The newly industrialising countries (NICs) in the East Asian region are beginning to be faced with serious problems: problems involved not only in moving from an easy phase of import substitution to a more difficult second stage, but also in progressing from the first to the second more...

The world economy has for some time been characterised by a growing generalised trend towards regionalism. This is often considered to be on a par with the formation of blocs, fragmentation of the trading system and a relapse into the disastrous conditions of the thirties. However, if...