From Growth to Convergence

This book provides insights into some of the critical issues for developing Asia's long-term development. The book takes a comprehensive and forward-looking perspective to analyze a broad range of issues for long term development of developing Asia. Long-term scenarios are quantitatively constructed within consistent modelling framework in most chapters of the book. It identifies five key conditions to sustained high growth and to income convergence among the main developing Asian subregions in the next two decades and beyond. It shows that a possible way out of the dilemma posed by bilateralism is to route Asian free trade areas through the Association for Southeast Asian Nations. It presents Southeast Asia as an attractive infrastructure bridge between the People's Republic of China and India.It highlights the important role of reducing trade costs to unleash the trade potential of some least developed Asian countries. It explores the linkages between demographic change and economic growth in the two most populous countries - People's Republic of China and India. It analyzes the effects that economic expansion in Asia will have on global growth and income distribution, and on poverty within Asia. It provides the measurement and forecasting of worldwide technological progress in agriculture, emphasizing the important role of agricultural technology innovation in Asian agricultural development. The economic landscape of Asia has transformed in the past two decades. Regional economies are linked, and have achieved prosperity. The region must now look to the future. This book explores issues in Asia's long-term development, identifying conditions for sustained growth and income convergence.