This paper provides an overview of the key steps that were made in the European Union toward enhancing fiscal policy coordination and integration prior to the Covid-19 crisis. It especially highlights the key challenges and strategies that should be considered when thinking of further fiscal...

The global economic and financial landscape has been transformed over the past decade by the growing economic size and financial power of emerging economies. The new G20 summit process, which includes the largest emerging economies, has established high-level international policy cooperation in...

The paper argues that United States (US) participation in the East Asia Summit (EAS) - regional integration architecture led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - was motivated by four changes in the regional economic landscape: (i) the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and...

There is a strong presumption among economists that domestic reforms are promoted by regionalism. Yet strong empirical evidence for this proposition is lacking. This paper examines both the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence on this issue, drawing on the relevant economic, political,...

East Asia is a region of great global significance, currently accounting for around 30% of the global economy by most measures, e.g. production, trade, investment and finance. It has also become increasingly integrated in various ways. Integration at the micro-level has steadily progressed since...

To what extent do the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank remain central today and how much influence do they still wield in shaping the global agenda? While several studies have traced the development of various intergovernmental organizations (IGOs),...

Asia's economic significance has risen substantially over the past several decades. Further economic development in ASEAN, with its massive population, requires very efficient utilization of resources and cross-border cooperation. While ASEAN has much to gain from economic cooperation and...

Trade can and should play an important role in making progress to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes trade and investment in services, as realizing many of the goals is conditional on improved performance of services sectors in developing countries. The global environment...

The impact of globalization on equality has become a serious concern for many countries. More evidence that challenges the theoretical prediction of positive impact of international trade on income distribution has increasingly become available recently. This paper addresses this subject,...

The main purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impacts of remittance inflows, financial inclusion, and economic development and whether inward remittances may help to construct an inclusive financial system. Using both endogeneity-robust generalized method of moments and a...