Studies in the Economies of East and South-East Asia – serie

This book traces the growth of capitalism in South East Asia between 1870 and 1941, a crucial element in understanding contemporary economic and political developments in the region. It focuses on three questions. Why was indigenous capitalism so weak in colonial South East Asia? What were the institutional weaknesses in an otherwise dominant Chinese capitalist class, and why did it fail to transform itself into a modern industrial elite? What was the impact of western colonialism and Japanese economic penetration on South East Asia's prospects for achieving sustainable economic growth?

This book attempts to understand economic developments in Malaysia in the early and mid-1980s, focusing on growth, balance of payments, fiscal and debt trends. They are all seen against global trends, earlier developments in the Malaysian economy and other changes in Malaysian society. Different areas are examined, including employment and distributional trends, the planning experience, industrialization, the New Economic Policy, recent fiscal and debt problems, recent policy initiatives as well as the difficulties of initiating alternative development strategies.

In about 40 years, Hong Kong has, against all odds, developed from a relatively obscure entrepot into a thriving industrial and financial economy of world renown. While such a complete metamorphosis constitutes an intriguing story, what of its future? Challenges of creeping, if not steadily proliferating, mercantilist forces and changing international division of labour aside, the capitalist city-economy of Hong Kong is now faced with the problem of changing governance. In all conscience, the future of Hong Kong, especially its post-1997 destiny as a free-market economy, as many have argued, hangs in the balance.;Focusing on relationships concerning trade in manufactures, industrial restructuring and economic development against a background of data, this book offers an examination of the evolution and characteristics of Hong Kong's postwar economy in a historical and comparative perspective, its symbiotic connection with South China in the light of China's open-door policy since late 1970s, as well as a thoughtful assessment of its current turning point.;Despite its emphasis on the economy of Hong Kong, this book has a broader objective - to contribute to the debate on alternative

Until the 1900s colonial and indigenous governments of Southeast Asia farmed out the right to run opium, gambling and other monopolies. Yet by about 1920 all of the major farms had been abolished and the collection of revenue brought under direct bureaucratic control. This book tries to explain the rise and sudden fall of revenue farming to trace the changing fortunes of the Chinese businessmen who held the major farms and to use the study of revenue farming to examine the emergence of the modern state in Southeast Asia and the great economic changes of this period.

This book examines foreign capital's role in stimulating industrialization. The branch- and industry-level analyses show generally strong pecuniary effects by foreign capital. The firm-level analysis tends to reveal strong technological spillovers from foreign capital.

This volume is divided into four parts. The first part gives an overview of Thai industrialization and the roles of agriculture, manufactured exports, direct foreign investment and tourism as major contributors to recent fast economic growth. Part 2 analyzes the impact of industrialization on government finance, monetary policy, urbanization, and household welfare. Part 3 further investigates impact on political development, social values, the environment, education, health, and science and technology. The final part looks at the future role of Thailand as a newly industrialized country in Asia.

This text forms a study of all aspects of the Malaysian economy, including: geological origins and mineral resources; flora; fauna; peoples and cultures; political development; economy and society; and environment and ecotourism. The book also attempts to make Malaysia's current economic and political development more explicable by considering it in the light of these natural and human resource endowments and by exploring how they have changed over time.

This study examines the crucial contribution of Chinese business groups to the rapid growth of South-East Asia. It looks at major Chinese firms and their increasingly important networks in this era of regional interdependence and internationalization of production processes. The text draws upon empirical detail relating to Chinese firms, their growth patterns, joint ventures with foreign capital and responses to technological change and competition. It contributes to debates on economic networks, the economics of trust and relations between business and the state in the global economy.

Drawing on a wide range of expertise, this volume addresses fundamental issues surrounding industrialization in Southeast Asia, which are particularly pressing now that the region's miracle has been transformed into a debacle, and the world seeks to draw lessons from the experience. The contributors address crucial questions such as: How did Southeast Asia industrialize? What have been the consequences of domination by foreign investment? Did the region's resource wealth weaken its imperative to industrialize? Why else has Southeast Asia's industrialization been inferior to the rest of the East Asian region? Did the countries' financial systems help industrialization? Was this industrialization sustainable? The volume includes detailed studies of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

This collection contributes to theoretical debates about women workers in Asia. It focusses on issues that have been little documented in other studies in the area and provides information and insight into labour systems associated with labour intensive export manufactures and state labour relations in a comparative context. The contributors present a range of unique and varied perspectives from which they consider aspects of the increasing integration of Asian economies, exploring implications for their labour markets.

Focusing on trade in manufactures, industrial restructuring and economic development and enforced by a rich source of data, this book offers an in-depth examination of the evolution and characteristics of Hong Kong's postwar economy. The book presents an historical and comparative perspective and analyses the symbiotic connection with South China in the light of China's open-door policy since late 1970s, as well providing a thoughtful assessment of its current turning point.

The books in this series aim to reflect the enormous economic and political changes that small and medium-sized nations in East and South-East Asia have been undergoing in the 1970s and 1980s and to show the impact of these changes on the world economy.

Using primary sources, this study documents the changing economic circumstances of rubber producers in Malaysia, the world's principal source of this commodity. It also explains government intervention in the shape of schemes restricting rubber exports.

Using Thai-language archival material, this book examines a crucial element in the dismantling of the traditional government structure and the installation of a Western-style administration - the creation of a modern Ministry of Finance.

Continuing the inequality and development debate originally ushered in by Kuznets, this book extends to the possible sociopolitical disruptions of growing inequality and its ramifications for growth and development.

Until the early 1900s governments of Southeast Asia farmed out the right to run opium, gambling and other monopolies. Yet by about 1920 all of the major farms had been abolished and the collection of revenue brought under direct bureaucratic control. This book explains the rise and sudden fall of revenue farming, traces the changing fortunes of the Chinese businessmen who held the major farms, and uses the study of revenue farming to examine the emergence of the modern state in Southeast Asia.

This book traces the growth of capitalism in South East Asia between 1870 and 1941, a crucial element in understanding contemporary economic and political developments in the region. It focuses on three questions. Why was indigenous capitalism so weak in colonial South East Asia? What were the institutional weaknesses in an otherwise dominant Chinese capitalist class, and why did it fail to transform itself into a modern industrial elite? What was the impact of western colonialism and Japanese economic penetration on South East Asia's prospects for achieving sustainable economic growth?

The book examines the nature of development and diversification in the oil and gas exports, development planners have sought to implement a range of strategies for diversifying the economy in order to secure sustainable levels of growth and development. As well as providing with an informed, up-to-date account of Bruneian economy and society, the book evaluates these strategies and assesses their impact on Brunei and on its place in Southeast Asia.

The resulting book should be of great value to anyone wanting an authoritative and comprehensive overview of recent developments in one of Asias most dynamic economies.' - Anne Booth, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London The book is divided into 4 parts.

The Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia between 1941 and 1945 brought with it severe food shortages, largely arising from organizational failures and inadequate transportation.