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The Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) initiative was launched 1994 to accelerate development of the economy of Brunei Darussalam (hereafter referred to as Brunei) and some of the lesser developed areas of the three other countries: in Indonesia: East and West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Southeast Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Maluka, and Irian Jaya; in Malaysia: Sabah and Sarawak states, and the Federal Territory of Labuan; and in the Philippines: Mindanao and Palawan. In an effort to revitalize BIMP-EAGA, the study examines two key issues: (1) how to deepen the understanding of the impact of the changing global and regional environment on BIMP-EAGA and the implications of reviving the subregional cooperative initiatives; and (2) how to prioritize the emerging opportunities for cross-border cooperation activities to achieve tangible results for BIMP-EAGA in a short period of time based on the previous experiences and clearer understanding of the prospects of the subregion.
This article discusses the following points: (1) the density of micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) is a good indication of positive or negative changes that are occurring in an economy since high and upper-middle income countries have a greater proportion of these types of enterprises than do low-income countries; (2) value chains are widely considered to be the main engine for MSME growth in developing countries because they can provide access to markets and technology, encourage business linkages, facilitate the upgrading of skills and create links with international companies; (3) those value chains should not, however, be viewed as a panacea for MSME development since linkages to large companies are easily broken during periods of sluggish growth and market contractions and, more generally, MSMEs are often unable to integrate into large-scale business relationships because they lack international standards and quality controls; and (4) Business Development Service (BDS) centers have proven successful in upgrading MSMEs and facilitating their entry into value chains. As such, they should be become an integral part of the MSME development process, but the challenge is to make BDS centers self-sustainable. A model that combines a Cost Sharing Facility (CSF) with Credit Guarantee Facility (CGF) can provide a means of ensuring that sustainability.
The report on poverty and unemployment in Egypt presents a detailed survey of key issues related to the current situation and trends in the country, and it presents an annotated bibliography of the recent literature in these areas. The general conclusion that can be derived from the evidence on poverty, income inequality and unemployment studies in Egypt is that parsimonious models of growth and income inequality and those of labor markets have limited used in Egypt. Instead, market segmentation and other imperfections, and the strong formal and informal institutional factors governing the operation of the economy in general and enterprises in particular are likely to be more useful in explaining how macroeconomic adjustment and structural reform are essential for a sustained reduction in aggregate poverty. However, lack of adequate data undermines the credibility of empirical analysis on the key components linking economic growth to employment generation, as a necessary condition for sustained poverty reduction, and structural adjustment as a necessary condition for employment and productivity recovery. United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Egypt (62 pages). February 1998
Analyzes FDI patterns and characteristics of selected Asian countries in Africa, as well as bilateral trade activities with African countries, and identifies general patterns as well as destination- or sector-specific drivers of trade and investment activities by particular Asian countries in Africa. Examines interactive effects between trade patterns and investment strategies, including trade and investment relations with other regions of the world, and analyzes institutional aspects of trade and investment activities of particular Asian countries, such as government policies and institutional framework to promote and facilitate such trade and investment activities as well as business institutions to support the activities. World Bank September 2003. Client only disclosure.
Provides support to the Jordanian authorities in defining the overall strategy of the EC funded support program and the operational work plan. The report examines the immediate and medium term needs of the Government of Jordan in the three core areas: free trade, legislative and regulatory framework and subsequent enforcement, and institution strengthening. Within each of these chapters, we analysis the current state of play of the core areas of intervention, develop gap reduction strategies for project beneficiaries, and present a work plan for the areas of intervention in the three core areas that were developed through close consultation with the project beneficiaries. The annexes to the report present detailed project fiches for each of the areas of intervention, including expected results and detailed output, description of activities, organizational structure of the project environment, and implementation schedule of the proposed activity with costing estimates. The annexes also include a proposed bridging activity that will be needed before the entry into force of of the financing agreement pertaining to EC funded support program. European Commission. October 2002
The report provides a review and analysis of the findings from the scoping study on the proposed Malaysian–Thailand Special Border Economic Zone (SBEZ). Each border crossing has been assessed on the basis of the following components, details of which are presented in the main body of this report: (a) special economic zone (SEZ) potential; (b) cross-border value chains; (c) transport and logistics; (d) socio-economic development strategy for the area; (e) SME development and business development services: (f) linkages to Indonesia.
The proposed SBEZ is best viewed as incremental levels of collaborative of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Level 1 would cover the establishment of SBEZ facilities and supporting activities on either or both sides of the border; Level 2 would involve development of cross-border value chains and hard and soft infrastructure supporting the SBEZ; and Level 3 would consist of collaboration in joint SBEZ facilities and supporting activities. This stepwise approach reflects international best practices for the development of cross-border SEZs in Europe, North America and Asia. It ensures that actions on either side of the border move from an informal to formal mechanisms of collaboration, thereby providing an effective mechanisms for achieving long-term goals for the operation of a joint SBEZ.Develops a GMS Trade and Investment Information System is a Web-based text and database analytical tool providing business intelligence related to cross-border issues for SMEs, other business enterprises and policy makers at all levels. The two core components of the system are the unique database on trade and associated tariffs at border checkpoints between GMS member countries, and the text-based information system covering non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade and unilateral, bilateral and multilateral arrangements governing trade between GMS countries. Asian Development Bank. December 2003. Client only disclosure.
The study is organized as follows: Chapter 1 reviews the recent performance of the Honduran economy and the objective and coverage of the study. Chapter 2 provides a detailed examination of policies guiding trade and key institutions controlling trade practices. Chapter 3 describes trade control measures in terms of tariff measures, price controls, financial measures, quality controls, and technical measures. Chapter 4 examines trade and macroeconomic policies affecting exports through direct export policies, tariff-induced biases against exports, and exchange rate policies affecting the international competitiveness of exports. Chapter 5 proposes a trade strategy for Honduras in the light of its existing national development plan, and it identifies the key initiatives needed to support the proposed strategy and the preparation of the WTO trade policy review. .
The study offers a comprehensive and integrated assessment of the key trade and investment policies that need to be addressed as part of the Government of Kazakhstan's overall economic reform program. The report also examines the need for technical assistance and training activities in support of those reforms. The approach followed in the study considers Kazakhstan's trade and investment policies as consisting of the design and sequencing of three interrelated components: institutional capabilities, trade policies and investment regulations, and macroeconomic policies. The objective of trade and investment policy and customs and administrative regulations reforms are shown to depend on the internal consistency of the separate measures in the economic reform program. Internal consistency in turn depends on whether the design of trade and investment policies is consistent with conditions prevailing in the country, whether trade and investment reforms are adequately linked with domestic reforms, and whether new incentive systems are a sustainable part of the reforms. USAID Regional Mission for Central Asia (75 pages). April 1995.
The report presents the results of a comprehensive assessment of the progress and impact of USAID/Egypt’s Sector Policy Reform (SPR) programs and the accompanying Technical Support for Sector Policy Reform (TSSPR) project, along with recommendations for future SPR/TSSPR activities. It is supplemented by four technical reports on key areas for structural adjustment covered to date by the SPR programs: finance and fiscal policy reforms, trade policy reforms, private sector development policies and environmental policy reforms. Since most of the SPR measures address first generation reforms of incentive and institutional systems, the analysis of their impact is based on empirical methodologies that measure the effect of interventions through the price and interest rate mechanisms. USAID/Egypt (104 pages). April 1996.
The study provide an analysis of the macroeconomic issues surrounding the reforms needed to meet the country’s growth target, as well as to identify existing policy and structural constraints and macroeconomic policy reforms measures that would help to remove those constraints. The indicative forecasts have been generating by two types of macroeconomic models. The first is a Revised Minimum Standard Model - eXtended (RMSM-X) that provides a simple spreadsheet-based tool for feasibility and sustainability analysis of the economy of Uzbekistan. The second provides is an econometric model of the macro economy for making rational and consistent predictions about Uzbekistan’s overall economic activity, the standard components of the balance of payments, the expenditure concepts of the national accounts, and the financial sector balances. The model applies a conventional framework to the economic system and, as a policy-oriented system it incorporates key parameters for policy formulation.
The study provides the Ministry of Finance (MOF) of the Government of Vietnam with quantitative tools to carry out industry-level assessments of tariff and subsidy reforms that will both support the country’s WTO accession negotiations and provide needed capacity for analyzing alternative policy reforms. It elaborates modeling tools for production shift analysis and the calculations of trade tax revenue effects associated with tariff reform policies. It also uses effective rates of protection (ERP) estimates to examine industry-level output and employment adjustments likely to take place under a variety of tariff reforms. It further addresses subsidy issues and their incidence in different industries. The results provide detailed product and industry-specific information on the effects of implementing changes in the structure of protection and, as such, the emphasis is on a practical, action-oriented plan, rather than an academic study.
Identifies macro and micro-economic measures that promote the international competitiveness and export growth of Vietnam, thereby raising living standards and improving welfare. Apart from investigating macro and micro-economic aspects affecting the trade environment, the study describes key characteristics of Vietnam’s export structure and performance over the last decade based on national and partner-country trade information, it analyzes static and dynamic aspects of Vietnam’s comparative advantage, it evaluates the compatibility of exports in their major markets, and it assesses the policy-performance links in the last decade to draw lessons for future trade and macroeconomic policies. World Bank. March 2002