2. PROSPECTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Previous research has thrown some light on the prospects and recommendations regarding the economic development of the ASEAN. The applicability of the lessons learned in Europe should be considered. Some of the recommendations have only been superficially established. Nevertheless, some researchers do provide significant recommendations on how to evaluate the progress achieved so far and how to proceed further.
Suh and Khan (2003), for example, endorse several measures for the ASEAN. Firstly the legal and regulatory environment should be conducive to the development and promotion of private enterprise and should therefore promote contract law, enterprise law, and property rights (including intellectual property)[14]. Secondly, the regional economic integration provides an opportunity for within-group firms to increase local operations and utilize the immediately accessible markets [14]. Thirdly, if ASEAN/AFTA countries encourage the development of manufacturing policies, this can provide a competitive advantage for them over the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) or Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) [14]. Fourthly, good infrastructure promotes productivity which is an important component for increasing exports [14]. Fifthly, for the export oriented FDI for whom labor costs are a key factor, foreign firms are able to take advantage of a cheap labor pool in order to establish production facilities [14].