Trade and investment can be effective means of implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. However, stand-alone trade and investment liberalization policies aimed at enhancing economic development may have negative side-effects on non-economic facets of sustainable development. As...

Since 2006, the World Bank has been ranking almost 200 countries in terms of their ease of doing business (EoDB) to underscore the importance of a thriving private sector in promoting high and inclusive growth. Comparing these metrics for business friendliness among economic partners is more...

The Asia Pacific region, and especially East Asia, has experienced rapid economic integration without the ‘hard politics' of legally binding economic and political treaties, unlike Europe where integration has been institution‐led. The ‘soft politics' and market‐led integration in East...