A quirky way to examine the development of Asia's many andvaried economies is to take a glance at its banknotes. Quiteapart from the staggering array of art and pomp on display, thereis also a correlation with the value of their respectiveeconomies. I'm not aware of any scientific study that relateshigh denomination banknotes to the wealth of an economy, but asthe chart below suggests, wealthy Asian countries such as Japan(USD97) tend to have higher value denominated banknotes thanpoorer ones such as Bangladesh (USD12). That is quite adisparity, and reflective of the higher costs of products inTokyo as opposed to Dhaka.

Although that can be a given, the banknote disparity betweenthe ASEAN nations and China is also of interest. China's highestvalue banknote is worth just US$16, and the nation continues toprint braille on its currency to allow its high proportion ofcataract-affected citizens to read the currency. If ever a symbolof a wealth gap existed, it is found in the fact that against thebackdrop of Shanghai's gleaming billion dollar spires, China'scurrency is still marked so that those with eye disorders canactually read it.

Interestingly, India's highest value note is also worth aboutthe same as China's, at a little under US$17, while ASEAN'semerging Asian Tigers provide a mixed set of examples -Malaysia's highest value note is worth three times more than thatof Indonesia, US$31 against just under US$9. Yet Indonesia'seconomy is worth far more, at US$878 billion over Malaysia'sUS$305 billion. Further, the Indonesian population of 252 millionis the fourth largest in the world, and over eight times higherthan Malaysia's 30 million. Based on banknote diversity, wealthit seems is more concentrated amongst a smaller number ofMalaysian citizens. While cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Jakartamay be equal in costs and expense, out in the sticks Indonesiaremains significantly poorer for large swathes of the population.It would be pointless having large denomination banknotes for apopulace who cannot afford to use them, expect those living inthe primary cities.

The Philippines and Vietnam are almost at parity in theirhighest value banknotes, at US$23 and US$24 respectively, whileThailand's inherent wealth is demonstrated by its denomination ofa US$30 equivalent note - nearly double that of China and India.Again, wealth concentration dictates the need for higher valuenotes, although I am sure there are many in Thailand'scountryside who may disagree.

To read the complete article, see:
The Curious Case of Asia's Highest Denominated Banknotes(www.asiabriefing.com/news/2014/09/asias-bank-note-value-diversification/)