Chart of the Week │ July 8, 2026
Learning Improves Across Indonesia, But Regional Disparities Are Deepening
Indonesia has made significant progress in improving student learning outcomes since the introduction of the National Assessment (Asesmen Nasional) in 2021.
Featured Research
Impact of China’s Offshoring on ASEAN Supply Chains
Chinese FDI into ASEAN is associated with higher imports of machinery, capital goods and upstream inputs from China. At ACI’s webinar, Dr Jingting Liu examined whether this reflects only tariff circumvention and trade rerouting, or whether production is also moving…
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Assessing the Impact of Singapore’s Digital Economy Agreements
Singapore is a pioneer in developing Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs), with one of the most extensive networks of such agreements worldwide. As cross-border trade becomes more digitised, governments face a growing challenge: how to govern areas such as paperless trade,…
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Book Launch | 2025 Annual Indices for Expatriates and Ordinary Residents on Cost of Living, Wages and Purchasing Power for World’s Major Cities
ACI has constructed the annual indices and rankings of the cost of living, wages and purchasing power for expatriates and ordinary residents across the world’s major cities since 2005. This edition reports the results for 2025, continuing to provide consistent…
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Population Decline Is Not the End of Growth
If low birth rates and aging populations become the norm, do they inevitably spell disaster for nations? Charles I. Jones, an economist known for his work on long-run economic growth, has explored a future in which sustained population decline leaves…
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Beyond the Causeway: Spatial Impacts of the Johor-Singapore Economic Zone and Rail Link
The Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone and RTS Link could raise real incomes across Peninsular Malaysia, although the gains are likely to be uneven. At ACI’s latest webinar, “Beyond the Causeway: Spatial Impacts of the Johor–Singapore Economic Zone and Rail Link,”…
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Indonesia’s Shipping Network: Linking Ports, Skills, and Industry
ACI’s latest research how Indonesia’s resource-rich provinces beyond Java can capture more value from maritime connectivity, industrial development, and human capital upgrading. These provinces have strategic locations and abundant natural resources, but moving into higher-value manufacturing depends on the coordinated development of…
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Book Launch│Nepal Competitiveness Index 2026: Supporting Nepal’s Journey Towards Effective Planning
Summary : The Nepal Competitiveness Index (NCI) 2026 is the fourth edition of this joint research initiative by the Nepal Institute for Policy Research (NIPoRe) and the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI). NCI ranks Nepal’s seven provinces across 64 indicators grouped…
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Delivering on the RCEP Promise: Priorities for the 2027 Review
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a core pillar of Asia’s institutional architecture and a stabilising force amid rising geopolitical uncertainty, but its gains remain modest and uneven. It continues to reinforce existing linkages more than it creates new…
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A Simple School Meal, a Big Result: How India’s Midday Meal Scheme Reduced Child Labour
Can a school meal programme also reduce child labour? New research from the Asia Competitiveness Institute finds that India’s Midday Meal Scheme substantially reduced child labour among 10- to 15-year-olds in upper primary grades. This matters especially in economies that depend heavily on informal and agricultural work,…
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ACI Perspectives 