There are several themes which emerge from the comparative analysis of social security systems in Southeast Asia. Each country will need to address the limitations of their respective system in relation to each of the themes outlined. The first theme concerns the need for a multi-tier social...

The paper has argued that to expand coverage of micro-pensions, social entrepreneurship (along with social responsibility) will be needed by the financial sector, including the MFIs, insurance companies and mutual funds. Such entrepreneurship should aim to drastically reduce overall transaction...

Consistent with international trends, the role of a Defined Contribution (DC) schemes is expected to grow substantially in India. The payout phase of DC schemes has received relatively less attention than the accumulation phase. Key risks to be addressed are the longevity and inflation risks,...

The main objective of the paper is to explore the role of Japan in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC). The analysis suggests that BIMSTEC-Japan cooperation could made a modest contribution to Asian integration. But this is contingent upon domestic...

This presentation reviews recent social security reforms in Asia-Pacific, with emphasis on countries with major reliance on social insurance schemes. Japan, Korea, Philippines, China, Vietnam, and Thailand have accepted social insurance principle as basic framework for social security. There is...

This article analyses the importance of international commercial service transactions relating to both trade and investment, which form an essential element of analyzing production fragmentation and economic integration in Asia. Following an aggregative analysis the authors discusses data...

NABARD is a key participant in the micro finance sector and has been closely associated with one of the two prevailing modes i.e. SHG-bank linkage mode of delivery of micro finance services. The developmental role envisaged in the Micro finance Bill for this institution will further strengthen...

A regulator should promote social entrepreneurship and tap into the considerable expertise existing in the micro-finance sector. The aim should be to lower transaction costs and generate savings in real resource costs to the economy in delivering micro-finance services in a sustainable manner....

Singapore’s 2007 budget reaffirms government’s determination to continue with the current globalization strategy of high growth, high net in-migration and minimal social risk pooling in financing old age, and healthcare.[ For Budget Speech and highlights, see under Singapore...

The September 2007 annual summit of APEC to be hosted by Australia will witness the ending of the decade long moratorium on membership. A major anomaly of the APEC is that while the three largest economies in the world in terms of PPP GDP are members (US, China and Japan), the fourth largest...