Tag Archives: economics

Urban Beekeeping: a new buzz in Asian cities

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Hannah Smith

We need bees, but bees are dying. This is a global problem, but some Asian cities are finding novel solutions in urban beekeeping.

The humble Apis Mellifera punches well above its tenth of a gram weight. Through transferring pollen, bees are essential to 80% of the food we consume. Furthermore, the economic input from bees is substantial, with pollinated crops accounting for $1 trillion of the yearly agricultural produce sold. Continue reading →

Posted in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea | Tagged agriculture, bees, Business, economics, environment, food, food security, green, urban, urbanization | Leave a comment

Gratin on the Noodle Bowl? New ASEAN Investment Agreement Promotes Regional Economic Integration

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Hannah Smith

National ministers, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials, and managers of regional and foreign multinationals as well as representatives of small and medium enterprises in the region marked the entry into force of the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) with a day-long event in Kuala Lumpur this April. Continue reading →

Posted in Southeast Asia | Tagged ASEAN, economics, investment, regionalism, spaghetti-bowl, treaties | Leave a comment

The Politics of Mining in Mongolia and Burma/Myanmar

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Hannah Smith

Protests against mining projects reveal contrasts in the political impact of resource extraction in Mongolia, an established 23 year-old democracy, and Burma/Myanmar, a liberalizing authoritarian state. Two similarities are apparent in the domestic tensions surrounding Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi and Burma’s Letpadaung copper mines: both governments and populations are keen to balance Chinese influence in their economies; and both struggle to balance development goals with local grievances. Yet, the differing role of the countries’ politicians means that the protests have different outcomes. Continue reading →

Posted in Burma, Mongolia, Myanmar | Tagged economics, mining, politics, protests | Leave a comment

Reflections on Japan (Video Interview with Sir David Warren)

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Hannah Smith

Recent territorial disputes point to tensions in the relationship between Japan and China. Competition extends beyond issues of history and territorial assertions to competition for resources and influence. Yet it is increasingly recognized that Japan and China are crucial to each other. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan | Tagged Ambassador, China, cyber security, economics, security, soft power, trade | Leave a comment

Transforming Local Industrial Districts in Japan into Innovative Clusters

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Hannah Smith

A characteristic of the Japanese “flexible production system” is vast networks of subcontractors. Recently, the overseas sourcing of parent companies’ manufacturing has led to reorganization of small business in Japan. Efforts to revitalize regional economies in response have focused on the creation of industrial clusters. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan | Tagged Business, economics, innovation, manufacturing, policy | Leave a comment

Bureaucratic Red Tape Chokes Free Markets in India

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Hannah Smith

India auctioned 3G licenses for USD $14.78 billion in 2010, a bonanza for a government staring at a large fiscal deficit and trying to promote inclusive growth through a host of populist social schemes. With new telecom auctions scheduled soon, the government hopes to generate more money to pare its fiscal deficit, and bolster its reformist credentials to foreign and domestic investors. Continue reading →

Posted in India | Tagged bureaucracy, Business, economics, government, reform, regulation | Leave a comment

Judo in Japanese Schools – Concerns about Safety

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Asia Pacific Memo

Memo #191 – Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe oversaw the revision of the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education to emphasise traditional “Japanese values” in 2006. As one direct result of this, traditional martial arts became compulsory in junior high schools in April 2012. Unlike the initial opposition to the new law, opposition to this particular aspect has not been led by teachers’ unions and their political allies, but by parents concerned about the health and safety of their children. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan | Tagged conservative, economics, education, health, judo, liberal, neoliberalism, sport | Comments Off

Why Technology Needs People: Gold, Phones, and Bicycles

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo # 177 – “We treated our precinct captains like gold,” wrote David Plouffe, an architect of President Obama’s 2008 US election campaign. “The challenge” lay in “marrying digital technology and strategy with a strong grassroots campaign.”

Plouffe’s insights had been anticipated a year earlier in an election in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, where a party led by a Dalit (former untouchable) woman won unexpectedly. And the story about the centrality of technology and people came full circle early in 2012 when Uttar Pradesh voted to throw out the incumbent government. Continue reading →

Posted in India | Tagged communications, development, economics, election, history, mobile, mobile phone, politics, telecom, voting | Comments Off

China Crucial to India’s Mobile Revolution

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #172 – India entered the elite global club of $1 trillion-plus (USD) economies in the last decade accompanied by explosive growth in domestic mobile phone users. India had the second largest population of mobile phone users as of 2010, an astounding leap from their modest rank of 34th ten years earlier. Continue reading →

Posted in China, India | Tagged development, economics, mobile, mobile phone, telecom, trade | Comments Off

Why China isn’t Buying Eurozone Bailout Bonds (Yet)

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #128 – China has still not committed to invest in the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the stopgap fund created to tackle the European sovereign debt crisis. Officials have actually stated that China will not use its $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves to rescue other countries. Why is this so? Continue reading →

Posted in China, Europe, Global | Tagged economics, European Financial Stability Facility, foreign exchange reserves, IMF, international organizations, trade | Leave a comment