Analysis on the New Trends of Global Regional Economic Integration and the Free Trade Area Strategy of China

Ever since the early 1990s, the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have deepened regional economic integration, advancing the main programs from the creation of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) to the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). This article identifies underpinning factors that have qualified ASEAN's such efforts for regional economic integration. In particular, it highlights the evolving perception of material interests due to external environments and socially shared norms as factors influencing ASEAN's efforts to promote economic integration. I argue that external threats deriving from moves towards stronger regionalism in other parts of the world or the rapid economic growth of the neighboring countries induced ASEAN members to strengthen their own regional economic cohesion. In addition, ASEAN's particular set of norms, such as consensus-building, flexible incrementalism, and informality, were effective in drawing willingness from members with diverse differences to participate in cooperative programs. However, in the process of shifting from AFT A to the AEC, ASEAN members reconsidered some of these norms by adopting more formal implementation methods, including stronger dispute settlement mechanisms.

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A Note on West Arican Economic Co-operation

The Journal of Modern African Studies ◽

10.1017/s0022278x00008120 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 136-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Robert L. Curry

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Economic Integration ◽

Free Trade Area ◽

West African ◽

Regional Economic Integration ◽

Customs Union ◽

African Countries ◽

The West ◽

Regional Economic ◽

Trade Area

Recent articles by André Simmons and K. M. Barbour have analysed the various advantages of, and strategies for, regional economic integration in West Africa.1 This note focuses on the technical obstacles of full integration, and then on sub-regional economic co-operation as a more practical alternative.How can one agree upon an accepted distribution of the benefits from regional economic integration? How could this be implemented among the West African countries ? These are the most difficult and contentious problems associated with forming and operating any customs union and free trade area among the developing countries. If an acceptable distribution of benefits does not come about, then ‘the operation of existing groupings may easily be rendered ineffective or, in extreme cases, they may collapse. The experience of the last few years demonstrates that this is not a remote possibility.’2

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Integration Potential of Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific

World Economy and International Relations ◽

10.20542/0131-2227-2016-60-1-68-81 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 68-81

Author(s):

E. Arapova

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Economic Development ◽

Free Trade ◽

Economic Integration ◽

Hybrid Approach ◽

Free Trade Area ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Asia Pacific ◽

Trade Area ◽

Asian Regionalism

During the 2014 APEC summit the participating countries agreed to move towards a region-wide economic integration and approved China-backed roadmap to promote the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). The paper examines prospects for economic integration in the Asia-Pacific in the framework of 21 APEC participating members. It aims to measure the “integration potential” of the FTAAP on the basis of quantitative and qualitative analysis of the actual statistic data, to explore key obstacles hampering economic integration in the region. The research comes from the theory of convergence and concept of proximity. They suppose that the higher is the degree of homogeneity in economic development and regulatory regimes of the integrating countries the higher is their “integration potential”. The objective of the author’s analysis is to measure the “integration potential” of APEC countries in four directions: trade liberalization, free movement of investments, monetary and banking integration, free division of labor. Initial estimates of the FTAAP prospects base on the merchandize trade complementarity indices and coefficients of variation analysis. Besides, the research uses hierarchical cluster analysis that helps to classify countries in different groups according to similarity of their economic typologies. This methodology allows to reveal the favorable algorithm of regional economic integration in the framework of the “hybrid approach” (or “open regionalism” adopted for APEC countries in 1989) which encourages the countries to enter into free trade agreements on a bilateral basis or to make offers to the APEC membership as a whole. Final conclusions are based on the results of authors’ calculations with consideration for contemporary trends of the member countries’ economic development and long-term strategies of economic growth. Acknowledgements. The research was supported by the Russian Fund for Humanities, project no. 15-07-00026 “East Asian regionalism in the context of diversifi cation of economic growth model”.

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