Author : Kiki Verico
Executive Summary
ASEAN is in the process of structural economic and digital transformation. ASEAN needs to adopt related principles to support it. This paper found that structural economic transformation requires the open economy as the necessary principle and economic convergence as the sufficient condition. The open regionalism principle is needed because ASEAN needs Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from member and non-member states. Furthermore, open regionalism must decrease the economic gap within member states. Therefore, ASEAN needs a sufficient condition of economic convergence within member states. This paper took the implementation of Bali Concord III on FDI inflows as a proxy for open and the GDP per capita gap to the highest member state’s GDP per capita within member states as a proxy for economic convergence. This paper confirmed that economic convergence comes after the open principle. As for the digital economic transformation, this paper showed ASEAN needs the inclusive principle. Lastly, it described ASEAN’s commitment to the green economy. This paper adopted the quantitative method in assessing open and convergence and the qualitative approach in analysing inclusive and green principles.
