[PDF] The Dimensions Of Regional Trade Integration In Southeast Asia eBook
The Dimensions Of Regional Trade Integration In Southeast Asia Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of The Dimensions Of Regional Trade Integration In Southeast Asia book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
This is the first comprehensive work on the free trade area of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area (AFTA). The author argues that in practice the free trade area of ASEAN is a failure and that, unless AFTA leaders take serious measures to improve it, it will change from being "not that useful" into being completely "useless." Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.
The author further demonstrates through additional statistical measures--including revealed comparative advantage indices, trade concentration, and trade competition profiles--that the trade structures that have evolved among the South Asian Countries may not facilitate a rapid increase in intra-regional trade. But there is evidence that previous unilateral trade liberalization efforts in the South Asian countries have already had a positive impact in boosting both intra- and extra-regional trade. Continuing the process of unilateral liberalization, in parallel with regional integration, would aid the South Asian countries to continue to diversify their still narrow export bases and potentially evolve new comparative advantages and complementarities that could facilitate the successful implementation of SAFTA"--Abstract.
South Asian leaders have made it a priority to tackle key regional issues such as poverty, environment degradation, trade and investment barriers and food insecurity, among others.
Gathering contributions from leading academics and international trade experts from South Asia, this book is dedicated to the late Dr. Saman Kelegma, whose untimely death in June 2017 left a huge void in the field of regional economic cooperation. Keeping in mind his enduring legacy regarding regional cooperation in South Asia, it covers issues related to the challenges of deeper regional integration in South Asia and proposes strategies to address these challenges. It also offers an up-to-date, rigorous academic analysis of various issues related to low intra-regional trade in South Asia; prevalence of tariff barriers; incidence of a range of non-tariff measures; challenges of weak-trade-related infrastructure and the need for trade facilitation; the political economics of regional integration, highlighting how bilateral political relations affect the integration process; low level of intra-regional investment; South Asia’s pattern of integration with the global and regional value chains; pattern and dominance of informal trade; and alternative regional integration initiatives in South Asia, such as the bilateral, regional, and sub-regional trade agreements within and countries outside this region. Intended primarily for researchers and students of international trade, and policymakers from South Asia and beyond, the book is also a valuable supplementary reference resource for researchers and students. Furthermore, the pragmatic analysis of the policy options presented offers guidance for policymakers in South Asia wanting to implement effective policies and strategies for deeper regional integration.
In 1995 the seven South Asian countries-Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka-initiated a multilateral framework for regionwide integration under the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA). In a recent initiative, members agreed that SAPTA would begin the transformation into a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) by the beginning of 2006, with full implementation completed between 2009 and 2013. The impetus toward regional preferential trading arrangements and greater regional economic integration raises many important issues, both for the South Asian region as a whole and for the individual countries. The author uses the natural trading partners hypothesis as the empirical criterion to assess the potential success of a South Asian trading bloc. Using various definitions of the natural trading partner hypothesis-based on trade volume, geographic proximity, and the complementarity approaches-the author demonstrates that the South Asian countries can be characterized only moderately as natural trading partners. This characterization is, however, largely a consequence of previous impediments to trade among regional members. The author further demonstrates through additional statistical measures-including revealed comparative advantage indices, trade concentration, and trade competition profiles-that the trade structures that have evolved among the South Asian Countries may not facilitate a rapid increase in intra-regional trade. But there is evidence that previous unilateral trade liberalization efforts in the South Asian countries have already had a positive impact in boosting both intra- and extra-regional trade. Continuing the process of unilateral liberalization, in parallel with regional integration, would aid the South Asian countries to continue to diversify their still narrow export bases and potentially evolve new comparative advantages and complementarities that could facilitate the successful implementation of SAFTA.
This report analyzes how closer regional connectivity and economic integration between South Asia and Southeast Asia can benefit both regions, with a focus on the role played by infrastructure and public policies in facilitating this process. It examines major developments in South Asian–Southeast Asian trade and investment, economic cooperation, the role of economic corridors, and regional cooperation initiatives. In particular, it identifies significant opportunities for strengthening these integration efforts as a result of the recent opening up of Myanmar in political, economic, and financial terms. This is particularly the case for land-based transportation—highways and railroads—and energy trading. The report’s focus is on connectivity in a broad sense, covering both hardware and software, including investment in infrastructure, energy trading, trade facilitation, investment financing, and support for national and regional policies.
Author : Rahul Sen Publisher : Flipside Digital Content Company Inc. Page : 99 pages File Size : 39,63 MB Release : 2003-08-01 Category : Political Science ISBN : 9814517216
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are often considered as one of the building blocks for regional economic integration. They specify a set of rules or standards that govern trade among the members who are signatories to these agreements. However, by definition, FTAs tend to be discriminatory and are often considered to be hindering rather than facilitating the goal of achieving global free trade. In the context of Southeast Asia, consumers and businesses must understand in what way a bilateral FTA might affect them, given that this is hitherto an unknown trend to most of the region. This book attempts to create a conceptual understanding on the features and benefits of FTAs proliferating in Southeast Asia. It focuses on the debate of whether such FTAs are a building or stumbling block towards achieving global free trade. The book details the concluded as well as ongoing FTA initiatives of Singapore, highlighting the benefits to the Singapore economy. It further details the other ongoing ASEAN-wide FTA initiatives, both at the bilateral and regional levels, and analyses their implications for the economies of Southeast Asia. The book observes that it is important to understand the exact nature of the gains from trade when entering into such agreements, given their wide scope and diverse nature. This is the first book in the ISEAS Southeast Asia Background Series.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is strategically significant because of its size, dynamism, and role in the Asian economic and security architectures. This paper examines how ASEAN seeks to strengthen these assets through "centrality" in intraregional and external policy decisions. It recommends a two-speed approach toward centrality in order to maximize regional incomes and benefit all member economies: first, selective engagement by ASEAN members in productive external partnerships and, second, vigorous policies to share gains across the region. This strategy has solid underpinnings in the Kemp-Wan theorem on trade agreements. It would warrant, for example, a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with incomplete ASEAN membership, complemented with policies to extend gains across the region. The United States could support this framework by pursuing deep relations with some ASEAN members, while broadly assisting the region's development.
This edited volume looks at regional integration processes in Asia. Whilst integration in the region, defined as Southeast and East Asia, is not a new process, it has gained momentum in recent years. Two developments have acted as catalysts for integration, first at the economic level the Asian crisis of 1997 has been the watershed for most countries in the region. Ever since, there have been continuing search processes for sovereignty-enhancing types of economic policies, and the region is one location where policy-makers look for new avenues to strengthen the position of their countries. The second major development is the continuing rise of China in the region. Today, China is not only the manufacturing powerhouse of the region, but it increasingly functions as a "benign hegemon" in Asia. Integration processes in Asia take place at several levels; in trade, finance and security affairs. This book analyses these dimensions of integration and sheds light on the prospects for successful integration. It investigates the puzzling, sometimes contracting trends of co-operation and integration in Asia. The contributors to this volume look at a theme that is of growing importance to the discipline of political science as much as it is relevant for policy makers. By combing the analysis of the three dimensions of integration, The Evolution of Regionalism in Asia enables readers to gain a broad understanding of the theory and practice of the integration processes.