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The article discusses the use of mainland Southeast Asia as a prism through which one can identify two extensive sectors of pre 1830 Eurasia namely protected d and exposed zone. Overarching similarities and specific differences between China and South Asia with regard to their history are presented.

It is important to assess the connections between the emergence of trading blocs and the basic economic and social trends which have evolved in industrialized countries since the second half of the 1940s. It is possible to claim that regionalism is a key restructuring process which has affected the world economy since modern principles of international trade first began to be established. Regionalism and trading blocs can be viewed as an important element in the constantly evolving international trading system.

We consider the impact of the formation of free-trade agreements on multilateral tariff cooperation. We assume that countries are limited to self-enforcing multilateral arrangements that balance the gains from deviating against the costs of an ensuing trade war. We find that the emergence of free-trade areas will be accompanied by a temporary retreat from liberal multilateral trade policies, as the initial balance supporting multilateral cooperation is upset. Eventually, however, as the full impact of the emerging free-trade agreement on multilateral trade patterns is felt, this initial balance tends to reemerge, and liberal multilateral trade policies can be restored.

A case study was conducted on the distributional impacts of the 'free zone' component of structural adjustment in Jamaica. The free zones are analyzed based on historical, social and spatial contexts. Data were gathered from internal Jamaican government records and interviews with public and private free zone managers. The results suggest uneven distribution of the costs and benefits of free zone promotion with respect to class, gender and location.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the impressive economic performance of most of its members have increased the weight of the region's views in world fora. However, ASEAN has been unsuccessful in fostering a regional integration arrangement (RIA) leading to an increase in intraregional trade and foreign direct investment. In January 1992, ASEAN launched the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) seeking to establish a free trade area (FTA) by 2008. Market integration increases economic interdependence and thereby raises the need for policy integration and discipline. This paper argues that a number of difficulties that ASEAN faced in promoting intraregional trade are likely to continue to affect AFTA (e.g., low economic complementarity and macroeconomic imbalances requiring large changes in equilibrium real exchange rates). The experience of other RIAs suggests other potential problems. AFTA's prospects of evolving into deeper forms of sustainable integration are remote. Some cooperation in areas of common interest seems likely., I. INTRODUCTION The formation of ASEAN and the impressive economic performance of most of its members have increased the weight of the region's views in world fora. However, ASEAN has [...]

Byline: Hokey Min, Thomas E. Lambert Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) are considered duty-free areas and, thus, not governed by the usual customs and tariff controls. In other words, the merchandise permitted in the FTZ may be stored, sold, exhibited, labelled, repacked, assembled, distributed and mixed with other merchandise without paying customs duty until merchandise is released from the zone. Deferred customs duties in the FTZs can contribute significantly to the profitability of the Multinational Firms (MNFs) that get involved in global supply chain activities. Thus, the utilisation of FTZs is believed to have a positive impact on export/import operations and the location decisions of MNFs. Despite such benefits, many MNFs still have not fully explored the possibility of utilising FTZs. Through an exploratory study, this paper identifies the factors that facilitate or hinder the usage of FTZs in the USA. Also, this paper examines the impact that FTZs have on the selected manufacturing and logistics industry and determines how significantly FTZs affect the MNFs' decisions on locating their facilities.

The free trade zones (FTZ) in Sri Lanka, established by the government to enhance economic and technological advancement of the country, serve the capitalists and leave their workers in bad health with poor working conditions. Low wages, malnutrition, neglected health and safety of workers and abuse of workers by the supervisors are a few of the features in the FTZs. The women workers are looked down upon socially and harassed by police and government agencies in league with the management.

This article attempts to examine the initial results of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It is a preliminary review of examples of the successes and the failures of this historic agreement. The review leads to the conclusion that NAFTA has not been as successful as many had hoped. The usual economic reason given is the devaluation of the peso, but in this article, it is argued that the devaluation was the result of not only economic conditions but also cultural ones. The lack of intermediate groups between the state and the family as well as the lack of social capital has played a significant role in the economic development (or lack thereof) of Mexico. If NAFTA is to succeed, it may be that more attention must be given to creating the civil society.