ASEAN Economic Cooperation and Integration: Progress, Challenges and Future Directions (Integration through Law The Role of Law and the Rule of Law in ASEAN Integration, Series Number 8)

ASEAN economic cooperation and integration have come a long way since the organisation's early days, when cooperation was more political and diplomatic than economic in nature. ASEAN now constitutes the most ambitious organisation of regional cooperation and integration in the developing world. This book investigates the economics of various ASEAN and ASEAN-centric economic integration initiatives, focusing in particular on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). In addition to assessing the potential effects of the AEC on the economies of the ten ASEAN member states via changes in trade, foreign direct investment and economic structure, this book underscores the implementation challenges ASEAN faces as it completes the AEC project. It also considers the AEC in the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This comprehensive study is written for academic researchers and students, as well as for policy makers in ASEAN as they chart the future policy path of the region.

Siow Yue Chia is Senior Research Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Previously, Dr Chia was Executive Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore), founding Regional Coordinator of the East Asian Development Network (EADN), and Economics Professor at the National University of Singapore. She has consulted for international, regional and Singapore organisations such as the World Bank, WTO and Asian Development Bank. Her research and publications cover international trade and investment, international labour mobility, and regional economic integration, with focus on the Asia Pacific, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Singapore.

Michael G. Plummer is Director of SAIS Europe and the Eni Professor of International Economics at Johns Hopkins University. He was until recently Head of the Development Division of the OECD and was Associate Professor of Economics at Brandeis University before coming to SAIS. He has worked on numerous projects for international organizations, development and other government agencies, and regional development banks. His main academic interests relate to international trade, international finance, and Asian economic integration, especially in the ASEAN context.