The collapse of trade during the great recession of 2008-2009 has raised the question of whether the rise of global value chains (GVCs) has increased or accelerated the international transmission of business cycle shocks. In this paper, we empirically investigate two channels through which a...

Adverse foreign output shocks have a sizable impact on the welfare of small open economies. Therefore, one of the key roles of monetary policy in those economies is to minimize the welfare losses arising from such shocks. To assess the welfare impact of external shocks under different monetary...

Private investment in Malaysia has never fully recovered from the impact of the Asian financial crisis (AFC). Both domestic and foreign investment have remained lackluster post-AFC; while foreigners continue to shun Malaysia, it seems even domestic investors are fleeing as well, with Malaysia...

This paper analyzes the equity of opportunity in basic education and infrastructure services in seven developing countries, namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam. The analysis applies a method developed by the World Bank called the Human...

This paper proposes and analyzes one possible reason why some countries get stuck in the middle-income trap: the role played by the changing structure of the economy (from low-productivity activities into high-productivity activities), the types of products exported (not all products have the...

This paper provides a working definition of what the middle-income trap is. It classifies 124 countries that have consistent data for 1950-2010. First, the paper defines four income groups of gross domestic product per capita in 1990 purchasing power parity dollars: low-income below $2,000; lower...

During 2000–2006, nearly 4,000–5,000 new foreign and domestic enterprises entered the export industry of the People's Republic of China (PRC) yearly, with geographic concentration along the coastal areas. This paper empirically analyzes the spatial determinants of new entrants by applying...

This study identifies the key issues involved in the further development and deepening of financial markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For the smaller ASEAN countries, the first priority is the development of the banking system. In the larger ASEAN 3 economies,...

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the issues, policies, and political economy of infrastructure investment, and a review of empirical literature of the relationship between growth and infrastructure. Empirical estimations using the growth accounting framework for a panel of 123...

This study documents empirical regularities related to structural changes in the exporting pattern and degree of competitiveness in selected Asian countries in the decade following the 1997 Asian crisis. We conceptually illustrate that the degree of competitiveness is determined by...