This paper compares the economic integration processes of the European Union and the East Asian nations and comments on the possible reciprocal lessons, if any, that can be drawn in order to smooth the future paths of the two groups. On the EU side, institutions, structural policies, and the...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was created to address political and security issues. Over time, the economy has taken center stage and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is going to be launched in 2015. The AEC is a milestone promoting ASEAN economic integration and...

The paper argues that East Asian regionalism is fragile because (i) each nation's industrial competitiveness depends on the smooth functioning of "Factory Asia" - in particular for intraregional trade; (ii) the unilateral tariff-cutting that created Factory Asia is not subject to WTO discipline...

We develop indicators to measure the degree of economic integration and cooperation among East Asian economies and compare these with similar measures for other regions. Our indicators cover regional integration in trade, investment, financial assets, and people-to-people exchange. We also...

Feedback mechanisms are the key to sequencing when it comes to regional integration; can mean that today's policy or institution alters the political-economy landscape in a way that makes it politically optimal for future governments to take further steps toward integration - even when these...