Since 1999, there has been a sharp rise of interest in new subregional trading arrangements (SRTAs) involving APEC economies. Many, if not most, of the emerging new economic partnerships are expected to be based on a preferential free trade area (FTA). These arrangements are likely to divert...

Since 1996, the European Union (EU) has launched several significant initiatives which seek to forge closer economic partnerships with various APEC participants. The 1996 Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) initiative has now been followed by the launch of a new Transatlantic Economic Partnership (TEP)...

Using pooled cross-section and time-series data for 17 manufacturing industries in Japan, this paper examines whether and how Japan’s comparative advantage in manufacturing changed over the period 1970 to 1995. The results show that physical and human capital were the main sources of...

In the postwar period Japanese foreign direct investment in Australia has played a key role in strengthening trading links between the two countries and influencing the industrial structure of Australia. This paper surveys the pattern and intensity of Japanese investment in the 1990s as well as...