As Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) approaches end 2015, this report takes stock of the progress to date and draws out lessons for the next stage of ASEAN's connectivity journey. The realization of an integrated ASEAN community demands connectedness vis improved and expanded...

Can regionalism do what multilateralism has so far failed to do-promote greater openness of services markets? Although previous research has pointed to the wider and deeper legal commitments under regional agreements as proof that it can, no previous study has assessed the impact of such...

As the global economy finds itself in the worst financial crisis since the great depression, the East Asia and Pacific region has not been spared the full fury of the economic storm. The surge and subsequent drop in food and fuel prices was followed by the intensification in the financial crisis...

Governments' first instincts are often to attempt to tackle weaknesses in public financial accountability by investing in computerization of financial management information systems. However, in most East Asian contexts the World Bank advises countries that reforms need to start not from the...

Though the European Union (EU) is a development conversion machine for national economies, it is less so for subnational regions. EU accession countries have been catching up to regional averages in terms of economic development since they joined the union. The economic success of the accession...

This paper presents new data on the content of preferential trade agreements. The data contain detailed information on the 18 policy areas most frequently covered in preferential trade agreements, focusing on the stated objectives, substantive commitments, and other aspects such as transparency,...

The study aims to provide insights to policy makers in measuring the impact of trade liberalization and regional integration measures on gender employment and wages. The study incorporates gender-differentiated employment and wages for selected South Asian economies across sectors to identify...

In the last decades, slow growth and job creation have encouraged emigration, further dampening domestic sources of growth in Nepal. Tepid growth over the past decade, the slowest in the region, has resulted in few jobs being created, leading to more Nepalese workers seeking opportunities...

The rise of global value chains (GVCs) is one of the most important transformation in global trade and investment occurred in the last decades. Once concentrated among a few large economies, global flows of goods, services, and capital now reach an ever larger number of economies worldwide....

As a small, landlocked economy, Nepal's development prospects are closely tied to its ability to increase integration in the regional and global marketplace. Despite significant changes in Nepal's trade sector over the past decade, the country's export performance has remained poor, with exports...