This paper examines the historical record of eight recent free trade agreements (FTAs). It also investigates the predictive power of two popular quantitative world trade models—the single-equation gravity model and the multiequation comput-able general equilibrium (CGE) model—as applied to...

The world trading environment has witnessed the proliferation of regional trading arrangements during the last decade. This development was accompanied by the perceived threat that this may bring to the rules-based multilateral trading system. The ASEAN for one have not only reaffirmed their...

The design of rules of origin (ROO) in preferential trade agreements is critical because to the extent that it determines which products are eligible for trade preferences, it influences the magnitude of economic benefits arising from a free trade area (FTA) and who gets them. The challenge in...

The paper aims to identify industry and macrolevel factors that affect competitiveness of selected sectors upon the implementation of the JPEPA. Priority sectors identified by the Department of Trade and Industry, accounting for 82% of total Philippine exports to Japan in 2002, were included in...

This study examines the historical dimension of Japan's foray into regionalism and bilateralism--a radical shift from an exclusively multilateralist orientation to the more strategic and flexible "dual approach." It explains that such policy change draws motivation from certain developments...

The Philippines has become an export-oriented economy, with exports increasing in significance. The electronics industry, in particular, is a showcase of this newfound export prowess. Traditionally, comparative advantage is the takeoff point for understanding trade patterns in economic theory....

The paper looks at firm-level factors that affect Philippine exports to Japan with the main objective of recommending provisions for the proposed Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) that will enable existing and prospective Philippine exporters to fully exploit the potential...

Going by the statements of the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan's top priority with regards to regional and bilateral economic partnerships (EPA) is to carryout the framework of its EPA with ASEAN by 2012 or earlier. It must be stressed that Japan is economically interested in the whole...

This study is a comparative analysis of recently concluded bilateral free trade or closer economic partnership agreements including the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA), the New Zealand-Singapore Closer Economic Partnership (NZSCEP), the United States- Singapore Free Trade...

This paper explores the potentials of including the broad realm of human resource development into the proposed bilateral economic agreements between Japan and the Philippines. The authors greatly recognized that the extent and sustainability of a nation's economic development is largely...