EAST ASIA’S DE JURE ECONOMIC INTEGRATION A THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL APPROACH

In the literature, economic integration has been studied from many different theoretical and conceptual perspectives. Consequently, a great volume of elaborations dedicated to different aspects of integration, transformation and developmental processes in East Asia and the Pacific was created. However, an in-depth review of the studies on economic integration in East Asia has highlighted certain gaps. Namely, there is a shortage of empirical studies on East Asia’s de jure economic integration embodied by the recent establishment of two regional trade arrangement – RCEP and CPTPP. Their actual and potential impact on East Asian economies have been scarcely and vaguely researched. Hence, this monography aims to fill, at least partially, this gap in literature. The novum of this dissertation is the group of the researched countries – 13 East Asian economies, which constitute one of the greatest FTAs all over the world – RCEP, and which at the same time incorporates the members of ASEAN and CPTPP. These member countries as well as the three regional trading arrangements themselves are thoroughly analysed in terms of international and regional trade, economic growth and income convergence. As the result, it can be assessed whether membership in institutional arrangements for economic integration (ASEAN, CPTPP and RCEP) has a positive impact on the pace of economic growth and the speed of closing the income gap among selected East Asian countries.