A GLOBAL STUDY ON DEVELOPMENT ISSUES FOR MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES IN THE ASEAN

Abstract

This paper lies on a research problem of how to build an ASEAN economic development strategy, presenting future development possibilities. A statistical lens to understand the economic growth trajectory and the status in the ASEAN was employed. Also, the development issues relevant to the Middle-income Trap (MIT) and identify research problems were extracted through literature review. These methods help us identify development issues, notably of responding to insufficient factor input development and shifting to total factor productivity development towards changes in the external environment would be a significant hallmark, considering the trend of premature de-industrialization. With three significant global trends of geopolitical risk, digitalization, and resource environmental constraints, a suggested framework on development strategies, especially under the lower-middle income and higher-middle income economies, was presented. Particularly, in the context of overcoming the MIT in the ASEAN economy, the respective governments should promote their development policies and revise the development strategy repeatedly.