Abstract
Formidable economic growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the past several decades has brought millions out of poverty and significantly boosted living standards. From 1991 to 2013, the ASEAN economy expanded on average by 5 percent annually, and nearly 63 million workers lifted themselves out of extreme poverty as the US$1.25-working poverty rate fell from 48.2 percent to 10.3 percent.1 These positive trends were heavily shaped by an impressive structural shift of workers moving out of agriculture, robust labor productivity growth, and closer regional integration.