This study assesses the state of global value chain (GVC) participation by manufacturing firms in Vietnam and examines the impact of GVC participation on labour productivity. Utilising firm-level data from the Vietnam Technology and Competitiveness Survey and Vietnam Enterprise Survey from 2009 to 2018, we employ panel fixed-effect regression to analyse the dynamics. The findings show that Vietnam’s GVC participation has been driven mainly by backward rather than forward linkages, signifying a reliance on foreign inputs for exports. The study found a positive impact of backward and forward GVC participation on labour productivity. However, the results show a stark contrast when considering the degree of GVC participation (i.e. GVC participation index). While forward GVC participation positively impacts labour productivity, backward GVC participation demonstrates a negative effect. The results partly reject the learning-to-learn hypothesis while supporting the notion that productivity improvements in Vietnam are associated with learning-by-exporting and learning-by-supplying. We suggest that the prioritisation of forward GVC participation should be accompanied by well-designed backward participation strategies to promote labour productivity. The study concludes with a few policy implications.

This paper estimates returns to schooling in Thailand by applying the regression discontinuity approach to the change in the compulsory schooling law in 1978. This law enhanced human capital investment on the eve of rapid structural transformation. The returns to schooling based on the instrumental variables estimation were around 8%, while ordinary least squares (OLS) overestimated such returns. Returns were higher for females, urban areas, the services sector, and underdeveloped regions. The findings contrast sharply with studies exploiting similar institutional changes in developed countries where OLS estimates underestimate returns to schooling, implying that former school dropouts tend to have higher returns than those already in school before the law change. Ability bias is more likely to arise in developing countries, possibly because parents might be forced to keep children only with higher abilities in school, reinforcing inequality among children within the household.

The Mekong River Basin region is highly dependent economically on the Mekong River through several activities. These activities, in many cases unregulated and uncontrolled, have been causing environmental damage to the river, affecting its flow, chemical composition, and biosystem. In addition, one of the major issues that have sharply arisen in recent years is the increasing number of dams deployed for energy production, severely disrupting the water flow downstream and causing droughts and flooding in the lower river path areas. Education and financial-related interventions represent traditional ways to tackle these issues affecting the Mekong River. But there are other opportunities available. Specifically, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can present themselves as real changemakers. Yet, a multi-dimensional application of ICT to tackle environmental issues related to the Mekong River can foster change, but only if a common approach and framework are agreed upon and followed by all the involved actors. To answer this, this paper presents a three-pillar model of approaches leveraging ICT affordances. This mitigation model is based on three pillars: behavioural approach, smart approach, and alternative energy approach. The proposed model should represent a starting point in the stakeholders’ discussion for creating a shared roadmap.

This policy brief explores how developed countries can address the needs of vulnerable groups in their climate mitigation actions, focusing on clean energy policies. To realise the full potential of clean energy, social and economic incentives and support measures must be strengthened and widely implemented. The brief provides the following recommendations to guide policymakers in developed countries to achieve a net zero transition that ensures equal access to clean energy and energy efficiency solutions for all: (i) identify vulnerable energy users through data collection and analysis of socio-economic challenges for net zero emissions; (ii) improve governance mechanisms to harmonise climate change policies with socio-economic policies; (iii) enhance support measures for vulnerable energy users to ensure equal access to clean energy through evidence-based information.

This study examines the relationship between global value chain (GVC) participation and workers' wages and the disparities in wage benefits from GVC participation. It employs a pseudo-panel approach to treat endogeneity biases, utilizing pseudo-panel data constructed from the Thai Labour Force Survey, 1995-2011. The results show that GVC participation, on average, induces higher hourly wages through forward and backward linkages. Although forward linkages inclusively and positively affect workers' wages, the wage benefits of backward linkages accrue to particular demographic groups. Therefore, government policies must be designed to promote GVC participation, particularly forward linkages, and support disadvantaged demographic groups facing disproportionate wage effects.

Covering major Asian economic blocs and dialogues, this study comprehensively reviews the progress of "Asian" economic integration. The empirical results show that comprehensive, continent-wide economic integration in Asia is unlikely to happen soon since integration has been mainly confined to East and Southeast Asia, while other regions are much less integrated and globalised. However, the achievement of gradual integration would mutually benefit all members through capacity building, technological development, labour supply enlargement, and market expansion. With the forthcoming success of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' single market and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, this study also argues that the attributes proposed in the previous literature, e.g. historical reconciliation, common institution, and economic, politic, and social heterogeneity are irrelevant in the context of Asian economic integration. Instead, the scope, depth, and sequencing of the integration process, coupled with supporting geopolitical factors, largely explain the success of the Asia model.

Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) continues their considerable past achievements and constantly reviews their progress. However, a systematic and evaluative framework for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of the SDGs has not been observed in ASEAN. This study, thus, develops a regional framework for MRV to set a clear direction and streamline the process of MRV in order to achieve the SDGs within a given timeframe. As there are a number of indicators and targets under each SDG, one general caveat of SDGs is that it is not operational and difficult to thoroughly monitor the development progress. Thus, to monitor and report the progress of regional SDG achievement, national indicators should be systematically synthesised into compact and comprehensible evaluative conclusions. Based on a completed dataset of SDG status compiled under the regional framework, in each evaluation period, current status of SDG achievement is compared with that of expected status in order to evaluate the current progress whether it is highly satisfactory, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory. Ultimately, the outcome of the monitoring and reporting process would be goal-level, area-level, country-level, and region-level evaluative conclusions. These single evaluative conclusions help a responsible party to monitor effectively and efficiently, and to report the progress of sustainable development at the national and regional levels.

This study takes a novel approach by using an additional compliance requirement indicator as a relative proxy for non-tariff measures (NTMs) to measure the impact of NTMs on global value chain (GVC) participation. We conduct a cross-sectional analysis at the industry level, spanning 30 countries with 19 industrial sectors in the year 2015. Our analysis finds that both NTMs and tariffs have negative impacts on backward GVC participation, and the impact of NTMs is greater than that of tariff measures. Therefore, policies that reduce trade costs from policy barriers, especially NTMs, can help promote participation in GVCs.

Covering major Asian economic blocs and dialogues, this study comprehensively reviews the true progress of “Asian” economic integration in comparison with the European Union (EU) and examines the factors contributing to the integration. The results show that comprehensive continent-wide economic integration in Asia is unlikely to happen soon, since the integration is confined mainly to East and Southeast Asia, while other regions are much less integrated and globalized. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership perform well in terms of trade and market integration and show high potential in leading other economic blocs in the region. The results also suggest that gradual integration and expansion would help intensify Asian economic integration through capacity-building and technological development from more advanced economic blocs. This would help the less developed blocs to integrate smoothly with the others. This study also argues that the factors or attributes proposed in the previous literature—among others, pooled sovereignty; historical reconciliation; common institutions; and heterogeneity in economic, political, and social factors—are irrelevant in the context of Asian economic integration. Instead, the scope, depth, and sequencing of the integration process largely explain the success of the Asia model. Unlike the experience of the EU, the model is heavily market-driven and private-sector oriented due to the impact of globalization and changes in global trade patterns and production process, such as fragmented trade and production, and regional production. Government and institutional mechanisms are relatively unimportant in the Asia model.

This study assesses how effective governance institutions and de jure financial openness
influence the attitude of policy makers in pursuing further financial development by
allowing the use of cryptocurrency. In other words, we examine the relationships between
a) de jure openness to cryptocurrency and institutional strength and b) de jure openness
to cryptocurrency and de jure capital openness. Our main method of estimation is a
cross-sectional ordered probit model using institutional and macroeconomic data drawn from
several sources, including the Chinn-Ito index, the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance
Indicators, and the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, among others, over the
period 2010‒2018. To measure the de jure openness to cryptocurrency, we compose an index
of 218 economies by using the current legal and regulatory status of cryptocurrency compiled
in 2018. Our results show that effective governance institutions are associated
with a less restrictive regulatory stance on cryptocurrency, whereas financial openness is
not found to be significant. The results imply that a certain level of institutional quality may
be necessary before opening up to new forms of financial technology. As cryptocurrency is
recognized as a risky speculative financial instrument, its current state of many unknowns can
prevent policy makers from conducting a thorough surveillance to avoid system-wide
vulnerabilities.