In the wake of the global financial crisis, leading industrialized countries have managed to show only a gradual recovery, while East Asian economies have surged ahead. In particular, China achieved growth in excess of 10% in 2010 and is expected to continue growing at a rapid pace. It appears that in the coming years, East Asia will play an even greater role as a growth center leading global economic expansion. Following the Asian currency crisis of 1997OCo98, consumption and investment in the region decreased considerably, and East Asian economies recovered on the strength of exports. Presently, however, amid a less-than-robust recovery in the US and Europe, the sustainability of East Asia''s reliance on export-led growth has been called into question. The region''s transition to growth based on a balance of foreign and domestic demand is important for both building a stronger foundation for sustainable growth and buttressing global economic expansion. Moreover, the rebalancing of demand in East Asia holds the key to rectifying global current account imbalances OCo the disadvantage of uneven international capital flows. This unique volume illuminates policy issues involved in the efforts to promote the rebalancing of demand in East Asia.

East Asia is widely regarded as the main "winner" in contemporary globalization, unscathed by the economic crisis of 2008, with its leading new industrializing nations and emerging economies. While twentieth century globalization was mainly led by the West, the twenty-first century is ushering in different dynamics. The re-emergence of Asia involves alternative visions of the world and different perspectives on globalization. This volume seeks to address these dimensions, turning to local reflexivities, notably in South Korea and China, to explore the key debates in sociology and political economy within East Asia rather than from an outside view.

Since the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) of 1997–98 large current account surpluses have accumulated in the countries of Asia and the Pacific with corresponding deficits elsewhere. The sharp plunge in global trade volumes during the global financial crisis has highlighted the need for ‘rebalancing’–focussing more on domestic sources of economic growth than on exports in some Asian economies. One key objective of the book is to elucidate the economic structures and policies that give rise to current account surpluses and imbalances and consider what policy adjustments could change them. Another objective is to show the link between financial systems, financial integration and the transmission of economic shocks between countries. The book offers new dimensions to understand ‘rebalancing’ and provides alternative and arguably more fundamental solutions to address imbalances. Rather than focusing on exchange rate misalignment, this book begins from the premise that the imbalances are a macroeconomic problem that reflects a mismatch between savings and investment in the surplus countries. Then, it examines exchange rate policies adopted by countries in the region and finds that part of the explanation for their currency strategy lies in their perceived need to build foreign exchange reserves to provide a buffer in case of instabilities. The book examines whether there are other possibilities for countries to insure against economic volatility by more actively and openly engaging with international capital markets. The studies show that closer financial integration, involving more open financial markets, with well-chosen partners, would be welfare-improving and should reduce the need for the counter-productive, self-insurance policies that result in foreign exchange accumulation.

East Asia has re-emerged after a long eclipse as a centre of world wealth creation and growth. Over the past four decades the region’s share of world GDP has risen from less than 10 to 30 percent, a ratio that is set to rise to 40 percent by 2030. What has made East Asia’s remarkable ascent possible, and what does this economic rebalancing between East and West mean for world politics? In this insightful and provocative book, Philip Golub addresses these questions, tracing the region’s rise from the early modern European-Asian encounter to the imperial confrontations of the nineteenth century, and China’s state capitalist turn in the latter half of the twentieth century. Together, he argues, the dynamics of imperialism, war and revolution led to the constitution of developmental states that made possible East Asia’s return to a central position in the global economy. Combining rich historical narrative and social theory, this book is an invaluable guide to one of the core issues in world politics today.

After many years of rapid expansion, China’s growth is slowing to more sustainable levels and is rebalancing, with consumption becoming the main growth driver. This transition is likely to have negative effects on its trading partners in the near term. This paper studies the potential spillovers to the ASEAN-5 economies through trade, commodity prices, and financial markets. It finds that countries with closer trade linkages with China (Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand) and net commodity exporters (Indonesia and Malaysia) would suffer the largest impact, with growth falling between 0.2 and 0.5 percentage points in response to a decline in China’s growth by 1 percentage point depending on the model used and the nature of the shock. The impact could be larger if China’s slowdown and rebalancing coincides with bouts of global financial volatility. There are also opportunities from China’s rebalancing, both in merchandise and services trade, and there is preliminary evidence that some ASEAN-5 economies are already benefiting from these trends.

Hardbound. The global marketplace has changed significantly over the past two decades. Technological advancement, falling transportation costs and other impediments to trade in goods and services, increased mobility of capital, and more outward-oriented commercial policies in developed and developing countries alike are combining to create a truly integrated world economy. Firms are finding it increasingly essential to think globally. These developments pose important new questions and challenges to policymakers, the private sector, and academic scholars. The framework for studying economics and business has changed irreversibly to embody the global aspects of economic and policy interactions.Using cutting-edge innovations in the theory of international economics and new empirical applications, this book explores international economic links from a variety of perspectives. From global policy simulations and models of economic policy reform to direct e

In contrast to the literature's focuses on market, culture, state, and dependency, East Asia and the World Economy points to the crucial role of geopolitical and regional factors in East Asian development. The authors provide a cohesive review of the world-systems model as it applies to East Asia, exploring its intellectual heritage, the historical context through which it arose, its basic assumptions, and its policy implications. To illustrate how this model works in East Asia, the authors examine the economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, North Korea, and Japan. The result is a fascinating study that demonstrates how the world-systems model provides a more focused explanation of East Asia's peculiar pattern of development.

With increased resilience in the financial systems, emerging Asian economies were less affected by the recent global financial crisis, recovering more quickly from the crisis than major advanced economies. Yet, Asian financial systems remain underdeveloped. More open and efficient financial systems continue to be a key priority for Asia’s development strategy. Emerging Asian economies need to tackle the new challenges to macroeconomic and financial stability posed by financial globalisation. This book identifies the key challenges to Asia’s financial development in an era of rapid financial globalisation and discusses their policy implications for financial reforms and regional cooperation in East Asia. Particular areas of focus include: the impact of financial globalisation on economic stability and inequality in East Asian economies; the progress of Asia’s regional financial cooperation and lessons from the recent European economic crisis; and the priority of financial reforms in individual Asian economies. Combining advanced econometric methods and in-depth case studies, this book provides rigorous and contextual analyses of the most critical issues for Asia’s financial development. It offers a comprehensive and useful guide for students, academics, and policymakers interested in the current state and future prospects of Asian financial systems.

At the outbreak of the global financial crisis, 2008, the G20 was widely acknowledged as helping prevent an even more serious decline in the global economy. It helped to calm the panic in financial markets and articulate a set of possible policy options to restore global stability and growth. However, as the dual-track recovery set in, policy options for advanced economies and EMEs diverged. Within this context, this book will explore the scope for cooperation amongst the G20 and the diverging challenges and the intricate interconnectedness of policy options between advanced economies and the EMEs within the G20.