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The world and international trade may learn much from China's remarkable economic rise in recent decades. The 21st century is increasingly called the ‘Asian Century’ due to China's substantial impact on regional trade organisations, including the EU, NAFTA, SAARC, and ASEAN. Through investments in infrastructure, economic integration, and technical cooperation, China's trading model, defined by bilateral and multilateral agreements, has changed the nature of regionalism. Initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have improved commerce and connectivity, which has promoted collaboration and economic progress. China's involvement in the region has aided development and sparked worries about intellectual property, trade imbalances, and geopolitical problems. This research looks at the economic advantages and geopolitical difficulties of China's trade policies and how regionalism will develop in the face of China's expanding power. Bibliography Entry Rashied, Haroon Ur and Aziz Ur Rahman. 2024. "China’s Economic Growth and Its Impact on Regionalism." Margalla Papers 28 (2): 50-62.

The European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) free trade agreement (FTA) aims to increase regional trade and major integration between the regions; after decades of negotiations, in 2019, finalization of the agreement was reached. However, there are several blockages from both parties in the ratification process: whilst few EU members the criticize environmental and sustainability issues within the agreement, the Mercosur partners oppose the imposition of sustainability standards onto the region without adequate financial support. On this topic, the literature is still too poor to build a systematic literature review; thus, the present analysis follows a quasi-historical approach considering the major steps of the EU–Mercosur FTA looking both at the scientific and gray literature. The study underlines how environmental and sustainability issues are at the core of the European policies; thus, themes such as deforestation and pesticides could be a dealbreaker in the ratification of the agreement. For the EU, the FTA with Mercosur could mark a new step in the race towards it being a new "global standard" for sustainability and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arkeoloji Dergisi is the property of Ege University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Domestic regional synergistic emission reduction is important in achieving national climate goals. This study constructed a game theory-based model for regional synergistic emission reduction, modified the Basic Climate Game using the exact-hat algebra method, and expanded the game model using a general spatial equilibrium model to incorporate cross-regional economic impacts generated by emission reduction actions through factors and product flows. The formation of regional comparative advantages in emission reductions and their impact on synergistic emission reductions were revealed through regional characteristics such as emission elasticity, sectoral structure, regional trade shares, and green total factor productivity. A form of synergy was then proposed that utilizes the comparative advantages of different regions, allowing for synergistic emission reductions across different income regions and engagement with regions that are still at the carbon-peaking stage in cooperation. Moreover, the model was created to be as close to the economic reality as possible to provide a trade, industry, and economic growth policy that complements emission-reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Croatian Regional Value Chains (RVCs). We use the value chain approach to study supply chains, examining data specifically for Croatia and its proximate trading partners in the European Union, as well as some other European countries. The value added in Croatian exports is statistically related to the value added in the exports of Croatian trading partners. We argue that Croatian RVCs are organized around regional production centers, with proximity to production capacity, raw materials, and customers as driving factors, and thus most of the value added originates in these RVCs. This paper emphasizes the advantages of representing trade through value added over traditional gross trade statistics and highlights the robustness of RVCs in Croatia to global shocks and transportation reliability issues. We conclude that despite its small absolute size, the Croatian economy is dynamically well-integrated into the EU RVCs, which is crucial for increasing business efficiency and competitiveness, notwithstanding the constraints of relatively low returns to scale. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of RVCs in Croatia and their potential benefits for Croatia in the global production organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional trade leads to carbon transfer, which in turn raises the issue of carbon inequality. However, less existing research has focused on carbon inequality within megaregions. Combining multi-regional input-output analysis, carbon Gini coefficients and carbon deviation coefficients, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of carbon equity in inter-provincial trade in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YEB) from the perspective of economic benefits and environmental pressure. The results show that: (1) Carbon emissions from the production and consumption sides of the 11 provinces in the YEB vary considerably. (2) Significant carbon inequality exists in the YEB region. This is manifested in the unequal relationship between the transfer of embodied carbon emissions and economic benefits, as well as the difference in carbon deviation coefficients. Based on the results of our research, this paper can help provide theoretical support and decision-making reference for implementing a differentiated carbon emission reduction responsibility mechanism and establishing a coordinated carbon emission reduction responsibility system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National or regional carbon emissions are generally accounted for by the principle of "producer responsibility", which ignores the embodied carbon emissions implied in product consumption via inter-regional trade. Therefore, it is necessary to include the embodied carbon emissions into the product consumption regions for overall calculation. As an example, this paper analyzes the characteristics of China's domestic regional carbon flow network based on a multiregional input–output table and carbon emission data, identifying three clusters of carbon emission characteristic regions by k-means—the clustering algorithm of machine learning. The research results show that some provinces—such as Beijing, Zhejiang, and Guangdong—are the net input areas of embodied carbon emissions ("consumers"), consuming products and services produced by "producers" such as Hebei, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia through trade, implicitly transferring the responsibility for carbon emissions. Accounting for carbon emissions worldwide/countrywide should consider both production responsibility and trade income. Our findings provide a novel national or regional classification approach based on embodied carbon emissions, which calls for an equitable regional distribution system of carbon emission rights. Meantime, inter-regional cooperation is of great significance in achieving carbon neutrality. In particular, the economically developed regions need to offer assistance to improve the energy efficiency or optimize the energy structure in less developed regions, by means of capital investment and technology transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analyses the role of RTAs in determining the export efficiency of India using a stochastic frontier version of the gravity model. We estimate the impact of select RTAs (bilateral, SAFTA, APTA, ASEAN, and MERCOSUR trade bloc) and the partner nation’s regulatory quality on India’s export efficiency throughout 2008–2018. The findings suggest that India has been substantially able to exploit exports efficiency to its trading partners under FTAs (ASEAN&SAFTA) and bilateral agreements compared to PTAs (MERCOSER&APTA); however, India’s exports are yet quite far from the potential frontier. Excluding APTA, all other agreements are statistically significant, implying that joining trade agreements augments India’s export efficiency. The study finds that the regulatory quality of importing nations bears a significant positive impact on India’s export efficiency. This highlights the importance of good institutions and better regulatory quality in realizing the potential level of exports with partner nations.

Domestic regional synergistic emission reduction is important in achieving national climate goals. This study constructed a game theory-based model for regional synergistic emission reduction, modified the Basic Climate Game using the exact-hat algebra method, and expanded the game model using a general spatial equilibrium model to incorporate cross-regional economic impacts generated by emission reduction actions through factors and product flows. The formation of regional comparative advantages in emission reductions and their impact on synergistic emission reductions were revealed through regional characteristics such as emission elasticity, sectoral structure, regional trade shares, and green total factor productivity. A form of synergy was then proposed that utilizes the comparative advantages of different regions, allowing for synergistic emission reductions across different income regions and engagement with regions that are still at the carbon-peaking stage in cooperation. Moreover, the model was created to be as close to the economic reality as possible to provide a trade, industry, and economic growth policy that complements emission-reduction policies.

This paper examines Croatian Regional Value Chains (RVCs). We use the value chain approach to study supply chains, examining data specifically for Croatia and its proximate trading partners in the European Union, as well as some other European countries. The value added in Croatian exports is statistically related to the value added in the exports of Croatian trading partners. We argue that Croatian RVCs are organized around regional production centers, with proximity to production capacity, raw materials, and customers as driving factors, and thus most of the value added originates in these RVCs. This paper emphasizes the advantages of representing trade through value added over traditional gross trade statistics and highlights the robustness of RVCs in Croatia to global shocks and transportation reliability issues. We conclude that despite its small absolute size, the Croatian economy is dynamically well-integrated into the EU RVCs, which is crucial for increasing business efficiency and competitiveness, notwithstanding the constraints of relatively low returns to scale. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of RVCs in Croatia and their potential benefits for Croatia in the global production organization.

The study analyses the role of RTAs in determining the export efficiency of India using a stochastic frontier version of the gravity model. We estimate the impact of select RTAs (bilateral, SAFTA, APTA, ASEAN, and MERCOSUR trade bloc) and the partner nation's regulatory quality on India's export efficiency throughout 2008–2018. The findings suggest that India has been substantially able to exploit exports efficiency to its trading partners under FTAs (ASEAN&SAFTA) and bilateral agreements compared to PTAs (MERCOSER&APTA); however, India's exports are yet quite far from the potential frontier. Excluding APTA, all other agreements are statistically significant, implying that joining trade agreements augments India's export efficiency. The study finds that the regulatory quality of importing nations bears a significant positive impact on India's export efficiency. This highlights the importance of good institutions and better regulatory quality in realizing the potential level of exports with partner nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, the current energy scenario is considered non-sustainable due to diverse issues such as economic, environmental, geopolitical, technological options for energy exploitation, and negligible volume of regional energy trade. Though, within the region, India is leading a phase of energy transition and economic transformation through renewable energy development. The countries need to exhibit well in the development of their renewable sources following the rapid pace of renewable energies worldwide. This article offers an overview of the energy scenario, growth of renewable energies, evolution, and approach for energy policy by highlighting key challenges and barriers for the ecological energy mix of the countries. Importantly, the paper assesses the current energy mix in South Asia, highlighting the anomaly of its fossil fuel-based future outlook, its ambitions to move towards less environmental pollution, and sustainable energy mix through a strategic tool SWOT analysis; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). In particular, this study examines the government policies to expand the implementation of renewable sources with an insight into the existing regulatory structure of the energy sector. The presented research findings suggest that to achieve the ambitious target to reduce emission discharge by up to 30% by the year 2030 under Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), the Governments of the three countries must take preemptive measures. It includes the stage-wise reduction of subsidies on fossil fuels, market integration within the region, and swift realization of the existing initiatives through strong political will, good governance, adoption of the latest technologies, and a pragmatic action plan, and energy cooperation across the region.

The article describes the potential free trade zones in Asia-Pacific: Trans-Pacific Partnership, Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership, Free Trade Zone of Asia-Pacific. Literary sources used by the researchers allowed concluding that the efficiency of integration groups depends on participants’ composition and the level of their trade and economical development. The more heterogeneous trade union participants, the less effective its development. In this article economic proximity and trade interactions intensity are the main factors for choosing integration groups participants. The research goal is to assess the integration potential of mentioned free trade zones in Asia-Pacific. In order to achieve this goal the calculation of participating countries economic proximity and their trade interactions intensity is made by means of econometric and mathematical methods. As a result, Trans-Pacific Partnership which has already been cancelled because of Washington’s withdrawal turned out to be a free trade zone with the biggest integration potential. The results demonstrate the significant gap between the rest of the integration groups and the leader. It is likely to be explained either by incomplete level of integration cooperation for creating sufficient integration group providing positive trade and economical effects or by the absence of such forms of integration cooperation in Asia-Pacific, which let countries receive abovementioned effects. In addition the hypothetical zone of countries with the highest potential integration effects is identified within the premises considered in the article. It consists of 16 countries and demonstrates the highest level of economical proximity

A region can internationalise in various ways. The question is what type of internationalisation at regional level can be regarded as “smart” and what role should be played in it by foreign owned entities (FOEs)? The paper aims at identifying the role played by FOEs in NUTS-2 smart specialisations’ (SS’s) internationalisation through exports. With the use of a set of PCSE regressions, the paper depicts the role of FOEs in creating SS-compliant exports against the background of their influence on total regional exports. The obtained results proved the positive role of FOEs in regional exports per se and SS-compliant exports. Yet, FOEs differed substantially, as compared to indigenous entities, in terms of product/regional specialisation and technological advancement. The findings imply the importance of FOEs’ embeddedness in regions’ economies and possibility of their incorporation in creating or enhancing regional comparative advantages. The paper contributes by: (i) providing empirical verification of one of the aspects of SS strategy which is exports and establishing comprehensive insight into the evaluation of SS, (ii) depicting the role of FOEs in generating SS-compliant exports, (iii) proposing a set of measures to be used in the extended empirical evaluation of SS consequences in the sphere of exports.

Over the past decade, the Russian government has embarked on an ambitious program of economic development in the Russian Far East (RFE), envisioning the transformation of the region into a hub for trade with the Asia Pacific. This paper explores the extent of RFE’s trade integration with both key partners around the world and the rest of Russia. In particular, we calculate the region’s trade potential on the basis of mean predicted values from a gravity model using three samples that offer different perspectives. Actual trade flows are then evaluated relative to the potential and the resulting index is analyzed for various years and countries. Based on the findings of the paper, we can draw several conclusions. First, RFE exports to Northeast Asia have intensified over the period 2008–2017, allowing the region to surpass its potential, although there seems to be room to grow with respect to China. The Russian government could facilitate cross-border trade by further reducing non-tariff barriers and improving transnational infrastructure links. Second, the deepening integration with Northeast Asia has been achieved at the expense of trade links with the rest of Russia. This might appear worrisome, given the geostrategic importance of RFE for Russia. At the same time, it might simply reflect the fact that RFE’s natural resource exports are increasingly diverted to the Asia Pacific, which is more efficient than to ferry them to Western Russia, where they might end up being re-exported to Europe. Similarly, it might be more efficient for RFE to import from China than from more distant parts of Russia. Third, imports from Japan and Korea are far below potential, although these two countries can play a key role in promoting the economic development of RFE

Objective: The objective of this article is to evaluate the role of specialisation in the export success of counties (powiats) (LAU 1) in Poland between 2004 and 2015. Research Design & Methods: Using panel fixed-effects regressions with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors, the authors investigate the role of export specialisation and product concentration, as well as comparative advantages on the value of log exports per capita, controlling for other important export determinants. Findings: Estimations of the panel model bring the conclusion that specialisation in a positive way contributes to the value of exports per capita, assessed at county level. The robustness of the obtained results has been verified by the use of several concentration and specialisation measures, incl. HHI, Krugman specialisation index, weighted RCA and concentration ratio. Implications & Recommendations:Further research is recommended to capture the consequences of differentiation in the patterns of exports among counties in terms of agricultural vs. industrial goods as well as the low-tech vs. high-tech products. Similar research is recommended to be done at NUTS-2 level in order to inquire into the rationale of smart specialisation(s). Contribution & Value Added: The main contribution of the research is showing the lumpiness of Poland’s exports at county level in terms of product specialisation and concentration. The value added is depicting the positive role of specialisation for the exports success, understood as exports per capita.

Copyright of Journal of International Relations / Medzinarodne Vztahy is the property of University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of International Relations and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract. A region can internationalise in various ways. The question is what type of internationalisation at regional level can be regarded as "smart" and what role should be played in it by foreign owned entities (FOEs)? The paper aims at identifying the role played by FOEs in NUTS-2 smart specialisations' (SS's) internationalisation through exports. With the use of a set of PCSE regressions, the paper depicts the role of FOEs in creating SS-compliant exports against the background of their influence on total regional exports. The obtained results proved the positive role of FOEs in regional exports per se and SS-compliant exports. Yet, FOEs differed substantially, as compared to indigenous entities, in terms of product/regional specialisation and technological advancement. The findings imply the importance of FOEs' embeddedness in regions' economies and possibility of their incorporation in creating or enhancing regional comparative advantages. The paper contributes by: (i) providing empirical verification of one of the aspects of SS strategy which is exports and establishing comprehensive insight into the evaluation of SS, (ii) depicting the role of FOEs in generating SS-compliant exports, (iii) proposing a set of measures to be used in the extended empirical evaluation of SS consequences in the sphere of exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point data observations are often used to calibrate computable general equilibrium (CGE) models; however, results may be impacted by calibration of an Armington trade specification in a regional CGE (R-CGE) model. This paper calibrates an Armington trade specification with three differently estimated interregional trade data sets. It estimates interregional trade with one survey and two non-survey methods. The resulting three different trade data sets are each used to calibrate REMES, an R-CGE model for Norway. Two regional policy reforms are simulated with the three model versions to analyze the sensitivity of regional manufacturing sector output to trade data estimates. The results show that the trade data estimation method used for calibration significantly affects regional sector output results. Policy analysts and developers should be aware that calibrating an Armington trade specification with differently estimated interregional trade data may have a substantial influence on model results, and hence, on ex-ante and ex-post conclusions on policy impacts.

Archeology points out that the city of Comalcalco developed mainly between 550 and 900 AD, during which the features that would identify its population were delineated. To learn about the social process that shaped this community, we analyze the objects the people made, used, exchanged and discarded, as well as the spaces they built. The review of its sources of raw materials, technology, mortuary customs, physical characteristics and conditions, allow us to investigate how the social relations and behavior patterns of its population were established and reinforced.

Point data observations are often used to calibrate computable general equilibrium (CGE) models; however, results may be impacted by calibration of an Armington trade specification in a regional CGE (R-CGE) model. This paper calibrates an Armington trade specification with three differently estimated interregional trade data sets. It estimates interregional trade with one survey and two non-survey methods. The resulting three different trade data sets are each used to calibrate REMES, an R-CGE model for Norway. Two regional policy reforms are simulated with the three model versions to analyze the sensitivity of regional manufacturing sector output to trade data estimates. The results show that the trade data estimation method used for calibration significantly affects regional sector output results. Policy analysts and developers should be aware that calibrating an Armington trade specification with differently estimated interregional trade data may have a substantial influence on model results, and hence, on ex-ante and ex-post conclusions on policy impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this article is to evaluate the role of specialisation in the export success of counties (powiats) (LAU 1) in Poland between 2004 and 2015. Research Design & Methods: Using panel fixed-effects regressions with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors, the authors investigate the role of export specialisation and product concentration, as well as comparative advantages on the value of log exports per capita, controlling for other important export determinants. Findings: Estimations of the panel model bring the conclusion that specialisation in a positive way contributes to the value of exports per capita, assessed at county level. The robustness of the obtained results has been verified by the use of several concentration and specialisation measures, incl. HHI, Krugman specialisation index, weighted RCA and concentration ratio. Implications & Recommendations: Further research is recommended to capture the consequences of differentiation in the patterns of exports among counties in terms of agricultural vs. industrial goods as well as the low-tech vs. high-tech products. Similar research is recommended to be done at NUTS-2 level in order to inquire into the rationale of smart specialisation(s). Contribution & Value Added: The main contribution of the research is showing the lumpiness of Poland's exports at county level in terms of product specialisation and concentration. The value added is depicting the positive role of specialisation for the exports success, understood as exports per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some Latin American countries the exporting activity starts at a regional level, with producers only later venturing into more competitive markets. The implicit risk is that a country might never progress from the regional stage to a more global market. This article compares the experiences of Brazil, China and India. It is shown that Brazil relied on the regional market far more intensely than these Asian countries. There were clear gains accruing to China and India for having exploited more sophisticated markets from the very beginning of their export drive.