Reforming business licensing is a key starting point for improving the investment climate. Complex licensing procedures may encourage firms to remain unregistered, giving rise to difficulties later in accessing finance from formal financial institutions and constraining productivity and...

This paper uses a disaggregated (product-level) gravity approach to estimate the effect of ASEAN’s product-specific rules of origin (RoO) on regional trade, using original data on rules applicable at the six-digit level of the harmonized system. Overall, we find that the average ad-valorem...

With overlapping, multiple FTAs, such as the case of ASEAN and the various ASEAN+1 FTAs, complications could arise that run counter to the economic integration objectives of the East Asian Region. Forging the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) among ASEAN and its FTA partners is...

This study analyses the influence of host-site institutional support, foreign ownership and regional production linkages on firm-level technological capabilities using data from automotive firms in Indonesia. The results show that host-site institutional support and foreign ownership are...

While the impact of globalization on income inequality has received a lot of attention, little is known about its effect on the gender wage gap (GWG). This study argues that there is a systematic differece in GWG between exporting firms and non-exporters. By the virtue of being exposed to higher...

This article examines the development of China’s automotive industry. The evidence shows that integration in global production networks has stimulated upgrading of technological capabilities among automotive firms. However, the competitiveness and intra-industry analyses show mixed results....

This article examines the transformation of clothing manufacturing in China with a focus on institutional support, technological upgrading and global production chains. The evidence shows that reforms and integration into global production chains has rapidly expanded China’s exports but it has...

This article examines the relationship between institutional support and regional production linkages, and technological capabilities and firm performance in the garment industry in Laos. The evidence shows that garment firms in Laos have achieved considerable technological upgrading, and that...

This article examines how global production networks have benefited technological upgrading in the semiconductor industry in China. The evidence shows that trade has impacted positively on technological capabilities. The empirical evidence show that 93 percent of firms were engaged in...

The Philippines pioneered the establishment of automotive assembly in Southeast Asia in the 1950s. But Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia lead the region since the 1990s. The foremost reasons for the decline are policy incoherence and unchecked inflows of smuggled cars, which is reflected in the...