In the midst of turbulence in the international trade, this book titled Annual Competitiveness Analysis and Impact Estimation of Exchange Rates on Trade in Value-Added of ASEAN Economies provides a comprehensive overview on recent developments and policy initiatives in ASEAN, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses in facing the trade disruption from global events such as the US-China trade dispute, the rise of protectionist sentiments, and the expansion of China's Belt and Road Initiative.This sixth instalment features an update on ACI's annual competitiveness index for ASEAN-10 economies. Using a total of 121 indicators, the study analyses the competitiveness of the 10 ASEAN countries across four environments namely (i) Macroeconomic Stability, (ii) Government and Institutional Setting, (iii) Financial, Businesses and Manpower Conditions, and (iv) Quality of Life and Infrastructure Development.Also in this book is an in-depth coverage on trade, a key component of the ASEAN economy, and the integration of ASEAN into wider value chains. This phenomenon heavily features ongoing efforts to develop ASEAN and creates the need for a deeper understanding of the impact of these global value chains on trade in ASEAN. This book examines and provides empirical insights on the impact of real effective exchange rates on exports in ASEAN economies within the context of increased participation in global value chains. The findings have direct policy implications in the management of monetary policy.Additionally, this book provides an extensive discussion on the impact of the US-China Trade War on ASEAN, presenting the background analysis on the annals of the dispute as well as examining determining factors that may positively or negatively affect the trade and investment landscape in ASEAN. This latest edition also features a compilation of speeches and writings by academics and policymakers on key issues and development of ASEAN. It includes a speech by Minister Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance on the importance of infrastructure development for economic competitiveness. On top of that, this book also features an essay by Mr Bilahari Kausikan, Chairman of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, and former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, which addresses the impact of the US-China trade war on ASEAN.

The Chinese economy has been playing an increasingly significant role on the global stage. This book is the sixth annual project of Asia Competitiveness Institute studying competitiveness at the sub-national level of Greater China. ACI's flagship competitiveness study not only adopts a comprehensive framework to measure competitiveness by incorporating 102 indicators under four environments and 11 sub-environments, but is also undertaken at the sub-national level to account for the considerable disparities within a large economy like Greater China. The comparative strengths and weaknesses based on the scores and rankings as well as the what-if simulation analysis can be used to formulate development strategies that are specific and of practical value for each sub-national economy and region.The Shapley methodology adopted by ACI introduces a novel approach for the assignment of weights to the various indicators that constitute competitiveness. This concept has introduced an element of objectivity in terms of the assignment of weights. The findings using the Shapley value also tend to validate the robustness of results obtained from the competitiveness studies over the past years.Moreover, the empirical research featured in this book attempts to understand the drivers of exports of Mainland China provinces, with a specific focus on real effective exchange rate movements and volatility. Nowadays with the international flows of goods and capital becoming ubiquitous and comprising an important aspect of national competitiveness, the role of exchange rate is drawing much more policy attention. In view of this, the research findings presented in this book make an important academic and policy contribution by empirically examining the relationship between exports and exchange rate.Finally, the timing of this publication makes it indispensable to include some dedicated discussions of the trade disputes between the US and China. Several topics would be discussed in this book, including China's protection on Intellectual Property Rights, its violation of World Trade Organisation rules, challenges to its economic growth, the development of its three regional megalopolises, and how to mitigate the impact and ramification of its trade war against the US. This book attempts to identify the growing concerns in the US-China trade tension and provide suggestions for China's development in the future.

Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), National University of Singapore (NUS) started producing its flagship analysis of competitiveness covering the sub-national economies of India on an annual basis since 2013. A unique feature of ACI's research comes from an effort to recognise the heterogeneity of India and how the variations in the dynamics of competitiveness pan out at the sub-national level. This book entitled Annual Competitiveness Analysis and Impact Estimation of Exchange Rates on Exports from Sub-National Economies of India not only undertakes a comprehensive and robust analysis of competitiveness in India's 36 sub-national economies but also features an empirical analysis of the impact of exchange rate movements and volatility on exports from sub-national economies of India.Overall, the analysis we provide in this book relating to different dimensions of competitiveness of India's sub-national economies can not only stand up to academic scrutiny as it is grounded in rigorous methodological foundations but also remains accessible and appealing to policymakers as we offer tailored policy recommendations based on our analysis that will enable them to take appropriate policy interventions in their sub-national economies to improve their overall competitiveness.

Indonesia is one of the largest economies in the world and is one of the major players in the global economy. The diversity in Indonesia's socio-economic structure from province to province and region to region warrants an in-depth inquisition at the sub-national level. This book forms part of the series of Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) annual flagship study on the competitiveness of the 34 provinces in Indonesia. Using over 100 indicators, the study covers four environments in (1) Macroeconomic Stability, (2) Government and Institutional Setting, (3) Financial, Businesses and Manpower Conditions and (4) Quality of Life and Infrastructure Development, and 12 sub-environments. This book also provides insights to the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the sub-national economies and conducts a 'What-ifs' policy simulation to craft targeted policy recommendations for each province.This sixth edition will continue to elucidate the competitiveness landscape of each province's competitiveness. Additionally, this edition will also feature commentaries by the local academics on the recent developments in the 34 provinces of Indonesia. In view of the importance of international trade to the Indonesia's economy, this book also features the study of impact estimation of exchange rates on exports in Indonesia.

"This is an annual publication of ASEAN competitiveness landscape which is conducted impartially and aimed to provide insights for ASEAN policymakers, investors as well as international audience interested in ASEAN economics and developments. The book presents a comprehensive analysis based on an extensive dataset sourced from official data sources from various international organisations. In this edition, emphasis is placed on trade in a period of rising anti-globalisation sentiment. It provides both an empirical study on impact of exchange rates on trade in value-added of ASEAN economies as well as discussion on the potential impact of the US-China trade war on ASEAN"--

This book titled 2017 Annual Competitiveness Analysis and Impact of Exchange Rates on Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to ASEAN Economies recount the development experience of ASEAN over the past 50 years, describe the long-term mega-trends which will shape ASEAN's development trajectory, and propose a development vision with actionable policy recommendations for ASEAN to become the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030.Into its fifth edition, the book updates the annual economic competitive analysis for ASEAN-10 conducted by the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI). It also introduces an innovation to the institute's methodological framework which is the use of Shapley values to come up with objective weights for indicators, sub-environments and environments in the competitiveness index. This methodological innovation not only adds an element of objectivity in terms of the assignment of weights, but also validates the robustness of results obtained from the competitiveness studies over the past years.Recognising the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) to growth and development in the region, the book also presents an empirical investigation of the drivers of FDI inflows, with specific focus on the effects of exchange rate and its volatility. For a group of economies looking to leverage on FDI and trade to transform themselves into the fourth-largest economy in the world, it is important for ASEAN to achieve high external competitiveness, especially in terms of the member states' real effective exchange rates (REER). These research findings make important academic and policy contributions by teasing out the relationship between REER levels, volatility and FDI in the ASEAN context.Finally, the book collates speeches by academics and policy-makers on issues of key interests to the future development of ASEAN. It contains the reflection on the ASEAN Charter by Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. Moreover, the discussions on the One Belt One Road initiative and its implication for the region by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law of Singapore; and Professor Liew Mun Leong, Chairman of Surbana Jurong and Changi Airport Group as well as Provost Chair and Professor of NUS make this book a valuable compendium for policy-makers, thinkers, and anyone who has an interest in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

This publication displays the menu for choice of available methods to evaluate the impact of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). It caters mainly to policy makers from developing countries and aims to equip them with some economic knowledge and techniques that will enable them to conduct their own economic evaluation studies on existing or future FTAs, or to critically re-examine the results of impact assessment studies conducted by others, at the very least.