This paper uses directed bilateral flow data on multiple dimensions of economic integration to construct a composite index of regional integration outcomes covering 19 regions in various parts of the world. As a first step, the multidimensional indicator is used to rank regions according to...

Launched as a political bloc and security pact in the aftermath of the Viet Nam War, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has evolved to embrace an ambitious economic agenda. It latest project is to establish the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 31 December 2015. Fulfilling these...

As tariff barriers, of traditional and typical policy instruments in international trade, have been reduced significantly under preferential trade agreements as well as the multilateral trading system, non-tariff measures (NTMs), especially those of technical barriers to trade (TBT), become more...

Given different legal regimes which govern the global and regional trading systems, the WTO as such cannot stop the proliferation of RTAs. Nevertheless, the WTO can oversee them through its political and judicial review procedures. Notably, Article XXIV of the GATT, Article V of the GATS and the...

In order to argue that the proposed FTAAP is the second-best policy option for APEC member economies and the world economy com-pared to the stalled first-best multilateral liberalization effort like the DDA (Doha Development Agenda), we examine existing arguments for and against the proposed...

This paper employs a multidimensional approach to gauge the degree of regional integration and analyze impact on growth, inequality, and poverty. It constructs a multidimensional regional integration index (MDRII) series that embodies six key facets of regional integration: (i) trade and...

In the early years of the twenty-first century proposals reflecting two distinct “visions” of Asia-Pacific integration were being advanced for consolidating the regional trade architecture through the establishment of region-wide trade agreements. The rise of East Asian regionalism was...

The ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint targets an ASEAN single market in 2015. This is an ambitious reform agenda that seeks to ensure the free flow of services, investment, and skilled labor along with the free flow of goods and the freer flow of capital in the ASEAN region. For logistics...

This paper is part of the Philippine study for the ERIA project on the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint. A milestone in ASEAN economic cooperation is the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 during the 12th...

Although it is well-known that a global trade regime best ensures economic welfare, there has nevertheless been a proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) between individual countries. This poses the challenge known as the “noodle bowl effect” — stemming from different rules of...