As Southeast Asia adjusts to China’s emergence as a major market economy, economic integration is proceeding quickly via bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements. We believe it is crucial that a socially informed regional dialogue about economic governance develop in step with the quickening flow of capital, goods, and labor. There is also a tremendous gap between the work of professional economists and the NGOs that deal with the human costs of economic change. Bridging this gap would go far toward developing such a dialogue.
We cannot hope to do justice to this topic in one issue. We have therefore chosen to emphasize two overlapping aspects of economic integration: the migration of labor within the region and Japan’s economic ties with Southeast Asia. Other highlights include a major assessment of the postwar Philippine economy, a critique of Mahathir Mohamad’s economic legacy, and two visions of Thailand’s economic future.
In this issue we also introduce Renditions – translations of longer or less accessible writing from the region. The first in this series is the work of Indonesian journalist Chik Rini, who writes about doing journalism in Aceh’s war zones. Finally, we bring you news of fresh regional journals in Books of Note.
Donna Amoroso Editor, Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia
Economic Partnerships with ASEAN Members are Necessary
By Takashi Shiraishi
Sumatran Villagers Sue Japan over ODA Dam
By Amanda Suutari
Public Perceptions of Indonesia’s Crisis
By Yasmin Sungkar
Madness at Simpang Kraft: How Indonesian Journalists Witnessed the Murder of Acehnese Civilians
By Chik Rini —RENDITIONS
ISSUE 4 — FEATURES
Economic Regionalization in East Asia
By Urata Shujiro
Will Vietnam’s Growth Last?
By Kenichi Ohno
Thailand’s Positioning in a New Global Economic Paradigm
By Olarn Chaipravat
The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy
By Medhi Krongkaew
Indonesian Migrant Workers in Japan: Typology and Human Rights
By Haning Romdiati
Focus on: NGOs Helping Migrant Workers in Japan
By Writers, Kyoto Review
Japanese Government Support for Cultural Exports
By Nissim Otmazgin
Will the Mekong Survive Globalization?
By Charnvit Kasetsiri
The “Bombay 5-6”: Last Resource Informal Financiers for Philippine Micro-Enterprises
By Mari Kondo
ISSUE 4— BOOK REVIEWS
The Philippine Economy: Development, Policies, and Challenges Arsenio Balisacan and Hal Hill, editors Quezon City / Ateneo University Press / 2003
By Eric Batalla
Indonesian Politics and Society: A Reader David Bourchier and Vedi Hadiz, editors London and New York / RoutledgeCurzon / 2003
By Patrick Jory
Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation and Democratisation Edward Aspinall and Greg Fealy, editors Singapore / Institute of Southeast Asain Studies / 2003
Indonesia’s Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape Leo Suryadinata, Evi N. Arifin, and Aris Ananta, editors Singapore / Institute of Southeast Asain Studies / 2003
By Wahyu Prasetyawan
IDEAs— International Development Economics Associates