New Asia
Asia drives the global economy, but there are worrying signs that the engine of growth is slowing. The major economies of the region—China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—all see diminishing returns from the model of manufacturing-based, export-oriented development. They also grapple with societal challenges related to low birth rates, aging populations, brain drain, environmental pollution, political corruption, and low cultural tolerance.
The problem these societies face is how to create their own version of innovation-driven economies that will allow them to remain at the center of dynamism and growth in the twenty-first-century global ecosystem. To do so, they must find a new engine of economic growth by attracting foreign talent, upgrading pertinent social values of cultural diversity and social tolerance, and effectively reflecting and transmitting such values through social institutions.
Recognizing that countries throughout Asia lag behind in these efforts compared to more advanced, technologically innovative Western economies, the New Asia multi-year research cluster advocates for and pursues a “New Asia” of social, cultural, and economic maturity. This research cluster includes the following projects:
