Economic Freedom Network Asia (EFN Asia) is hosting its 10th international conference this week to discuss the worrying trend of protectionism and reforms needed in the post global financial crisis era.

With the theme Overcoming the Global Financial and Economic Crisis: The Rule of Law and the Key to Economic Freedom , the conference is expected to focus on the current trend of market governance in Asian countries.

"A wave of economic gloom is now moving through Asia, leaving governments reeling in its wake," said EFN Asia in its official website.

"While the operative word today is 'change', the direction is worrying. Many governments in Asia are moving towards protectionism," the website added.

EFN Asia is a network of research institutes, practitioners, influential think-tanks, and individuals whose objective is to promote benefits of the market economy, civil society and individual liberty to enhance human development and economic growth in the region.

The conference will be held in Seam Reap, Cambodia, from Oct 8-10 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.

According to Dr Pimrapaat Dusadeeisariyakul, the programme manager for Malaysia at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the conference will look into various issues of the global financial crisis.

These issues include:

  • the reforms that are needed.
  • the argument against those who use the crisis as a pretext for furthering their own agendas.
  • how to bridge the gap between people's clamour for action and protection against the effects of the crisis and reconciled to sober economic analysis.
  • who is most affected and what should be done to keep them in focus.
  • the situation in Asian countries and efforts by the respective governments to govern and regulate the financial market.

Prominent scholars

"Two expected outcomes of this conference are the strengthening of EFN Asia and advocating for liberal solutions, which is market governance in the current global financial crisis," said Pimrapaat.

Several scholars are expected to speak at the conference, including Prof Lawrence H White (George Mason University), Martin Krause (dean of the ESEADE Graduate School and director of CIIMA), Michael Walker (president of the Fraser Institute Foundation), Alec van Gelder (network director of International Policy Network) and Kim Hang-Soo (research fellow from the Korea Economic Research Institute).

The Asian chapter of Economic Freedom of the World: 2009 Annual Report (EFW) which was written by the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading economic think-tank, will also be launched at the conference.

Hong Kong was again first in the rankings of 141 nations and jurisdictions for economic freedom, with 8.97 out of 10 points, while Malaysia (6.85) was 64th behind two neighbouring Asean countries - Singapore (2nd, 8.66) and Thailand (59th, 7.04) respectively.

The EFW report uses 42 different measures to create an index, ranking countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom.

Economic freedom is measured in five different areas: 1 size of government; 2 legal structure and security of property rights; 3 access to sound money; 4 freedom to trade internationally; and 5 regulation of credit, labour and business