Free trade agreements (FTAs) have been proliferating in Asia for more than a decade. International fragmentation of production and the resultant cross-border production networks have been growing for a much longer period. Although FTAs are not necessary for the formation of production networks,...

This paper examines the agglomeration effects of multinational firms on the location decisions of first-time Japanese manufacturing investors in China for the period 1995-2007. This is accomplished by exploiting newly constructed measures of inter-firm backward and forward linkages formed in a...

This paper examines the export experience of China and other East Asian economies in the aftermaths of the global financial crisis against the backdrop of pre-crisis trade patterns. The analysis is motivated by the 'decoupling' thesis, which was a popular theme in the Asian policy circles in the...

This paper examines trends and patterns of intra-regional FDI in South Asia, with a focus on the potential for integrating production processes among countries in the region through further trade and investment policy reforms. The empirical evidence pieced together from scattered sources...

This paper examines the implications of international production fragmentation for analysing global and regional trade patterns, with special emphasis on countries in East Asia. It is found that, while 'fragmentation trade' has generally grown faster than total world manufacturing trade, the...

This paper examines the implications of international fragmentation of production for trade patterns in the Pacific Rim, with special emphasis on regional and global integration of countries in East Asia. The analysis reveals that the degree of dependence of East Asia on this new global division...

This paper examines the implications of international fragmentation of production for trade patterns of Singapore and the other ASEAN economies, with emphasis on their regional and global economic integration. The analysis reveals that the degree of dependence of these countries on this new...

Global production sharing—the division of production processes into geographically separated stages—is a central feature of economic globalization. This study seeks to broaden our understanding of global production sharing, and to explore policy options for developing countries to...

The growing importance of global production sharing makes the nexus between outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade in parts and components ever more important. This paper examines the impact of overseas operation of upstream firms (parts and components suppliers) on parts and...

This paper examines how China’s emergence as a major player in the global economy is affecting export performance of and FDI flows to its East Asian neighbours against the backdrop of the ongoing process of global production sharing. The findings indicate that the 'China threat’ has been...