Asia Regional Integration Center

Within East Asia, the outward-oriented Philippine economy is a latecomer to using free trade agreements as a trade policy instrument. This study by Ganeshan Wignaraja, Dorothea Lazaro and Genevieve DeGuzman evaluates the impact of free trade agreements—particularly the 15-year-old ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement—on business activity in the Philippines. Using a survey of 155 manufactured goods exporters from three sectors, this study deals with three questions: (i) Do firms use AFTA and why?; (ii) What impedes firms from using FTAs?; and (iii) What can be done to improve FTA use at firm level? Download the paper. Read more about AFTA on ARIC's website.   

Prema–Chandra Athukorala and Jayant Menon examine in an environment of increased global production sharing, the extent and pattern of these flows in East Asia and probe its implications for the analysis of the determinants of trade flows. The paper draws implications on the role of exchange rate policy in the balance of payments adjustment, particularly in countries where component trade is high and growing. Download the paper.

Emerging East Asian economies have performed better than anticipated this year thanks to swift policy responses and an improved external environment, according to the December issue of the Asia Economic Monitor. GDP is now expected to grow 4.2% in 2009 and 6.8% in 2010. Read news release. Download report.

Srinivasa Madhur, Ganeshan Wignaraja and Peter Darjes examine the link between regional roads and ADB's support in Asia between 1966 and 2008 and find that regional highways are a notable and growing part of ADB's road portfolio since the 1990's, and that ADB road investment has made a significant contribution to the Asian Highway.  Read more.  

Robert Rigg and Lotte Schou-Zibell examine recent money market developments and financial system liquidity in emerging Asia, and look at policy options and potential structural shifts to strengthen and develop the region's money markets as they emerge from the recent global financial turmoil. Read more.

Total bonds outstanding in emerging East Asia's local currency bond markets reached a new threshold of USD4.2 trillion at end-September 2009, says the latest issue of the Asia Bond Monitor. Balanced growth, especially in markets outside of the People's Republic of China, and strong corporate bond sector performance, were distinguishing features of the market's growth in 3Q09. Read more.

Mitsuyo Ando, Antoni Estevadeordal and Christian Volpe Martincus explore the relationships between preferential and multilateral trade liberalizations in Latin America at both the aggregate and sectoral levels. They find that while regional trade liberalization has a complementary effect on multilateral trade liberalization in general, the effects seem to vary across sectors, depending on specific country-sector characteristics such as import demand elasticities and revealed comparative advantages. Read more.

This reference book aims to support the implementation of trade facilitation measures and reforms in Asia and the Pacific. It attempts to bridge the gaps among policy makers, practitioners, and economists by outlining operational guidance on how to assess the status of trade facilitation, what measures and reforms are necessary, and how to implement them at national and regional levels. Download latest copy.