S-E Asia economic integration could worsen inequality: study

[JAKARTA] A plan by South-east Asian countries to establish a European Union-inspired single market next year could worsen inequality and is likely to benefit men more than women, a new study warned yesterday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has set 2015 as the target to create a single economic market across the 10-nation bloc that is home to some 600 million people.

It is aimed at improving the flow of goods, services, investment and labour around the region, whose economic powers have long faced criticism for failing to work together more effectively.