Many emerging Asian economies have developed great global competitiveness in the past two decades and play a crucial role in the world economy. This article uses a novel approach to assess the competitiveness of a nation based on factors such as governance, infrastructure and innovation along with labor and capital endowments. Based on the IMF’s classification of 11 emerging Asian economies, panel data analysis is conducted for the period 1996–2011 to identify important determinants of Outward FDI flows and Export of goods and services. The results are quite robust and offer valuable economic insights for policymakers and particularly in the context of India, there are several challenges in these two fronts—governance and infrastructure bottlenecks—that need to be overcome if it is to truly establish itself as a global manufacturing destination.
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