The Southeast Asian Economic Outlook (SAEO) is the latest of three regional economic outlooks published by the OECD Development Centre. The others are the African Economic Outlook and the Latin American Economic Outlook. This new Outlook focuses on Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. It also addresses relevant economic issues in China and India in order to fully reflect economic developments in the region.

Southeast Asia has emerged strongly from the global financial crisis. The average economic growth rate of six countries1 in the region (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) is projected to reach 7.3% in 2010, compared to 1.3% in 2009. What stimulus measures have these governments adopted to counteract the economic downturn? How should exit strategies be formulated and implemented without jeopardising the current recovery? Looking beyond near-term developments, policy makers in the region have expressed their strong desire to rebalance growth towards domestic demand and to become more resilient to external shocks. What steps should then be taken to stir their economies in this direction while reducing poverty and inequality? In what way can regional integration contribute to making Southeast Asian economies more balanced and inclusive?