World-class centre leads its field
The Centre's research is based around a number of broad themes. It primarily explores the political and social forces driving economic decision-making, taking the view that economic decisions are not technical decisions made in isolation, but are inextricably tied to their political and social context. The Centre's work looks at regulatory mechanisms governing economic decisions and issues of governance within the public sector and industry sectors. Many of its publications have focused on political economy in specific Southeast Asian countries, particularly Indonesia and Singapore.
A strong focus on institutions of civil society such as the press, the judiciary, parliamentary systems and the civil service in Asia also characterises the Centre's work. The Centre's first major research project, resulting in the publication of a number of books edited by members of the group working on Southeast Asia, was on the New Rich in Asia. The burgeoning of a substantial middle class in Asia during the 1970s and 1980s captured the imagination of the West, not least because the new middle classes represented massive new markets for exports and investments. Among the questions explored was whether Asia's New Rich would bring with them institutions of liberalism, democracy, rule of law, and new freedoms and ideologies based on concepts of individual rights. Titles published on the theme of the New Rich in Asia include The Pacific Review -- Special Issue on the New Rich in Asia, The New Rich in Asia: Mobile Phones, McDonalds and Middle-class Revolution (both edited by Richard Robison and David Goodman), Political Opposition in Industrialising Asia (edited by Garry Rodan) and Gender and Power in Affluent Asia (edited by Krishna Sen and Maila Stivens).
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| Are we witnessing the end of Asian Capitalism, with Asia caught in an inexorable metamorphosis toward liberal capitalism? |
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The Centre has looked at Australia's engagement with Asia from two perspectives. Firstly, in terms of the policy and political dynamics of the process and the contending forces which seek to shape the nature of engagement, including the influences of Asian values and economic rationalism. Secondly, the Centre has undertaken more practical work examining the changing business environments in the Asian region and commercial links with Australia.
The Centre has also published in the area of environmental policy, of increasing concern as the Asian region experienced a period of sustained growth and industrialisation. Central to the environmental problem has been the limited presence of institutions able to secure and regulate for the public good. The Centre's research in this area analyses the broader economic and social contexts in which policy formulation is located. The Centre has published a two-volume series, Environmental Regulation in Indonesia (C. Warren and K. Elston) and Environmental Regulation in Malaysia and Singapore (K. Elston and G. Bankoff).