When debating the pros and cons of economic regionalism, haven't we focused enough on trade in goods at the expense of services? This article argues that regionalism is certainly a building block, not a stumbling block to a multilateral trading system, using the services liberalization scheme of...

Bilateral and regional cooperation initiatives in Asia have been growing in importance over the last five years.These accords span the real and financial sectors; rather than following the more typical pattern of "trade first,money later", recent policy initiatives involve the simultaneous...

This paper examines the impact of remittances on economy and household welfare in Pakistan by using a general equilibrium framework and microeconometric analysis. The first approach is to highlight the macroeconomic and sectoral effects of a reduction in remittances, while the second is to show...

Poverty reduction in the Asia and the Pacific region in 2005-2008 had been quite significant. Despite the global crisis, an estimated 150 million people exited extreme poverty by 2008 - from 903.4 million in 2005 to 753.5 million, bringing the percentage of people living under the $1.25 per day...

Income growth in rural areas may be one of the greatest challenges to further poverty reduction and economic development. Using a new survey of rural Bhutanese households we investigate the short-term economic, social, and psychosocial benefits of a vocational skills training program that was...