The political economy of regional integration in East Asia

Abstract

Regional economic integration, FTAs, Fragmentation, Financial co-operation, International monetary arrangements, Foreign exchange policy, East Asia, F13, F15, F31, F33, F36, F59, O19, O24,

Examining the relationship between finance, institutions and economic growth: evidence from the ASEAN economies

“…Meanwhile, focusing on institutional development, the average value of the rule of law index is at − 0.244 with a large standard deviation of 0.888. This variance reflects the commitment of the ASEAN economies to reform throughout the sample time period particularly after the onset of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, where the region began to focus its efforts on institutions-based regional integration (Nicolas 2008). Finally, the control variable openness to trade has an average value of 1.118, which is expected as many ASEAN economies adopted an export-oriented strategy (Lee and Tan 2006).…”

“…However, after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the ASEAN economies shifted from market-driven institutions to institutional-based regional integration, which was a loose form of regional economic integration as there is an absence of formal cooperative scheme (Nicolas 2008). One of the earliest efforts of financial integration in the region was the Chiang Mai Initiative, which was implemented in 2000 (ASEAN Secretariat 2008).…”

“…In addition to the Chiang Mai Initiative, the ASEAN economies further emphasised on financial stability with the creation of the ASEAN Surveillance Process (Almekinders et al 2015). In 2003, the ASEAN economies began the development of a regional bond market leading to the creation of the Asian Bond Fund and the Asian Bond Market Initiative, where one addresses demands and the other addresses supply, respectively (Nicolas 2008). However, these financial integration and development efforts still lag behind the financial and monetary integration in the European Union, as the initiatives employed by the ASEAN economies were focused on stability as a result of the Asian Financial Crisis.…”