Growing internationalization of firms in Asia through participation in global value chains (GVCs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) has focused attention on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Yet there is scant literature on the characteristics of SMEs involved in GVCs and FTAs. Malaysia...

The existing potential of SMEs remains untapped in most developing countries, including India. In India, most SMEs have a lower share of foreign goods and services to produce exports than larger firms. Moreover, dependent SMEs also have greater integration in terms of imports than independent...

In this study, we examine the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in global value chains (GVCs) and highlight the role of financial constraints in shaping their participation in GVCs. We use a rich unbalanced panel of 888 SMEs for Indian manufacturing over the period...

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...

This paper uses export and import shares of intermediate goods to assess the extent of integration of G20 and non-G20 nations, including least developed countries (LDCs), in global value chains (GVCs). The G20's intermediate trade, especially the imports, recovered fast during and immediately...

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...

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...