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Recent Regional Agreements: Why So Many, Why So Much Variance in Form, Why Coming So Fast, and Where Are They Headed?

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  • John Whalley

Abstract

Recent years have seen a sharp growth in the number of regional agreements both concluded and under negotiation. This paper attempts to document and discuss this growth focusing on US, EU, Chinese, Indian and other agreements. The form, coverage and content of these agreements vary considerably from case to case. The paper asks why so many, why the variation in form, and why the recent acceleration. Implications for the trading system are discussed in a final section.

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  • John Whalley, 2008. "Recent Regional Agreements: Why So Many, Why So Much Variance in Form, Why Coming So Fast, and Where Are They Headed?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 517-532, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:31:y:2008:i:4:p:517-532
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9701.2008.01094.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Agata Antkiewicz & John Whalley, 2006. "BRICSAM and the non–WTO," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 237-261, September.
    2. Agata Antkiewicz & John Whalley, 2005. "China's New Regional Trade Agreements," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(10), pages 1539-1557, October.
    3. O. G. Dayaratna Banda & John Whalley, 2005. "Beyond Goods and Services: Competition Policy, Investment, Mutual Recognition, Movement of Persons, and Broader Cooperation Provisions of Recent FTAs involving ASEAN Countries," NBER Working Papers 11232, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Crawford, Jo-Ann & Fiorentino, Roberto V., 2005. "The changing landscape of regional trade agreements," WTO Discussion Papers 8, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew G. Brown & Robert M. Stern, 2011. "Free Trade Agreements and Governance of the Global Trading System," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 331-354, March.
    2. Lizzette ARROYO & Ramon A. CASTILLO-PONCE, 2019. "The Duration Of Trade Agreement Negotiations," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 19(2), pages 19-36.
    3. Siow Yue Chia, 2010. "Trade and Investment Policies and Regional Economic Integration in East Asia," Trade Working Papers 21878, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    4. Yan Dong & John Whalley, 2010. "Carbon, Trade Policy and Carbon Free Trade Areas," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(9), pages 1073-1094, September.
    5. Sangeeta Khorana & Maria Garcia, 2013. "European Union–India Trade Negotiations: One Step Forward, One Back?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 684-700, July.
    6. Siow Yue Chia, 2010. "Trade and Investment Policies and Regional Economic Integration in East Asia," Working Papers id:2993, eSocialSciences.
    7. Jayjit Roy, 2014. "On the robustness of the trade-inducing effects of trade agreements and currency unions," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 253-304, August.
    8. Mon, Yi Yi & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2020. "Regional trade agreements and income inequality: Are there any differences between bilateral and plurilateral agreements?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 136-153.
    9. Leonardo Baccini & Johannes Urpelainen, 2014. "Before ratification: understanding the timing of international treaty effects on domestic policies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 50278, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Scott L. Baier & Jeffrey H. Bergstrand & Peter Egger & Patrick A. McLaughlin, 2008. "Do Economic Integration Agreements Actually Work? Issues in Understanding the Causes and Consequences of the Growth of Regionalism," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 461-497, April.
    11. Maria Gallego & David Scoones, 2011. "Intergovernmental negotiation, willingness to compromise, and voter preference reversals," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 36(3), pages 591-610, April.
    12. Jayant Menon, 2009. "Dealing with the Proliferation of Bilateral Free Trade Agreements," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(10), pages 1381-1407, October.
    13. Siow Yue Chia, 2010. "Regional Trade Policy Cooperation and Architecture in East Asia," Trade Working Papers 22029, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    14. Mavroidis, Petros C., 2011. "Always look at the bright side of non-delivery: WTO and Preferential Trade Agreements, yesterday and today," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 375-387, July.
    15. Ken-ichi Ando, 2011. "Economic Integration from Above and Below with the Evidence of Japanese MNEs in Europe," Chapters, in: Miroslav N. Jovanović (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Integration, Volume III, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Julia Gray & Jonathan Slapin, 2012. "How effective are preferential trade agreements? Ask the experts," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 309-333, September.
    17. K.N. Harilal, 2012. "Regional Route to Multilateralism: Proliferation of PTAs among Developing Countries and WTO Negotiations," Millennial Asia, , vol. 3(1), pages 1-22, January.
    18. Kun‐Ming Chen & Meng‐Chia Tsai & Chia‐Ching Lin & Chaw‐hsia Tu, 2009. "Impact of Cross‐Strait Trade Liberalization: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 17(6), pages 106-122, November.
    19. Jorge F. Garzón, 2015. "Latin American Regionalism in a Multipolar World," RSCAS Working Papers 2015/23, European University Institute.

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