Assessing the Association Between Trade and Regional Trade Agreements: A Network Approach

Abstract

Since the 1980s, the expansion of international trade has exceeded the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Similarly, the number of Regional Trading Agreements (RTAs) 1) has risen from under 50 in the 1990s to more than 350 currently. Major players such as the US, the EU, and more recently China have increasingly used RTAs as a means of achieving economic integration. This is accompanied by the notable growth of China's imports and exports,