WP280 | Assessing the Progress of AEC Projects: A New Approach

Abstract

ASEAN governments put forth the vision for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with high ambition. As stated in the 2007 Blueprint, the AEC aims to achieve a single market and production base, a competitive economic region, equitable economic development and integration into the global economy. The Scorecard system was set up to gauge the implementation of the AEC initiatives, but it contains limitations. This paper offers an alternative rating system to complement the existing Scorecard system in tracking the progress of the AEC projects. We have designed a star-rating system and applied our rating criteria to the selected projects to evaluate their progress. This paper conducts in-depth studies on the three projects (the ASEAN Single Window, the ASEAN Highway Network and the ASEAN Power Grid) to identify the projects’ major challenges, and give recommendations on how they can be further advanced. The study’s limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

About the Authors

Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS) and the International Political Economy Programme, at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She completed her MA and PhD in Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S.A. Before joining CMS, Kaewkamol assisted the Kenan Institute Asia in analysing trade and industry data concerning the impact of the proposed EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement on Thailand’s industries. Her research interests include international economic negotiations, East Asian economic governance, relationships between regional and global economic governance, ASEAN Economic Community, and political socialisation. Kaewkamol also teaches a course on the Political Economy of Southeast Asia for the International Political Economy Programme.

Maria Theresa Anna Robles wasan Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. Before joining CMS, she was a consultant for the Office of Regional Economic Integration at the Asian Development Bank where she worked on various projects, conducting research on topics such as regional cooperation initiatives and institutions in the Asia Pacific and global and regional financial market integration and regulatory reform. Theresa also worked at the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center as Program Manager. Her current research focuses on the political economy of financial and macroeconomic surveillance and regional and multilateral trade policy. Theresa graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a BS degree in Business Economics (cum laude). She obtained her graduate degree in International Studies from the National University of Singapore. She is now pursuing her PhD at Warwick University, U.K.