The paper argues that East Asia is setting the pace for the recent trend in regional and inter-regional integration, which is associated with multilateral infrastructure connectivity initiatives, like the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) of the People's Republic of China and Japan's "Partnership...

Except for the history of colonialism, the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have similar roots and they share initial targets to foster economic growth and competitiveness. However, the EU and ASEAN have diverging economic integration paths. The ASEAN...

Sweden became a member of the European Union (EU) in 1995. Since then, she has been integrated into the EU's internal market under the Single Market Programme (SMP). Before Sweden's accession to the EU, she was a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed with the EU in 1972....

Thailand's increasing importance as a regional co-production base and as an intra-regional trade and border trade hub is due mainly to recent changes in its economic structure, namely, the lack of operational workers, rises in wages, and increases in outward foreign direct investment (FDI),...

East Asia is a region of great global significance, currently accounting for around 30% of the global economy by most measures, e.g. production, trade, investment and finance. It has also become increasingly integrated in various ways. Integration at the micro-level has steadily progressed since...

This paper examines the developments of cross-border portfolio assets and liabilities in the Asia and Pacific region over the periods of 2001-2017. Rapid increases in both portfolio foreign assets and liabilities have taken place particularly after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. These...

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has received enormous inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years, including significant flows from Japan and the United States (US). We examine these investment flows in detail to gain perspectives on their relative importance for the three...

Covering major Asian economic blocs and dialogues, this study comprehensively reviews the true progress of "Asian" economic integration in comparison with the European Union (EU) and examines the factors contributing to the integration. The results show that comprehensive continent-wide economic...

The European Union (EU) is one of the most successful integration arrangements in the world. However, the disintegration in Europe through Brexit is puzzling. This article aims to clarify this dilemma by addressing the following questions: Was the former French President, de Gaulle, right that...

Europe and Asia followed very different paths to economic integration after 1945. By 2000, an economic union with free movement of goods and factors of production and a common currency linked much of Europe. Meanwhile, effective economic integration agreements were absent from Asia, although...