Asia’s Economic Challenges and Policy Choices
Asia is the global economy’s engine of growth. Yet each Asian economy is facing a range of challenges in furthering domestic reforms and deepening economic integration to lift incomes and prosperity. Regional institutions are underdeveloped, regional and global architecture is in a state of transition, and the United States is having trouble sustaining its rebalance towards Asia.
The first session in this public forum, on ‘Regional trade choices’, focuses on the regional economic agreements of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as well as other forums for economic cooperation. The second session, on ‘Asia and the global trading system’, discusses how Asian arrangements relate to the G20 and the global trading system. The third session, on ‘Asian growth: Prospects and risks’, looks at the likely trajectory of Asia’s growth and its implications, as well as the risks and fragility within the global trading system and critical issues such as climate change.
This public forum will be chaired by Professor Peter Drysdale and Dr Shiro Armstrong from the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, Crawford School of Public Policy, and Mr Naoyuki Haraoka, Japan Economic Foundation.
Panellists include:
- Dr Thomas G Aquino Senior Fellow, Centre for Research and Communications, University of Asia and the Pacific; Former Senior Undersecretary, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippines
- Dr. Mignonne Man-jung Chan Adjunct Associate Professor, International Doctorate on Asian Studies (IDAS) National Chengchi University
- Dr Biswajit Dhar Director General, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, India
- Dr Andrew Elek Research Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy
- Professor Gary Hawke Emeritus Professor, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
- Jayasena Jayasiri Senior Director, Multilateral Trade Policy and Negotiations, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia
- Dr Chulsu Kim Chairman, Institute for Trade & Investment (ITI), Lee International; Former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea
- Kazumusa Kusaka Chairman and CEO, Japan Economic Foundation, Japan
- Dr Hank Lim Senior Research Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Singapore
- Tadayuki Nagashima Executive Vice President, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan
- Professor Djisman Simandjuntak Professor of Business Economics, Prasetiya Mulya Business School, Indonesia, and Chairman, CSIS Foundation
- Professor Shujiro Urata Professor of International Economics, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Japan
- Professor Yunling Zhang Academy Member and Director of International Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China
This public forum is presented by the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University and the Japan Economic Foundation.