As Globalisation and regionalism gained its momentum from the beginning of 1980s and the gain from open trade is realised by the pioneer East Asian nations (especially, the ASEAN countries), the South Asian countries also tried to catch up with the stream under the banner of South Asian...

We study, theoretically and empirically, how countries choose intra-bloc tariffs and preferential margins when they form Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Our model indicates that countries should set systematically lower preferential margins when the bloc takes the form of a free trade area...