South & Central Asia

The interrelationship between international migration and development in the region is much argued. There can be no doubt that international migration can have both positive and negative effects on the well-being of communities left behind. This presents a challenge to policy makers to put in place institutional structures which maximize these benefits and minimize the negative effects. All empirical evidence points to the fact that there is little to be gained from policies and programs designed to stop population movement when there are economic imperatives behind that movement. The challenge is in creating policies and structures which enhance the benefits of the movement. Whether grouped with Asia or Europe, Russia tops any list of the world's largest countries by area, being nearly twice the size of the next closest country.

Asian Alliances And Trade Agreements

Dubai’s population has grown rapidly to roughly 1.8 million in 2010 as a result of intense economic growth. A recent study by the National Geographic Society places China and Japan as the world’s leading consumers of seafood, at roughly 694 million and 582 million metric tons annually. Emphasizing that each fish species impacts the marine environment differently, the study measured each country’s “seafood print” based on the quantities mindfulmediapr and types of fish consumed. While Japan eats larger, higher-quality fish, China’s massive population is consuming smaller fish at a much higher rate. This is because China, along with many countries in Southeast Asia, is experiencing a rapid expansion of its middle class population.

Related Global Studies And Area Studies Guides

One of the most debated of these relates to remittances—those moneys earned by migrants abroad that are sent to or brought back to the country of origin. There is debate as to the scale and impact of these financial flows but the data relating to them are largely incomplete. Although based on fertility transitions still in process, the findings are consistent with the logic of demographic transition theory, albeit with wide variations in the significance of specific independent variables over time and across countries. A landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia with land area of 652,000 km2, Afghanistan is the 41stlargest country in the world. Bilingualism is very common in the country, where the official languages are – Pashto and Dari.

Nepal has also been a surprising leader and has had robust growth in recent years, with agriculture exceeding expectations, especially in rice production. In Nepal, the industry continues to advance with increased electricity production, strong consumer demand, as well as efforts in Nepal to continue to recoup the losses from the devastating 2015 earthquake. The World Bank also reports that the first of two $100 million projects is bolstering Nepal's electricity sector, while the IDA18 IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window will provide $103 million for a hydropower plant that will encourage private sector investment. The well-formulated “Make In India” campaign has started supporting local manufacturers and attracted multinational corporations and even nations to set up manufacturing facilities in India across different industry and services sectors. Astudyby the UK thinktank the Centre for Economics Business and Research suggests that “India could become the world's third-largest economy after 2030,” and together with Brazil it could lead to "France and Italy kicked out of the exclusive G8 group” in the next 15 years.

Southeast Asian Studies: Society

There is a range of issues which relate to the experience of migrants from South and Southeast Asia in destination countries. Several groups settling in northern countries show a tendency to concentrate in particular communities or develop ethnic enclaves, especially in major metropolitan areas. Debate on this ranges between those who see such areas as barriers to the adjustment of migrants and those who see them as having a cushioning effect in allowing migrants to adjust to life in the new country in a gradual way and with the support of community networks. Other issues relate to discrimination experienced by some groups in housing and job markets as well as nonrecognition of qualifications leading to occupational skidding and deskilling.

The meeting discussed the situation in Southeast Asia after the Vietnam cease-fire and proposed the holding of a 10-nation conference of ASEAN members, the Indochina countries and Burma. Since the governments in Southeast Asia have been the biggest public sector investors in education, through public-funded educational institutions, they have been the largest employment provider. They have set their own preferences and priorities, in accordance to their general framework of manpower planning, in deciding what type of graduates and in which fields of specialization they want to employ them. The pattern in Southeast Asian countries has been well established, that is, there is a higher demand for science graduates than the social sciences and the humanities. But amongst the latter there is no clear, expressed demand for Southeast Asian studies graduates. However, there seems to be a significant demand for the inclusion of the Southeast Asian studies content in all the non-natural science courses at the undergraduate level in most of the government-funded academic institutions in Southeast Asia.