Economic crisis in Korea and the degraded developmental state

This article analyses the Korean developmental state since the late 1990s, and argues that the state has continued to play a weighty role in the economy. The state guided industrial and financial restructuring after the Asian economic crisis, and intervened to stimulate the economy during the 2008 global financial crisis. In doing so, state elites have displayed a distinctive form of economic leadership that is largely consistent with the developmental state. Rather than focusing predominantly on performance-related indicators of state strength such as growth rates, this article analyses the deeper aspects of the developmental state, specifically its internal functions and its collaboration with business. The article brings politics back into analysis of the developmental state by questioning the assumption that strong economic performance is necessary for the maintenance of close ties between the state and chaebol. Instead, economic performance is better understood as a predictor of patterns of conflict and cooperation. Longstanding ties between the state and big business have endured two significant economic crises, even if the performance of the developmental state has been degraded compared to earlier decades.

Criticisms of auditors and earnings management during the Asian economic crisis

Auditors were criticised during and after the Asian economic crisis for supplying variable quality across global audit markets. This study examines
the level of earnings management as measured by discretionary accruals in the pre-crisis compared to the post-crisis periods as they impacted Malaysia. Both the Jones (1991) and earnings per share frequency distribution methods are used to examine earnings management behaviour. As hypothesised, the pre-crisis period is associated with significantly higher levels of absolute discretionary accruals and increased propensity to meet or beat the prior year earnings per share, whereas the post-crisis period is not. This finding is consistent with auditors responding to the criticisms that were made. However, the propensity to avoid losses is found to be higher in the post-crisis period, indicating that earnings management is not fully constrained.

How the financial crisis sundered the dream of the autonomous subject

The article discusses the effect of the 2008 economic meltdown on self-reliance. Banks are noted to have honored credit default swaps and purchase mortgages as collateralized debt obligations (CDO) with the option of buy back at face value. Also discussed are the Wall Street Bailout, the Australian banking system and the overseas debt of Australia.

The implementation of OECD corporate governance principles in post-crisis Asia

The recent OECD Principles on Corporate Governance provide a framework for the convergence of global corporate governance practice. This paper considers the implementation of these global ‘best-practice’ standards of governance as part of the continuing post-economic-crisis reform throughout Asia. These initiatives have explicitly acknowledged that no single model of governance can exist, and instead have focused on those elements apparently common and, therefore, applicable to all countries. Notwithstanding the existence of these elements, this paper investigates the difficulties involved when attempting to implement general rules across countries at different stages of economic and legal development. While implementation will be hindered by obvious cultural disparities, long-term change in practice requires a cultural shift in the philosophical and financial bases of the firm.

The all for Australia league in New South Wales : a study in political entrepreneurship and hegemony

In 1931, the All for Australia League and other 'citizens movements' mounted a major challenge to the established conservative parties. Traditional views of the League saw it as a reflection of economic group interests, whether of the business establishment or dissident capitalists such as manufactures. More recent scholarship has stressed middle-class concerns with 'sound finance' as the inspiration of the League. This paper instead situates the League in the historical context of centre party projects in New South Wales, and of progressivism, in particular industrial psychology. The economic crisis and the rightward shift of the nationalists enabled a group of political entrepreneurs to transform the League from a front group for business into a populist movement. However, the shift of mainstream conservatism back to the political centre fatally undercut the League's support base.

Wealth effect of auditor switch during crisis and non-crisis period : the Malaysian experience

This study examines the auditor switch effect on share prices among listed companies in Malaysia, mainly the Second Board companies during economic crisis and the economic growth period. Data on companies listed on the KLSE that reported switching of auditors were gathered from the respective companies’ annual reports for the period of 1990 until 1999. Daily stock prices and the Second Board Index for an interval of 200 days windows were extracted from the KLSE Daily Dairy. The wealth effect of auditor’s switch was investigated using the market model event study methodology. The general findings of the study imply that it is consistent with the theory, the market reacts positively to news involving switching to higher prestige audit firms before the economic crisis but reacted negatively during the economic crisis. News involving switching to lower prestige auditors received negative reaction both before and during the crisis. This study postulate that the negative reaction to switches during the economic crisis (either to higher prestige or to lower prestige auditors) may be due to cost cutting exercise rather than obtaining qualified audit reports.

Firm survival through a crisis : the influence of market orientation, marketing innovation and business strategy

As an outcome of the economic crisis, the global manufacturing sector is collapsing. Focusing on Chinese manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this study investigates whether marketing innovation, defined as improvements in the marketing mix, can assist in withstanding the challenges of operating under the current economic conditions. A conceptual model linking market orientation, marketing innovation, competitive advantage and firm survival is tested using structural equation modelling. Three key findings are derived. First, the examined Chinese manufacturing SMEs had a greater perceived likelihood of survival had they developed and sustained a competitive advantage. Second, marketing innovation assisted in developing and sustaining competitive advantages based on differentiation and cost leadership strategies. Third, marketing innovation capabilities improved when the examined manufacturing SMEs were competitor oriented and had good inter-functional capabilities.

Monitoring and accountability for the Pacific response to the non-communicable diseases crisis

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCD) are the leading cause of premature death and disability in the Pacific. In 2011, Pacific Forum Leaders declared "a human, social and economic crisis" due to the significant and growing burden of NCDs in the region. In 2013, Pacific Health Ministers' commitment to 'whole of government' strategy prompted calls for the development of a robust, sustainable, collaborative NCD monitoring and accountability system to track, review and propose remedial action to ensure progress towards the NCD goals and targets. The purpose of this paper is to describe a regional, collaborative framework for coordination, innovation and application of NCD monitoring activities at scale, and to show how they can strengthen accountability for action on NCDs in the Pacific. A key component is the Dashboard for NCD Action which aims to strengthen mutual accountability by demonstrating national and regional progress towards agreed NCD policies and actions.

DISCUSSION: The framework for the Pacific Monitoring Alliance for NCD Action (MANA) draws together core country-level components of NCD monitoring data (mortality, morbidity, risk factors, health system responses, environments, and policies) and identifies key cross-cutting issues for strengthening national and regional monitoring systems. These include: capacity building; a regional knowledge exchange hub; innovations (monitoring childhood obesity and food environments); and a robust regional accountability system. The MANA framework is governed by the Heads of Health and operationalised by a multi-agency technical Coordination Team. Alliance membership is voluntary and non-conditional, and aims to support the 22 Pacific Island countries and territories to improve the quality of NCD monitoring data across the region. In establishing a common vision for NCD monitoring, the framework combines data collected under the WHO Global Framework for NCDs with a set of action-orientated indicators captured in a NCD Dashboard for Action.

SUMMARY : Viewing NCD monitoring as a multi-component system and providing a robust, transparent mutual accountability mechanism helps align agendas, roles and responsibilities of countries and support organisations. The dashboard provides a succinct communication tool for reporting progress on implementation of agreed policies and actions and its flexible methodology can be easily expanded, or adapted for other regions.

Receiving bankruptcy law into Vietnam

With assistance from foreign donors, countries in developing East Asia are rapidly replacing bureaucratic regulations with statutory norms mainly derived from international trade protocol (eg, WTO and AHA). Using imported legal norms, Vietnam enacted a Law on Business Bankruptcy (LBB) (Luat Pha San Doanh Nghiep) in 1993. By any measure, the [*2] transplanted bankruptcy principles have failed to take root. During the East Asian Economic Crisis (1997-2001) when non-performing business loans dramatically increased, cases heard by the bankruptcy courts in Vietnam declined. This article investigates the ways Vietnamese ideological, cultural and structural conditions have influenced the reception of the LBE. It is concluded that legal transfers are shaped more by political, economic and legal interactions, than by 'chance and prestige'.

Autonomy and disintegration in Indonesia

Fragmentation in Indonesia is by far the most critical issue now facing the state. This book analyses social unrest, autonomy and separatism in the wake of the Indonesian economic crisis, placing them in the context of state evolution, and looking at the competing aims of economic and political globalisation with local agendas.

Estimating the demand for money in an unstable open economy : the case of the Fiji Islands

In this paper, we estimate Fiji's money demand function for the period 1971-2002 based on the bounds testing approach to cointegration, which is applicable irrespective of whether or not the underlying variables are non-stationary. We estimate models with and without a time trend and for lag lengths ranging from 1-3, but fail to find any evidence for a long-run relationship. Moreover, our structural break analysis suggests that the unstable nature of Fiji's money demand may be due to atypical events, such as coups; the implementation of policies, such as devaluations and value added tax; and the onset of trade liberalisation policies over the last two decades.

Australia and New Zealand: separate states but path-dependent

Australia and New Zealand (Aotearoa) have shared almost two centuries of close relations created through close geographic proximity, shared membership of political associations, and frequent policy exchange. The relevant context has shifted from the British Empire and Commonwealth to a rapidly globalizing world under US military hegemony. Australia and New Zealand were among the early settler colonies of the British Empire and this article argues that, as such, the settler colonies helped shape the form of the Empire, and subsequently the Commonwealth. This history created strong, separate, if somewhat similar, traditions of independent political experimentation. This article explores different models for explaining the cross-Tasman relationship and concludes that the path-dependent approach works best. The path was also influenced by external shocks, notably the second world war and Britain's moves towards Europe, and it was these shocks that created the necessary ruptures to create change. The first world war had catapulted Australia and New Zealand towards separate nationhood, and simultaneously strengthened their cultural and political links. The second world war pushed Australia towards the USA and led both Australia and New Zealand to develop a more explicit role as regional leaders in the Pacific. For New Zealand, Britain's membership of the European Community created an economic crisis and politico-cultural stresses which are reverberating still. Such shocks created the preconditions also for closer association, exemplified in the CER Treaty, which in turn draws upon historical precedents and experiences.

Neoliberalism, the developmental state and civil society in Korea

Following the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s, some scholars predicted that the introduction of neoliberal ideas and policies would result in the definitive passing of the Korean developmental state. Despite these predictions, Korean state elites have retained their influential position as economic managers by, for instance, practicing a revised form of industrial policy. Neoliberal reform has, however, had significant social implications. Rather than neoliberalism acting as a democratising force that curtails the power of the state, this article illustrates that the Korean state has used the reform agenda to justify an expansion of its powers. The state presented itself as an agent capable of resolving long-standing economic problems, and of defending law and order. By doing so, the state reduced the political space available to non-state actors. The article concludes that for some states, neoliberalism is a means of retaining economic and political influence, and that former developmental states may be particularly adept at co-opting elements of civil society into governing alliances.

Australia and Solomon Islands: what next after 14 years of regional assistance?

In 2003, Australia led a modest intervention into Solomon Islands in response to both growing civil unrest and an escalating economic crisis. New Zealand and several Pacific Island countries contributed to this response, which became known as Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, or RAMSI. With the mission due to withdraw in 2017, this article explores whether there are indicators that the country is likely to return to civil unrest through assessing whether firearms and other weapons are again being sourced and stockpiled, and considers what else could be done for Australia and Solomon Islands to move beyond RAMSI and into a new phase of peaceful cooperation.