Until now, the value of inter-country trade within South Asian nations has been low. While similarities in the exports profiles can be seen as a reason for this low value of trade, it might not be a valid one, especially given the presence of growing South Asian income. The intraindustry trade theory suggests that complementarity might actually increase trade in the presence of a rising income....

Recent research at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Asian regional integration has highlighted the importance of structural barriers to trade (Brooks et al., 2005). Indeed, it now appears that overcoming geographic and institutional obstacles that increase trade and transport margins is a very important constraint to regional trade expansion and sustained growth. In their 2005 study of infra...

We surveyed the empirical literature using multi-country computable general equilibrium (CGE) models to analyse potential and actual regional trade agreements (RTAs). The studies indicate that these RTAs improve welfare, that trade creation greatly exceeds trade diversion, and that they are consistent with further global liberalisation. The welfare gains are bigger when models incorporate aspec...

This paper essentially focuses on the belated regionalization attempts of the South Asian economies and myriad of problems that are coming in their way to forming a smoothly functioning free trade area and regional integration agreement. Notwithstanding their efforts, progress so far has been tardy. Although South Asian economies took several liberalization measures during the 1990-2005 period,...

Before the inception of the WTO, India generally did not pursue any regional economic agreement route to promote trade or to achieve any other goal. In the Post-Cancun Ministerial period, however, it has progressively entered into a number of preferential trade arrangements with several Asian, as well as nonAsian partners. Looking into India’s regional economic integration approach, the current...

Recent developments in South Asian countries, especially the re-emergence of democratic governments, new growth momentum despite the global economic downturn and greater openness, warrant a fresh look at the region’s prospects for economic integration. On the basis of a thorough review of the literature on potential and prospects of regional integration in South Asia and after examining the tre...

The proliferation of preferential trade agreements in Asia may result in a number of hub and spoke configures with Japan, China and ASEAN compete as regional hub of bilateral FTAs. Using a newly developed global CGE model with imperfect competition, increasing return to scale and heterogeneous firm, we explore the potential economic effects of alternative hub and spoke configurations in Asia. T...

Integration of agricultural markets has been a topic great interest in Mozambique. Numerous studies have conducted to assess both domestic and regional integration maize the country, though with some contradictory results. In this study market Mozambique is assessed, focusing on as main crop country. contrast previous work, takes into account new investments infrastructure well changes trade po...