The papers collected in this volume, number four in a series examining China’s entry to the world trade system, are from the final stage of a three-year research project between the Economics Division of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the ANU in Canberra and the Chinese...

The effects of environmental regulations on the international competitiveness of domestic industries have become an increasing concern in the trade liberalisation process in the 1990s. This paper examines the significance of environmental policy for trade. A generalised GNP function, which...

Japan is a diverse country. From the wide open spaces of the northern island of Hokkaido, to the crowded metropolises of the Kanto plains, to the fishing villages in the southern island of Kyushu, Japan presents a rich tapestry of often quite distinct and different life-styles and traditions....

This paper is based on research conducted in Australia and the United States into Australian aims toward the Allied Occupation of Japan under the Chifley government between 1945 and 1949. It challenges the prevailing characterisation of Australian aims as solely seeking a ‘harsh peace’ with...

Japan’s small farming represents a puzzle. Currently nearly three-quarters of farmland is operated by farmers whose farm size is well under optimal size. Being too small is the main reason for the high cost of Japanese farm products, so why does inefficient, small farming persist and market...

Two propositions appear to be gaining wide currency, given the revealed preference for preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in the East Asian region and elsewhere. The first is that economic integration is a good way to promote economic growth. The second is that PTAs, particularly ones that go...

Recent cross-Strait tensions following Taiwan’s more assertive attempts at international recognition have raised the question of the viability of Taiwan’s strategy of divorcing its policy of ‘pragmatic diplomacy’ from its economic ambitions to achieve the status of a middle-level...

This paper develops an agency-transaction cost model of foreign direct investment (FDI) by Japanese MNEs in Australian manufacturing, financial services and tourism in the 1990s. A survey questionnaire, constructed using the theory, was completed by 69 Japanese MNEs operating in Australia. Based...