Impact of Regional Economic Integration in East Asia

The current study evaluates the economy wide impact of trade liberalization in the ASEAN region along with China, Japan and Korea (ASEAN + 3) by the year 2020 using the GTAP framework. The study also assesses the environmental impact of the trade liberalization in the region focusing on the seven environmental indicators (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, BOD, COD, Suspended Solid and Industrial Waste). The result shows that the countries under agreement (ASEAN + 3) will benefit with increased output, expansion of trade and welfare due to trade reforms. Further, the integration will increase the global welfare, although the regions not under agreement in the world will show a decline in output growth. Vietnam will be gaining with the highest output growth among the ASEAN region; however, the impact on the environment would not be favourable. The environmental impact reveals a mixed outcome for participating countries under the agreement. The paper provides useful insight in pursuing greater trade liberalization among the countries under the study.     

Free Trade Agreements and the Prospects for Regional Integration in East Asia

Trade policy in East Asia has switched from non-discriminatory unilateral liberalization, reinforced by General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization (GATT/WTO) commitments, to discriminatory free trade agreements (FTA). The paper surveys the FTA activity of the major regional players: China, the ASEAN countries, Japan, and South Korea. It concludes that emerging FTAs are weak and partial. A hub-and-spoke pattern of dirty FTAs will not drive regional economic integration or further integration with the global economy. Rather, it could be a force of regional economic disintegration – especially if the multilateral trading system weakens further. At the same time, FTA activity is distracting attention from the WTO, and, more fundamentally, from unilateral liberalization and domestic structural reforms. Hence, East Asian trade policies need to be rebalanced, with better-quality FTAs and more focus on the WTO. However, more important than the WTO and FTAs is a fresh spurt of unilateral liberalization and structural reform outside trade negotiations.     

东亚国家或地区汇率制度的选择与演变

通过分析东亚国家在东亚金融危机前、中、后不同阶段汇率制度选择的变化,发现东亚国家或地区汇率制度以“钉住美元”为主线,基本符合东亚经济特征。汇率波动存在传染效应,汇率制度缺乏合作且存在一定程度的浮动恐慌。东亚汇率制度演变的基本结论是：东亚各国或地区能否抵抗货币攻击,与采取的汇率制度密切相关。东亚各国或地区的汇率制度需要根据内外经济形势变化进行相应调整,单一钉住美元的汇率制度变得困难且不合时宜。     

Real Convergence and European Integration: The Experience of the Less Developed EU Members

This study aims at providing an assessment about real convergence across countriesand regions in the EU, focusing more specifically on the four cohesion EU members.The results show that in the course of the last few years a process of convergence hastaken place between the per capita income levels of the EU regions and also, to a largerextent, of the Member States. Nevertheless, advances in real convergence are largelydetermined by the growth strategy implemented by the countries themselves. Lastly,our study suggests that the Community's regional policy has played a significant rolein favor of real convergence between the Member States of the EU. One importantlesson to be drawn is that the accession is likely to contribute significantly to improvingthe possibilities of the current Central and East European countries (CEECs) candidatesin aligning their per capita income levels with those of the EU members.     

Vertical Innovation and Catching-Up: Implications of EU Integration for CEECs-5

We analyze the role of vertical innovation in trade patterns for developing economies trading with technologically advanced countries. A model is presented where the international diffusion of knowledge, promoted by economic integration, is the source of a technological catching up and leads to a convergence in the quality of traded goods, with a positive effect on exports. We then turn our attention on the evolution of trade between the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs-5) and their European Union partner countries, assessing whether economic integration has increase the quality of the goods produced. For the period 1995–2005, we find evidence of the increasing role of intra-industry trade and vertical differentiation and a process of specialization in higher quality products, especially in the medium- and high-skill sectors.

中国新疆与中亚五国区域经济合作研究

经济全球化和区域经济一体化是当今世界经济发展的两大主流.中国新疆与中亚五国的区域经济合作对国际政治、经济榕局都具有深远影响.两者经济合作既有地缘、资源、经济政治合作环境等优势,也有基础设施不配套、投资环境有待改善、政府服务不全面等问题.发展两者经济合作应建设运输网络、改善投资环境、促进产业结构升级、扩大双边人才交流等.     

中外现代生态农业发展比较研究

现代生态农业具有丰富的生态文明内涵,它以安全、环保、低能耗、优质、高效等特点逐渐成为世界各国追求的农业可持续发展模式。目前,中外关于现代生态农业的理论与实践都有一定的差异。与一些发达国家相比,我国在生态农业建设方面也存在很大差距。所以,我们应该采取积极的对策以促进我国现代生态农业的持续发展。     

Growth effects of EU and EZ memberships: Empirical findings from the first 15 years of the Euro

One of the major economic reasons for the creation of the European Union (EU) and of the Euro-zone (EZ) was an expected bonus of economic growth for member countries. Whilst several studies exist on the growth bonus of EU membership, there are none for the EZ, the latest and deepest step of economic integration in Europe. The aim of this article is to investigate whether EU and EZ memberships enhance growth for their members. In order to perform our empirical analysis, we estimate different growth models restricting the time frame to the first 15 years of the Euro - from 1999 to 2013. We find a positive impact of EU membership on economic growth, but no impact of being part of the EZ, except during the financial crisis, when the EZ has a negative impact on growth amongst its members. Considering the heated political debate related to the Brexit referendum, our results favour a “yes” to the EU but a less clear answer when it comes to the EZ.     

How does the flow of remittances affect the trade balance of the Middle East and North Africa?

ABSTRACT

The Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) economies have one of the highest degrees of dependency on received remittances worldwide. In this study, we have examined the role of remittances in the trade balance of 11 labour abundant MENA countries. Our panel regression analysis showed that the inflow of remittances has fostered the trade deficit. We also found that the final effect of remittances depends on the level of domestic capital formation. The results are robust after controlling for other drivers of trade deficit such as income, inflation, exchange rate and institutions as well as country and year fixed effects.     

Fertility and the puzzle of female employment in the Middle East and North Africa

Female labour force participation rates across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have remained low for over four decades even though, in the same period, women's education rapidly increased and fertility rates substantially decreased. This study provides a better understanding of this surprising phenomenon by testing whether the number of children affects the mother's labour supply (using twins at first birth as an instrumental variable.) Despite a strong first stage, it does not find statistically significant effects in the second stage, even in the combined sample of over 100,000 observations. This non‐result, however, does not rule out that fertility affects women's employment in these countries. But it rejects impacts larger than 0.09. Similar twin‐studies in the United States found effects between 0.12 and 0.31. The paper discusses the implications of this result in understanding the puzzle of female participation in MENA and in designing policies to increase women's employment.     

科技人才流动与经济高质量发展互动关系研究

通过对科技人才流动及经济高质量发展内涵的梳理和分析,构建两者互动关系。选取长江经济带11个省市1998-2015年的面板数据,建立二阶滞后PVAR模型,对经济高质量发展与科技人才流动关系进行实证分析。结果表明：经济高质量发展与科技人才流动存在非对称互动关系,即经济高质量发展会显著促进科技人才流动,而无效的科技人才流动则会影响地区经济发展水平。基于此,针对如何促进科技人才流动、实现科技资源有效配置提出相关建议。