This paper explores the "black box" of innovation in the electronics production network in East Asia through a mapping exercise of technological capabilities and an econometric analysis of exporting in the People's Republic of China (PRC), Thailand, and the Philippines. Technology-based...

Trade integration and free trade agreement (FTA)-led cooperation between Asia and Latin America has increased since the early 2000s. Using new criteria, this paper examines whether Asia-Latin America FTAs have facilitated market-led integration by liberalizing trade and behind the border...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are under scrutiny for their engagement in production networks following recent emphasis on increasing intra-regional trade, rebalancing, and inclusive growth in Asia. Using a data set covering 5,900 firms in...

This paper studies factors associated with firm participation in export markets, focusing primarily on firm size and access to credit, based on a survey sample comprising observations of 8,080 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (with fewer than 100 employees) and non-SME firms in developing...

The spread of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in Southeast Asia has ignited a debate about their impact on business, and ways to avoid raising the business costs from the Asian 'noodle bowl' effect. This paper undertakes a comparative and firm-level analysis of the impact of RTAs in Indonesia,...

With international trade spluttering amidst the Great Recession, there is renewed interest in the factors driving firm-level export performance in Asia's super exporter - The People's Republic of China (PRC). While early studies suggested that innovation was important, there has been little...

Cross-border production networks have been playing an increasingly important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries' trade in recent years, but micro-level studies are rare. This paper uses firm-level data from the two most active ASEAN countries in production...

This paper examines the gains for South Asian economies from integrating with East Asia and India's role in this process. Evidence of increased pan-Asian integration exists but the process is uneven. Bilateral trade has grown. Bilateral foreign direct investment flows and free trade agreements...

"Recent attempts to measure competitiveness across countries have typically neglected the world's smallest economies. Hence, a simple composite index, the small state manufactured export competitiveness index or SSMECI, was developed to benchmark industrial competitiveness. The SSMECI represents...

The growth performance of small, land-locked Central Asian economies has been among the world's fastest since the 1990s due to high-priced commodities (including oil and natural gas), strategic location, reasonable infrastructure, and human capital. The short-term economic prospects of Central...