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....

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the structural change effects or labor reallocation effects on the regional disparity in productivity growth in India and the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paper uses secondary data at the state level in India and provinces in the...

This paper attempts to distinguish and estimate the direct and indirect effects of infrastructure on firm productivity. The latter arises from the infrastructure-agglomeration link and has been largely overlooked in the literature on infrastructure. An analytical framework is then developed to...

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 this paper, we use the iPhone as a case to show that even high-tech products invented by United States (US) companies will not increase US exports, but on the contrary exacerbate the US trade deficit. The iPhone contributed US$1.9 billion to the US trade deficit with the People's Republic of...

This paper analyzes the role of processing trade in the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s bilateral trade balances and the impact of the yuan's appreciation on processing trade. The analysis is based on panel data covering the PRC' 51 trading partners from 1993 - 2008. The empirical analysis...

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...

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...

Thailand - an outward-oriented regional production hub - is one of East Asia's most active users of free trade agreements (FTAs) as an instrument of commercial policy. By December 2009, Thailand had 11 concluded FTAs, and more were either under negotiation or proposed. Thai trade negotiators...

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...