DSpace Collection:
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/79206
2024-03-29T15:12:53ZPromoting regional development bank complementarity : challenges to Asia and lessons from Europe
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/81659
Title: Promoting regional development bank complementarity : challenges to Asia and lessons from Europe
Authors: Ji, Xianbai
Abstract: As the international development finance architecture decentralises, a plethora of regional multilateral development banks (MDBs) emerge. The institutional landscape in Asia is transforming with the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). This working paper aims to shed light on the horizontal relationship between the traditional development actor, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the nascent AIIB. Based on the collaborative experiences of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), this paper recommends that ADB and the AIIB should form a tri-partite coordination mechanism to promote cooperation and equality, develop complementary portfolios in terms of sectoral exposure and geographical coverage, and co-fund projects to catalyse greater inter-agency cooperation. The resulting synergies will stitch the two institutions into an interdependent and coherent development finance structure in Asia and beyond.2016-01-01T00:00:00ZEU competition law : a roadmap for ASEAN?
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/81660
Title: EU competition law : a roadmap for ASEAN?
Authors: Valockova, Barbora
Abstract: The European Union’s competition policy and legal regime is instrumental in the functioning of the single market in the EU. The member states accepted to transfer decision-making power to the European Commission to allow for effective enforcement of competition law, crucial for the well-functioning of the Single Market. In contrast, there is not yet a region-wide ASEAN competition legal regime and the policy landscape in ASEAN is quite different from that of the EU. However, ASEAN in moving towards an ASEAN Economic Community, have acknowledged the need to introduce nation-wide competition law and policy by 2015 in its Economic Blueprint. One of the objectives of the ASEAN Economic Community is to create a competitive economic region which promotes a culture of fair competition. Nevertheless, there are fears that without reforms in the institutional arrangements on compliance and enforcement of rules and regulations, the developments in the field of competition law will remain words, without any teeth.
This working paper aims at analysing whether EU competition law could serve as a template for ASEAN. It argues that ASEAN can look at the EU experience and use the EU competition law regime as a source or reference for developing its own model of competition policy and legal instruments. However the development of ASEAN’s own competition regime will not follow exactly the roadmap of the EU due to the different approaches towards regional economic integration, legislative frameworks and institutional structures. The paper also examines possible lessons from EU competition law regime and the most appropriate solutions for a successful ASEAN competition law regime.2015-01-01T00:00:00ZThe European Union’s democratic deficit and options for EU democracy in the 21st century
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/98315
Title: The European Union’s democratic deficit and options for EU democracy in the 21st century
Authors: Lee, Dexter
Abstract: The European Union (EU) is widely acknowledged as a successful example of economic and political integration of nation states today – a slate of democratic institutions such as the European Parliament have also been developed and European citizens now possess extensive political and civil rights by virtue of the introduction of European citizenship. Nevertheless, the EU is said to suffer from a so called “democratic deficit” even as it seeks deeper and closer integration. Decades of institutional design and elite closed-door decisions has taken its toll on the inclusion and integration of European citizens in social and political life, with widening socio-economic inequalities and the resurgence of extreme-right parties during in the wake of the debt crisis in the Eurozone. This paper attempts to evaluate the democratic development of the EU through the use of a process-oriented approach, and concludes at the end with discussions on the various options that the EU and its citizens can take to reform democratic processes and institutions in Europe.2014-01-01T00:00:00ZHigher education scholarships as a soft power tool : an analysis of its role in the EU and Singapore
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/98673
Title: Higher education scholarships as a soft power tool : an analysis of its role in the EU and Singapore
Authors: Chia, Charles Sheng-Kai
Abstract: The European Union and Singapore are vastly different entities, each with its own regional and global priorities and policies. Both actors employ a range of tools and instruments to aid in their foreign policy objectives, including in the projection of their soft power. It is worth analysing and comparing the specific instruments of these two actors’ soft power strategies, including but not limited to their stated objectives and perceived effectiveness. This paper will compare the role of higher education and scholarships in diffusing soft power through a comparative case study of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship program and the Singapore Scholarship administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It will look at the ways in which these programs have shaped the standing of the actors in diffusing their norms and objectives in the regional and international arena. A comparative analysis of these programs will hopefully provide some insight into the proximity between foreign policy-making and higher education internationalisation. This paper will begin with an overview of the aforementioned programs and related schemes, before dissecting and comparing the intent and the policy-making processes behind these, and concludes with a discussion on the present and future role of higher education as a strategic soft power tool.2015-01-01T00:00:00Z