East Asia

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Over the past decades, East Asia has been the economically most dynamic region in the world economy. Even though most East Asian developing and emerging countries have made significant progress in terms of per capita income and human development, the countries of this region face tremendous challenges. These range from social imbalances to climate change, the degradation of natural resources and environmental pollution to achieving and maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability.
The German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) conducts research on East Asia with a focus on the following issues:

Climate change mitigation and adaption
Natural resource governance
Low carbon transformation
Green urbanisation
Financing of green investments and sustainable development
Design and effects of international investment agreements and trade policies
Macroeconomic and financial stability
Regional financial and monetary co-operation

Publications

Emerging trends in International development and climate policy: a focus on Korea and Germany
Klingebiel, Stephan / Thomas Kalinowski / Niels Keijzer (2024)
Cham: Palgrave Macmillan

Mutual legitimation attempts: the United Nations and China's Belt and Road Initiative
Haug, Sebastian (2024)
in: International Affairs, 100 (3), 1207-1230

2024 – Asia’s bumper election year
Lorch, Jasmin
The Current Column of 4 March 2024

COVID-19 and political trust in local governments: evidence from Nepal
Fiedler, Charlotte / Hugo Marcos-Marne / Karina Mross (2024)
in: Political Studies Review, first published 09.02.2024

Chinese firms and adherence to global ESG standards in developing countries: is there potential to create common ground?
Morris, Mike (2023)
Discussion Paper 18/2023

Chinese investors in Zambia and Angola: motives, profile, strategies
Li, Hangwei (2023)
in: Dominik Kopiński / Pádraig Carmody / Ian Taylor (eds.), The Political Economy of Chinese FDI and Spillover Effects in Africa, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 193-216

Beyond protection, toward respect: struggle for environmental justice in the Kendeng Mountains
Kunz, Yvonne / Jonas Hein / Mokh Sobirin (2023)
in: Society and Natural Resources, first published 15.10.2023

Practising organizational autonomy at the community level: evidence from advocacy projects in Uganda and Vietnam
Gutheil, Lena (2023)
in: van Wessel, Margit / Tina Kontinen / Justice Nyigmah Bawole (Hrsg.), Reimagining civil society collaborations in development: starting from the South, London: Routledge, 281-295

Do information communication technologies (ICTs) support self-reliance among urban refugees? Evidence from Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia
Martin-Shields, Charles / Katrina Munir-Asen (2022)
in: International Migration Review, first published 25.12.2022

China's expanding engagement with the United Nations development pillar: the selective long-term approach of a programme country superpower
Baumann, Max-Otto / Sebastian Haug/ Silke Weinlich (2022)
Bonn: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung / German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), November 2022

China's leapfrogging in electromobility: a story of green transformation driving catch-up and competitive advantage
Altenburg, Tilman / Nicoletta Corrocher / Franco Malerba (2022)
in: Technological Forecasting and Social Change (183), article 121914

China’s zero-Covid strategy: causes for public protests in Chinese cities and consequences for the world economy
Cissé, Daouda (2022)
published on blogs.soas.ac.uk, 15.12.2022

Partnerships for policy transfer: how Brazil and China engage in triangular cooperation with the United Nations
Waisbich, Laura Trajber / Sebastian Haug (2022)
Discussion Paper 15/2022

How does urban rail development in China and India enable technological upgrading?
Asimeng, Emmanuel Theodore / Tilman Altenburg (2022)
Discussion Paper 14/2022

Local financial development and the growth of small firms in Vietnam
Tran, Viet T. / Yabibal M. Walle / Helmut Herwartz / Trung Thanh Nguyen (2022)
in: Asia Pacific Economy, 10.08.2022

Trouble at the UN: Western member states push back against Chinese-led FAO
Baumann, Max-Otto (2022)
published on thediplomat.com, 30.07.2022

How to make energy efficiency labels more effective: insights from discrete choice experiments in Ghana and the Philippines
Kuhn, Sascha / Kutzner Florian / Thøgersen John (2021)
in: Energy Research & Social Science (84), 1-15

Unmasking the middle class in the Philippines: aspirations, lifestyles, and prospects for sustainable consumption
Never, Babette / Albert, Jose Ramon G. (2021)
in: Asian Studies Review, published online 3 May 2021

The EU and China in African authoritarian regimes: domestic politics and governance reforms
Hackenesch, Christine (2018)
Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan

River basin management and fiscal decentralisation: mutually supportive or counterproductive? A case study of Mongolia
Dombrowsky, Ines / Ariunaa Lkhagvadorj / Mirja Schoderer (2018)
Discussion Paper 10/2018

Managing coastal ecosystems in the Philippines: what Cash for Work programmes can contribute
Altenburg, Tilman / Cecilia Fischer / Kerstin Huck / Anna Kruip / Sören Müller / Stefanie Sörensen (2017)
Studies 94

Is China's Silk Road initiative at a dead end?
Wolff, Peter (2017)
The Current Column of 15 May 2017

A new climate trilateralism? Opportunities for cooperation between the EU, China and African countries on addressing climate change
Weigel, Moritz / Alexander Demissie (2017)
Discussion Paper 8/2017

Diversity and implications of food safety and quality standards in Thailand and India
Hampel-Milagrosa, Aimée / Sarah Holzapfel (2016)
Briefing Paper 17/2016

Revamping the OECD’s Five Rural Worlds model for poverty-oriented inter-sectoral analysis, communication and planning
Brüntrup, Michael (2016)
Briefing Paper 16/2016

Regional financial integration in East Asia against the backdrop of recent European experiences
Volz, Ulrich (2016)
in: International Economic Journal 30 (2), 272-293

Wastewater systems and energy saving in urban India: governing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus series
Never, Babette (2016)
Discussion Paper 12/2016

Promises and pitfalls of plurilateralism
Brandi, Clara (2016)
published on Think Piece e-paper 4/2016, 1-7

What place for Asia in the EU’s strategy on development cooperation? Which role for Europe in Asia? Any at all?
Henökl, Thomas (2016)
in: Olivia Gippner (ed.), Changing waters: towards a new EU Asia Strategy (LSE Ideas! Special Report), London: School of Economics, 71-78

China’s "Belt and Road" initiative: challenges and opportunities
Wolff, Peter (2016)
Report prepared for the 2016 Annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank

Fostering Green Finance in Asia
Volz, Ulrich (2016)
Report prepared for the 2016 Annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank

Water scarcity and oil palm expansion: social views and environmental processes
Jennifer Merten / Alexander Röll / Thomas Guillaume / Ana Meijide / Suria Tarigan / Herdhata Agusta / Claudia Dislich / Christoph Dittrich / Heiko Faust / Dodo Gunawan / Jonas Hein / Hendrayanto / Alexander Knohl / Yakov Kuzyakov / Kerstin Wiegand / Dirk Hölscher
Externe Publikationen (2016)
published on Ecology and Society 21 (2), Art. 5

Sustainability-oriented Innovation Systems in China and India
Altenburg, Tilman (ed.) (2016)
London: Routledge

China’s dilemma: How to change a running system?
Fischer, Doris
The Current Column of 20 July 2015

A new partnership between China and Germany in support of international development
Klingebiel, Stephan / Li Xiaoyun
The Current Column of 09.10.2014

Enhancing international technology cooperation for climate change mitigation: lessons from an electromobility case study
Bhasin, Shikha (2014)
Discussion Paper 26/2014

Factory Asia – another mega-regional trade agreement?
Brandi, Clara / Dominique Bruhn / Max Büge
The Current Column of 19 May 2014

Low-carbon standards and labels in China
Brandi, Clara (2014)
published on Oxford Development Studies

Conservation, REDD+ and the struggle for land in Jambi, Indonesia
Hein, Jonas / Heiko Faust (2014)
In: Pacific Geograhies 41/2014, 20-25

A strong voice for global sustainable development: how China can play a leading role in the Post-2015 Agenda
Ye, Jiang / Thomas Fues (2014)
Briefing Paper 2/2014

Investment rules in Chinese preferential trade and investment agreements: is China following the global trend towards comprehensive agreements?
Berger, Axel (2013)
Discussion Paper 7/2013

Investment treaties and the search for market access in China
Berger, Axel (2013)
In: Investment Treaty News 4 (3), 8-9

China–Europe relations in the mitigation of climate change: a conceptual framework
Berger, Axel / Doris Fischer / Rasmus Lema / Hubert Schmitz / Frauke Urban (2013)
In: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 42 (1), 71-98

Sustainability certification in the Indonesian palm oil sector: benefits and challenges for smallholders
Brandi, Clara / Tobias Cabani / Christoph Hosang / Sonja Schirmbeck / Lotte Westermann / Hannah Wiese (2013)
Studies 74

ASEAN financial integration in the light of recent European experiences
Volz, Ulrich (2013)
In: Journal of Southeast Asian Economies 30 (2), 124-142

Lessons of the European crisis for regional monetary and financial integration in East Asia
Volz, Ulrich (2013)
In: Asia Europe Journal 11 (4), 355-376

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), transnational conservation and access to land in Jambi, Indonesia
Hein, Jonas (2013)
published on Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (EFForTS Discussion Paper Series 2)

Climate change mitigation in emerging economies: the case of Indonesia: hot air or leadership?
Hein, Jonas (2013)
Briefing Paper 8/2013

China and global imbalances from a view of sectorial reforms
Ito, Hiro / Ulrich Volz (2013)
in: Review of International Economics 21 (1), 57-71

China’s impact on the global wind power industry
Lema, Rasmus / Axel Berger / Hubert Schmitz (2013)
In: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 42 (1), 37–69

Gender related obstacles to Vietnamese women entrepreneurs: technical report
Hampel-Milagrosa, Aimée et al. (2012)
Prepared for the UN-GOV Joint Programme on Gender Equality

Chinese monetary policy and the dollar peg
Reade, J. James / Ulrich Volz (2012)
In: Yin-Wong Cheung / Jakob de Haan (eds.), The evolving role of China in the global economy, Cambridge, MA: MIT Pr., 265-299

Financial regionalism in East Asia
Volz, Ulrich (2012)
In: International Spectator Vol. 47 (2), 95-109

ASEAN und Europa – Integration mit Hindernissen
Wolff, Peter (2012)
In: Blickpunkt Asia Pacific 09/2012

Asian financial integration
Wolff, Peter / Ashima Goyal / Joseph Cherian / Bejoy Das Gupta / Syetarn Hansakul / Veerathai Santiprabhob (2012)
In: Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies 5 (2), (Special Issue: Emerging Markets and Capital Flow Volatility), 297-305

Trade creation and the status of FTAs: empirical evidence from East Asia
Mölders, Florian / Ulrich Volz (2011)
In: Review of World Economics 147 (3), 429-456