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1 – 10 of 71The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is noted as an investment destination recently. However, there are few surveys about this region. In particular, direction of the regional…
Abstract
Purpose
The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is noted as an investment destination recently. However, there are few surveys about this region. In particular, direction of the regional disparity and economic linkage cannot be found, although it is inevitable to formulate economic or business policies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the author calculated the regional GINI coefficient of the GMS, converting the per capita GDP using the purchasing power parity. Then, the trend of intra-regional trade was calculated by using the data of Direction of Trade Statistics of IMF. In addition to that, to consider the trade structures, bilateral trades of Thailand with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar were analyzed.
Findings
This paper made clear that the regional disparity of the GMS has been gradually shrinking from serious level to moderate in recent years, although it is still larger than the disparity of ASEAN original members. Two Chinese districts and Vietnam played an important role to improve the disparity. As for the intra-regional trade, it used to be very poor in the early 1990s, but is increasing in these years. There may be some signs of starting of the intra-industrial trade between Thailand and Vietnam, although trades with lower developed countries such as Laos and Myanmar are led by natural resources-related products.
Originality/value
This paper is the first survey to calculate the regional disparity of the GMS with time series data. The analysis of the intra-trade among the GMS members expresses the current situation of the economic linkage of this area.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of the trade integration of Thailand with the Mekong region in comparison with its trade integration with the other major…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of the trade integration of Thailand with the Mekong region in comparison with its trade integration with the other major partners (advanced ASEAN, China, India, Japan, and the USA).
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts the gravity trade model as an analytical framework, for the period from the 1980s through the 2000s.
Findings
It is found that Thailand's trade integration with the Mekong region has remarkably grown from the 1980s to the 2000s, in the sense that Thailand's total trade with the Mekong region, which lies below the gravity‐model standard in the 1980s, exceeds the standard in the 1990s and the 2000s. However, it is also found that the intensity of Thailand's trade integration with the Mekong region is still behind that with advanced ASEAN even in the 2000s. It might come from the higher service‐link costs that prevent the Mekong region from being fully involved in the international production network.
Originality/value
The paper may be valuable to the policy makers and researchers in the Mekong region, since it contributes to reviewing the two‐decade progress of the regional cooperation of the Greater Mekong Subregion from such quantitative perspectives as trade integration.
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Illegal drugs in South-east Asia.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB222298
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Topical
Richard M. Friend, Pakamas Thinphanga, Kenneth MacClune, Justin Henceroth, Phong Van Gai Tran and Tuyen Phuong Nghiem
This paper aims to fill a conceptual gap in the understanding of rapidly changing characteristics of local risk, addressing how the notion of the local might be reframed, and how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to fill a conceptual gap in the understanding of rapidly changing characteristics of local risk, addressing how the notion of the local might be reframed, and how opportunities for multi-scale interventions for disaster risk reduction might be identified.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper illustrates the significance of the systems and services on which urbanization depends – water, food, energy, transport and communications – to consider the cascading impacts at multiple scales often beyond the administrative boundaries of cities, and how vulnerabilities and risks are distributed unevenly across different groups of people.
Findings
The process of rapid urbanization in the Mekong Region represents a fundamental transformation of ecological landscapes, resource flows, livelihoods and demographics. In addition to the location of urbanization, it is these transformative processes and the critical dependence on inter-linked systems that shape the overall picture of urban disaster and climate vulnerability.
Research limitations/implications
By drawing on research and practical experience in two of the most rapidly urbanizing countries in the world, Thailand and Vietnam, the approach and findings have implications for understanding global patterns of urbanization.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to considering practical actions whether in terms of policy or project implementation for both the assessment of disaster and climate risk, and for actions to reduce vulnerability and promote resilience.
Social implications
The paper draws largely from social science perspectives, highlighting the dynamism of social organization in urbanizing contexts, and the implications for risk and vulnerability.
Originality/value
The paper draws on original research in Thailand and Vietnam that takes urbanization as the starting point for assessing vulnerability and risk.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the mode of entry decisions of firms owned by individuals from a developing country, Thailand, when establishing business operations into a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mode of entry decisions of firms owned by individuals from a developing country, Thailand, when establishing business operations into a lesser developed country, Cambodia.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a case study method, using interviews which were held with owners, managers and employees of eight Thai‐owned companies operating in Cambodia.
Findings
The paper funds that existing internationalization theory and mode of entry frameworks were useful for classifying the two largest firms in the study, however the smaller entrepreneurial firms could not be accurately categorized according to the existing classifications and therefore an additional category, the born foreign firm, was identified.
Practical implications
As small enterprises are responsible for the vast majority of business activities in lesser developed economies, understanding the nature of born foreign firms can provide policy makers and educators with information to build policies and educational program upon.
Originality/value
The phenomenon of the born foreign firm was identified and explored.
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Amporn Jirattikorn, Arunrat Tangmunkongvorakul, Patou Masika Musumari, Arratee Ayuttacorn, Kriengkrai Srithanaviboonchai, Cathy Banwell and Matthew Kelly
For decades, northern Thailand has been a hub for migration in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, particularly for migrants from Myanmar. HIV prevalence among Myanmar/Burmese migrants…
Abstract
Purpose
For decades, northern Thailand has been a hub for migration in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, particularly for migrants from Myanmar. HIV prevalence among Myanmar/Burmese migrants is higher than in the general Thai population. This study aims to focus on Shan migrants living with HIV in Chiang Mai, the metropolitan centre of northern Thailand and to examine two related aspects: migrants’ sexual risk behaviour and their HIV knowledge and beliefs. The study aims to understand circumstances in which mobility increases HIV risk behaviour and prevalence.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative study, the authors conducted in-depth interviews in 2017 with 43 HIV-infected Shan migrants (21 males and 22 females), and 29 health-care providers who work in district hospitals in Chiang Mai.
Findings
The authors found that social and economic vulnerability associated with migration, and AIDS-related mortality, increased migrants’ likelihood of having multiple serial partners. Confusion about HIV symptoms, stigmatization of HIV positive women and low risk perceptions, particularly among men, increased their risk behaviours.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to study the way of life, sexual behaviour and HIV knowledge and beliefs of Shan Migrants from Myanmar Living with HIV in Thailand.
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This chapter highlights the characteristics of Asia through the analysis of policy-related documents by five donor countries, namely Japan, South Korea, China, India and Thailand…
Abstract
This chapter highlights the characteristics of Asia through the analysis of policy-related documents by five donor countries, namely Japan, South Korea, China, India and Thailand. It will also examine the roles played by regional bodies such as the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and ASPBAE (the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education) as the horizontal channels influencing aid policies in respective countries. Together with the analysis of the national and organizational policies, the regional process of building consensus on the post-2015 agenda is examined, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific Regional Education Conference (APREC) held in August 2014.
The analysis reveals that the region has two faces: one is imaginary and the other is functional. There is a common trend across Asian donors to refer to their historical ties with regions and countries to which they provide assistance and their traditional notions of education and development. They highlight Asian features in contrast to conventional aid principles and approaches based on the Western value system, either apparently or in a muted manner. In this sense, the imagined community of Asia with common cultural roots is perceived by the policymakers across the board.
At the same time, administratively, the importance of the region as a stage between the national and global levels is recognized increasingly in the multilateral global governance structure. With this broadened participatory structure, as discussed in the chapter ‘Post-EFA Global Discourse: The Process of Shaping the Shared View of the ‘Education Community’’, the expected function of the region to transmit the norms and requests from the global level and to collect and summarize national voices has increased.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse social and environmental sustainability considerations developed in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and to identify problems and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse social and environmental sustainability considerations developed in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and to identify problems and challenges related to sustainable hydropower planning and development.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is leaning on empirical analysis based on analysing primary and secondary data and information; official government documents and relevant literature, a series of workshops of the Future Resource and Economy Policies in Laos till 2020 Project (FREPLA2020), and interviews with government officials and experts.
Findings
To achieve its socio‐economic objectives, Lao PDR needs to manage its hydropower development to ensure environmental and social sustainability through developing of the legal, institutional and regulatory environment and strengthening of the institutional capacity of the sector, improving knowledge and data management, and developing institutional coordination across the government agencies.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that the Lao government assesses strategically the hydropower development options, prepares capacity building plans, develops risk assessment and management, and learns from past hydropower developments.
Social implications
The paper recommends using hydropower development generated revenues to poverty reduction activities and to strengthen participatory approaches.
Originality/value
The paper can act as a discussion awakener, to help and give some guidance to decision makers and actors in the hydropower sector to integrate sustainable development considerations into hydropower development and planning.
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Nilanjan Banik and Khanindra Ch. Das
The notion that China is factory of the world is now changing. Factories in China are shifting their production base to neighboring Asia, primarily because of higher input costs…
Abstract
The notion that China is factory of the world is now changing. Factories in China are shifting their production base to neighboring Asia, primarily because of higher input costs in China, a volatile Chinese exchange rate, and protectionist measures targeted against Chinese exports. In this paper, we examine the location substitution effect for China: Chinese firms are exporting primary, intermediate and machinery items, meant for producing final output in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Results suggest that GMS countries are exporting finished items to China, that are increasingly getting manufactured using primary and intermediate inputs imported from China.
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