Connectivity and Infrastructure: Editors' Overview

• Author: Hal Hill,Takatoshi Ito,Shujiro Urata,Colin McKenzie,Kazumasa Iwata
• Date: 01 July 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/aepr.12150
• Published date: 01 July 2016

Connectivity and Infrastructure:

Editors’Overview

Hal HILL,

1‡

Takatoshi ITO,

2

Kazumasa IWATA,

3

Colin MCKENZIE

4

†

and Shujiro URATA

5

1

AustralianNational University,

2

Columbia University,

3

Japan Centerfor Economic Research,

4

Keio Universityand

5

Waseda University

JEL codes: F6, F13, F15, H4, H5, H54, I9, G2, O2, O14,O18, O19, O53, R4, R12, R42, R48

1. Connectivity and Infrastructure

This issue of the Asian Economic Policy Review focuses on the interrelated issues of

connectivity and economic integration in developing Asian countries. While economic

integration is a widely used and understood concept, it will be useful to briefly clarify the

meaning of the term “connectivity”, and to explain its relevance to long-term Asian

development dynamics.

At the most general level,we take connectivity to refer to infrastructure, both hard and

soft, that links geographical locations to facilitate the flow of goods, services, technology,

finance, and people, in order to enhance mobility and networking. Traditionally, the

approach to connectivity emphasized hard infrastructure (sometimes also referred to as

“tangible infrastructure”), andthis emphasis is reflected in the papers that follow.Examples

include major highways and rail networks, and ports and airports. Broader definitions of

such infrastructure include utilities –telecommunications, power, and water supply. The

information and communication technology (ICT) revolution of the past two decades is

of course radically changing the analytical meaning of infrastructure and the modes of

infrastructuredelivery, with tele-commuting,electronic communications, ande-commerce

all having profound implications for connectivity.

East Asian connectivity and economic integration has proceeded rapidly for several

decades, driven by four broad sets of factors. First, far-reaching unilateral trade and

investment liberalization that reduces the barriers to cross-border commerce has been

undertaken in virtually all economies. These reforms have been underpinned by a broadly

supportive global and regional architecture, notwithstanding some backtracking during

the 2008–09 global financial crisis. A second factor has been the rise of the global factory

and global value chains through cross-border production networks and supply

arrangements. These have been a feature of East Asian economic development since the

†Correspondence: Colin McKenzie, Faculty of Economics, Keio University, 2-15-45 Mita, Tokyo

108-8345, Japan. Email: mckenzie@z8.keio.jp

‡

Hal Hill was a guesteditor for this issue of the Asian Economic Policy Review.

doi: 10.1111/aepr.12150 Asian EconomicPolicy Review (2016) 11, 161–175

©2016 JapanCenter for EconomicResearch 161

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