The ten countries in the ASEAN region account for approximately 5% of world gross domestic product and 8% of world population and represent the most diverse group of nations in terms of the level of prosperity, political system, culture, language, and history. This diversity in ASEAN not only helps us understand the notion of national competitiveness, but also provides important policy lessons for both developed and developing countries.This book — a collection of essays — provides insights on competitiveness challenges and policies. It provides an excellent overview of competitiveness for a group of countries at various stages of development. Written in a simple and accessible manner, this book will be of interest to students, researchers, business executives and government officials.

The ten countries in the ASEAN region account for approximately 5% of world gross domestic product and 8% of world population and represent the most diverse group of nations in terms of the level of prosperity, political system, culture, language, and history. This diversity in ASEAN not only helps us understand the notion of national competitiveness, but also provides important policy lessons for both developed and developing countries. This book - a collection of essays - provides insights on competitiveness challenges and policies. It provides an excellent overview of competitiveness for a group of countries at various stages of development. Written in a simple and accessible manner, this book will be of interest to students, researchers, business executives and government officials.

Twenty-five years ago, the governments of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia agreed to jointly promote the city-state, the state of Johor in Malaysia, and the Riau Islands in Indonesia. Facilitated by common cultural references, a more distant shared history, and complementary attributes, interactions between the three territories developed quickly. Logistics networks have proliferated and production chains link firms based in one location with affiliates or transport facilities in the other territories. These cross-border links have enabled all three locations to develop their economies and enjoy rising standards of living. Initially economic in nature, the interactions between Singapore, Johor, and the Riau Islands have multiplied and grown deeper. Today, people cross the borders to work, go to school, or avail of an increasing range of goods and services. New political, social, and cultural phenomena have developed. Policymakers in the various territories now need to reconcile economic imperatives and issues of identity and sovereignty. Enabled by their proximity and increasing opportunities, families have also begun to straddle borders, with resulting questions about citizenship and belonging. Using the Cross-Border Region framework - which seeks to analyse these three territories as one entity simultaneously divided and bound together by its borders - this book brings together scholars from a range of disciplines. Its 18 chapters and more than 20 maps examine the interaction between Singapore, Johor, and the Riau Islands over the past quarter-century, and seek to shed light on how these territories could develop in the future.

This book applies and develops the concept of “ersatz capitalism” in the analysis of industrial policy blockades to economic development in Malaysia and Indonesia. Drawing on insights from international political economy, development studies, industrial and innovation policy, and new institutionalism to refer to a specific type of capitalism, the book analyzes different paths and institutions of economic development within the entire East Asian region. Comprehensive theoretical insights are complemented by empirical case studies that relate to country and sectoral studies – the automotive and ICT industries – in Malaysia and Indonesia. Applying contemporary research on international political economy to refer to a specific type of capitalism, the author examines how conflicts of interest between factions of state apparatus, associations, and companies contribute to the failure of developmental policies. The unique combination of theory formation and empirical analysis provides a novel approach to international comparative research on capitalism. The book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of international political economy, development studies, new institutionalism, East Asian and Southeast Asian studies, and industrial and innovation policy.

This open access book provides a theoretical framework and case studies on decision science for regional sustainability by integrating the natural and social sciences. The cases discussed include solution-oriented transdisciplinary studies on the environment, disasters, health, governance and human cooperation. Based on these case studies and comprehensive reviews of relevant works, including lessons learned from past failures for predictable surprises and successes in adaptive co-management, the book provides the reader with new perspectives on how we can co-design collaborative projects with various conflicts of interest and how we can transform our society for a sustainable future. The book makes a valuable contribution to the global research initiative Future Earth, promoting transdisciplinary studies to bridge the gap between science and society in knowledge generation processes and supporting efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Compared to other publications on transdisciplinary studies, this book is unique in that evolutionary biology is used as an integrator for various areas related to human decision-making, and approaches social changes as processes of adaptive learning and evolution. Given its scope, the book is highly recommended to all readers seeking an integrated overview of human decision-making in the context of social transformation.

"Nowhere in archaeology is the gap between theory and practice more evident than in its ambivalent engagement with economic development. This groundbreaking volume assembles practicing archaeologists, economists, and NGO officials in an extensive exploration of the theoretical, practical and ethical issues raised by archaeologists' use of cultural heritage to support economic development. The first chapters consider the problem of articulating the value of tangible and intangible heritage when economic measures alone are inadequate. Subsequent chapters present regional perspectives on archaeology and development, and present a host of case studies from around the globe that describe archaeologists' development projects, including some that are successful and others that are less so. These studies both suggest best practices in the implementation of development projects and illuminate the obstacles to success created by political conflict and competing human needs. Ethical issues and practical considerations converge in chapters that explore the role that members of local communities should play in the design, management and governance of archaeological and heritage resources. In this volume, archaeologists and heritage professionals will encounter a thought-provoking international discourse concerning the path forward for archaeology as the field engages with economic development."

This book focuses on the planning, marketing, and management of Asian tourism destinations, and evaluates current developments within Southeast-Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. As more Asian destinations enter the global tourism arena and more Asian travellers look to explore destinations in Asia and beyond, an understanding of how Asian destinations practice tourism is crucial to the future sustainable development of global tourism. This book provides an invaluable stock of research and knowledge based on the Asian practice and experience in destination planning, marketing, and management, offering insights into the latest development and trends in the region.