Many in Asia have escaped poverty, but capital continues to flow disproportionately to the tiny elite. The top 1 per cent now own 50.4 per cent of global wealth; that is, 1 per cent of…
With a rising middle class and booming demand for automobiles, Asian cities can expect no relief from congestion, and this may be a deterrent for businesses. Rural areas are increasingly prepared to absorb this potential…
More than two decades after the emigration of Vietnam’s “boat people” reached its apex, a new exodus is underway. Increasing numbers of university-aged Vietnamese students are pursuing degrees abroad. Two factors can reverse this loss…
The period during which Phnom Penh embarked on its second birth has been an historic one for Asia. Unprecedented economic growth, global trade, poverty alleviation, and social transformation have reached nearly every corner of the…
The return of the haze to Singapore has brought the predictable round of complaints, analysis, hand-wringing, and soul-searching, but the problem never seems to improve. To establish a basis for actionable intervention, it is critical…
The next generation of think tank capacity should emerge not from direct government initiatives, but from the improvement of conditions that support independent thought. This includes an education system that teaches critical thinking, an intellectual…
Food safety is a serious public health concern in the world’s two most populous countries, China and India. In both countries, the challenges of feeding a large, geographically dispersed population, millions of whom are poor…
India’s competitive advantages in the new global economy are well known. But transformative social progress will be possible only if the country launches a more comprehensive effort to address pathologies long brushed off as the…
With India’s population projected to be the world’s largest in the coming decade, the country’s long-term development is increasingly relevant in the global economy. The highest growth potential currently appears to be in knowledge industries,…
Few factors have had a greater impact on recent urban growth than communications technology (ICT) and property investment strategies. The evolution of both is transforming space and social interaction at an unprecedented pace and depth,…
