A common assumption when talking about non-Japan Asia in a global context is that the region's economic cycles pretty much follow the pattern set by the core OECD economies, only Asia lags some way behind.
New research by Goldman Sachs, however, has a different take on Asia's place within the global economy. The bank's latest Asia-Pacific Economics Analyst report says that Asian economic trends provide timely signals of global demand and its trade figures often precede those of core markets, thus giving an earlier indication of world trends.
Goldman's findings, which exclude figures for China and India, suggest that because the region is open to trade - exports account for 42% of GDP in Korea...
