![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to test the hypothesis that the ‘ASEAN way’ is different from other regional integration schemes, as measured by the relative importance of its de facto regionalization patterns, the importance of its ASEAN+ frameworks, and its globalization-regionalization nexus. A set of indicators using intra- and extra-regional flow data of various sorts are explored and used to compare the ASEAN integration experience with some benchmark cases worldwide. Four aspects are thereby considered: (1) globalization and economic openness, (2) trade liberalization, (3) regional production sharing, and (4) foreign investment promotion.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments on a previous version.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. In 1991, Anand Panyarachun, Prime Minister of Thailand at the time, proposed to create the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).
2. It includes both intra-regional and extra-regional trade.
3. It includes FDI within the region (between member states) and FDI from outside the region.
4. Data source: World Bank: World Development Indicator (World Bank Citation2016).
5. Data source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Citation2016).
7. The World Bank Doing Business Index measures a country’s overall business regulations from 10 aspects – starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. A higher value of the indicator means more investment-friendly business environment. The simple average of the member states’ scores is used to proxy the whole region’s general ease in conducting business.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Lurong Chen
Lurong Chen is an Economist at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) (Jakarta, Indonesia). He received his PhD in international economics from the Graduate Institute, Geneva. His current research interests are centered on Asian regionalism, digital trade, global value chains, regional integration, and trade in services. His recent book, Emerging Global Trade Governance: Mega Free Trade Agreements and Implications for ASEAN, was published by Routledge in 2018.
Philippe De Lombaerde
Philippe De Lombaerde is currently Associate Professor of International Economics at Neoma Business School (Rouen, France). Previously, he has worked as Associate Director at United Nations University (UNU-CRIS), Associate Professor of International Economics at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá, Colombia), lecturer and researcher at the University of Antwerp, and researcher at the NIDA Business School (Bangkok, Thailand). He has published widely on comparative, Latin American and Southeast Asian regionalism; on trade and investment policy; and on globalization and regionalization indicators. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philippe_De_Lombaerde