Trade and Industrial Development in East Asia: Catching Up or Falling Behind

The author addresses the comparative advantages and trade similarity indices of Asian economies from regional and global perspectives. He also analyzes the impacts of regional trade agreements from both member and non-member countries’ perspectives. After a vigorous examination of the sources of export growth by the methodology of the constant market share analysis, the book examines the trade-investment nexus, the development of fragmentation of manufacturing production, and trade in parts and components as the dominant trade flows after the mid-1980s. It then studies the trade complementarity index among countries to further pursue the analysis of natural trading partners, and looks at the Krugman-Baldwin hub-spoke thesis by empirically identifying the ‘degree of hub-ness’ in three major markets in China, Japan, and the USA. Various scenarios of economic integration in East Asia are assessed and an open regionalism is proposed for East Asian economic integration and sustainable development in the conclusion of the book.

Students and researchers of international trade, economic development, and Asian Studies will find the data and analyses in the volume invaluable in understanding the economic development of the Asia Pacific.