Foreign direct investment flows have increased dramatically in recent decades and continue to be a driving factor of economic globalisation. As a growth pole in the world economy, large parts of Asia have particularly become an attractive place for market-seeking FDI. In a high number of Asian countries FDI restrictions have been reduced, leading to accelerated technological exchange and globally integrated production and marketing networks. Overall, this has positively benefited the emerging countries that have opened their doors to FDI. Expansion of Trade and FDI in Asia explores the trends of present FDI in Asia and their effects on multilateral regulation of FDI. It reviews the increasing attraction of FDI and the rise of Asian transnational corporations (TNCs) from an economic perspective. It also investigates the legal side of the development, in particular the changes in bilateral and regional FDI regulation, and the lessons that could be learned for International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and the constitution of trading blocs. This book will be of interest to postgraduates and academics interested in Asian studies, Asian economics and international economics.

During the 1990s, the governments of South Asian countries acted as ‘facilitators’ to attract FDI. As a result, the inflow of FDI increased. However, to become an attractive FDI destination as China, Singapore, or Brazil, South Asia has to improve the local conditions of doing business. This book, based on research that blends theory, empirical evidence, and policy, asks and attempts to answer a few core questions relevant to FDI policy in South Asian countries: Which major reforms have succeeded? What are the factors that influence FDI inflows? What has been the impact of FDI on macroeconomic performance? Which policy priorities/reforms needed to boost FDI are pending? These questions and answers should interest policy makers, academics, and all those interested in FDI in the South Asian region and in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Trade, investment, economic growth, newly industrializing country, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea R and Taiwan, China - export, foreign investment, industrialization, employment, labour market, income distribution. Graph, references, statistical tables.

In an era of globalization, trade in goods and cross-border services and capital flows play a key role in determining the economic growth path of countries. Over the last two decades, countries have embarked on several alternate tracks to liberalize and deepen their linkage with the world economy. The growing trade-investment nexus and the emerging developments lead to deeper international production networks, rise in cross-border trade in services and in regional trade agreements and so on. The debate of whether it is possible to empirically validate the potential benefits of this deepening trade-investment linkage is ongoing. The evidence in literature is, however, ambiguous. This book contributes to the literature by looking at Asian economies and at the EU, Maghreb countries and Pacific Island economics. It examines the issues under four broad areas, namely: (1) trade: theoretical and policy issues, (2) factor flows: impact on trade and welfare, (3) impact of trade and factor flows on environment and (4) institutions, international trade and policy issues.

Developing countries in East Asia recorded remarkable economic growth until the Asian financial crisis erupted in mid-1997. Although several countries experienced devastating setbacks, most of them recovered to achieve reasonable rates of economic growth over the next few years. Sound macroeconomic management, export-oriented policies, and the availability of skilled and low-wage labour are among the factors that contributed to the rapid economic growth before the crisis and the recovery thereafter. Especially noteworthy in this regard is the role played by foreign direct investment (FDI). This comprehensive book identifies the factors that contributed to the expansion of FDI inflows in East Asia and the factors that enabled recipient countries to utilize FDI effectively. It includes detailed case studies on China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Also included is a comparative study of investing firms headquartered in the United States, Japan and Hong Kong. The authors conclude that social stability, clear and effective policy implementation and corporate governance are all key factors in reaping economic success from FDI.

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of current trends of trade and economic growth in Asia, assessing how they are likely to develop in the future. It examines the evolving patterns of Asian economic development with the emergence of China, including since China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001. It is written by experts specialising in economic growth and regional and global trade/investment issues, alongside country specialists who have examined the development path of Asian economies. It discusses the significance of a export-oriented growth strategy on the Asian region, and the likely patterns of intra-regional specialisation given China’s rise. The book examines the degree to which the remarkable growth of China is likely to affect other Asian countries in terms of global market share, and growth prospects. The book explores how the rise of intra-industry trade is affecting patterns of specialisation in the region, and appraises the role of multinational corporations and foreign direct investment. Informed by the latest empirical economic thinking, this book is a rigorous examination of the influence of an emerging economic superpower, and the future for economic growth in Asia. Readers interested in the implications of the rise of China, the effect on the economic development path of the most successful developing nations of our time and the lessons to be heeded from China’s integration with the global economy will find this a thorough yet accessible account of the influence of an emerging economic superpower.

The book provides an understanding of how international trade and capital flows have engineered the development process in East Asia, and examines the real and potential challenges that the region is expect to encounter in the twenty-first century. It integrates four topics (i.e. capital flows, East Asia, globalization and economic development) that are at the centre of the social, political and economic debate. The text highlights the region's growing strategic importance in the twenty-first century globalizing world, where transnational corporations are playing an increasingly decisive role in the global distribution of production and trade. It blends generalised regional analyses with country-specific case studies in the world's most dynamic region. It is so well designed that each of the seventeen countries that comprise the region gets some space for discussion. Thus, the text is a valuable contribution to the social science and business literature, with a special focus on the now strategic region of East Asia.