Pacific Basin Economic Council
 | |
| Formation | 1967 |
|---|---|
| Type | INGO |
Chairman | Dr. Vachara Phanchet |
| Website |
www |
The Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) is an influential independent business association founded by Weldon B. Gibson in 1967 with the objective of facilitating business in the Asia - Pacific region. It is currently located in Hong Kong and the Chief Executive is Deborah Biber.
History
The Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) was founded in 1925 as an international forum where national delegations representing a broad range of interests could meet and discuss both domestic and regional issues. The IPR was a respected forum in the period before, during and after World War II, but was disbanded in 1961 after the United States withdrew support.[1] The PBEC was one of the organizations that filled the void. It was founded in 1967 by business leaders from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Later the founders were joined by groups of members from other countries in the region such as South Korea, Mexico, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines.[2]
The purpose of the Pacific Basin Economic Council is to create and maintain an environment that facilitates the orderly conduct of business.[2] The organization is funded by its corporate members.[3] The organization is informal in the sense that it does not include official government representation.[4] At the council's 12th general meeting in Los Angeles in 1978 the Pacific Economic Community Plan was proposed, calling for an economic community to coordinate solidarity and cooperation between countries of the region at different stages of development.[5] As of 1993 the PBEC was the main non-government organization involved in economic cooperation in the Pacific region.[6]
Activities
The Pacific Basin Economic Council promotes an improved business climate for all members in the region. It advises governments on ways to improve their business environment and to reduce trade barriers. It helps generate foreign investment and encourages new technology development and deployment while avoiding environmental degradation where possible.[3]
Serving as the independent voice of business in the Pacific, PBEC provides a meeting place for the diversity of industries, services and professions that have made the Pacific Basin the world's growth leader. PBEC has been a driving force in the region for the past four decades, advocating environmental awareness, corporate social responsibility, and transparency though working committees, policy advocacy, and partnerships with organizations such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) / Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-corruption Initiative, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the United Nations Global Compact.[7]
References
- ↑ Woods 1993, p. 7-8.
- 1 2 Woods 1993, p. 8.
- 1 2 Myers, Oksenberg & Shambaugh 2001, p. 166.
- ↑ Noland 1990, p. 139.
- ↑ Harvard University 1986, p. 102-103.
- ↑ Woods 1993, p. 66.
- ↑ http://www.pbec.org/
- Sources
- Harvard University (1986). U.S.- Japan Relations: Learning from Competition. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 088738661X.
- Myers, Ramon Hawley; Oksenberg, Michel; Shambaugh, David L. (2001). "Pacific Basin Economic Council". Making China Policy: Lessons from the Bush and Clinton Administrations. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0742509648.
- Noland, Marcus (1990). Pacific Basin Developing Countries: Prospects for the Future. Peterson Institute. ISBN 0881320811.
- Woods, Lawrence Timothy (1993). "The Pacific Basin Economic Council". Asia-Pacific Diplomacy: Nongovernmental Organizations and International Relations. UBC Press. ISBN 0774804408.
- Further reading
- Esme Marris, Malcolm Overland (1997). PBEC: The History of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, 1967 to 1997 : Bridging the Pacific. Pacific Basin Economic Council. p. 216.
- Economic Strategy Institute, Pacific Basin Economic Council (1993). Toward a new trade consensus: highlights of an ESI/PBEC conference, March 17 & 18, 1993. Economic Strategy Institute. p. 134.