by Ramkishen S Rajan (George Mason University, USA) & Sunil Rongala (Research Manager, An International Professional Services Organization, India)

Table of Contents (43k)
Preface (47k)
Chapter 1: Asia's Embarrassment of Riches: A Story of Prudence, Global Imbalances, and Some Good Old Fashioned Mercantilism* (98k)

This book consists of 20 short essays on different dimensions of international economic policy with specific (though not exclusive) focus on Asia. Topics covered include: exchange rate regimes and reserve buildup in Asia; global macroeconomic imbalances; financial sector liberalization; international capital flows to and from Asia; infrastructure financing in Asia; foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, production networks, manufacturing and outsourcing in Asia; the economic rise of China and India; and trade, financial and monetary regionalism in Asia. While the book covers important and often technical economic issues of contemporary policy relevance, it is written in a manner that is easily accessible to non-economists, including students of public policy, international affairs, international commerce and business, as well as policy-makers and interested observers.

• Monetary and Exchange Rates Issues:
  • Asia's Embarrassment of Riches: A Story of Prudence, Global Imbalances, and Some Good Old Fashioned Mercantilism
  • The Known Unknown: The Whopping US Current Account Deficit and Its Implications (With Surabhi Jain)
  • Will the US Dollar Remain ‘Top Dog’?: The Billion Dollar Question (With Jose Kiran)
  • A Central Banker's Holy Grail: Inflation-Targeting Frameworks with Reference to Asia (With Tony Cavoli)
  • Singapore's Currency Baskets and the Mantra of Competitiveness: The Importance of Real Exchange Rates
• Financial Liberalization, Financial Crises and the Financing of Development:
  • Barbarians at the Gates: Foreign Bank Entry in Asia
  • The Tobin Tax: A Panacea for Financial Crises?
  • International Capital Flows to Asia: The Never-ending Magic Spigot?
  • Using Reserves to Finance Infrastructure in India: Will it Clear the Gridlock?
  • The Goldmine of Development Finance: Reassessing the Importance of Migrants' Remittances
• Trade, Investment and the Rise of China and India:
  • The “Do's and Don'ts” of Attracting Foreign Direct Investment
  • Chips from East Asia, Hardware from Southeast Asia, and Assembled in China: Production Sharing and Trade in Asia
  • All Paths Lead to India: Do Other Asian Countries Pose a Challenge to Its Dominance in Services Outsourcing? (With Sadhana Srivastava)
  • The Rise of the Indian Manufacturing Sector: A True Underdog Story
  • Will the Big Tiger Leave Any Crumbs for the Little Dragons? China vs Southeast Asia
• Economic Regionalism in Asia:
  • Embracing One's Neighbour: Redefining the Importance of India to ASEAN
  • Going It Alone: Singapore's Trade Strategy (With Rahul Sen)
  • ASEAN Economic Integration: Taking Care of Business
  • Uncooperative Cooperation: The Saga of Economic Cooperation in South Asia
  • Monetary and Financial Cooperation in Asia: More than Just Buzzwords?