Page 30 - ASEAN-EU Dialogue 2018: Regional and Inter-Regional Economic Cooperation: Identifying Priorities for ASEAN and the EU

Chapter Six
A Comparative Perspective on Income Equity and Sustainable Development
in ASEAN and EU
Nurliana Kamaruddin

Introduction
In a world that is becoming increasingly crowded, there has been a greater call for the
international community to pay more attention to the limitation of resources, the increasing gap
between the rich and the poor, and the polarization of society. In 2015, the United Nations
released the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which includes a list of 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets meant “to free the human race from the tyranny
of poverty and want” as well as to “heal and secure” the planet (UN, 2015a). The SDGs was
meant to be a more comprehensive and inclusive set of development goals than the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDGs was criticized as an effort that lacked participation of developing countries and also
lacked consideration for similarly important development requirements (Fehling, Nelson, and
Venkatapuram, 2013). The MDGs were focused on shaping a “new rationale for aid” as the
end of the Cold War has significantly lessened the disbursement of aid motivated by political
alignments and security concerns (Fukuda-Parr, 2016). With the introduction of the SDGs, the
international community aims to foster a global development objective that is only inclusive,
but also more comprehensive for the broader development needs.

The idea of sustainable development; however, is not new and the concept of ‘sustainable
development’ has, over the years, seen an evolution not only in its theoretical understanding
but practical implementation as well. In 1987, The World Commission on Environment and
Development produced a report also known as the ‘Brundtland Commission’ which defined
sustainable development as development that “meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987).

This was one of the first effort to broaden the concept of sustainable development beyond the
common scope of environmental sustainability. According to the report, sustainable
development has two basic criteria, 1) the fulfilment of need and prioritizing those in poverty,
and 2) the consciousness of limitations on the exploitation of resources. The issue of sustainable
and equitable development is important for both the ASEAN and EU.

Poverty and Human Development Level
The economic development experience of EU member nations and ASEAN nations have been
very different. However, there are some common strands that can be analysed when discussing
the issue of poverty reduction. This include poverty disparity 1) between and within member
nations of the region and 2) rural and urban areas. Although ASEAN as a region has
experienced impressive rates of economic growth in the past couple of decades, inequality
remains an issue either between or within member nations themselves.

Countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have achieved far higher levels of
development. The poverty levels in these countries (mostly by their local estimates) are far
lower than other members of ASEAN. For example, based on the 2016 ASEAN statistics, only
1.7 percent of Malaysians live below the national poverty line while 25.2 percent of the
Philippines’ population live below its national poverty line (ASEAN, 2016a). As a whole,
ASEAN continues to experience decreasing rates of poverty and extreme poverty (measured

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