Competitive Regionalism: FTA Diffusion in the Pacific Rim (International Political Economy Series)

despite Abundant Scepticism About Their Economic Benefits, Free Trade Agreements (ftas) Have Proliferated At A Rapid Pace. Policy Diffusion Models Explain How Different Sets Of Preferential Trade Agreements Are Interconnected And Establish Under What Conditions Ftas Can Work For Or Against The Emergence Of Coherent Regional Blocs. Contents ......Page 6 List of Figures ......Page 8 List of Tables ......Page 9 Acknowledgments ......Page 10 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ......Page 12 Notes on Contributors ......Page 16 1 Explaining FTA Proliferation: A Policy Diffusion Framework ......Page 20 Part I Thematic Chapters ......Page 44 2 Exclusion Fears and Competitive Regionalism in East Asia ......Page 46 3 Political-Security Competition and the FTA Movement: Motivationsand Consequences ......Page 73 4 Competitive Regionalism through Bilateral and Regional Rule-Making: Standard Setting and Locking-in ......Page 93 Part II The Western Hemisphere ......Page 114 5 The US as a Bilateral Player: The Impetus for Asymmetric Free Trade Agreements ......Page 116 6 Chile: A Pioneer in Trade Policy ......Page 137 7 Competitive Regionalism and Mexico’s FTA Strategy ......Page 158 Part III East Asia ......Page 178 8 Competitive Regionalism inSoutheast Asia and Beyond: Role of Singapore and ASEAN ......Page 180 9 South Korea’s FTAs: Moving from an Emulative to a Competitive Strategy ......Page 200 10 Japan’s Competitive FTA Strategy: Commercial Opportunity versus Political Rivalry ......Page 217 11 China’s Competitive FTA Strategy: Realism on a Liberal Slide ......Page 235 12 Conclusion: FTAs in a Competitive World ......Page 255 Bibliography ......Page 271 A ......Page 297 C ......Page 298 D ......Page 299 F ......Page 300 H ......Page 301 K ......Page 302 M ......Page 303 O ......Page 304 R ......Page 305 S ......Page 306 U ......Page 307 Z ......Page 308 "The rapid proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) is remarkable given the abundant scepticism about their economic benefits. Policy diffusion models offer the key to this puzzle since they highlight how these different sets of preferential trade agreements are interconnected (either because they generate externalities on non-members or because they disseminate novel policy paradigms), thereby underscoring the impact of peer pressure on FTA dissemination. The book also offers a sophisticated understanding of the drivers behind FTA proliferation, beyond traditional economic arguments, to encompass international political rivalry and the race to shape international trade rules. In so doing, it addresses the fundamental question as to how FTAs affect the regional integration process itself. FTAs can work for or against emergence of coherent regional blocs, and this book explores which conditions favor one outcome over the other."--Publisher's website