This paper is the first to analyze the impact of free trade agreements (FTAs) and the harmonization of rules of origin (RoO) on Middle East and North African (MENA) countries' exports differentiating between final and intermediate goods for a global sample of trade partners. Data on exports from...

Although a latecomer, economically important Asia has emerged at the forefront of global free trade agreement (FTA) activity. This has sparked concerns about the negative effects of Asian FTAs, including the "noodle bowl" problem. Amid slow progress in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha...

The focus of this paper is to estimate the effect of the different types of regional trade agreements on the volume of trade between country pairs. The analysis will employ the "empirical workhorse" of international trade; the gravity model. We hypothesize that the deeper agreements have a stronger...

Although a latecomer, economically important Asia has emerged at the forefront of global free trade agreement (FTA) activity. This has sparked concerns about the negative effects of Asian FTAs, including the “noodle bowl” problem. Amid slow progress in the World Trade Organization's (WTO)...

The Asian countries are once again focused on options for large, comprehensive regional integration schemes. In this paper we explore the implications of such broad-based regional trade initiatives in Asia highlighting the bridging of the East and South Asian economies. We place emphasis on the...

Although a latecomer, economically important Asia has emerged at the forefront of global free trade agreement (FTA) activity. This has sparked concerns about the negative effects of Asian FTAs, including the “noodle bowl” problem. Amid slow progress in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)...

The spread of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in Southeast Asia has ignited a debate about their impact on business, and ways to avoid raising the business costs from the Asian 'noodle bowl' effect. This paper undertakes a comparative and firm-level analysis of the impact of RTAs in Indonesia,...

This paper undertakes a comparative and firm-level analysis of the impact of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. It finds that firm-heterogeneity matters in RTA use. Acquiring knowledge about RTAs, building technological capabilities, and membership of...