The Prospects for Further Economic Integration in ASEAN

Park, Donghyun

doi:1999.14.3.382

The Journal of Economic Integration 1999 September;14(3) :382-418.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11130/jei.1999.14.3.382

The Prospects for Further Economic Integration in ASEAN

Donghyun Park,

Nanyang Technological University

ABSTRACT

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 1997, has enjoyed remarkable success as a forum for political cooperation among the states of Southeast Asia. The challenge for ASEAN now is to replicate its political success in the sphere of economic cooperation, where it has had much less success up to now. The main goal of our paper is to investigate the likelihood that ASEAN can, in fact, become an engine of greater economic integration among the countries of Southeast Asia. In particular, we explore the future prospects for AFTA, the regional free trade area. (JEL Classifications: F15, F14, F02)

Keywords: ASEAN | economic integration | economic cooperation | customs union | free trade area