A structural analysis of ten economies in ASEAN economic community

Abstract

This paper focuses on a structural analyses in agriculture, manufacturing, and the service sectors of ten ASEAN economies. Their relative importance is examined by using their output shares in GDP , shares of exports in total exports, labor employment shares in total employment, and labor productivity. The study founds Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos PDR as highly dependent on agriculture. Manufacturing is very important for all AEC economies, especially for Brunei. The service sector is important for all economies, especially for Singapore and Philippines. Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia have very low employment in agriculture. Manufacturing and the service sector provide more employment opportunities for all economies. All economies have high employment in agriculture, except Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. Productivity is relatively low in agriculture for all economies, but higher in manufacturing, compared to the service sector for all economies. Generally, the export sector is crucial for all economies, especially for Singapore. Manufacturing exports in total exports are higher than agriculture and service exports, for all economies.