Search

Begin New Search Topic Globalization Political Geography Asia

11. A Spark Beyond Time and Place: Ogawa Shinsuke and Asia

Author:
Tamako Akiyama
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
One of the most important documentary film-makers of the post-war period, Ogawa Shinsuke, had an enormous impact on film-makers across Asia. This paper will unpack some of the paradox-filled processes by which his influence spread across the Asian film-making world through an analysis of interviews, film festival records, and the role of translation during his lifetime (1936–1992). Energised by an increasing interest in mentoring young Asian film-makers in his later years, and having created a platform for the exchange of films and ideas through the first documentary film festival in Asia in the late 1980s, Ogawa continued to offer a kind of spiritual orientation to other film-makers in translation even after his death. This paper will examine how this process was not merely a result of Ogawa’s own efforts but realised through a series of interwoven yet contradictory social, economic, and interpersonal histories. Amidst the call for a greater exchange of media within and beyond Japan, the circulation across Asia of Ogawa’s cultural capital offers an opportunity to think about the significance of the various ‘investments’ that form such capital, and poses important issues for considering the conditions under which it can continue to survive.
Topic:
Globalization, Culture, and Media
Political Geography:
Japan and Asia

12. In the Closet: Japanese Creative Industries and their Reluctance to Forge Global and Transnational Linkages in ASEAN and East Asia

Author:
Shinji Oyama
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
This paper addresses rarely asked questions: is Cool Japan a creative industries policy and, if so, what kind of creative industries policy is it? It addresses these questions by examining Cool Japan’s differences from the UK derived and globally very influential creative industries model. The paper will try to make sense of these differences by looking at how the Japanese creative industries comprise businesses of different sizes with a varied history and prestige, how those companies have complex and contrasting relationships with various state organisations, and how the forces of globalisation and its free-market and neo-liberal economic ideologies affect companies in various sectors differently. This will challenge the dominant narrative of Japanese Creative Industries and Cool Japan in which, it is generally believed, the former embraces globalisation and digitalisation, and the latter is responsible for broadening the appeal of Japanese popular culture abroad. This paper reveals the complexity and diversity of the creative industries from socio-cultural and politico-economic perspectives often overlooked in the Cool Japan discourse.
Topic:
Globalization, International Cooperation, transnationalism, and Industry
Political Geography:
Asia

13. The Impact of Economic Globalisation on Firm Performance and the Labour Market: Evidence from Japan

Author:
Keiko Ito
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
This paper summarises the major findings and arguments in the literature on the impact of globalisation on firm performance and the labour market, focusing on the case of Japan. Internationalised firms show better performance. Although offshoring has shifted labour demand towards skilled workers, thedirect contribution of globalisation to the widening wage gap is quite limited. The empirical evidence for Japan is more or less consistent with that for other developed countries, but some observations on Japan are worth pointing out. First, several empirical studies confirm a learning-by-exporting effect. Second, there is no strong evidence that increases in imports from China have reduced domestic employment. Increases in imports from China have a positive effect on value added growth in downstream industries, implying that imports from China are likely to be complementary to domestic production in Japan.
Topic:
Globalization, Industrial Policy, Labor Issues, Exports, and Imports
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Asia

14. Globalisation and Economic Development: Malaysia's Experience

Author:
Cassey Lee
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
The economic development of Malaysia has been strongly driven and shaped by globalisation, from the pre-colonial to the post-independence period. The country has harnessed trade, foreign capital, and foreign labour to grow and has transformed its economy from one that was highly dependent on primary commodities (tin and rubber) into one driven by manufactured exports. The impact of globalisation on the Malaysian economy has changed through the various phases of its development experience. The early phases of the country’s engagement with globalisation reduced poverty and inequality. In later stages, excessive dependence on low-skilled foreign labour, although beneficial initially, may have compromised the competitiveness of the economy. Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society has also posed considerable challenges in the balancing of domestic needs and benefits with greater engagement with globalisation. The openness of the Malaysian economy has also made it vulnerable to global economic shocks.
Topic:
Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Inequality, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Malaysia and Asia

15. Economic Consequences of Globalisation: Case Study of Thailand

Author:
Archanun Kohpaiboon
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
The paper reviews empirical works examining the effect of globalisation in Thailand, beginning with a discussion of its integration into the economy. Three drivers of economic globalisation are emphasised: international trade, foreign direct investment, and cross-border labour mobility. The findings point to globalisation’s potential to create a favourable economic impact. Opening up to international trade could promote productivity and drive economic growth. Large foreign direct investment inflows enticed by export-oriented industrialisation are likely to generate horizontal technological spillovers within a given industry; vertical spillovers through the linkages were not a robust result. There is no evidence that employing foreign workers retards firm productivity; rather, the opposite is the case. Well-performing firms are in a position to attract foreign workers and maintain production capacity. Global production sharing (GPS) does not necessarily mean the participating countries are trapped at the low end of the quality ladder. The Thai experience supports the case for further globalising its economy. Any possible side effects of globalisation can be mitigated by other policies such as strengthening the social safety net.
Topic:
Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Labor Issues, and Economic growth
Political Geography:
Asia and Thailand

16. Shaping the Image of China as a Responsible Global Power

Author:
I. Zarodov
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
a CoUnTRy’S ImaGe in the minds of those who live inside and out- side it depends on the logic and goals of its development. In the process of construction, its elements might differ by time and resources needed to create and consolidate them. The result, likewise, may be different where the length of time needed to produce the desired effect and the effect itself are concerned. an image of a country responsible for the development of mankind and its security is time- and resource-consuming to the greatest extent while inevitable contradictions between global responsibility and national interests make it idealistic and unachievable. many countries, however, claim the status of responsible – either regional or global – pow- ers depending on their scope and development goals. This image presupposes that the power demonstrates to the world, not only to certain audiences, that it does not intend to grow and develop at the expense of others but in the long-term perspective is firmly deter- mined to create a secure world of equal opportunities. at first, the Chinese expert community was apprehensive and even fearful of the idea of China as one of the responsible world powers. The West, on its side, was actively trying this role on China and even impos- ing it. This stirred up mistrust. It was repeated, among other things, that the role of globally responsible power does not fit China’s interests; that Beijing is being drawn, contrary to its will, into funding the international system on a grand scale. It should be said that Western politicians tried to persuade China to become a more active sponsor. Later, when the “responsible power” concept had been absorbed and, what is more important, adjusted to the country’s interests, skepticism was finally overcome. Between 1999 and 2009, the definition of China as a “responsible power” found its place, with certain readjustments, in the Chinese political vocabulary. Prominent foreign policy experts Wang yizhou,1 yen Shenyi,2 yu Keping3 and hu Jian4 have written a lot about the logical connection between China’s development and the development of mankind, between protection of national interests and the need to take international interests into account.
Topic:
Globalization, International Cooperation, Hegemony, and Economic Cooperation
Political Geography:
China and Asia

17. The Rise of China and the Rebound in Korea’s Manufacturing Employment

Author:
Kyong Hyun Koo and Unjung Whang
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
Over the last three decades, the world has experienced a substantial in-crease in Chinese import penetration due to the rapid improvement in Chi-na’s supply productivity, which is often called the “China shock” or “China syndrome.” The existing literature have shown that the increase in imports from China due to the China shock adversely affected the manufacturing employment of a number of advanced countries such as the U.S., Norway, Denmark, and Spain. Unlike those advanced countries, South Korea has shown a pronounced increase in exports to China as well as imports from China since the 1990s. Over the same time, furthermore, Korea’s manufactur-ing employment has shown a stagnated downward trend compared to other advanced economies and even rebounded since the mid-2000s. Given these motivations, this study investigates both import and export channels to ex-plore how the China trade shocks affected the exceptional trend in Korea’s manufacturing employment from 1993 through 2015. To capture the overall employment effects of the China shocks, specifically, we consider not only how a Korean manufacturing industry employment is affected by the change in its direct exposure to China trade shocks (direct effects), but also how other industries’ changes in exposure to China trade shocks affect the industry through domestic industrial linkages (indirect ef-fects), largely following the empirical approach employed by Acemoglu et al. (2016). Mainly using firm-level data for almost all Korean manufacturing firms with more than four employees and the 2SLS estimation method, we find that during the period 1993-2015 the increase in Chinese import expo-sure had statistically insignificant direct effects on Korea’s manufacturing em-ployment on average, while 1% point increase in Chinese export exposure directly caused 0.18% increase in employment across Korean manufacturing industries. For the indirect effects of China shocks, in contrast, 1% point in-crease in Chinese import exposures of downstream industries (intermediate goods buyers) led to 3.00% decrease in employment of upstream industries (intermediate goods sellers) on average, while 1% point increase in Chinese export exposures of downstream industries brought 1.70% increase in em-ployment of upstream industries on average. The relatively moderate direct effects compared to the indirect ones are partly explained by two factors: First, Korea has gone through a substantial change in the structure of its trade with China since 2000s, so that within-industry supply chains between China and Korea have become more intertwined for some industries. Second, the Korean industries whose main downstream industries were substantially exposed to the Chinese imports (exports) tended to have a relatively low di-rect Chinese import (export) exposure during the period 1993-2015. Based on the 2SLS estimates above, the increased Chinese import expo-sure turns out to have decreased Korea manufacturing employment by 1,210,000 during the period 1993-2015, mainly through the indirect channel. In contrast, the increased Chinese export exposure appears to have increased Korea manufacturing employment by 1,090,000 during the same period, through the direct channel (210,000) and indirect channel (880,000). In the case of Korea’s manufacturing industry, therefore, most of the job reduction attributable to the China shocks has been also offset by job creation caused by the China shocks. Such a considerable increase in manufacturing jobs due to the rise of China, which has not been reported yet in other advanced economies, appear to have played an important role in generating the re-bounding trend in Korea’s manufacturing employment.
Topic:
Globalization, Labor Issues, Economic Policy, and Trade Shocks
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and South Korea

18. Seven Chinas A Policy Framework

Author:
David Kelly
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The debate about China’s changing role in global affairs is often framed as a dichotomous choice between a peacefully rising China that seeks to be a constructive stakeholder and an increasingly dangerous China that is challenging the status quo, both in terms of its norms and the place of the United States. The reality is more complicated. There are not only signs of both elements, but the foundations shaping Chinese behavior is multifold. Most international relations scholars examine China through one or another version of realism or liberalism. David Kelly, head of research at China Policy, offers an alternative approach that examines the nature of Chinese identity, or rather, Chinese identities, plural, and how they exhibit themselves in Chinese foreign policy. Using his renowned skills in reading Chinese-language official documents and the broader commentary, Kelly teases out seven narratives that Chinese tell themselves and the world, and he provides a codebook for explicating shifting Chinese behavior in different arenas. Kelly concludes that some of these narratives facilitate cooperation, but most point toward deep-seated tensions between China and the West in the years ahead.

Topic:
Foreign Policy, Globalization, Imperialism, and Conflict
Political Geography:
United States, China, Asia, North America, and Asia-Pacific

19. THE OUTSTANDING VIEW OF GLOBALIZATION: ROMAN GAME AIR AS CATEGORY OF WORLD MUSIC

Author:
Zeynep Gonca GİRGİN
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternative Politics
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Abstract:
The category of world music is a new genre-title created by that latest embodiment of globalization, the glocal (global-local) market in the music industry. The increase in the power of the world music market in late 1980's and the popularization of the Romani musician as an identity in that regard plays an important role in the popularization of the 9/8 Romani dance tune both in Turkey and in the Balkans sound. The Gypsy-Romani themed films in the last quarter century by Emir Kusturica and Tony Gatlif, the Gypsy-Romani music festivals held in Europe and North America, and the increase in the Romani instrumentalist and performer productions in the Balkans popular music market; also, the rise in the scientific and artistic interest in the academia show the emphasis on both the distinctive and the European identity of the Gypsies, while supporting the new political economic conditions. This article critically reviews the popularization process of Turkish Roma musicians and musics in the world music industry via correlation with Balkan territories.
Topic:
Globalization, Culture, and Music
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Balkans

20. Guardians of the Belt and Road: The Internationalization of China's private security companies

Author:
Meia Nouwens and Helena Legarda
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Chinese private security companies are going global to protect the country's assets and citizens, in the sometimes unstable countries linked to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Following the build-up of infrastructure and investment projects along China’s extensive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), private security companies from China are also increasingly going global – to protect Chinese assets and the growing number of Chinese nationals living and working in countries along the BRI, in sometimes unstable regions. Out of the 5,000 registered Chinese private security companies, 20 provide international services, employing 3,200 security personnel in countries like Iraq, Sudan and Pakistan. The impact of this newly developing Chinese activity abroad is analyzed in this MERICS China Monitor. Chinese private security companies’ international activities pose a challenge to European interests as they are often largely unregulated and their security staff are often inexperienced in dealing with serious conflict situations and combat. EU policymakers, thus, are called upon to encourage and assist Beijing to pass laws regulating Chinese private security companies’ activities overseas.
Topic:
Security, Globalization, European Union, and Private Sector
Political Geography:
China, Europe, Beijing, and Asia