Asia’s economic integration: a driver for development

Posing for a family photo during the APEC summit in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Asia Pacific leaders agreed measures designed to create jobs and liberalise regional trade following talks hosted by US President Barack Obama. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Ram Upendra Das, New Delhi

Asian regional integration initiatives are rich in plans for trade liberalisation and investment cooperation agreements, but they  have rarely been contextualised in terms of development goals like creating employment and reducing poverty.

This is possibly due to a lack of proper understanding of the ways in which regional trade and investment integration could promote development outcomes. Read more…