Introduction

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The ASEAN Development Outlook (ADO) is made to chart progress towards sustainable human development in the ASEAN region and to identify key challenges along with best practices for the future. To this end, it employs a ‘human development’-centred analytical framework (the capability approach) and a policy framework to sharpen practical insights (the foresight approach). Three broad research objectives guide the report: (1) to assess the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community’s (ASCC) performance and goals against likely future challenges; (2) to evaluate progress and highlight best practices and areas for improvement across the region; and (3) to make policy recommendations to accelerate progress against existing goals and to propose new ones, if appropriate.

Given the broad scope and the complexity of some of the issues discussed, the ADO seeks to highlight a forward-looking approach to identifying and interacting with challenges, to designing flexible and contextually pertinent solutions and to rolling out experimental and accountable policy implementation. The ADO is a selective overview, not a systematic detailed policy review. It offers new perspectives and questions, rather than new evidence and answers. It sketches frameworks of problem diagnosis, rather than detailed universal blueprints.

ASEAN's modern economic success has been founded on its external relationship with the world, rather than its internal relationship with its own past and future.

Scopes

A Sustainable Vision of Development

ASEAN's focus has shifted from just economic growth to achieving sustainable development. We are working with member states and external partners to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through policy alignment, capacity building, and resource mobilisation.

Poverty, Inequality and Development

ASEAN has made tremendous progress in reducing poverty, especially income poverty. However, inequality remains a challenge, with the gap between rich and poor widening. While we have improved social indicators like education and health, most ASEAN countries are unlikely to meet all the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. There are significant disparities between countries and within them, with marginalized groups most at risk. Going forward, ASEAN needs to focus on reducing inequality of opportunity and expanding human capabilities for all.

ASEAN policy-making

ASEAN demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainable development through its history of declarations by its three pillars; ASEAN Economic Community, Political-Security Community, and Socio-Cultural Community.

Theoritical Framework

The ADO is guided by a theory of change together with a conceptual framework (the capability approach) and a policy framework (the foresight approach).

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This Theory of Change enables the research questions to be framed through a social rather than an economic or political lens. The resulting analysis focuses on agents, their capabilities and inter-relationships (particularly those of vulnerable individuals), and groups or communities.

Structure and Content of the ADO

The ADO is structured accross the four inter-related themes of identity, Environment, Livelihoods, and Social Welfare and Health, each of which closely aligns with the ASEAN pillars of Community, Vision and identity. These report themes also mirror in the policy priorities outlined in the ASCC Blueprint 2025 which consist of engagement, inclusion, sustainability, resilience, and dynamism. Furthermore, these themes also link directly to the social, economic, and environmental pillars of the global Sustainable Development Goals.

Cross-cutting themes

The ADO overlays four major drivers of change across the four themes. These drivers are demographics, migration, climate change and the 4th industrial revolution. We do not suggest that this list is exhaustive but use these four ‘drivers’ to demonstrate how policy choices made today can have the far-reaching effects on society, both in the present day as well as in the foreseeable future.

To read the full report, please download to the link above.

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