The Quarterly Economic Update (QEU) provides a comprehensive and updated analysis of the recent economic performance of Sri Lanka. The QEU for October/November 2012 observes economic slowdown due to tight monetary policy restricted domestic credit expansion and weak external demand. The QEU also...

This report presents the summary results of purchasing power parities (PPP) in the 2011 International Comparison Program in Asia and the Pacific and background information on the concepts that underpin the results. The PPPs are disaggregated by major economic aggregates which enable robust...

This report presents the results of purchasing power parities (PPPs) in the 2011 International Comparison Program in Asia and the Pacific and background information on the concepts that underpin the results. The PPPs are disaggregated by major economic aggregates that enable robust cross-country...

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...

As East Asia becomes increasingly integrated through market-driven trade and FDI activities, free trade agreements (FTAs) are proliferating. Consolidation of multiple and overlapping FTAs into a single East Asian FTA can help mitigate the harmful noodle bowl effects of different or competing...

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 reviews trends in East Asian regionalism in the areas of trade and investment, money and finance, and infrastructure. It presents various measures of trade and financial integration. An important finding of the paper is that increasing trade and financial integration in the region is...

Many economists tend to be skeptical of the merits of Free-Trade Areas (FTAs) due to their second-best nature, while others support them under certain conditions, particularly as they allow for a more comprehensive treatment of trade- and investment-related issues than is currently possible...