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www.eria.org. The Voice of ASEAN Youth: ASEAN Priorities and Challenges. Sothea OUM Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
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www.eria.org The Voice of ASEAN Youth: ASEAN Priorities and Challenges Sothea OUM Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) The 8th Asia Economic Forum on “ASEAN in the Evolving Regional Architecture: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Direction” Hotel Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra, Phnom Penh, 16 -18 March 2012
Transformation of International Commerce - 2nd Unbundling in Manufacturing and Related service 20th century trade 21st century trade • 1) Necessary trade & service links • Connecting factories • - Trade policy barriers; • - Transportation services; • Business mobility; • Communication services. 2) Necessary “Behind the border barriers” (BBB) reform Doing business abroad - International investment; - Application of home’s technology abroad; - Local availability of business services. Source: Baldwin (2011)
What does AEC look like in 2015? AEC 2015 is more than FTA. It aims for a common market but not quite a single market. It is not a customs union and does not aim for economic and monetary union. NOTE: Common Market range of nuance: from free movement of goods and freer flow of services, capital and labor on one end, and on the other end, a single market. ASEAN
Challenges and Ways Forward • Challenges • Jobs, Jobs, and Jobs for new entrants to labor markets and business opportunities • Master ASEAN language and new high skills to benefit from new industries • Once AEC is further advanced, fiercer competition – standards and conformance, technological gaps/frontiers, especially for SMEs • Structural/sectoral adjustments , skill mismatch, dislocation, losers • Ways forward • Be better informed and prepared for AEC – mechanism/safety net to mitigate potential negative effects • ASEAN activism - proactive be it business, political or cultural, policies that matter to youth – Raise your voice to be heard • Compassionate, prosper-thy-neighbors – within and beyond borders • You(th) are deserved and should demand for Quality of Education, Education, and Education !!! • Streamlining ASEAN studies into education system
Thank You “Don't ask what ASEAN can do for you, but what you can do for ASEAN” - John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, reincarnated as ASEAN Champion