Thailand has been one of significant recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) among developing countries over the last 30 years, and has recorded rapid and sustained growth rates in a number of different industrial categories. Thailand has shown a clear policy transition for foreign investment over time from an import-substitution regime to an export-oriented regime. Before the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis (1985-1996), Thailand had the fastest growing level of exports in manufactured goods among Asian economies. FDI plays a significant role in the Thai economy. Thailand has been pursuing different foreign investment policies at different times depending on the development objectives and economic situation in the country. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the determinants of FDI and foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Thailand using the extended Gravity Model. Panel data is used to estimate and evaluate the empirical results based on the data for the years 1980 to 2004. It also examines the FDI flows between different locations and their geographical distances in Thailand. The primary research question addresses what factors motivate, attract, and sustain the FDI and FPI in Thailand. In addition, this study also examines the effects of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis on the inflows of FDI and FPI into Thailand. The results show that the inflows of FDI in Thailand, which are supply-driven, are significantly influenced by its 21 largest investing partners. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis has no impact on the determinants of the inflows of FDI into Thailand, but positively influences the inflows of FPI into Thailand. Our results also show that increases in GDP and trade between investing partners and Thailand potentially attract more FDI and FPI into Thailand. Investing partners closer to Thailand draw more portfolio investment into Thailand than distant partners – emphasising that distance has a negative impact on the portfolio investment but a negligible impact on the FDI.

<p>The formation of sovereign states in regional blocks has become an essential feature in the world system. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate which motives and driving forces that affect the creation of projects of regional integration outside Europe and the Western World. By choosing the Latin American project of integration ALBA (<em>the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas</em>) as a case of regional integration outside Europe and the Western World, the study investigates the motives expressed by the most prominent actors of the project, Venezuela and Cuba. ALBA is chosen as a representative and a unique case and through the consumption of the gramscian and the realist approaches, the essay defines two motives that affect the creation of projects of regional integration. As a way of investigating the actors’ motives, the paper studies political statements, especially those of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, and official positions expressed in central documents and declarations. The result shows that the motives behind ALBA are to promote a regionalism that gives priority to social welfare issues and to use this regional organization to create a multipolar world system. The essay concludes, with ALBA as a case, that the fundamental motives that could govern the regional integration process outside Europe and the Western World are, firstly, the will to resist a hegemonic world order that doesn’t give priority to social welfare issues and, secondly, to resist a unipolar world system and work as a “balancer”. While this applies to Venezuela, there are in the case of Cuba certain self-interests that could serve as motives. However, the study can’t rule out that also other motives can exist, but there is no evidence that can be used to prove that in this paper.</p>

After the end of Cold War, China and ASEAN develop new international development strategies. China¡¦s new guiding principle of diplomacy is ¡§peace and development¡¨, and ASEAN hope to establish a multipolar world system through ¡§equidistant diplomacy¡¨ and regional economic integration. Due to the new international development strategies, China and ASEAN open the new cooperation opportunities, namely Mekong Subregion Cooperation, which concentrates on some functional sectors, such as transportation fundamental construction, investment, trade, agriculture and tourism sectors. With the effects of ¡§ramification¡¨, the functional cooperation is good in progress. This in turn pushes the interactions between China and ASEAN gradually ¡§spill-over¡¨ to political and security aspects which eventually make the ¡§East Asian Community¡¨ possible.

The era of economic globalization drove by information technology, but global governing mechanism is still in progress, so regional and inter-regional cooperation are the most welcomed options to shape inter-state relations at present, inter alia, the inter-regional cooperation of European Union and ASEAN. This Research is based on neo-functionalism to analysis the ramification effects of interactions between European Union and ASEAN through the sector of natural resources, economic, trade, investment. and regional development. With the success on functional cooperation, European Union and ASEAN negotiate on the policies which may push the functional cooperation spill-over to political aspects, namely Comprehensive Partnership.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The European Union (EU) has comparative advantage in regional integration. Moreover, regionalism is a growing phenomenon, as both the growing number of regional trade agreements and literature on new regionalism indicate. In this context, the EU has incorporated regional integration into European development policy as a strategy to help integrate the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states into the global economy, with the negotiation of region-to-region reciprocal free trade agreements, called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA). This thesis examines the extent to which the Pacific may constitute a region, for the purposes of the Cotonou Agreement, along cultural, political and economic dimensions of regional cooperation. This is in order to measure the potential for regional integration in the Pacific, as well as to test the applicability of the EU's regional template of development in this context. A theoretical framework is developed, based on the political economy of regional cooperation among developing states, in order to apply a series of propositions to the test the integrative potential of the Pacific region. The key finding is that regionalism in the Pacific is easily politicised. Anthropological evidence and economic analysis also confirm the informal nature of regional cooperation in the Pacific works against global imperatives for deeper regional integration, as Pacific islanders have generally not subscribed to a common identity, and the welfare benefits from regional free trade are shown to be minimal. Consequently, the Pacific accepts the EPA platform in order to maintain the development partnership with the EU, rather than because regional free trade is the most desired vehicle for development in the region. A trade agreement will therefore be concluded with the Pacific ACP states, but its form and timing remain the key issues for clarification.

Trade agreements play a big part in international trade and have existed for as long as countries have been trading internationally. Countries often agree to sign a trade agreement with their trading partners because trade agreements can stimulate international trade by removing barriers. Trade agreements can also have a negative impact on a country, such as social injustice and economic inequality. South Africa has numerous trade agreements with various countries, one important agreement that South Africa is part of is the regional trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries which originated in 1976. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is a preferential trade agreement which evolved from the Cotonou Agreement which came into force in 2000 and envisioned the creation of mutual trade agreements. When this agreement expired in 2007, the (EPA) was created. The main objective of the EPA’s is to integrate the ACP countries into the world economy. The EU aims to combine trade, politics and development and enhance the political dimension of ACP countries by addressing issues such as corruption, poverty and inadequate development policies. The EU is in favour of the EPA because it will reduce the number of negotiations with various countries, which it currently holds simultaneously. South Africa had some reservations regarding the EPA. South Africa is currently governed by the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA), which was created with specific goals and also acts as a strategic partnership between the EU and South Africa. If the EPA is implemented in South Africa, it will replace certain elements of the TDCA agreement. South Africa has characteristics of both a developed and developing economy and will be excluded from several of the general trade arrangements of the EPA. The EU is offering duty-free and quota-free access for all the countries except for South Africa. This will result in two different SACU tariffs for imports from the EU. South Africa also argues that various discrepancies will arise between the EPA and TDCA which will cause various challenges regarding political, legal and technical aspects between Southern African countries and this will hinder regional integration amongst these countries. There are various opinions as to which agreement will be more beneficial for South Africa. Where the EPA aims to create a single agreement for all ACP countries, the TDCA is an exclusive agreement between South Africa and the EU, and addresses issues specific to South Africa. The underlying problem is that South Africa has qualities of both a developed and a developing nation and is being excluded from some of the benefits that the EU is offering the other members. This rings some alarm bells, as South Africa and its neighbouring countries are working towards better regional integration. The EPA might have a negative influence on this regional integration because various African countries will benefit differently under the EPA. This Study analyses the possible effects the EPA could have on South Africa’s trade with the EU and South Africa’s neighbouring countries by means of a literature study and an empirical analysis. The first part of literature study gives an overview on trade theories and trade agreements, advantages of free trade, trade barriers and the likeliness of countries to trade with each other. The second part provides an in depth overview of regional and preferential trade agreements and economic integration. The Third section of the literature study gives a complete overview of South Africa and the EU’s economic and trade situation. The Fourth and final section of the literature study provides an overview of the TDCA and the EPA and compares the two agreements. The literature study is followed by an empirical analysis and an overview of the gravity model. The empirical analysis studied the impact of trade barriers on the historic trade between South Africa and the EU using a gravity model as a basis. The gravity model was used as a base for the regression models, because it has proven to give accurate estimations in previous studies done with similar trade data. This study used data for each variable for the time period 2000 to 2010 and was sourced from the World Bank and the International Trade Centre but there are data limitations. Separate models were estimated for exports from South Africa to the EU and imports to SA from the EU. From the import regression results, it was clear that the coefficients were very small and should all tariffs be eliminated, there will not be a significant increase in imports to South Africa from the EU. The export regression results were similar to the results of imports and indicated that if all tariffs should be eliminated with the implementation of the EPA, there will not be a significant increase in exports from South Africa to the EU. However the EPA stretches beyond only trade benefits and because the EU remains one of South Africa’s biggest trade and development partners, it is vital to consider the effects of the EPA. It does appear that the EPA’s main motivator is not international trade, but that it is rather political and development orientated. / Thesis (MCom (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Trade agreements play a big part in international trade and have existed for as long as countries have been trading internationally. Countries often agree to sign a trade agreement with their trading partners because trade agreements can stimulate international trade by removing barriers. Trade agreements can also have a negative impact on a country, such as social injustice and economic inequality. South Africa has numerous trade agreements with various countries, one important agreement that South Africa is part of is the regional trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries which originated in 1976. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is a preferential trade agreement which evolved from the Cotonou Agreement which came into force in 2000 and envisioned the creation of mutual trade agreements. When this agreement expired in 2007, the (EPA) was created. The main objective of the EPA’s is to integrate the ACP countries into the world economy. The EU aims to combine trade, politics and development and enhance the political dimension of ACP countries by addressing issues such as corruption, poverty and inadequate development policies. The EU is in favour of the EPA because it will reduce the number of negotiations with various countries, which it currently holds simultaneously. South Africa had some reservations regarding the EPA. South Africa is currently governed by the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA), which was created with specific goals and also acts as a strategic partnership between the EU and South Africa. If the EPA is implemented in South Africa, it will replace certain elements of the TDCA agreement. South Africa has characteristics of both a developed and developing economy and will be excluded from several of the general trade arrangements of the EPA. The EU is offering duty-free and quota-free access for all the countries except for South Africa. This will result in two different SACU tariffs for imports from the EU. South Africa also argues that various discrepancies will arise between the EPA and TDCA which will cause various challenges regarding political, legal and technical aspects between Southern African countries and this will hinder regional integration amongst these countries. There are various opinions as to which agreement will be more beneficial for South Africa. Where the EPA aims to create a single agreement for all ACP countries, the TDCA is an exclusive agreement between South Africa and the EU, and addresses issues specific to South Africa. The underlying problem is that South Africa has qualities of both a developed and a developing nation and is being excluded from some of the benefits that the EU is offering the other members. This rings some alarm bells, as South Africa and its neighbouring countries are working towards better regional integration. The EPA might have a negative influence on this regional integration because various African countries will benefit differently under the EPA. This Study analyses the possible effects the EPA could have on South Africa’s trade with the EU and South Africa’s neighbouring countries by means of a literature study and an empirical analysis. The first part of literature study gives an overview on trade theories and trade agreements, advantages of free trade, trade barriers and the likeliness of countries to trade with each other. The second part provides an in depth overview of regional and preferential trade agreements and economic integration. The Third section of the literature study gives a complete overview of South Africa and the EU’s economic and trade situation. The Fourth and final section of the literature study provides an overview of the TDCA and the EPA and compares the two agreements. The literature study is followed by an empirical analysis and an overview of the gravity model. The empirical analysis studied the impact of trade barriers on the historic trade between South Africa and the EU using a gravity model as a basis. The gravity model was used as a base for the regression models, because it has proven to give accurate estimations in previous studies done with similar trade data. This study used data for each variable for the time period 2000 to 2010 and was sourced from the World Bank and the International Trade Centre but there are data limitations. Separate models were estimated for exports from South Africa to the EU and imports to SA from the EU. From the import regression results, it was clear that the coefficients were very small and should all tariffs be eliminated, there will not be a significant increase in imports to South Africa from the EU. The export regression results were similar to the results of imports and indicated that if all tariffs should be eliminated with the implementation of the EPA, there will not be a significant increase in exports from South Africa to the EU. However the EPA stretches beyond only trade benefits and because the EU remains one of South Africa’s biggest trade and development partners, it is vital to consider the effects of the EPA. It does appear that the EPA’s main motivator is not international trade, but that it is rather political and development orientated. / Thesis (MCom (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This thesis examines the regulation of regionalism by the WTO and the formation and operation of regional trade agreements by developing countries. In particular, this work focuses on regional integration in Eastern and Southern Africa. The aim of the thesis is to assess the effectiveness of the relevant legal regimes and determine ways in which they can be made more effective, both in terms of their impact on state conduct and in terms of their impact on the economic welfare of the states concerned. The thesis argues that, with regard to the WTO legal regime, the exemption from the application of Article XXIV, GATT 1994 given to developing countries by the Enabling Clause has contributed to the lack of effectiveness of the WTO regime. For developing countries, on the other hand, the Enabling Clause has deprived them of the legal discipline required to establish effective free trade areas and customs unions. This latter argument is examined through a case study of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The thesis contends that for COMESA countries to engage in meaningful trade liberalisation, and to participate fully in the WTO, acceptance of greater legal discipline is critical. Such legal discipline can be obtained through compliance with Article XXIV.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 379-384).