Economics

Trade agreements have been praised as a significant contributor to developing countries´ economies and overall national development. Foreign investments help countries acquire the needed capital and technology in order to develop the domestic industry. Hence, when the EU and Vietnam signed a trade agreement, political and economic actors celebrated it as a mutually beneficial deal. However, the trade agreement has only deepened unequal development across the world.

Party-state capitalism has emerged as a new term to describe China's political-economic dynamics as the Chinese Communist Party expands its institutional control over the economic sector and reduces its autonomy. While Western observers criticize the growing politicization of the economy, party-state capitalism is a necessary tool to reduce conflicts arising from the transition from one development stage to another.

Topics: Cross-Strait Relations, China-Sweden relationship, China exploration, mutual understanding

Thanon Khao San road may be Southeast Asia's most famous street. Known as backpackers paradise, hundreds of thousands tourists visit the street each year. While you may not be able to visit Thanon Khao San at the moment, join us on a journey to see how the street became a tourist mecca.

In a glass office at Wenner-Gren Center, Stockholm, I had an interview with Dr. Chris Chao, director of the Economic Division at Taipei Mission in Sweden. I wished to find out just what kind of cooperation there currently is between Sweden and Taiwan, as well as what kind of opportunities there are for interested students such as myself. Our talk went a little like this.

Geopolitics, US-Taiwan relations under the Biden administration, the pandemic and security concerns are all topics covered in this interview with Taiwan's Ambassador Yao to Sweden by Sarah Nygård.

After many discussions on the fate of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan decided to open its borders to athletes, journalists, and other participants, and held a decidedly unique Olympic Games, thanks to strong anti-Covid-19 measures. The Olympics promise potential economic benefits and international glory to the country and the city organising them. This year, however, pandemic intervened. Moreover, scandals involving misogynistic comments from the (now former) head of the Japanese Olympic committee, and the indecision about holding the Games had already tainted Japan’s reputation prior to the event. Now that the Olympics have ended, what can be brought to light?

Chocolate is an irresistible treat that is well-loved around the world. As a chocolate lover, baker, and cookbook author, it became important for me to know the origins of chocolate. While doing research, I discovered that Indonesia is the world’s third-biggest exporter of cacao. Furthermore, the movement of having sustainable farming practices within the cacao industry has been gaining a lot of traction in the last decade.

Whilst Valentine’s Day is widely celebrated in countries around the globe, White Day is only celebrated in a limited amount of countries in East Asia, including Japan. On March 14th, Japanese men will have the chance to dole out reciprocal gifts to those who gave them gifts on Valentine’s Day. These two special holidays have a strong bond with each other—the traditional Japanese Valentine’s celebration would not be complete without one of them.

Disruptions such as trade wars and a global pandemic have disclosed the vulnerability and interdependencies along multinational production networks more than ever before. Particularly firms active in China have now started looking into more resilient manufacturing and sourcing strategies and are eyeing Vietnam. A ”China + Vietnam strategy“, however, not only offers new opportunities, but also outlines the limits and dark sides of current modes in global production.

The Lunar New Year officially began two days ago—and yet another celebration is taking place today. While Lunar New Year is a holiday for family and friends, Valentine’s Day is a holiday for lovers. The style of celebration, however, differs slightly depending on where it is held. This time, let’s focus on how Valentine's Day is celebrated in Japan and what products are demanded by the Japanese market during this romantic consumption day.

The Lunar New Year reunites friends and family across East Asian countries. Like hardly any other festive seasons, this massive holiday carries not only a high traditional, but also a tremendous economic value for any country celebrating it. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, there are a lot of changes in the economic growth over the past year. Photo Credit: Fritz Hoffmann.

‘Population ageing’ is constituted by a shift in the population age structure towards higher ages, and is a modern global phenomenon. However, some countries are more affected than others. Case in point: Japan has the oldest population, one of the lowest fertility rates, and one of the highest consumption rates per child and elderly in the world. This has severe economic consequences, to the point where it challenges the Japanese welfare system.

Today, South Korea has one of the highest household debt burdens in the world with regard to its economic size. With income growth lagging behind the increase in debt, the debt-to-disposable income ratio is even at its highest since it began being recorded in 2007. The Korean government is now facing growing household debt in combination with an uncertain housing market. A question thus arises: what could this mean in the light of the current COVID-19 pandemic?

Small enterprise clusters in the sub-rural areas of Vietnam surprise with their seemingly counterintuitive but lucrative business logic. Unique skills, symbiotic collaboration patterns and market dynamics have often developed over centuries. But the face of clusters such as Bát Tràng ceramics village is changing, now more than ever in the light of resource exploitation, COVID-19 and the advent of technology.

Songdo International Business District is praised as a state-of-the art business hub and smart city project, equipped with the latest data technology and high sustainability standards. Skyrocketing buildings and aesthetically landscaped parks invite you to believe you are walking on the streets of the next urban utopia. But does Songdo really stand for a better, brighter and greener future?