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The author provides an international comparison of the sources of aggregate economic growth and difference of levels of aggregate output in order to identify the role of productivity growth in the course of economic growth. The countries included in this study are Japan, Singapore, Hongkong, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India. A positive relationship is found for the period 1970-80 between growth rate of output and percentage contribution of total factor productivity in these countries except in Japan, Singapore, Hongkong and Malaysia. (DÜI-Sen)

After analysing the structure and trend of income distribution and the incidence of poverty in 1957/58, 1970 and 1979, the author scrutinizes the inequality of income distribution between races (Malays, Chinese and Indians) with regard to the imbalance in the allocation of labour among races by industry and occupation. According to the findings of the paper, the income inequality between races decreased through the NEP (New Economie Policy), but the total inequality remained unchanged and the incidence of poverty also decreased.(DÜI-Sen)

This book presents theoretical examinations of why and how connecting people yields different results from those of the market mechanism alone. With an ever-greater disparity between the world's rich and poor, actions have been taken to remove the imperfections and remedy malfunctions of the market mechanism. An underlying theme of these activities is to connect people and make them directly visible to one another; thus the integrating concept of the "solidarity economy" emerges. This volume analyzes diverse examples and practices of solidarity economy. Adam Smith emphasized the importance of "sympathy" among people and the role of the "impartial spectator" in order to control otherwise reckless markets. These major concepts form the basis of a solidarity economy. The examples and practices in this book are based on this framework. The first is the idea of social business, promoted by Prof. M. Yunus of the Grameen Bank. Although the group of five members in the Grameen Bank organization is considered a system of mutual surveillance by some economists, it is not a system based on distrust but a mechanism for mutual help and encouragement. Also examined in this book is organic agriculture, which adheres to the necessity of face-to-face relationships. It pursues environmental concerns and food safety by bringing together consumers and producers in local areas and by sharing knowledge. When consumers and producers are widely separated, a system of certification assures consumers that no chemical pesticides and fertilizers are used. Connecting consumers and producers through certification systems can be seen as part of fair trade mechanisms. These mechanisms are applied in certified coffee programs, for instance, to reduce poverty, to protect the environment, and to safeguard human rights. This book proposes that all these seemingly different types of activities can be understood as part of the solidarity economy. With this unifying theme, the book will be useful for both theoretical investigations and practical applications

Using the distribution of household income, not of individual income, the authors present measurements of income distribution and regional income disparity in Thailand. The results of the study reveal that income inequality in the country was stable until 1975 after which it increased significantly and also that regional disparity and disparity between areas declined during the 1960s and 1970s. Income inequalities in some other Asian countries are briefly mentioned. (DÜI-Sen)

AbstractSubjective information about people's quality of life has always received bad press in the human development paradigm and the capability approach, despite their influence in the promotion of human‐centred policies. But, there are arguments put forward by their founders, Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, that subjective information, or happiness, can play several important roles in thinking about human development policies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine how happiness can be part of human development and capability strategies. For this aim, Sen and Nussbaum's views on happiness will be reviewed and compared to understand the value of subjective information in their work. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.