Connectivity is the key building block of convergence and cohesion in any regional integration initiative. Development of connectivity across any region - especially of transportation linkages, energy pipelines, and information and communication technology - contributes to integration by...

This paper gives an overview of the causes of the European debt crisis and the consequences for the external relations. It finds that political mishandling has increased uncertainty, which has contributed to a tendency for the euro to become weaker.

Looking back at the history of the World Trade Organization (WTO), major accords that have been reached under the multilateral framework to date are in substance issue-based "plurilateral" agreements. This paper looks at some specific examples of issue-based plurilateral agreements - such as the...

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...

The Asia and Pacific region and Latin American and Caribbean region are two regions divided not only by vast geographic distance, but also by disparities in economics, politics, culture, and history. Most recently, a number of forums explored the possibility of closing such gaps and linking the...

To make Asia more economically sustainable and resilient against external shocks, regional economies need to be rebalanced toward regional demand- and trade-driven growth through increased regional connectivity. The effectiveness of connectivity depends on the quality of hard and soft...

In the last decade, East Asia has engaged in constructing numerous mechanisms to enhance regional cooperation in the areas of trade and finance. However, the region's economic architecture exhibits certain idiosyncrasies such as an eclectic institutional structure and a limited level of...

Regional economic integration agreements are considered to be important policy mechanisms to address regional developmental asymmetries. The Asian reality is characterized by developmental asymmetries across countries on the one hand and a lack of comprehensive pan-Asian formal regional economic...

Two major economic problems are currently shadowing Asian economies. On the one hand, the slowdown in the US economy, ignited by the subprime mortgage crisis, may not be confined to the US region and may affect Asian countries as well. On the other hand, the recent fuel and food price increases,...

In the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis, there was frequent discussion of Asia having decoupled from economic shock transmission originating in Europe or North America. Much of the basis for these arguments was related to the rapid expansion of intraregional trade in Asia. This paper...