A number of theoretical studies have predicted that preferential trade agreements (PTAs) raise outside multinationalsí incentive to invest in the participating countries, especially in those that are integrated with larger markets and have lower production costs. The hypothesis has however not...

This paper evaluates income convergence in the European Union, between “old” (EU15) and “new” member states from Central and East Europe (CEE10), and among the countries within these two groups. The GDP per capita convergence should be expected according to the exogenous economic growth...

Regional economic integration in East Asia has gained momentum in the aftermath of the 1997 financial crisis and the escalation of international terrorism. In the first essay, the integration process in Europe and East Asia is compared briefly. This is followed by a discussion on the expansion...

Economic integration affects economic development through two main channels: growth and localization of the economic activities. The theories of endogenous growth and economic geography enable us to understand these mechanisms. We study in this paper their similarities and specificities before...

This paper explores to what extent the magnitude and speed of the contagion effects that materialized in East Asia in the second half of 1997 may have had "real" underpinnings, in the sense that the pattern of production, consumption and trade increased the vulnerability of East Asian countries...

This paper considers the form of monetary policy coordination and regional exchange rate arrangement that would best support economic and financial integration in East Asia. In view of the region's economic diversity, we propose a graduated program of informal policy cooperation from weak forms...

A salient feature of the East Asian region is the persistent discrepancy between the progress in de facto and de jure economic integration. East Asia has long been said to be the champion of loose regional economic integration, with deepening intra-regional trade and investment linkages in the...