Two propositions appear to be gaining wide currency, given the revealed preference for preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in the East Asian region and elsewhere. The first is that economic integration is a good way to promote economic growth. The second is that PTAs, particularly ones that go...

Australia and the United States signed a bilateral trade agreement in 2004. This paper analyses the provisions of the agreement, compares the provisions with other bilateral and multilateral agreements and comments on the modelling that the Australian Government used to estimate the likely...

ASEAN RISING: ASEAN and AEC Beyond 2015 puts together ideas, thoughts and papers from more than 30 experts and specialists in the region on various areas relating to ASEAN and AEC beyond 2015. It discusses the challenges for ASEAN and AEC, how to face them and how ASEAN should move forward...

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,...

Two presumptions appear to underlie recent proposals for East Asian economic integration. The first is that economic integration is a good way to promote economic growth. The second is that preferential trade agreements (PTAs), particularly ones that go beyond goods trade, are an effective way...

A question featuring prominently in policy debates over the last few years is whether Australia can gain from having smaller government. Proponents have stressed beneficial impacts on the supply side of the economy; opponents have stressed the deflationary impact from possible reductions in...

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,...

There is a strong presumption among economists that domestic reforms are promoted by regionalism. Yet strong empirical evidence for this proposition is lacking. The purpose of the paper is to examine in some detail both the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence on this issue, drawing on...

This paper surveys recent developments in the literature on trade facilitation, defined broadly as reform of non-tariff barriers. The paper looks at what trade facilitation is, why it matters, how to measure it, the gains from reform, and ways to implement it at the global, regional and...

This presentation discusses insights from some of the world's traditional trade facilitation scholars. The objective is to try and go beyond taxonomies and to outline new methodologies by which the economic significance of trade facilitation initiatives are being measured. Then, some of the new...