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Trade Strategies and Economic Growth Paths of Five Southeast Asian Nations: Evaluation and Outlook of Export-Led Growth Strategies economic growth, trade policy

Author Nam Seok Kim, Jaeho Lee, Mingeum Shin, and Jegook Kim Series 24-01 Language Korean Date 2024.10.11

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This research studies the role of international trade in the economic growth paths of five Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). We evaluate the export-led growth strategies of the five nations and derive policy implications for Korea.

Chapter 2 elaborates on the economic growth paths of the five nations from the perspective of economic growth convergence. Introducing the comparative approach with growth convergence analysis allows the authors to delineate how the economic growth paths of these five Southeast Asian nations should be understood in terms of the speed and magnitude of the convergence. We find that the speed and magnitude of growth convergence in the five Southeast Asian nations are faster and more prominent compared to the world average. Country-specific estimations confirm that economic convergence is significantly explicit in Malaysia and Thailand, resonating with “middle-income trap” diagnoses on both nations.

We extend discussions by comparing growth convergence in these five Southeast Asian nations to that in the three East Asian nations of China, Japan, and Korea. Growth convergence is significantly identified in four nations: Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. These four nations have already experienced rapid economic growth. Malaysia and Thailand followed convergent growth paths before joining the high-income group, and this is marked as a big difference compared to Japan and Korea, where growth convergence started after they had become high-income nations.

In nations currently undergoing accelerated economic growth, such as China and Vietnam, economic growth convergence is not statistically significant. We also could not find evidence of growth convergence in Indonesia and the Philippines. As growth convergence cannot be directly linked to growth slowdown, we analyzed the dynamics of structural change in four nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand) that have accessible sectoral data. We ascertained whether a sector with higher productivity attracts more labor share within a national economy. If this productive labor reallocation is shown to occur, we can say that a country is going through growth-enhancing structural change, which is a critical factor for long-run rapid growth. According to our estimations, neither of these four nations is going through growth-enhancing structural change.

Chapter 3 clarifies how exports in the five nations are related to their economic growth. We obtain country-level export productivity measures following existing literature and estimate how export productivity can explain the economic growth of each nation. In Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, export productivity has contributed to economic growth. However, in Malaysia and the Philippines, export productivity has not contributed to economic growth. The five nations are actively implementing export-led growth strategies to overcome the “middle-income trap” and accelerate their entry into a high-income economy. Chapter 4 comprehensively reviews and evaluates the history of export-led growth strategies in the five nations.

Chapter 5 extends the discussions in Chapter 4 by focusing on recent export-led growth strategies in the 2020s. Indonesia’s Making Indonesia 4.0 project and National RPJMN five-year plan, Malaysia’s New Industrial Master Plan 2030, National Trade Blueprint 2021-2025, the Philippines’ Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and Philippine Export Development Plan 2023-2028, Thailand’s 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP), Thailand 4.0 Strategy and MoC Action Plan, and Vietnam’s Strategy on Exports and Imports and expansion of its trade promotion agency (VIETRADE) are introducing export-led growth strategies under the goals and constraints that these five nations are facing. All strategies target the maximized utilization of their respective comparative advantages to promote export growth and job creation.

Based on the recent export-led growth strategies of the five nations outlined in Chapter 5, we derive implications for Korean trade and investment in the areas of ① country-specific optimized cooperation, ② critical minerals/food supply chain cooperation, and ③ cooperation in future strategic industries. First, in the first area, country-specific optimized cooperation, some of the flagship projects in Chapter 5 could provide mutually beneficial business opportunities with Korea. For example, Malaysia clarifies its goals in aerospace industries in its New Industrial Master Plan 2030. Korea established the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) in 2024, which is poised to expand its activities in international cooperation. The Philippine Export Development Plan 2023-2028 suggests how the Philippines can utilize comparative advantages in labor-intensive sectors to attract investment. This can provide incentives for Korean businesses concerned about labor costs in Korea and its low fertility rate issues.

In the second area, critical minerals/food supply chain cooperation, we focus on national strategies provided by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. As a net importer of critical minerals and food, Korea can proactively suggest cooperation packages through which it can contribute to the economic security of Korea and export promotion of the five Southeast Asian nations. For the third area, cooperation in future strategic industries, Korea can collaborate with all five nations in green transition, digital transformation, and semiconductor industries, which are commonly mentioned in each nation’s national strategies in Chapter 5. Working with Korean businesses allows these nations to avoid a dichotomous choice issue between the US and China. Also, as Korean businesses have already attained considerable local networks in ASEAN economies, they can serve as key contributors in constructing an ASEAN-friendly global value chain in future strategic industries.

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