This paper empirically examines the relative importance of different sources of inflation in developing Asia. In particular, it tests the widely held view that the region's current inflation surge is primarily the result of external price shocks such as oil and food shocks. In addition, this...

Regional cooperation arrangements (RCAs) have produced vastly dissimilar performances; some have spurred remarkable expansion in trade and cooperation among members, while several others have achieved little. Studies show that performances vary because RCAs differ from one another in important...

Recent developments in South Asian countries, especially the re-emergence of democratic governments, new growth momentum despite the global economic downturn and greater openness, warrant a fresh look at the region's prospects for economic integration. On the basis of a thorough review of the...

This paper discusses trade facilitation in the context of enhancing trading links between South and Southeast Asia, in a manner understandable to the non-specialist. Presently, these two Asian regions tend to trade preferentially with distant markets. One of the reasons cited for the limited...

The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is now 25 years old. The charter, which was signed by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1985, has many similarities to the founding charters of similar regional associations signed elsewhere....

The slow progress and modest achievements of regional integration in South Asia have generated a huge amount of skepticism about its role as an effective strategy of growth. The present study, however, argues that there is need to forge deeper integration within the region. It examines the...

Though South Asia covers 4,488,300 sq kms of the world's surface area with a population of 1.5 billion, still it has only a negligible share of the world's total volume of trade. Most of the people of this region are living below the poverty line. Only mutual initiatives towards economic...

Last month I was in Singapore to join an international seminar on 'Pan Asian Integration' but before that we must be integrated in South Asia to facilitate integration with East Asia. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is mandated for poverty alleviation through trade...