Regional Economic Integration in Africa and Intra-Regional Trade

Like many developing economies, the South Asian countries are opening-up their economies with a view to accelerating their economic growth through greater trade and investment. In this context, attempts have also been made to encourage regional trade under the aegis of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In particular, the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) provides for reductions in tariffs and other restrictions on specific commodities on a reciprocal basis, and the eventual objective is to integrate the South Asian economies into a free trade area through SAFTA, which would come into force on January 1, 2006. However, despite greater attention on regional economic cooperation initiatives, there has been little progress in regional trade expansion: intra-regional trade continues to be minimal, not exceeding 5 percent of the total trade of the South Asian economies. This paper highlights the importance of regional economic integration in South Asia as elsewhere, spells out the factors which have so far hampered economic cooperation in the region, and outlines a future course of action to achieve greater economic integration in South Asia. Section 2 provides a broad perspective on regional economic integration with a particular focus on the need to foster greater economic cooperation in South Asia. Section 3 discusses the factors that have impeded intra-regional trade and economic ties within the region. Section 4 spells out measures to enhance economic cooperation in the SAARC region, while Section 5 concludes the discussion.

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The WTO and Regional Trade: a family business? The WTO compatibility of regional trade agreements with non-WTO-members

World Trade Review ◽

10.1017/s1474745613000347 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 633-649 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

LOUISE EVA MOSSNER

Keyword(s):

Economic Integration ◽

Family Business ◽

Regional Integration ◽

Service Sector ◽

Trade Agreements ◽

Regional Trade Agreements ◽

Regional Economic Integration ◽

Regional Trade ◽

Regional Economic ◽

Enabling Clause

AbstractNumerous WTO members pursue regional economic integration with both other members and non-WTO-members. The resulting derogation from the most-favoured-nation principle needs to be justified in accordance with the relevant WTO provisions. Regional integration in the service sector is expressly allowed between WTO and non-WTO members pursuant to GATS Article V. In the absence of clear regulation, it has been questioned whether the same is true for regional trade agreements (RTAs) covering trade in goods. Providing a comprehensive interpretation, this paper argues that neither GATT Article XXIV nor the Enabling Clause require the WTO membership of all the parties to an RTA.

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DE FACTO AND DE JURE REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN EAST ASIA: HOW DO THEY INTERACT

The Singapore Economic Review ◽

10.1142/s0217590810003584 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 55 (01) ◽

pp. 7-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

FRANÇOISE NICOLAS

Keyword(s):

East Asia ◽

Economic Integration ◽

East Asian ◽

Economic Cooperation ◽

Regional Economic Integration ◽

Regional Trade ◽

Regional Economic ◽

Monetary Cooperation ◽

The World ◽

Trade And Investment

A salient feature of the East Asian region is the persistent discrepancy between the progress in de facto and de jure economic integration. East Asia has long been said to be the champion of loose regional economic integration, with deepening intra-regional trade and investment linkages in the absence of any formal cooperative scheme. However, an oft-heard claim is that East Asia has been shifting recently towards an institution-based form of regional economic cooperation, primarily as a result of the 1997–98 financial crisis. Next to post-crisis financial cooperative schemes under the ASEAN+3, the surge of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) involving East Asian countries is thought by some to further substantiate this claim. The objective of the paper is twofold; first, to assess the validity of the aforementioned claim; and second, to examine the links between de facto and de jure economic integration in East Asia compared to other regions of the world. In the process, the sequencing between trade and monetary cooperation is also addressed. The paper starts by providing a candid assessment of the current state of play of economic cooperation in East Asia (de jure integration), both from the trade and the financial/monetary perspective, and highlights the limitations of the formal regional integration movement in East Asia to date. As a next step, it explores the changing nature of intra-regional trade and investment linkages, contrasts it to the situation in other parts of the world such as Europe and examines to what extent this new form of interdependence may be instrumental in making formal regional economic schemes more attractive. A major conclusion is that de facto trade integration may not automatically lead to deeper regional trade cooperation de jure and that its impact is likely to be stronger on monetary cooperation projects.

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Openness of the Russian economy as a source of economic growth

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2016-12-26-42 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 26-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

P. Kadochnikov ◽

A. Knobel ◽

S. Sinelnikov-Murylev

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Economic Integration ◽

Global Economy ◽

Regional Economic Integration ◽

Policy Recommendations ◽

Regional Economic ◽

Russian Economy

The paper considers measures on Russia’s integration into the global economy, aimed at the economic growth resumption. It analyzes conditions and mechanisms due to which the expanding trade and mutual investment with other countries contribute to economic growth in Russia. The paper provides policy recommendations for export support, regional economic integration agenda and the institutions reform.

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