At the Ninth ASEAN Summit in Bali on 7 October 2003, the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to establish an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2020. It is envisaged that the AEC would be a single market and production base, with a free flow of goods and services,...

The countries of Eastern Europe achieved two remarkable transitions in the short period of the last two decades: from plan to market and, then, in the run-up to and entry into the European Union, they rode a wave of global trade and financial market integration. Focusing on the second...

One of the principal aims of the effort to integrate the economies of the 16 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is to expand intra-Community trade. This objective is to be achieved partly through the elimination of quantitive and other restrictions on trade

Central America has made substantial progress in recent years in moving economic reforms forward and deepening regional and global integration. As result of these efforts, the region has experienced higher growth, increased capital inflows, and some reductions in poverty rates. But Central...

As we move further into the 21st Century, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to play an increasingly crucial role in the evolution of the world's economy and polity. Closer co-operation among countries in the region would greatly strengthen that role

Regional integration and co-ordination are not a panacea but they could hold the key to African countries' long-awaited participation in the world economy. This was one of the conclusions of the second International Forum on African Perspectives, jointly organised by the African Development Bank...

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) are increasingly portrayed as a threat to the free global exchange of goods and services. They involve an ever-growing share of world trade. The proportion of world trade covered by such accords is expected to grow from 43% today to 55% in 2005, if all regional...

The problem of regional integration that West Africa has experienced for many years bears witness to the difficulties faced by African societies in finding adequate solutions within the constraining framework of post-colonial States.  However, regional cooperation in West Africa is still only...

Central America has received growing attention as a region that is integrating successfully into the global economy. This paper examines—among other things—the macroeconomic and fiscal implications of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA-DR), noting that the agreement will...