance and investments. This study examines the ESG tendencies of the companies with the largest market...

This working paper presents insights and lessons learned from the ILO's 2025 South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) workshop on digital case management systems. Convened in Bangkok, the workshop gathered representatives from South Asia, South-East Asia, and Southern Africa to address the...

Southeast Asia is becoming more multipolar, with countries reevaluating their alliances and embracing non-alignment. Europe, however, risks being sidelined due to fragmented engagement and an erratic regional presence. Europe's influence is undermined by a lack of strategic cohesion and...

Southeast Asia is becoming more multipolar, with countries reevaluating their alliances and embracing non-alignment. Europe, however, risks being sidelined due to fragmented engagement and an erratic regional presence. Europe's influence is undermined by a lack of strategic cohesion and...

This study examines the impact of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in South and Southeast Asia from 2006 to 2022, using a comprehensive panel dataset and multiple econometric techniques. The baseline estimation employs Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS), with...

Tax compliance remains a critical issue in corporate taxation research, particularly in understanding the causal link between the administration of corporate tax and tax avoidance. This study investigates the potential simultaneous relationship between the two by analyzing 277 listed firms...

This paper draws a concise overview of the economic relationship between the European Union (EU) and selected Asian regions in the context of the twin transition - green and digital. A series of significant initiatives adopted in recent years to consolidate the cooperation with these regions are...

This study examines the dynamic interplay between interest rates, inflation, and GDP growth in Southeast Asian economies from 2000 to 2023, employing the Panel ARDL framework with the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) model. The findings confirm a robust long-term relationship among the Deposit Interest...

Southeast Asia has long been a foreign policy priority for Japan, but Tokyo has intensified its engagement - both with the ASEAN Commu­nity as a whole and with individual member states - since 2012. Japan views China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia as a major foreign policy challenge...

In light of recent pronouncements of tariff hikes in the United States (US) and the retaliatory responses of major economies such as China, Canada, and Mexico, this paper revisits the global value chains (GVC) experience of the Philippines amid the trade tensions between China and the US from...

Using both GMM estimation and the Bayesian approaches during the period of 2007 to 2021 to examine the impacts of liquidity creation (LC) on banking stability (Bank Stability-BS) on the sample of 53 banks in 5 Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN-5), the author has become a pioneer that carries out...

The Asian region has become the world's manufacturing hub due to its cost advantages, driving the development of container transportation. Recently, enterprises have favored Southeast Asia for its demographic dividend and geographical benefits. The relationships between ports are complex, and...

Transitioning to clean energy use is crucial for reducing emissions and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in developing nations like Cambodia, where many still rely on dirty fuels. This study uses multivariate probit and censored tobit models to investigate the factors that...

At the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) campaign in 2015, stunting among under 5-year-olds remained a major challenge in South Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia lagging behind-a phenomenon known as the "Asian enigma." This paper revisits the issue, focusing on...

Prior economic research emphasized land, labor and physical capital as the primary drivers of growth, but contemporary work highlights the pivotal role of human capital. Investments in education, health and governance are now regarded as central to sustainable development; yet important...

Tax compliance remains a critical issue in corporate taxation research, particularly in understanding the causal link between the administration of corporate tax and tax avoidance. This study investigates the potential simultaneous relationship between the two by analyzing 277 listed firms...

This study examines the dynamic interplay between interest rates, inflation, and GDP growth in Southeast Asian economies from 2000 to 2023, employing the Panel ARDL framework with the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) model. The findings confirm a robust long-term relationship among the Deposit Interest...

Indonesian government is responsible for failing to harmonize border law enforcement efforts with migration policy, ignoring the considerations of border security, cyberspace, human rights, and migrant workers welfare. The existing migration policies lacked cohesive integration effectively...

SEA has seen rapid growth in its consumer market, particularly for beauty, personal care, and health products. It is now viewed as a key future market for the global cosmetic industry. Statista projects that revenue in SEA's beauty and personal care sector will hit EUR 32.76 billion in 2024,...

SEA has seen rapid growth in its consumer market, particularly for beauty, personal care, and health products. It is now viewed as a key future market for the global cosmetic industry. Statista projects that revenue in SEA's beauty and personal care sector will hit EUR 32.76 billion in 2024,...

The biannual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit meetings are a fixed component of regional summit diplomacy. Internationally, however, they tend to attract little to no attention. This is partly due to their reputation as mere "talk shops" that rarely produce concrete results...

Food insecurity has become of increasing concern following the economic downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent sharp rise in inflation, including food price inflation. To better understand the conditions of food insecurity and the impacts of inflation and other drivers of food...

This paper examines and proposes strategies to strengthen the development and regulation of Higher Education in the Philippines as enacted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Through a comprehensive review of CHED's mandate, a comparative analysis of higher education systems throughout...

We study children's access to remote learning when schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and their parents' perceptions about learning progress in seven Southeast Asian countries. This is the first regional analysis to systematically document students' access to remote learning based...

A growing literature examines the roles of financial literacy in an individual's income, saving behavior, and the use of financial products including financial technology (fintech). However, no study has examined the effects of the financial literacy of family business owners on fintech use and...

Limited data on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make it difficult for governments to design appropriate MSME policies in Asia and the Pacific. To identify factors affecting MSME development and promote evidence-based policymaking, we propose a probabilistic principal component...

This study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) score on the financial performance of listed companies in the Southeast Asia. The study contributes to the existing literature in providing an empirical evidence for a regional analysis in developing countries,...

This study focuses on the most recent development of Chinese overseas investment and construction and of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2019-23, from a project-oriented perspective. As a source we use data of the China Global Investment Tracker (CGIT) of the American Enterprise Institute....

The trade-off between environmental degradation and economic growth is occurring at various global scales due to the use of non-renewable energy. In developed countries, the majority of this issue has been the focus of research and attention. Currently, there is a research gap regarding the...

Does identification with dominant but different ethnic groups lead individuals to diverge in their preferences for redistribution? This paper analyzes the role of the relative population size of an individual's ethnic group in shaping her attitude towards government's role in reducing income...

Japan plays a critical yet often overlooked role in the geopolitical dynamics of Southeast Asia - an important region at the centre of the Indo-Pacific where US-China rivalry has intensified over the past decade. Having overcome antagonisms related to its pre-1945 wartime and colonial history in...