Until the 13th century, the ancient Silk Route of Asia was the world's most important cross-border artery, at a time when Asia was a major trade and economic center of the world. The Silk Road refers to an extensive pan-Asia interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent...

This paper argues that preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not substitutes, and while PTAs are without doubt here to stay, dispensing with a multilateral venue for doing business in trade matters is not a serious option. It is therefore necessary to...

Since the financial crises of 1997, East Asia has made modest but nonetheless significant steps towards greater regional integration and cooperation in the areas of finance and trade, accompanied by progress on institution-building at the regional level. Monetary cooperation, however, has not...

Since the financial crises of 1997, East Asia has made modest but nonetheless significant steps towards greater regional integration and cooperation in the areas of finance and trade, accompanied by progress on institution-building at the regional level. Monetary cooperation, however, has not...

Within East Asia, the outward-oriented Philippine economy is a latecomer to using free trade agreements (FTAs) as a trade policy instrument and has relied heavily on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for regional liberalization. While negotiating FTAs has consumed scarce time...

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has emerged as a major player in the global economy and considers free trade agreements (FTAs) an important part of its global trading strategy. The PRC's export industries are embedded in existing regional and global production networks and are reliant on...

With a population of 600 million, ASEAN is considered to be one of the most diverse regions in the world. It is also one of the world's fastest growing regions. ASEAN's aim is to evolve into an integrated economic community by 2015. Crucial to achieving this ambitious target is cooperation in...

Although a latecomer, economically important Asia has emerged at the forefront of global free trade agreement (FTA) activity. This has sparked concerns about the negative effects of Asian FTAs, including the noodle bowl problem. Amid slow progress in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha...

In the context of production linkages in which downstream producers require freight services provided by transport operators, I show that the strategic choice of using an alternative transport mode does not necessarily induce lower access charges, relative to the standard transport mode....

A lively debate is taking place over the impact of free trade agreements (FTAs) on East Asia's business between those who view the agreements as a harmful Asian noodle bowl - i.e., overlapping regional trade agreements - of trade deals and others who see net beneficial effects in terms of...