Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in the Asia-Pacific region have proliferated rapidly over the past five years and are creating a complex web of intersecting bilateral and regional trade agreements. This paper describes the proliferation of these PTAs, discusses their characteristics and...

Is the recent proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) in Asia a healthy development, or runs the risk of turning into an unmanageable "noodle bowl" in the future? The goal of this paper is to shed some light on this question. The results show that membership in the Asian RTAs...

In understanding the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) in Asia since 2000, it is important to distinguish between two types of FTAs in terms of a legal basis on either General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XXIV or the Enabling Clause. The latter provision can be used...

Summary In response to growing health concerns, the Philippine government instigated a suite of pesticide regulatory policies and implementing guidelines and launched Integrated Pest Management as a National Program to promote a safer and an ecologically sound approach to pest control. The main...

Revenue enhancement and value creation are core issues of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Revenue enhancing synergy associated with cross-industry M&A is supported by Asian emerging markets. Both within-industry M&A and cross-industry M&A deals realise significant positive abnormal returns. The...