LiNKEFN A SI A

LiNKEFN A SI A

The member e-magazine of the Economic Freedom Network Asia

August 2009 issue two

Overcoming the Global Financial and Economic Crisis: The Rule of Law as the Key to Economic Freedom?

The 10th International Conference of the Economic Freedom Network Asia is shaping up as an event that should not be missed.

w w w . e f n a s i a . o r g

03. 04. 05. 06. 08. 10. 12.

2009 Conference

Honouring Members‘ new Initiatives

Street Will the U.S. bailout plan succeed?

Dr. Shah’s Bookshelf

Events for your Diary

Lord Dahrendorf

Talk

Message from EFN Asia coordinator

It is my great pleasure to present you the second edition of LINK, the member’s magazine of the Economic Freedom Network Asia. This bi-annual publication aims at keeping you informed about recent events held for and by members.

In this issue of LINK, I am delighted to announce our annual conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

You will notice the first news item is about the 2009 EFN Asia International conference. The conference is shaping up as an event that should not be missed.

I am very thankful for Mr. Miklos Romandy for his story. He went on a walkabout in Bangkok in order

to find out what ordinary people think about economic freedom. I am also very pleased that we have Professor KIM Yeong-yong as a distinguished guest contributor in this edition of LINK. You can read Miklos’s story on page 6 and Professor Kim’s article on page 8.

On the bookshelf of this issue, we present a collection of Dr. Parth J. Shah’s books. Dr. Shah is one of the most active members of the Network. He has written numerous articles and books.

Putting this magazine online has not only saved a lot of papers, it has also allowed us to reach out to other like-mined organisations and individuals. With such success, EFN Asia will continue to promote connections through the online community. We can now be found on Issuu, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.

Finally, I would like to thank those of us who provide feedback on the first edition of LINK. I was most

interested to read your comments and I encourage you to keep letting us know your thoughts on the magazine. LINK has been designed for you, EFN Asia members, and we would like it to reflect what is of interest to you.

I very much look forward to meeting you at one of the events the Network and our members have

planned over the next few months, details of which are provided on page 12. With best wishes,

Gorawut NUMNAK Coordinator of EFN Asia

WWW.EFNASIA.ORG

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Announcement 2009 CONFERENCE The 10th International Conference of the Economic Freedom Network Asia will convene at the Sofitel hotel in Seam Reap, Cambodia on 8-10 October 2009. It is shaping up as an event that should not be missed! With the current global economic crisis as backdrop, this year’s conference focuses on the current trend of the market governance. The main theme of this year’s conference, Overcoming the Global Financial and Economic Crisis: The Rule of Law as the Key to Economic Freedom?, is devoted to the topic of dealing with the global economic crisis. While crises are nothing new, this one is severe and it has exposed some serious flaws in our economic institutions. We need to understand them to see which reforms are needed. We also need to guard against those who use the crisis as a pretext for furthering their own illiberal agendas. We will try to explore how to bridge the gap between people’s clamour for action and protection against the effects of the crisis can be reconciled to sober economic analysis. Otherwise we risk wasting huge amounts of resources for little effect, resources that will go to the politically powerful rather than the needy poor. This is why we also focus on the need to understand who is most affected and what should be done to keep them in focus.

The conference is open to anyone interested in the conference topics and in learning from peer networks. Since 1998, it has become the EFN Asia conference's custom to utilise various forms of comprehensive and interactive programmes. In addition to keynote presentations and panel discussions, this year's conference will employ the Open Space Technology (OST). OST is a facilitation method which allows participants to identify specific issues, self-select into discussion groups and work on issues with individuals of similar interests.

KEYNOTE SPEECHES Dr. Tom G. Palmer Mr. Alec van Gelder Vice President for International Programs Network Director, International Policy Network General Director, Atlas Global Initiative Dr. Martin Krause Dr. KIM Hag-Soo Dean of the ESEADE Graduate School and Director of CIIMA

Research Fellow, Korea Economic Research Institute

PANEL DISCUSSIONS aim at stimulating some thought and discussion about the relationship between the rule of law and the current economic crisis. PANEL ONE deals with faulty views on/of the rule of law in the current situation

PANEL TWO discusses market governance and solutions

Dr. Parth J. Shah Dr. Mark Mullins President, Centre for Civil Society Former Executive Director, Fraser Institute Dr. Kreingsak Chareonwongsak H.E. Son Khoun Thor Senior Fellow, Harvard University Vice Chairman, Supreme National

Economic Council of Cambodia Dr. Kanishka Jayasuriya

Mr. Zubair Ahmed Malik Acting Director, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University

Vice President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry

Hosted by the Economic Freedom Network Asia In collaboration with the Cambodia Institute of Development Study and the Citizen Action Net for Social Development With the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty

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Honouring After obtaining British nationality in

1988, he joined Britain's Liberal Democrats. He sat in the House of Lords after receiving a life peerage in 1993. He was appointed Chairman and the Lords' Select Committee on Delegated Power.

Lord Dahrendorf 1 May 1929 – 17 June 2009

“One of my fundamental personal beliefs has always been that I must not do things that others can do equally well”

Lord Dahrendorf was born Ralf Gustav Dahrendorf in Hamburg, Germany, in 1929, the son of Gustav Dahrendorf, a social democrat member of the German Parliament. He settled in the UK in 1986 and adopted British nationality in 1988. He was granted a life peerage in 1993 and was created Baron Dahrendorf of Clare Market in the City of Westminster.

Throughout his life, Lord Dahrendorf helped shape the thinking of several generations about economic and political credos, including new class divisions and volunteerism. His many books included his best-known work, "Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society" (1959), "The Modern Social Conflict" (1988), and "Reflections on the Revolution in Eastern Europe" (1990). People always took heed to his wisdom.

Lord Dahrendorf was one of those people - other examples include Karl Poper and Milton Friedman - whose impact derives from more than their role alone. People call it "the power of deeds and ideas". He was prominent in academia and public life in both Britain and in his native Germany.

He was undoubtedly an authority on class divisions in modern society. He believed that economic progress has dispelled the old divisions and defined a "citizen class" and a marginalised "underclass". Thus, there was a major role for the voluntary sector to undertake with such socially and economically segregated.

On 17 June 2009 libertarians worldwide lost a cherished and courageous friend when Lord Dahrendorf passed away of cancer in Cologne, Germany. He was survived by his wife, Christiane, and three daughters.

Lord Dahrendorf earned worldwide

reputation when he became the first foreign director of the London School of Economics in 1974, a post he held until 1984. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1977 and appointed KBE (which made him formally "Sir Ralf") in 1982.

Lord Dahrendorf was also a key advocate of civil rights. He believed that a nation must have a bill of rights and written constitution. He groped to define citizenship and basic rights beyond the confine of the nation state into larger, more complex units.

As is celebrated, Lord Dahrendorf has exerted extraordinary influence not only in the academic profession but also on policies and philosophies of individuals and governments. He was viewed as a man of great visionary and advocate for liberalism.

The world yet lives up to his ideals; his revolutionary wisdom was not overlooked. His idea of volunteerism, for instance, won over many leaders, including Prime Minister Tony Blair. In July 2007 he received one of Span's Prince of Asturias prizes for contributions to social science.

His academic career began in Germany at the University of Saarbruecken in 1967, before becoming a member of the German parliament and a Parliamentary Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affair in 1969.

Although his political idea mildly changed toward the end of his life, his lifelong commitment to liberalism was clearly evident when he first entered politics as a young liberal for the

Free

Democratic Party Lord Dahrendorf will be remembered for his good deeds and ideas. He was indeed a renowned liberal sociologist and an influential man of action.

(FDP). He did not follow his social democrat father. Even after resigning from FDP, he was relentlessly involved in the educational foundation linked to the Party, the

Between 1970 and 1974 he served as a European Commissioner in Brussels and became known as a strong cynic of European Union bureaucracy. He published many pseudonymous articles, vilifying the ways of work in the EU.

Lord Dahrendorf married first, in 1954, Vera Bannister, by whom he had three daughters, Nicola, Alexandra and Daphne. In 1980, he married Dr. Ellen de Kadt and, in 2004, Christiane.

Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF). He often pointed out that "in the modern world liberty was more at risk than equality."

He died at the age of 80.

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Members’ new

Initiatives

Freedom to Trade Teach Freedom Initiative

The purpose of Atlas’s Teach Freedom Initiative is to

identify and assist “intellectual entrepreneurs” within universities, who wish to create and develop academic centres that are dedicated to exploring the institutions of a free society.

The Atlas Global Initiative and the International Policy Network

, together with EFN Asia's members

and 60 other think tanks around the world recently launched the "

Atlas’s traditional focus on independent think tanks, outside of academia, has been a consequence of the hostility to market-oriented ideas that exists within the large majority of universities, as well as the unsuccessful experiences of some university-based centres, which saw funding hijacked or faculty pressured away from their founding missions.

Freedom to Trade Campaign". The Campaign seeks to alert the public to the looming dangers of protectionism and to oppose existing and new protectionist measures. We have formed a coalition with 68 other think tanks and civil society organizations around the world.

Atlas has never given up on the possibility of advancing the principles of the free society in major universities. Indeed, it is essential that friends of freedom gain back this ground Atlas has been collaborating for several years with friends at the John Templeton Foundation, Earhart Foundation, Liberty Fund, and several centres at George Mason University, among others, to restore ideological balance within the academy.

Why bother? Trade is the engine of economic growth. It enables specialisation and competition, which drives innovation – leading to increases in productivity and better, less costly goods and services. Trade also promotes peace. In the 1930s, protectionist tariffs in the US and Europe led to a collapse in trade, exacerbating and elongating the already-severe depression and contributing to the nationalist sentiments that led to the Second World War.

Why bother? It remains challenging for proponents of the free society to get a fair hearing in many leading universities, Atlas is extremely encouraged by the success of recent efforts, such as the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, the Political Theory Project at Brown University, and the Program in Politics and Economics at George Mason University, among others.

We are now in the midst of a severe global economic downturn. Worryingly, in the past six months countries around the world have introduced new protectionist measures – ranging from subsidies to tariffs to outright trade bans. These measures must be scrapped or the recession will be made much more severe.

Alas sees a clear need for more “Atlas-type” work with respect to academic centres – that is, working methodically to replicate successful models so that universities in the U.S. and abroad are populated by centres that are respectful of market-oriented ideas.

The F2T campaign will monitor and draw attention to existing and new protectionist measures – and will call for their elimination.

www.freedomtotrade.org www.atlasnetwork.org

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LINK “What is economic freedom?” In order to answer this question it might be a good idea to split this term. Economic means concerned with processes relating to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Freedom might be best defined as the chance to determine your own choices. Logically, economic freedom is the freedom to produce, trade, and consume any goods and services without being constrained by others. So, according to my very own definition, economic freedom permeates our daily lives. It is an important concept … or is it? On a very hot day, my friends and I discovered how Bangkok’s residents perceive economic freedom and its impact on their lives.

Miklos Romandy

Street

Mr. Paul, 32, Real Estate Agent Economic freedom means being free to start up your own business. Compared to my home country, the Netherlands, people in Thailand

have more freedom because they can start up small businesses without being required to obtain a license.

I think this is a good thing.

TALK Mr. Tang, 34, ArchitectEconomic freedom is a term that describes an economic concept. Freedom is good because it means people can live without coercion, with less intervention from the government.

Ms. Boe, 27, Public Relations Economic freedom relates to the EU countries who share a single

market and currency, the Euro. I guess it is something important but I am not so sure how it affects me.

Mr. Pop, 24, Freelance TechnicianIn my opinion, economic freedom means earning your living by running your own business. This is desirable because it means being independent.

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Mr. Somsak, 34, WatchmakerI can’t think of anything when I hear the term “economic freedom”.

And, since I don’t know what it is, I don’t think it is important for me.

Ms. Marina, 33, Travel AgentEconomic freedom means fewer tariffs which stimulates international trade. But too much freedom is not good, there should be a clear border prohibiting people trading with illegal goods.

Mr. Tongpoon, 33, Security GuardWhen I hear the term “economic freedom” I think of trade, for example import-export

business. Economic freedom is important for us since we are all consumer.

Mr. Sompong, 36, Motorcycle Taxi DriverEconomic freedom means bad economics because it creates expensive goods.

Mr. Rungreung, 36, BankerEconomic freedom means that you can trade with anyone without being subject to international treaties. It is related to me because people looking to invest in a business will seek a loan from us.

Ms. Thitirat, 19, WaitressEconomic freedom means being self-employed. It is important because it means that we are able to earn money based on our skills without having to seek employment by

others.

Ms. Duen, 51, Big C Employee- the lovely lady just kept smiling -

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Will the U.S. bailout plan succeed? by Professor KIM Yeong-yong

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With the U.S. financial crisis bursting into the global economic recession, each government has scrambled to draw up unprecedented bailout plans by mobilizing all the possible fiscal and monetary policy weapons. The U.S. Congress approved $700 billion bailout plan for financial companies and about $800 billion stimulus fiscal spending. The U.S. President Barack Obama proposed $1.75 trillion fiscal deficit plan, including an additional $750 billion liquidity support for the financial sector. Other nations, including the United Kingdom and Japan, have poured a huge amount of fund to ease a severe credit crunch and introduced unprecedented aggressive fiscal spending to shore up their ailing economies. With Citibank receiving massive state aid in return for its stake, it is increasingly likely for many other banks in distress to give up their controlling stake to the government banks, although the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke repeatedly denied a possibility of the nationalisation of the banks.

State intervention, a great temptation during recession

Can the bailout scheme succeed? Then, would the state bailout scheme and stimulus package achieve their goals? First, the fact that the current economic crisis has derived from the very low interest rates in the U.S. renders a clue to the question. The U.S. Federal Reserve pulled its federal fund rate from 6 percent or so in January 2001 to around 1 percent by June 2003 and kept the interest rate intact until June 2004. During the period between 2002 and 2006, household borrowings soared by 11 percent on average each year. Then, the Fed began to tighten the monetary policy in June 2004, hiking its federal fund rate target from 1 percent to 5.25 percent by August 2008.

Recession and depression is a process

of correcting the distorted resource allocation and redistributing them. A deep depression means the resource allocation is highly distorted, which requires a prolonged correction and great pain. Each government, doubtful of the market's self-correcting ability, has scrambled to heavily intervene into the market for the sake of returning the market into its normal track. But their efforts would only obstruct the market's self-correction process.

It would be a great temptation to ask for a state rescue when the economy is slipping into a deep recession. Some governments may be forced by strong public outcry to take an extraordinary action but in most countries, it is the government who has taken the mandate and initiative in their fights against the financial turmoil and economic crisis. Anyhow, it appears the entire world cannot avoid state intervention. The Washington Post said in an article on February 8 that many economists believed a stimulus package, even if a flawed one, is better than none and the timing matters more than the precise size and shape of the package developing in Congress. Novel Prize winner Paul Krugman suggested an aggressive fiscal policy, commenting in his New York Times column titled "Depression Economics Returns" on November 14, 2008: "When depression economics prevails, the usual rules of economic policy no longer apply: virtue becomes vice, caution is risky and prudence is folly. Fiscal responsibility is a virtue we'll need to relearn as soon as this crisis is past. When depression economics prevails, however, this virtue becomes a vice."

In this sense, a state intervention would not help resolve the crisis but rather aggravate it. A good example is the case of the U.S. Savings and Loan (S&L) crisis in the 1980s. When some S&Ls reported maturity mismatching problem as they borrowed short to lend long, the U.S. government failed to address their fundamental problem and instead introduced heavier regulation. Distressed S&Ls scrambled to rake up cash, pushing the short-term money market rates sharply higher, which in turn sent even healthy S&Ls into a financial trouble. The government forcefully closed the insolvent S&Ls but only after spending hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayers' money. It would have taken far less cost if they let the market correcting the problem for itself.

The sharp rate hikes brought the property market bubble into a sudden burst, triggering a financial market meltdown. Of course, there might be other problems in the financial market. But what matters is that the present economic crisis may have not come so severe unless the Fed kept the rates so low. Some people blame the mortgage loan market has been left out of control. But even if the central bank had tightly regulated the mortgage loan market while maintaining the rates so low, other sectors would have seen a crash. In short, what we're observing is a queer situation that the authorities are trying to weather through the economic crisis brought by the Fed's extremely low interest rate with the policy weapons of zero interest rates and fiscal expansion.

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Of course, the financial market and other markets should be returned to their normal functions. But this is entirely different from bailing out distressed financial companies or other enterprises. Injecting public fund into unhealthy companies would only delay the normalisation of the economy by aggravating the problem of the resource allocation distorted by low interest rates. Therefore, the best way to overcome the economic crisis is to ensure the market function without any obstruction. Then, improperly-run firms and their problematic behaviour would be weeded out of the market while sound companies and their competitive edge should be nurtured, promoting the efficient resource allocation.

Although the U.S. has tightly regulated the financial markets, banks have long enjoyed private ownership. Although the state ownership of the banks will not likely persist long, the latest change is pretty remarkable. One of the possible scenarios following the nationalisation is a Swedish way to sell its stakes in the financial companies back to the private sector once the financial market restores investor confidence and their enterprise value recovers to the pre-crisis level.

This should reduce the government's financial burden arising from tax cuts. The state bailout plan for financial companies and non-viable firms would only distort the resource allocation further and obstruct and delay the market's liquidating sour assets and returning to its normal track. If we can use the current recession to weed out those who have failed to meet the consumers' demand and barely survived on the back of moral hazard and government support in accordance with the market principles, we may suffer some pains shortly but see better future later.

When a financial crisis erupted in the early 1990s, the Swedish government took over the insolvent Nord Bank and Gota bank and then cleared all of their bad loans and assets. Once the banks in question recovered their health, the government disposed its shareholdings in the banks. The privatisation process was quite easy in Sweden as the banks were few and small. But the U.S. case is entire different as there are more than 7,500 banks in the country. If a considerable number of banks fall, it would be hard for the U.S. government to follow the Swedish model.

Professor KIM Young-yong is a former President of Korean Hayek Society (an association for professors and intellectuals supporting liberalism). The opinions expressed in this article are the author's opinions.

Nationalisation premised on privatisation

As the government has been trying to resolve a problem triggered by state intervention, a number of absurd phenomena have emerged. One example is for the government to inject the taxpayers' money into cash-strapped financial companies and take the ownership of them. The "too-big-to-fail" saga is also taking place in the United States.

Citigroup decided to convert its $25 billion preferred shares to common stock in return for $45 billion state fund aid, promising to give out as much as 36 percent stake to the U.S. government. The financial authorities will conduct a "stress test" on 19 major banks whose asset size is over $100 billion from February 25 till the end of April. The government will inject public fund to those who fail to shore up the financial soundness with private-sector capital by November and discuss whether to nationalise them. Not only banks but also insurers, such as AIG, will likely be included in the list for potential state ownership. The "stress testing" is designed to assess whether each financial companies can endure a crisis with ample capital and liquidity in case the economic conditions would worsen further in terms of GDP growth, unemployment, and housing prices. The analysis will produce an estimate of how much loss they may incur on their lending and investments in securities.

Market is the solution The discussion about the U.S. bailout plan also applies to the South Korean case. Some Korean banks who survived the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis on the back of huge bailout fund are again asking for state aid while resisting far-reaching self-restructuring such as wage cuts and layoffs. The current situation is well described by Ludwig von Mises. The Austrian economist said that a recession is a painful but necessary process by which the market liquidates unsound investments and re-establishes the investment and production structure that best satisfies consumer preferences and demands. Also pertinent is an explanation by the Austrian school of thought that macroeconomic fluctuations, or what have come to be known as business cycles, are caused by extraneous manipulations of interest rates in the economy. This manipulation of interest rates might entail conscious actions by governmental authorities or merely the result of governmental actions taken with other goals in mind. Therefore, the state should not obstruct the market's functioning with deep intervention but rather eliminate various regulations over work, savings, investment, and production so that the market can restore its function and follow the voluntary decisions by economic players.

US$ 4,054 trillion World financial crisis’ global damage, according to an IMF estimate. US$ 787 billion US stimulus package in the wake of the economic downturn. 90 million Number of people who will become trapped in poverty in 2009, one billion could go chronically hungry this year. US$ 61.7 billion The highest quarterly loss in economic history, announced by AIG for the 4th quarter 2008. 2.9 per cent Global economy could shrink by 2.9% in 2009, for the first time since WWII. 10 per cent Global trade will fall around 10% for the first time in three decades. 35 per cent The number of business insolvencies worldwide is expected to rise by 35%.

Numerology

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Dr. Shah’s

Bookshelf Dr. Part J. Shah has published numerous academic articles in the field of development and welfare economics, business cycle theory, laissez-faire banking and currency board systems. In India his research has focused on private initiatives in and reforms of the education system and property right approach to environmental problems and natural resource management. He writes regularly for several newspapers and magazines. Parth is the youngest Indian member of the Mont Pelerin Society, the premier international association of classical liberals. He taught Austrian Political Economy, Monetary Theory, Money & Banking, Comparative Economic Systems, and Economic Development at the University of Michigan at Dearborn before returning to India to start the Centre for Civil Society. In the framework of the Centre for Civil Society, Dr. Shah has conceptualised and organised liberal educational programs for the Indian youth including Liberty & Society Seminars, Jeevika Livelihood Documentary Competition, and Researching Reality Internship Program.

Law, Liberty and Livelihoodby Naveen Mandava(Editor), Parth J. Shah (Editor) This book goes beyond mere macro-statistics and statistical controversies regarding the impact of liberalisation on the poor and endeavours to further the understanding of the processes and dynamics involved in various urban livelihoods. It documents through primary research the 'official' as well as the 'actual' regulatory and licensing processes by direct interactions with varied stakeholders. The case studies of railway porters, street vendors, small shop keepers, cycle and auto rickshaw drivers, household-based industries, as well as small school operators provide graphic details of what ails India's entry-level professionals - the bottom rung of the economic ladder from which the poor can hope to climb to economic success while providing some of the most essential services to city people.

Morality of Markets by Parth J. Shah (Editor) Essays from distinguished economists, ethicists, and theologians are included in this unique collection, which explores the moral and ethical foundations of the free market. From the economic and philosophical perspective, the notion that private property and market exchanges are inherently unjust is systematically disproved. Addressing critical issues ranging from the underlying ethics of voluntary exchange to the role of markets in the teaching of major world religions, these essays conclude that capitalist markets are fundamentally moral and that government interventions in capitalist acts among consenting adults are dissolute.

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Handbook on New Public Governance by Parth J. Shah and Makarand Bakore The handbook offers a spectrum of choicest of articles that capture the essence of good governance. The rich menu has insightful contributions on New Public Management, decentralisation, participation, accountability and e-governance. Illustrative case studies on public-private partnerships exemplify sustainable service delivery models worldwide. This digest is a swift route to grasping the fundamentals of governance for politicians, administrators, civil society members and students.

Terracotta Reader: A Market Approach to the Environment by Parth J. Shah (Editor), Vidisha Maitra(Editor) Providing a counterpoint to the green movement, which depends upon greater government involvement in environmental issues, this selection of essays represents the philosophy of the terra-cotta movement. Literally named for materials made out of burnt earth, the terra-cotta movement values an aesthetic, contemplative, and spiritual relationship between natural resources and humankind, in contrast to the green movement's claims that the environment needs protection from our extractive and consumptive nature. The terra-cotta movement offers a fresh, liberal perspective that aims to manage and enhance current environmental usage by restructuring civil incentives.

Profiles in Courage: Dissent on Indian Socialism by Parth J. Shah A compendium on the lone voices of liberalism and economic freedom, including those of Minoo Masani, Rajaji , N G Ranga, B R Shenoy, Piloo Mody, Khasa Subba Rau and A D Shroff during the era of socialist command.

Ward Power: Decentralized Urban Governance by Parth J. Shah & Makarand Bakore The book focuses on the functioning of urban municipalities. It attempts to provide answers to very pertinent questions-'How can an ordinary citizen demand accountability from the mighty Municipality in whose hands are vital services like water, electricity supply, garbage removal, roads and primary education? Where does the person go to have a say in the decisions that affect the neighbourhood?' The book, which is targeted at policy makers, urban planners and citizens associations, suggests creating a local self-governance unit at a level of a Ward for decentralized management.

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for your DIARY

14-15 October 2009 Pacific Rim Policy Exchange The International Policy Network (IPN) and the Property Rights Alliance invite free market advocates from the Pacific Rim to join them for two days of workshops and brainstorming in Singapore, on 14-15 Oct. 2009. A special discounted rate is offered to participants of the 2009 EFN Asia International Conference.

28-30 August 2009 Jeevika Film Festival The Centre for Civil Socirty's Jeevika (Documentary Film Festival) will be held on 28-30 Aug. 2009 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. It is part of the "Law, Liberty and Livelihood Campaign" (L3C) founded on the principle that the quality of life is intrinsically related to the degree of livelihood and economic freedom.

9-10, 11 October 2009 2009 EFN Asia Conference Forthcoming major international conference in Siem Reap, the Economic Freedom Network Asia (EFN) Asia will organise its annual conference on 9-10 Oct. 2009, followed by its members' meeting on 11 Oct. 2009. This year’s conference will be held at the Sofitel hotel.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE EVENTS IN 2009

WE VALUE YOUR COMMENTS

Please send an email to info@efnasia.org so that we can keep you informed about upcoming events

We welcome your comments and suggestions for further editions. Please send your feedback to the EFN Asia coordinator at gorawut.numnak@fnst.org

MEMBERS & PARTNERS

Individual members

Centre for Free Enterprise

FENG Xingyuan

Malaysian Institute of Economic Research YAO ZhongQiu

Dr. Liu Junning

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry

Dr. Jianxun Wang Dr. Jianxun Wang Dr. P.D. Kaushik Alternate

Solutions Institute Dr. Muhammad Chatib Basri

Foundation for Economic Freedom Dr. Arianto

Patunru Farhan Bokhari

Foundation for Enhancement of Revenues

Dr. Kriengsak Chareonwongsak

Center for Research and Communication

Cong Minh Nguyen

Institute of Future Studies for Development

Member institutes

Partners Indonesia Freedom Institute

Indonesian Institute

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