Asia continues to push for greater trade liberalization, with the recent effectivity of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Japan-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement, and the upgrading of several existing Asian FTAs, bringing the total number of Asian FTAs at various stages of development to 253.

Cyn-Young Park, ADB's Director of Regional Cooperation and Integration Division of the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, explores the impact of regional integration on growth, inequality, and poverty using a multidimensional approach. Her analysis suggests that regional integration boosts growth and reduces poverty, beyond the usual effect of trade openness. Read blog.

Bart Édes, ADB’s Representative of the North American Office, features recent developments to promote greater intraregional migration in Asia to address labor shortages and enhance regional cooperation. Read blog.

ADB Principal Economist and ARIC Team Leader Jong Woo Kang sprinkles some holiday cheer in the light of the US-PRC trade tensions. Read blog.

Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada urged regional cooperation–or regional public goods–to tackle regional problems like climate change, communicable disease, and financial contagion at the launch of the AEIR 2018 on 23 October. He launched the report at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, where Vice Dean Ramkishen Rajan gave opening remarks. Read more.