Waging Cooperation in Asia: A Balanced View towards Regional Integration provides an in-depth analysis of economic integration in Asia. Being open and particularly dependent on trade with G-2, the Asian economy should have suffered greatly during the Great Recession. Yet, the region has performed remarkably well. The strength of domestic demand is only a part of the explanation. The other important part is rising economic integration, featured by, among others, growing intra-Asian trade and trade between Asia and other emerging market economies. This book argues that this trend is likely to continue even with the G-2 recovery, because it can provide better opportunities for a more balanced and sustainable development.
The book also explains why regional integration should be viewed in a balanced way: it provides benefits and opportunities, but also costly and carries some risks. Given the free flows of capital in the current global economic uncertainty, regional cooperation in the provision of financial safety nets is particularly highlighted.
Contents:
- Cautionary Notes on Economic Integration
- A Balance View of Integration
- Asia's Trade Integration
- Asia's Financial Integration
- Cooperation and Integration
- Summary
Readership: Undergraduate students in the field of international economics with a focus on Asian economies.
Professor Iwan Azis has been teaching at Cornell University since 1992. He was Professor and Director of Graduate Study at the Regional Science Program and Adjunct Professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management before he took a leave from Cornell in 2010 to head the ADB's Office of Regional Economic Integration (OREI).
In early 1998, Professor Azis spoke before the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the US Congress on the Asian Crisis. He received an award for “Distinguished Scholar in Regional Science, Financial Economics, and Economic Modeling,” presented at the Instituto Superior de Ciencias do Trabalho e da Empresa (ISCTE) Business School, Lisbon, Portugal, July 2006.
Professor Azis' main research interest is on macro financial economics and regional economic modeling and institutions. He has conducted research and consulting work for various international organizations, governments and universities.
Professor Azis has published numerous books and articles on current development issues. His book “Crisis, Complexity and Conflict,” Emerald, UK (2009) analyzes policy conflicts of global imbalances, regional integration, and resource-environmental issues. In 2010, in “Predicting a recovery date from the economic crisis of 2008,” Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 44, 122–129 (2010), he wrote about the sub prime crisis in the United States and his cautious views about its recovery. His warning about financial contagion appears in “Asian regional financial safety nets? Don't hold your breath, ”Public Policy Review, 8(3) (2012). His concerns about capital flows in emerging Asia following the ultra-easy money policy in advanced economies appears in “Entering the uncharted territory,” Perspectives from Around the World 023 (2013), published by Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Japan.
Professor Azis obtained his PhD (1982) and Master's degree (1981) in Regional Science/Economics from Cornell University.
