The Dimensions of Regional Trade Integration in Southeast Asia

Abstract

DOI: 10.1355/ae23-3i The Dimensions of Regional Trade Integration in Southeast Asia. By Mohammed Zakirul Hafez. Ardsley, NY: Transnational Publishers, 2004. Pp. 486. The Southeast Asian tigers are often held as the textbook examples of economies that have embraced free trade export orientations and have succeeded in their development strategies largely because of their choice. In this provocative book, Hafez seeks to pierce this veneer of conventional wisdom. In particular, he claims that: In reality, AFTA [Asian Free Trade Area] members are free traders, at least, among themselves... The problem is that AFTA is a vase with many serious cracks... [and] unless AFTA leaders take serious measures for AFTA improvements, AFTA is very far from being not that useful to completely useless. (pp. 1-2) Hafez adopts a multidisciplinary approach towards analysing the development, functioning, and purposes of AFTA. Building on research in political science, economics, and law, he systematically explores six dimensions pertinent to trade integration in Southeast Asia; these include policy, historical, structural, and legal aspects. The study thus reflects a richness that is unavailable to researchers working within a given disciplinary tradition. This eclecticism, however, comes with costs: Some of his arguments display an inadequate understanding of the nuances involved in the diverse literatures that he draws from. For example, this discussion of customs union (CU) theory draws exclusively on Viner's (1950) original discussion on trade creation versus diversion, and hence ignores subsequent advances - such as the proposition of Kemp and Wan (1976) - that clarify conditions whereby CUs may in fact be Pareto improving. This colours his subsequent analysis, since common external tariffs are in fact often implemented in real-world CUs, AFTA included. Likewise, the work of Alesina and Spolaore (2003) outlines conditions where nations choose the optimal size of nations and, by extension, make decisions on economic integration. The trade-off between the benefits of size versus the costs of heterogeneity is very relevant to the case of Southeast Asia, but this strand of the literature is touched upon at all. It is in the discussion of the institutions and legal structures surrounding international trade law that Hafez comes into his own. For example, the discussion on the substantially all and not on the whole higher or more restrictive requirements of GATT Article XXIV1 (pp. 48-55) is erudite and informative and is a clear reminder that any progress in multilateral trade liberalization needs to address the substantial divergence between economists' theoretical conceptualization of regional trade agreements (RTAs) as stepping stones, and the practical realization of these theoretical constructs (which often involve abuses). Likewise, his detailed discussion of two legal cases2 that highlight the failure of the judicial disciplinary process of RTAs through the WTO (pp. 62-74) suggests that Article XXIV compliance issues may have systemic roots, and hence require solutions that take into account the important political economy reasons for such continued violations. The heart of the book lies in Chapter 5, which lays out the author's analysis of the successes and failures of AFTA. Here, Hafez makes some apt points, but some arguments are poorly developed and, as a result, unconvincing. Take, as an example, the critique that AFTA accession should be used as a premise for democratic, market-based reform - the point being that open, democratic countries lead to prosperity (p. …