Southeast Asia: The Long Road Ahead

Southeast Asia is going through tremendous changes economically. The market-oriented economies of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have been showing robust growth since the 1960s. The transitional economies of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are exhibiting signs of economic awakening and revival after years of internal political and social turmoil. Despite these encouraging signs, the region still has a long road ahead in its efforts to achieve developed nation status.

This book is a serious and concise study of various important economic aspects of Southeast Asia. The existing economic studies of the region are mainly topical in nature. Most books attempt to offer only a partial treatment of the issues and fail to examine these issues in a holistic manner. The objective of this book is to provide a more complete cross-country discussion on the economic issues and problems facing Southeast Asia. Besides critically examining the multiple facets of changes and problems that have been and will be encountered by Southeast Asia, the book presents a lucid exposition of the prospects of the region. However, it does not stop there but moves on to provide pointers and suggestions on how Southeast Asian countries should proceed with their development options and processes. The book should be of interest to economists and graduate students researching on Southeast Asia. It will also be extremely useful to those who want to have a better understanding of the Southeast Asian region.