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International audience ; The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made strides in regional integration and cooperation, aided by unique modes of governance privileging consensus and non-interference. However, the social dimension is in the early stages of development and is currently detached from economic integration initiatives. The movement of low- and unskilled workers, many of whom are undocumented, has received especially little attention in ASEAN. Their growing numbers underscore the importance of treating migration as integral rather than separate from labour and general social protection issues. The establishment of regional agreements on social protection and integration, with particular focus on migration and labour standards, should signal the recognition of the economic nature of migration, and help strengthen the relevance and profile of ASEAN among the citizens of member countries. While existing mechanisms can be used to push for this — from Track II discussions to regional coalition building — the political challenge lies in making the issue an active concern in official ASEAN agenda.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made strides in regional integration and cooperation, aided by unique modes of governance privileging consensus and non-interference. However, the social dimension is in the early stages of development and is currently detached from economic integration initiatives. The movement of low- and unskilled workers, many of whom are undocumented, has received especially little attention in ASEAN. Their growing numbers underscore the importance of treating migration as integral rather than separate from labour and general social protection issues. The establishment of regional agreements on social protection and integration, with particular focus on migration and labour standards, should signal the recognition of the economic nature of migration, and help strengthen the relevance and profile of ASEAN among the citizens of member countries. While existing mechanisms can be used to push for this — from Track II discussions to regional coalition building — the political challenge lies in making the issue an active concern in official ASEAN agenda.

AbstractMuch of the conventional wisdom about the political economy of foreign direct investment suggests that many developing country governments lower regulatory and/or legislative standards in order to woo potential investors. Using the case of the tobacco industry's efforts to influence excise tax policy reforms in the Philippines, we find a much more complex reality. Over a period of more than 15 years of concerted efforts and significant financial investment, a large multinational tobacco firm was consistently unable to realize its tax policy goals with serious, negative implications for the firm. In the most recent major policy confrontation over excise tax reform that led to one of the largest tax increases on tobacco products ever in a developing country, a number of major variables mitigated the powerful firm's influence. These variables included strong support for tax reform from a number of influential political actors and a well-organized civil society movement, which led to broader public support for both public health and fiscal reasons. Global governance around economic policy and the effects of domestic institutional structures also had marked effects on the outcomes.

Senghaas, Dieter: Die Auswege aus der Armut sind bekannt. Alte Wahrheiten angesichts neuer Konzepte. - S. 7-11