In this collection, academics and policy-makers from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore present research results on a variety of topics based around three key themes: macroeconomics and trade, labour and social issues, and taxes and government spending. The chapters are empirically-oriented and include both cross-country studies and individual country studies. They include examinations of key topics, such as the problem of corruption, the relationship between trade liberalisation and growth and the impact of migration on the Asian welfare state, as well as studies of Chinese manufacturing exports and the income volatility of Indonesian banks. The scholarship containing in this collection is a crucial resource to researchers and commentators on the economies in our Asia-Pacific region. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy.

The Asia-Pacific Development Journal is published twice a year by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Its primary objective is to provide a medium for the exchange of knowledge, experience, ideas, information and data on all aspects of economic and social development in the Asian and Pacific region. The emphasis of the Journal is on the publication of empirically based, policy-oriented articles in the areas of poverty alleviation, emerging social issues and managing globalization.This special issue contains 6 selected papers, developed as spin-off of discussion at the 3rd North-East Asia Development Cooperation Forum. The Forum is one of the initiatives of subregional engagement of ESCAP to bring together researchers and practitioners of development cooperation in the four North-East Asian countries (China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation), which are major players in development assistance, to discuss subregional cooperation to strengthen effectiveness of their initiatives. China International Development Research Network (CIDRN), Japan Society for International Development (JASID), Korea Association of International Development and Cooperation (KAIDEC), Russian Association of Experts in International Development Assistance are partnering with ESCAP in this initiative. The papers contained in this issue are submitted by the respective associations. The Forum in 2015, held in Tokyo on 31 October - 1 November 2015, was co-hosted by JASID and JICA Research Institute and had special focus on the development cooperation of North East Asian countries as a key to the means of implementation for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

This book provides an introduction to the contemporary issues that are occurring in cultural policy in East Asia today. Interest in East Asia has grown considerably in recent years due not only to the emergence of economic super-powers such as China but also to the cultural impact the region is making throughout the world through Japanese film and Korean Pop-Music. Addressing the relationship between the state, culture and the creative economy, this collection highlights how cultural policy within this region has to be understood within its social, historical and political context. By presenting a variety of chapters that examine the role of culture within the countries of China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, this book offers readers an insight into the key issues affecting development of cultural policy in these countries. This book was originally published as a Special Issue of the International Journal of Cultural Policy.