CONTRIBUTORS Anita Prakash is Director General (Policy Design Department) of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). She supports policy works of leaders and senior officials in the governments of Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania on political economy, growth, narrowing development gaps, economic integration and connectivity. She works closely with countries and inter-governmental organisations in the Asia–Pacific Region and Europe. She is a Visiting Research Associate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. Diana-Larisa Zahorte is the Deputy Head of Mission in The Romanian Embassy to the Republic of Singapore. She previously worked in the Asia-Pacific Division in the Headquarters of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 2016–2018, and was a National Expert in Professional Training in the Asia Pacific Department of the European External Action Service from October 2017 to January 2018. Fauziah Zen is Senior Economist at ERIA. Her research interests include infrastructure development issues, especially on financing, institutions and connectivity, public finance, regulatory impact assessment, and disaster management. From 2010-2012, she was Deputy Head of Socio-Humanistic Department of National Committee for Research in the Ministry of Science and Technology of Indonesia. Leeber Leebouapao is the Vice President at the National Institute for Economic Research (NIER) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Lao PDR. He represents NIER and Lao PDR in the Research Institutes Network of ERIA. Leeber is senior economist who has vast knowledge of issues related to ASEAN Economic Community and the Mekong region and has a deep expertise in development issues of least developed countries. About ERIA The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) was established at the Third East Asia Summit (EAS) in Singapore on 21 November 2007. It is an international organisation providing research and policy support to the East Asia region, and the ASEAN and EAS summit process. The 16 member countries of EAS—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, and New Zealand—are members of ERIA. viii.