Stevens, Christine Dorresteyn, author

Roth, Christopher G., author

Jarvis, Carolyn, author

Vizniak, Nikita A, author

Toennies, Klaus D., author

Burtis, Carl A

Bickley, Lynn S., author

Suetens, Paul, author

Simon, Roger P., author

American College of Sports Medicine, author, issuing body

Faulkner, Timothy J., author

Hashemi, Ray H., author

Garza, Diana, author

Salditt, Tim, author

Vizniak, Nikita A., author

In an era of slowing economic growth, Asian countries face an imperative to boost productivity. One possible source of economic revitalization would be to make better use of women in the labor force. Although female representation in corporate leadership has been rising gradually over time, as of 2017, women comprised only 16 percent of executive officers and 11 percent of board members in publicly listed firms in Asia. Research shows that Asian firms with female executive officers and board members perform better in terms of net profit margin and return on assets than firms that lack females in leadership positions. Public policy can improve this gender gap. For one thing, countries that produce large numbers of female college graduates in fields such as law, business, or economics tend to generate more female corporate executives.

Refer to the Appendix for additional data and a detailed exposition of data collection and cleaning.

Population aging will leave many of Asia's economies increasingly dependent on an aging, and eventually a shrinking, workforce. Historically, an aging workforce has been seen as an impediment to economic growth. Experience from economies in advanced stages of aging suggests, however, that population aging can induce innovation and adoption of new technologies and so promote productivity and sustained growth. But there is no guarantee that all aging societies stand to benefit. Countries in Asia need to adopt technologies appropriate for their level of demographic transition, facilitate learning across all ages, and encourage regional cooperation for the most efficient use of their work forces and other resources.

This report explores the trade, investment, business, diplomacy, security, education,and people-to-people connections between the United States and the five countries of mainland Southeast Asia referred to as the Mekong region. Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam are bound together and geographically defined by the Mekong River, which has historically provided a rich, natural bounty of fish, agricultural productivity, physical connectivity, and key environmental services to more than 60 million people living in the river basin. The Mekong’s importance has only grown as the region’s social, economic, and diplomatic ties export the river’s bounty to the rest of the world. As the region develops, urbanization, infrastructure development, and climate change—among other changes—are all impacting the river, its resources, and the millions who depend on the mighty Mekong.

This publication was produced in partnership with the Stimson Center Southeast Asia Program.

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