The Asia-Pacific region generates over half of global economic activity (54.2%) and about 43.7% of global trade, and is the most dynamic region in the global economy. At the core of this is an increasingly dynamic, vibrant and entrepreneurial small-medium sized enterprise sector. Advances in information and communications technology, market liberalisation and moves towards closer regional econo...

the asia-pacific region generates over half of global economic activity (54.2%) and about 43.7% of global trade, and is the most dynamic region in the global economy. at the core of this is an increasingly dynamic, vibrant and entrepreneurial small-medium sized enterprise sector. advances in information and communications technology, market liberalisation and moves towards closer regional econo...

Geography causes African countries to experience a ‘proximity gap’. To overcome this gap a ‘big push’ may be needed in infrastructure. The cross-border nature of such infrastructure requires regional cooperation in at least four issues: transport infrastructure, trade facilitation, decentralization and local economic development, and migration. Because incentives for regional cooperation in the...

Asia is on the rise with increasing significance in the global economy. In parallel, regional cooperation and integration is becoming stronger, bringing both benefits and costs. The region is diverse, and so are the challenges that must be overcome to achieve greater trade and financial integration. For trade, with the Doha Round stymied, what is the best route to take in untangling the noodle ...

1687 Do the forces that regional integration arrangements set up encourage or discourage a trend toward globally freer trade? We don't know yet. Summary findings The literature on regionalism versus multilateralism is growing as economists and political scientists grapple with the question of whether regional integration arrangements are good or bad for the multilateral system. Are regional int...

Over the last couple of decades, there has been a growing awareness in academic and policymaking circles regarding the importance of institutions for economic development. Institutions constitute the rules of the game in a society or, more precisely, the restrictions designed by members of a society to influence human interaction. Any transformation affecting these rules may clearly have a dire...

Recent research has underlined the efficiency of the GATT/WTO rules from the standpoint of politically motivated governments, emphasizing that the current multilateral rules are capable of delivering a politically efficient equilibrium. Such an equilibrium is, however, economically inefficient. Global free trade, in particular, is generally unattainable even in a fully cooperative world, provid...