Southeast Asia, with a total population of 520 million, remains a region characterized by fragmentation, diversity, and considerable internal conflict despite the unifying influence of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), formed some thirty-five years ago. In the new millennium, it has lost the distinction of being one of the worlds faster growing group of economies since the 1997 financial crisis. While it has benefited from the winds of globalization, it has now to cope with the painful adjustments to problems that stem from the inadequacies of good governance and structural changes.

"The chapters included in this collection were first presented at a conference held at Chulalongkorn University in December 1991."--Intro.

Unplanned Development offers a fascinating and fresh view into the realities of development planning. While to the outsider most development projects present themselves as thoroughly planned endeavours informed by structure, direction and intent, Jonathan Rigg exposes the truth of development experience that chance, serendipity, turbulence and the unexpected define development around the world. Based on rich empirical sources from South-East Asia, Unplanned Development sustains a unique general argument in making the case for chance and turbulence in development. Identifying chance as a leading factor in all development planning, the book contributes to a better way of dealing with the unexpected and asks vital questions on the underlying paradoxes of development practice.

This book provides readers with the first survey of social conditions since the opening of the borders between China and mainland Southeast Asia in the early 1990s. There have been radical changes in the economic policies of the various states involved, in particular, China, Vietnam, and Laos. Each chapter provides a close-up survey of a particular area and problem, but cumulatively they provide an invaluable general picture of social and cultural change in the border regions where China meets Southeast Asia.

Living Standards in Southeast Asia: Changes over the Long Twentieth Century, 1900-2015 examines changes in living standards across the ten countries of Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) from the early years of the 20th century to the early 21st century. It covers both the last decades of the colonial period, the transition to independence and the decades from 1960 to the 2010s. The study uses a range of monetary and non-monetary indicators to assess how living standards have changed over time. It examines the outcomes in the context of debates about economic growth, inequality and poverty alleviation which began in the 1960s and 1970s, and continue to the present.

The revised edition of Southeast Asia provides a grounded account of how people in the region are responding to - and being affected by - the changes sweeping through the region.

The growth economies of Southeast Asia are presented by the World Bank and others as exemplars of development - 'miracle' economies to be emulated. How did the region attain such status? Are the 'other' countries of Southeast Asia able to achieve such a rapid growth? This book charts the development of Southeast Asia, examining the economies of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma alongside the established Asian market economies. Drawing on case studies from across the region, the author assesses poverty and ways in which the poor are identified and viewed. Process and change in the rural and urban 'worlds' are examined in detail, focusing on the strengthening rural-urban interaction as 'farmers' make a living in the urban-industrial sector and factories relocate into agricultural areas. Giving prominence to indigenous notions of development, based on Buddhism, Islam and the so-called 'Asian Way', the author critically assesses the conceptual foundations of development, ideas of post-developmentalism, and the 'miracle' thesis. In the light of the experience of one of the most vibrant regions in the world, the book places emphasis on the process of modernization within wider debates of development and challenges the notion that development has been a mirage for many and a tragedy for some.