This paper analyses the choices between regionalism and multilateralism, and the impact of WTO membership on the five Central Asian countries. The two main sections analyse (1) why the large number of regional trade agreements which the Central Asian countries have signed have had little...

This paper reviews the evolution of thinking about regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the policy developments reflected in three waves of RTAs during the last half century. It rejects claims, based on number of RTAs notified to the WTO, that RTAs are today more prolific than ever. Desirable...

Kazakhstan’s economy has been driven by an oilboom since the discovery of large new oilfields coincided with the upturn of world oil prices after 1998. This paper uses national household expenditure survey data to examine whether Kazakhstan’s experience supports a curse or a blessing...

The results highlight the conflicting interests of countries — to stabilize exchange rates or to keep the option of exchange rate depreciation in order to maintain competitiveness of domestic tradable producers. With deepening integration in East Asia, however, the desire for exchange rate...

The results highlight the conflicting interests of countries — to stabilize exchange rates or to keep the option of exchange rate depreciation in order to maintain competitiveness of domestic tradable producers. With deepening integration in East Asia, however, the desire for exchange...

During the 1990s over two dozen countries in Europe and Asia underwent a transition from centrally planned to more market-oriented economies. In Constructing a Market Economy, Richard Pomfret reviews their diverse experiences and assesses the outcome of transition in each case. The book includes...

Asian Economies in Transition analyses and evaluates the experience of the eleven Asian economies undertaking the transition from central planning to a more market-oriented approach.

This comprehensive collection brings together contributions that have increased our understanding of trade in Asia. Early debates centered on the advantages and disadvantages of joining the global economy as exporters to the high-income countries, while trade within Asia was of minor importance....

A feature of the global economy over the last half-century has been the proliferation of regional trading arrangements (RTAs) and the ongoing debate over the relationship between regionalism and multilateralism. The economic analysis of regionalism has increasingly come to focus on fundamental...