ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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East Asia’s Paths to Industrialisation and Prosperity

Resurgent Asia: Diversity in Development by Deepak Nayyar, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2019; pp xx + 295, 895.

Asian Transformations: An Inquiry into the Development of Nations edited by Deepak Nayyar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019; pp xxiv + 577, price not indicated.

Asia’s Journey to Prosperity: Policy, Market, and Technology Over 50 Years by Asian Development Bank, Manila: ADB, 2020 (ebook), http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS190290.

 

Potential and Challenges of East Asian Cooperation

T he Look East Policy followed by India since 1991 has made the east Asian region the country's largest trade partner. This article examines, from an Indian perspective, the prospects and challenges for the annual East Asian Summit, which was launched in 2005, to pave the way for broader regional cooperation in Asia that could become the third pole of the world economy.

A Broader Asian Community and a Possible Roadmap

There is now a growing recognition of the importance of regional economic integration in Asia for generating growth impulses from within, especially in the wake of the east Asian crisis. Voices emanating from different parts of the region support pan-Asian cooperation and integration. Against this background, the paper examines the relevance of a broader approach and outlines a roadmap for regional cooperation in Asia.

Liberalisation, Foreign Direct Investment Flows and Development

Most developing countries now offer a welcoming attitude to FDI. After following a somewhat restrictive policy towards FDI, India has liberalised her policy regime considerably since 1991. This liberalisation has been accompanied by increasing inflows and also by changes in the sectoral composition, sources and entry modes of FDI. The increasing recognition of India's locational advantages in knowledge-based industries among MNEs has led to increasing investments in software development and global R&D centres set up in India to exploit these advantages. This paper reviews the Indian experience with FDI since 1991 in a comparative east Asian perspective

Investment on WTO Agenda

This paper examines the relevance of a multilateral framework on investment from a developing country perspective in the light of available evidence on the role of FDI in development. It also suggests the policy options that developing countries may consider at the Cancun Ministerial Conference on the issue of Trade and Investment. Further, it reflects on the approaches to make different elements of a possible multilateral framework on investment more pro-development and balanced, in case a negotiating mandate is unavoidable at Cancun.

Intellectual Property Rights, Technology and Economic Development

The ongoing attempt to harmonise and strengthen the intellectual property protection (IPP) regimes worldwide, as part of the TRIPs Agreement, appears to be adversely affecting technological activity in the developing countries by choking the knowledge spillovers from industrialised countries to developing countries. Furthermore, the implementation of the provisions of the TRIPs Agreement threatens poor people�s access to and affordability of life-saving drugs by pushing up their prices. This has been highlighted by the recent controversy regarding the availability of AIDS drugs in South Africa. In this context, this paper attempts to critically review the literature on the role of the IPP regime with particular reference to Asian countries and to draw out policy options.

Indian Software Industry Development

Export-led growth has been the mainstay of the spectacular performance of the Indian software industry. However, continued growth at the blistering pace set in the 1990s faces significant challenges in the form of growing scarcity of talent, rising wage costs and emerging competition. Besides, the recent slowdown in the US has lowered growth estimates for the infotech industry. The Indian software industry cannot afford to be complacent if it wants to maintain its position as a premier purveyor of software services. The industry will need to consolidate its strengths and move up the value chain if it is to maintain its head start on the competition. Most importantly, it will have to invest substantially in R and D and create linkages to encourage career prospects for researchers in engineering.

WTO's Emerging Investment Regime

This paper discusses, from a developing country perspective, issues concerning the ongoing review of the Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures and the move of the industrialised countries to bring the investment issue on the WTO agenda. Bringing an agreement on investment, beyond TRIMs, on the WTO agenda will not be in the interests of the developing countries. A strategy is, therefore, suggested for India and other developing countries to adopt on this issue at the Ministerial Meeting at Doha in November.

WTO Regime, Host Country Policies and Global Patterns of MNE Activity

While in general it is admitted that host governments' policies may play an important role in extracting the benefits of FDI for development, a more exact analysis of the relative role of different policy measures in shaping the magnitudes and quality of FDI inflows is not available. Such an analysis has become even more important now in the context of the new international trading regime under the aegis of the WTO which covers issues which have an important bearing on the ability of national governments in regulating the patterns of FDI inflows. This paper presents some findings of a comprehensive attempt to quantitatively analyse the role of structural, geographical and policy factors in shaping the patterns of MNE activity. The focus is on the role of host government policies and on the implications of the emerging WTO regime in their light.

Mergers and Acquisitions by MNEs

A competition policy is more, not less, important with liberalised FDI inflows. This is because of growing mergers and acquisitions by multination enterprises concentrate market power. Unlike greenfield investments, M and As may not add to the stock of capital in the country, nor bring in new knowledge or lead to knowledge spillover. The hope-for benefits of FDI inflows will accrue only if there is an appropriate competition policy.

Economic Reforms and Their Macro-Economic Impact

This paper reviews the performance of the Indian economy during the 1990s in terms of certain broad macro-economic indicators. It provides a brief sketch of the economic reforms so far, analyses their impact and makes recommendations for the second generation of reforms.

Trade, Technology and Industrialisation

Trade, Technology and Industrialisation A Developing Country Perspective Nagesh Kumar Trade and Industrialisation (ed) Deepak Nayyar; Oxford University Press, Delhi,

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