I study how political competition affects the feasibility of free trade agreements (FTAs). I show that the possibility of political turnover creates strategic motivations for the formation of FTAs. Specifically, a government facing a high enough probability of losing power will have an incentive...

I study how political competition affects the feasibility of free trade agreements (FTAs). I show that the possibility of political turnover creates strategic motivations for the formation of FTAs. Specifically, a government facing a high enough probability of losing power will have an incentive...

This paper explores the ramifications of customs unions (CUs) for multilateral trade cooperation within an economic environment characterized by trade-volume volatility and in a competing-exporters framework. We demonstrate that the parallel formation of different CUs leads to a gradual but...

Through the outline of a coherent theoretical foundation for understanding East Asian international relations, this textbook offers a fresh, analytical approach, including applications of evolutionary theory that differ from and contextualize the prevailing theories currently offered for studies...

We study the welfare impact of rules of origin in free trade agreements where final-good producers source customized inputs from suppliers within the trading bloc. We employ a property-rights framework that features hold-up problems in suppliers' decisions to invest, and where underinvestment is...

We study the welfare impact of rules of origin in free trade agreements where final-good producers source customized inputs from suppliers within the trading bloc. We employ a property-rights framework that features hold-up problems in suppliers' decisions to invest, and where underinvestment is...

This study analyzes whether ongoing liberalization has resulted in more profound trade expansion for Indonesia versus regional partner countries. A gravity model is first employed to find whether regional trade agreements resulted in more significant intra-regional exports or diverted trade....

Rules of origin offer preferred market access for final goods whose inputs originate mostly within a free trade agreement. Governments often champion such rules for boosting investment. We use a property-rights framework to study when this motivation is justifiable. The rule does not bind for...

We study, theoretically and empirically, how countries choose intra-bloc tariffs and preferential margins when they form Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Our model indicates that countries should set systematically lower preferential margins when the bloc takes the form of a free trade area...

We study, theoretically and empirically, how countries choose intra-bloc tariffs and preferential margins when they form Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Our model indicates that countries should set systematically lower preferential margins when the bloc takes the form of a free trade area...

Chapter 1: Introduction – Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs) -- Chapter 2: Locating Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in IR Scholarship -- Chapter 3: New Paradigm: Communitarian, Humanist African Theory of Regional Integration -- Chapter 4: East African Community II:...

There is growing recognition in the economics literature that African countries are characterized by very large economic disparities across subnational regions. Yet the lack of systematic and reliable empirical data at subnational levels of aggregation has made it difficult to explore possible...

There is growing recognition in the economics literature that African countries are characterized by very large economic disparities across subnational regions. Yet the lack of systematic and reliable empirical data at subnational levels of aggregation has made it difficult to explore possible...

This book evaluates Central Asian regionalism by analyzing the impact of Russia and China on physical infrastructure in the region. The narrative builds a picture of the nature of the two powers' influence on the development of regional connectivity in Central Asia. The study covers the 30-year...