Sustainable Development in Asia: Socio-economic, Financial, and Economic Perspectives (Contributions to Economics)

This book examines the current main sustainable development issues in Asia from a socio-economic, macroeconomic, and financial perspective, beyond a plain environmental context. The book further analyzes both financial or health crises, which jeopardize the economic sustainability of countries, particularly in Asia where a sustained economic growth path is an occurrence of the recent past. By doing so, the volume presents case studies on countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN countries, like Thailand. In some instances, the book provides a comparative analysis of the experience of European Union countries. The book is divided into two parts. The first part presents contributions with socio-economic perspectives under the broad heading of sustainable development. Each contribution examines a specific Asian country. Additionally, it looks into China’s rise in adjacent regions like the Middle East, discussing China’s positioning in the world in the current post Covid19 context. The second part presents the experiences of a number of Asian countries in terms of financial and economic perspectives, including an analysis of the issue of sovereign debt. The book further examines broader topics, like the sustainability of the top financial centers, and micro-finance. The volume is a must-read for scholars, students, and practitioners, interested in a better understanding of sustainable development issues in Asia in particular, and economics in general. Acknowledgements Contents Contributors Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables Introduction and Overview References Sustainable Development of Multinational Companies in Asia: Reverse Transfer of Diversity Management Knowledge to Headquarters 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 RKT ́s Success Conditions 2.1.1 From the Perspective of HQ 2.1.2 From the Individual Perspective 2.2 Diversity Management and Expatriates 3 Method and Data 3.1 Research Design and Settings 3.2 Respondent Sample 3.3 Data Analysis 4 Findings 4.1 Current State of RKT of Diversity Management 4.2 The Relationship Between HQ and Expatriates 4.3 The Relationship Between Subsidiary Employees and Expatriates 4.4 Barriers in RKT of Diversity Management 5 Discussion 5.1 Managerial Implications to Promote the RKT of Diversity Management to HQ 6 Conclusion References Employment and Human Resource Development of Disabled People in Japan and Finland: A Comparative Study from the Perspective of... 1 Introduction 2 Diversity, Inclusion, Decent Work, and the Employment of Disabled People 2.1 Diversity and Inclusion 2.2 Decent Work 3 Data and Method 4 Employment and Human Resource Development of Disabled People: Findings from Japan and Finland 4.1 The Employment Situation and Support for Disabled People in Japan 4.1.1 Current Situation of People with Disabilities 4.1.2 Case Study in Japan: Accessibility Consortium of Enterprises (ACE) 4.2 Employment and Support for Disabled People in Finland 4.2.1 Current Status of People with Disabilities 4.2.2 Case Study in Finland: The Leap to Labour! And ILONA Projects Leap to Labour! ILONA Project 5 Conclusion References Interviews Hong Kong: ``Business as Usual ́ ́ Amidst Social Unrest 1 Introduction 2 Hong Kong Historical Overview 2.1 Hong Kong ́s Beginnings 2.2 Hong Kong ́s Economic Transformation 2.3 Rising Levels of Political Instability 3 Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protests 4 Technology, Media and Social Media to Fuel Social Unrest 5 The Future of Hong Kong ́s Economic and Social Model 6 Conclusions References China ́s Rise in the Middle East: Fuelling a Tired Dragon? 1 Introduction 2 China ́s Energy Dilemma 3 Challenges to China ́s Energy Model 4 The Middle-East: A Strategic Region for China 4.1 Challenges to Oil Dependency 5 China ́s Economic Sustainability and Green Energy Model Under Question 5.1 The PRC Changing Role to Secure Oil 5.2 China ́s Energy Model and the Environment 6 Conclusion References The Macroeconomic Impact of Government Debt: An Empirical Analysis of Thailand 1 Introduction 2 Thailand ́s Government Debt 3 Literature Review 4 Methodology 4.1 The Model 4.2 Data 5 Empirical Results 5.1 Unit Root Test 5.2 The Bounds Test 5.3 The Estimating Coefficients 5.4 Diagnostic Tests of the Model 5.5 Toda-Yamamoto Causality Test 6 Conclusion References The World ́s Top Five Financial Centers: Geopolitical Uncertainties 1 Introduction 2 Global Insights 3 The World Top Financial Centers 4 Global Economic Imbalances 5 The Global Financial Cycle 6 Financial Innovation 7 Geopolitical Uncertainties 8 Conclusions References Microfinance: A Gender Equality Tool in the Context of Vietnam 1 Introduction 2 Background on Microfinance and Women ́s Empowerment in Vietnam 3 Research Sample and Methodological Framework 3.1 Data Collection Process 3.2 Developing Women ́s Empowerment Indicators 3.3 Empirical Model 4 Findings and Discussion 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of Women Borrowers, Women ́s Union, and Microfinance Performance 4.2 The Impact of Microfinance on Women ́s Empowerment 4.2.1 Microfinance and Women ́s Control Over Own Income (INCOME) 4.2.2 Microfinance and Women ́s Income Generation (INCOMECP) 4.2.3 Microfinance and Women ́s Income Contribution (INCOMECBP) 5 Conclusion Appendix References Environmental Management Accounting in European Countries and Japan: A Literature Survey 1 Introduction 2 The Emergence of Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) 3 Environmental Accounting, Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) and Integrated Reporting 4 Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) Cases in Europe and Japan 5 Conclusion References Funding and Management Control of Hospitals: A France-Japan Comparison 1 Introduction 2 Hospital Funding, Between Convergence and National Specificities 2.1 Economic Constraints, Institutional Pressures and Healthcare Systems 2.2 France and Japan: Healthcare Systems Under Severe Financial Constraints 2.3 Financing of Hospital Structures in Japan and France 3 Fieldwork: Financing of Hospital Structures and Management Control 3.1 Areas of Failure in Activity-Based Funding 3.2 Consequences of Activity Financing for Management Control 3.3 Discussion of Results 4 Conclusion References Trade Cooperation Between China and Vietnam from the Perspective of Intra-Industry Trade 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 Literature Review on the Exchange Rate Pass-Through 2.2 Literature Review on the Heterogeneous Exchange Rate Pass-Through 2.3 Literature Review on the Case of Vietnam 3 Theoretical Framework 4 Methodology and Data 4.1 Intra- and Inter-Industry Trade 4.2 Vertical and Horizontal Intra-Industry Trade 4.3 Empirical Model Specification 4.4 Variable and Data 5 Estimation Results 5.1 GL index of Vietnam Vis-à-vis China 5.2 Vietnam ́s Goods Quality 5.3 The Composition of Vietnam ́s Intra-Industry Trade Vis-À-Vis China 5.4 The Heterogenous Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Vietnam ́s Import Prices from China 6 Conclusion References