Managing the Noodle Bowl: The Fragility of East Asian Regionalism

The Singapore Economic Review, Vol. 53, Issue 3, pp. 449-478, 2008

Posted: 11 Nov 2009

See all articles by Richard E. Baldwin

Richard E. Baldwin

University of Geneva - Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: December 2008

Abstract

The paper argues that East Asian regionalism is fragile, since (i) each nation's industrial competitiveness depends on the smooth functioning of "Factory Asia" - in particular, on intra-regional trade; (ii) the unilateral tariff-cutting that created "Factory Asia" is not subject to WTO discipline (bindings); (iii) there is no "top-level management" to substitute for WTO discipline, i.e., to ensure that bilateral trade tensions - tensions that are inevitable in East Asia - do not spillover into region-wide problems due to lack of cooperation and communication. This paper argues that the window of opportunity for East Asian "vision" was missed; what East Asia needs now is "management", not vision. East Asia should launch a "New East Asian Regional Management Effort", with a reinforced ASEAN 3 being the most likely candidate for the job. The first priority should be to bind the region's unilateral tariff cuts in the WTO.

Keywords: Regionalism, noodle bowl, East Asia

Suggested Citation

Baldwin, Richard E., Managing the Noodle Bowl: The Fragility of East Asian Regionalism (December 2008). The Singapore Economic Review, Vol. 53, Issue 3, pp. 449-478, 2008 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1503786

Richard E. Baldwin (Contact Author)

University of Geneva - Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI) ( email )

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