International Symposium
"In Pursuit of Statistics for Sustainable Development in Asia"
Understanding and Sharing Asian Economic History:
On the Significance of the Asian Statistics
Database Project*
by
Konosuke Odaka
Professor
Institute of Economic Research
Hisotsubashi University
Japan
odaka@ier.hit-u.ac.jp
*The editorial assistance by Mr.Chuck Weathers is gratefully acknowledged
ABSTRACT
This essay describes the aims and methods of a five-year, inter-university project to create an economic database covering most of Asia. Named ASHSTAT, its purpose is to construct long-term, macro economic time series for the Russian Far East, China, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey, using a standardised framework designed to maximize the compatibility and comparability of the data. The essay also discusses the value of the project, citing several illustrative examples, to show how cross-country comparison as well as time-based analysis can enhance our understanding of national economic development.
