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While the Aquino reforms ignited great progress in the Philippines, the new president will favor inclusive growth and greater pragmatism in foreign policies that will shape Southeast Asia’s future. While the Aquino reforms ignited great progress in the Philippines, the...

This is an abridged version of this article.  For the full article please see here. I was in Belgium in 2011-2012, when I witnessed the escalating ferocity with which the sovereign debt crisis undermined confidence and economic activity across the...

Self-congratulatory rhetoric keeps springing from the lips of World Economic Forum elites – at the expense of reality.  Software executive Brett Parker claims “Africa will probably remain natural resources-driven for the next two decades at least.” African Leadership University’s Fred Swaniker ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of ‘good days’ that underpinned his 2013 election campaign is premised on moving India away from its dole-and-entitlement development model to one that empowers youth by generating large-scale employment. In that context, recently released employment...

There is a recurring question on the nature of China’s economy — is it mostly planned or mostly market? This question has become more concrete this year as China’s partners are scheduled to decide on whether or not to grant...

The population of Japan peaked in 2008 at 128 million. With the fertility rate — or births per woman — falling below 1.5 at the beginning of the 1990s and falling as low as 1.29 in 2004, the population is...

The Jat reservation agitation has caused considerable social and economic trauma in India, especially in the national capital region around New Delhi. The agitation began as a series of protests in Haryana in February 2016 by the Jat people who...

EM ended last week on a soft note, and that weakness seems likely to carry over into this week.  Dollar sentiment turned more positive after firm retail sales data on Friday, though US rates markets have yet to reflect any...

MOTOKO / Shutterstock.com MOTOKO / Shutterstock.com Say it ain’t so, Tokyo. Those were my thoughts when I saw the Guardian’s allegations over the Japanese capital’s winning bid for the 2020 Olympic Games: French police are reportedly investigating an alleged €1.3 million (£1m)...

India’s approach in negotiating regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) is again in sharp focus. Concern is rising over long delays in concluding a number of major agreements of which India is a part. Foremost among these is the...

As advanced manufacturing is about to accelerate in China, the rules of economic development could change across the world. About a year ago, China’s State Council unveiled a national plan, “Made in China 2025,” which seeks to upgrade China’s manufacturing...

The price gap between houses and apartments in many Australian cities is closing as property investors exhibit a significant degree of herding behaviour, according to new research. The research comes amid speculation that Australia is in a housing bubble. Herding behaviour...

Securing a lasting peace in the southern Philippines has been an ongoing problem for the Philippine government. Marginalised Moros in the southern Philippines have legitimate grievances against the Philippine government. This much the Philippine government has recognised in signing peace...

Charles Dickens’ character Oliver Twist is perhaps best known as the boy who wanted more. Of course, he got none. Instead, his efforts prompted Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle (official) to offer a princely £5 to anyone who would take...

A memo on the subject of housing taxation from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is stirring up debate on proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax in the election campaign. The memo, dated December 9 2014, does counter the...