Preface
Page: iii-vii (5)
Author: Mahani Hamdan, Muhammad Anshari and Norainie Ahmad
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010002
An Overview of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Page: 1-15 (15)
Author: Mahani Hamdan*, Muhammad Anshari and Norainie Ahmad
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010004
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a recently
established Free Trade Agreement between Asia-Pacific countries with the goal of
increasing trade between participating countries. A total of twenty Chapters, seventeen
Annexes, and fifty-four schedules of obligations are included in the agreement between
its partners, with legal features correlating to the explorations of its interactions with
member countries. RCEP established an integrated market with 15 member countries,
which has facilitated the mobility of products and services among them. It aims to
negotiate on trade in products and services, investment, intellectual property, dispute
settlement, e-commerce, small and medium-sized firms, and economic cooperation.
Currently, it is the world's largest free trade agreement in terms of economic impact,
and it has the potential to promote trade and integration among member countries. The
objectives of this chapter are to evaluate the opportunities and challenges RCEP faces.
We focus primarily on secondary data gathered from scholarly journals and formal
reports. RCEP has the potential to expand economic growth among the participating
countries. However, one of the challenges that needs to be considered is that some
countries may be in a less advantageous position, as the agreements made might affect
their internal economic development. We argue that despite the numerous advantages
of the Partnership, all members must be able to address the four major issues identified
in this chapter if they were to benefit fully from the RCEP.
Integrating RCEP with Cross-Border E-Commerce (CBE) Towards Accelerating Economic Recovery in ASEAN
Page: 16-29 (14)
Author: Mia Fithriyah*
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010005
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Connectivity is the basis of e-commerce development. E-commerce
reinforces connectivity and aims to promote a continuous stream of information,
logistics, free cash flow, and so forth. A seamless connection between the virtual and
physical parts of an e-commerce network could be demonstrated in Cross-Border Ecommerce (CBE). A region-wide e-commerce support environment with a Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement would undoubtedly support
economic stabilization. Notably, this model is positively in line with the restricted
conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak (Anshari et al., 2021a). However, business
actors should improve connectivity-derived services via technology and the internet in
order to add more value to the successful implementation of CBE. Considering today's
consumers are more complex, the COVID-19 economic turbulence has resulted in a
severe bankruptcy storm for business areas worldwide (Hamdan et al., 2020). Hence,
the study aims to identify the potential and opportunities of CBE, which will be
explained in detail in this study. The determinants of the successful adoption of CBE
remain complex. Therefore, our framework allows us to assess the extent of concerns
about CBE opportunities and the potential for accelerating economic recovery during
the pandemic COVID-19. In addition, CBE requires new regulations, and Asian
nations must actively take part in rule-setting in order to achieve economic benefits.
CBE can also provide new opportunities for local businesses where it can reach beyond
their borders.
Economic Integration's Impact on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Page: 30-43 (14)
Author: Emil Ali* and Muhammad Anshari
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010006
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
In this digital era, the economic sector has been transformed while gearing
towards increased digitisation. In part, this has led to innovation, growth, and enhanced
competitiveness, further leading to economic development. As a result, ASEAN
countries have been pursuing adapting this change towards the digital era to prepare
new technological advances that can create opportunities for development, including
addressing possible threats. This chapter examines how the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) affects the commercial and economic activities of
RCEP member countries, including supply chain management (SCM), tariff reductions
on trade, customs duty reductions, market expansion, and the likelihood of obtaining
economies of scale in manufacturing. We adopted a qualitative method approach,
which involved reviewing current literature and interpreting them in order to make
possible recommendations. The findings indicate that the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership will significantly impact industries in the Asia-Pacific region,
such as textile and apparel supply chain integration, and that this will provide a
significant opportunity for member countries to improve their economic conditions
further. Additionally, improving the SCM leads to an increase in GDP, enabling many
countries to achieve a favourable balance of trade and encouraging them to pursue
innovation. The implementation of the RCEP agreement also has its challenges and
needs to be addressed in order to make the adoption of RCEP a success.
Comparative Analysis of ICT Readiness in RCEP Member Countries
Page: 44-58 (15)
Author: Abdur Razzaq* and Abdullah Al-Mudimigh
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010007
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
This chapter examines the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP) Agreement in general, as well as analyse the recent status of ICT infrastructure
of RCEP member countries. It primarily focuses on the RCEP, which was signed by
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Australia, China,
Japan, Korea, and New Zealand in order to expand and strengthen engagements with
one another and their relationships to Industry 4.0, whereby the potential issues and
solutions are discussed in greater depth. It also highlights the security and privacy
issues and thoughts on how 4IR might help countries improve their economies over the
long term. The chapter includes reflections on experiences as well as an analysis of
how the information contained in the agreement affects the growth of the RCEP
agreement
Disruptive Innovation Reshaping Future RCEP
Page: 59-73 (15)
Author: Norainie Ahmad, Muhammad Anshari* and Mahani Hamdan
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010008
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
The arena of technological advancements continues to grow due to changing
market demands, which creates inevitable competition among innovators. Thus, this
leads to the emergence of disruptive innovation. This chapter examines the relationship
between the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and
the advent of Disruptive Innovation. RCEP was signed in November 2020 by a total of
fifteen countries, with the goal of advancing regional economic integration and
exerting greater influence over the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The main focus of
this chapter is on assessing the benefits of disruptive innovation and trade under the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). We performed a literature
review and applied SWOT analysis in order to assess the strengths and weaknesses of
disruptive innovation, as well as the opportunities and challenges presented by the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Disruptive innovation can be
beneficial to the majority of RCEP countries since it can raise market growth, increase
profit, and increase the productivity of – and efficiency for, disruptive technologies
used in manufacturing. On the other hand, the possible challenges may be detrimental
to smaller emerging economies, whose employment rates may be adversely impacted,
and local enterprises may be overshadowed as a result of the increased competition.
Is Big Data a Disruptive Innovation to RCEP?
Page: 74-92 (19)
Author: Ares Albirru Amsal*
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010009
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Big data does not only revolve around how much storage is needed for data,
but rather its capability of assisting in many areas, such as economics, healthcare,
educational institutions and others. Big data has a lot of potential to increase
international trade. As the most significant free-trade agreement, the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) can utilise big data and related
technologies to create fair and mutually beneficial trade. With the main characteristics
of volume, variety, and velocity, big data provides strategic advantages for businesses
that use it. The data can be processed using descriptive, diagnostics, predictive and
prescriptive analytics. However, not all RCEP members have the same level of data
processing capability. Therefore, this study examines how RCEP members utilise big
data by extracting data from secondary sources. The results showed that each of the
RCEP members’ IT development also varies, and so does the use of big data.
Therefore, decision-makers need to resolve issues related to data utilisation, especially
in terms of digital literacy, security, and privacy.
Financial Technology Innovation - Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending in the RCEP Member States
Page: 93-112 (20)
Author: Rayna Kartika*
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010010
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) aims to strengthen
the economy and the free trade agreement among 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and five partner states (China, Japan, South Korea,
Australia, and New Zealand). One of the ways to improve economic growth is to
enhance the investment sector into start-ups and SMEs. Peer-to-peer lending platforms
exist to ease the mechanism of funds lending and borrowing from investors to start-ups
and SMEs. Currently, the rise of P2P lending, particularly in RCEP member states, has
boosted the economic growth and development of technology. The government
assistance in setting up the regulation regarding the mechanism of P2P lending has
been carried out in order to create a clean and transparent practice of P2P lending
among borrowers and lenders. Therefore, this chapter describes the introduction of
RCEP member states and P2P lending and the mechanism for adopting P2P lending
platforms in RCEP member states. P2P is indeed a platform that RCEP members can
practice. However, the risks must be considered and addressed in order to prevent
threats to their economic growth.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and ASEAN Sustainable Development Goals
Page: 113-131 (19)
Author: Blessing Gweshengwe*
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010011
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
An economic partnership can play a significant role in poverty reduction in
the countries involved. The partnership’s contribution to poverty alleviation is,
however, a function of its scope and the nature of participating countries, which could
be constrained by various factors. Considering this, the chapter addresses the question
of whether the RCEP can contribute meaningfully to the achievement of the UN
Sustainable Development Goal 1 within the ASEAN region. This aspect is yet to be
subjected to scholarly examination. The chapter examines the potential of the RCEP to
help ASEAN countries to eradicate poverty, the factors that could jeopardise this
endeavour and the measures that could be taken to address these factors. Findings show
that the RCEP could indeed contribute to the realisation of Sustainable Development
Goal 1 in ASEAN countries since it has the potential to contribute to poverty
eradication. This is because of the partnership’s capacity to, among other aspects, drive
economic growth, boost real convergence and optimise the poverty eradication
potential of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the ASEAN region. This
contribution may, however, be jeopardised with the advent of adverse events like the
COVID-19 pandemic, and because of political instability in some ASEAN countries. In
order to mitigate the impact of both of these challenges, ASEAN countries could
reinforce their social protection systems, intensify their commitment to the RCEP and
address the needs of the losers in the RCEP.
Regional Trade Deal with China for a New Digital Economy
Page: 132-145 (14)
Author: Abdur Razzaq*
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010012
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
Empowering The Underprivileged Community through Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Page: 146-165 (20)
Author: Fahmi Ibrahim* and Dayangku Rodzi Pengiran Haji Rahman
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010013
PDF Price: $15
Abstract
There is increasing awareness of being socially responsible and the need to
address social problems involving various key stakeholders in the public and private
sectors, the corporate world and businesses, as well as the community. With social
issues experienced globally, such as introducing diversity in society and eradicating
poverty, it is imperative to use social innovation to improve or replace the way things
are currently done. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of social
innovation on entrepreneurship as a way of providing stable income to underprivileged
and unemployed segments and youth. It discusses key elements that support the
development of entrepreneurship to ensure sustainability and growth, to ensure the
underprivileged segment and youth will continue to earn income, thus reducing
reliance on welfare assistance support. The research was conducted based on interviews
and observation methods. Two significant projects were investigated that employed the
social innovation model, how they were applied, and the implications to the society that
participated in these projects. These include the processes, the role of individuals and
the collective action of key strategic stakeholders in managing and structuring the
programmes. We conclude with the importance of entrepreneurship in driving
economic growth and empowering the targeted segment, such as the underprivileged,
through entrepreneurship to provide employment and sustainable income.
Recommendations include: managing social issues, uncover the importance of social
inclusivity, introducing social innovation to develop individuals and drive economic
growth, involvement of all parties from the public and private sectors, as well as nonprofit and non-government organisations to expand the initiatives to include those who
are entitled to receive the support.
Subject Index
Page: 166-176 (11)
Author: Mahani Hamdan, Muhammad Anshari and Norainie Ahmad
DOI: 10.2174/9789815123227123010014
Introduction
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free-trade deal between 10 ASEAN member states and Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. It is the world's biggest regional trade deal, and it will create the world's most populous trade area. This edited collection features 10 contributions from multidisciplinary authors and is meant to share research and best practises on different aspects of the RCEP. It presents research projects that contribute to the discussion about the theory, lessons learned, and business strategies, to give a better understanding of the RCEP and how it can shape policy in member countries. The themes in each chapter can also serve to evaluate reports on the RCEP's overall progress. The book covers a broad range of subjects, including an overview of the RCEP, digital economy, peer-to-peer lending, international e-commerce, big data, ICT readiness and much more. This work is a key source of information and reference for RCEP development for academics and researchers (in economics and political science), government and trade organisations and policymakers interested in the RCEP. Members of the general public who want to understand debates surrounding the RCEP will also benefit from the information provided.