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A well-developed services supply chain is crucial for regional integration. In the context of East Asia and ASEAN, it will allow countries at varying development stages to effectively participate in regional as well as global supply chains. This paper examines services from a supply chain perspective and discusses policy implications for liberalization of the sector in East Asian economies. In particular, the study focuses on global value chain (GVC) activities for services that are independent of linkages to the manufacturing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's accession to the WTO in 2001 and the subsequent liberalization of its FDI and trade policies have boosted the country's exports and facilitated its improved participation in regional production networks. This paper builds on the existing literature on production networks by examining some of the recent structural changes in China's intermediate goods trade with East Asia. Chinese policies to promote technological progress and indigenous innovation have been instrumental in bringing about such change, most of which can be captured by shifts or movements in the nation's intra-industry trade index for intermediate goods. Two significant findings emerge from the empirical exercise: first, China is progressively reducing its reliance on import of intermediate goods for production and export; and second, the country remains integrated with East Asian economies in several technology-intensive sectors such as machinery and electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the ]9903, East Asia-including Northeast and Southeast Asia-has led the world in adopting a task-by-task international division of labour or international production networks (IPNs), the core of which consists of niachinery industries. In this regard, how far has India integrated with East Asia? Using international trade data for comparison from multiple perspectives, this article gives an overview of the current position of India with respect to machinery IPNs and information and communication technology (ICT) services. The article shows that India has not yet participated in machinery IPNs in the East Asian region. We argue that ICT services are a source of strength for the Indian economy, and its competitiveness could be utilized effectively by combining new technologies with traditional industries such as manufacturing. India still has huge untapped opportunities for utilizing the mechanics of a new international division of labour to accelerate economic growth, innovation and poverty alleviation. And economic integration with East Asia could work as a trigger to redirect India's industrialization strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of financial market efficiency has important implications in terms of global macroeconomic stability. The case of six selected East Asian stock markets (China, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea) during the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) and Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is analysed here using a battery of well-known econometric techniques that starts with traditional unit root testing for random walk behaviour. The six countries were selected on the basis of market capitalization to offer insights into the behaviour of the most relevant markets in the region. The results show that during both crises, these markets exhibited significant inefficiencies. This is shown by the fact that positive correlations characterized markets returns behaviour in general, except fo r South Korea and Hong Kong, during the GFC. Of particular note is the case of China; its stock markets suffered losses and high volatility during the GFC and exhibited increasing correlations with other stock markets in the region, showing progressive levels of integration within the region and more exposure to global events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]