This book offers a critical examination of industrial policy, economic transformation, and sustainable development across Southeast Asia. It explores the evolution of industrial upgrading strategies in the region, distinguishing between passive and active industrial policies, and assessing their alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (clean and affordable energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Through country-specific analyses, the book examines the integration of digitalization, climate resilience, and smart technologies into industrial and agricultural sectors. It highlights the uneven progress among ASEAN economies—from Singapore’s high-value industrial structure to Timor-Leste’s early-stage development—while addressing challenges in science, technology, and innovation (STI) infrastructure.  With a focus on policy, innovation, and environmental and social governance, it is an essential read for researchers, policymakers, and development practitioners seeking to understand Southeast Asia’s industrial transformation and its implications for sustainable development.

Rajah Rasiah is the executive director of the Asia-Europe Institute (Universiti Malaya) since 2022. He obtained his Ph.D. (economics) from Cambridge University in 1992 and was a Rajawali fellow at Harvard University in 2014. He was awarded the Celso Furtado Prize in 2015 for advancing the frontiers of social science (economics) thought by the World Academy of Sciences, the Merdeka Prize in 2018 for scholastic achievement by the Merdeka Prize Committee, and the Distinguished Professorship in Economics in 2017 by the Ministry of Higher Education.

Rene Ofreneo is a professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines and former dean of the University of Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations. He is one of the leading scholars on labor relations and labor market studies in the Philippines and in the Asia-Pacific. He writes a column, “Laborem Exercens,” for Philippine Business Mirror. He is the president of three civil society organizations: Freedom from Debt Coalition, Integrated Rural Development Foundation and Philippine Movement for Climate Justice.

Chandran VGR is a professor of Industrial Development in the Faculty of Business and Economics at Universiti Malaya. He has also worked as a principal analyst in Economic and Policy Studies with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), under the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics, and his research interests primarily include innovation, technology development, trade, and globalization.

Zhang Miao is an associate professor and deputy dean of the School of International Relations/Research School of Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, China. She obtained her Ph.D. in Economics from the Universiti Malaya in 2014. Her current research focuses on the international political economy of China's FDI in Southeast Asia. Her work has been published in several international journals, including Journal of Contemporary Asia, Pacific Review, Singapore Economic Review, Journal of Asia Pacific Economy, Review of Development Economics, and Asia Pacific Business Review. Dr. Zhang has been the principal investigator for several research projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China and the Chinese Ministry of Education. She has also provided consultancy services for international organizations such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).