Introduction

As late as 1750, Asia occupied an important position in the global economy, not only in population and production but also in trade, capital formation, productivity, and competitiveness (Sakakibara and Yamakawa, 2003).¹ During the 15th-17th centuries, Asia played a key role in ensuring the global division of labor. Intra-Asian trade, involving exclusively Asian merchants, ships, and goods, was well developed long before Europeans arrived in the region.

Several Japanese historians claim that the economic growth of Asian countries was led by intra-Asian trade (Akita, 1999) and that the economic success of Japan in the late 20th century, as well as that of the newly industrialized economies (NIEs), originated in this intra- Asian trade (Sugihara, 1990). Asians developed capabilities to adapt Western cultural elements to suit Asian domestic markets, such as making goods smaller and cheaper or neater and cleaner.

The focus of most of the analytic work on regional cooperation has been on trade and investment, including issues such as tariff and nontariff barriers to trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). With the emergence of global and regional production networks, aspects of transport and logistics have begun to attract greater attention of policy makers, academics, and experts.

This article focuses on the role of cross-border infrastructure in the process of regional integration in developing Asia.² The article is organized as follows. The first section sets the context, examining Asia's phenomenal growth in trade and investment over the past two and half decades. It describes how Asia -particularly East Asia- has become a dominant part of international production networks and supply chains.³ The second section reviews four case studies of cross-border infrastructure in Asia. This exercise reveals that most cross-border infrastructure projects and programs are very complex and that there is a need for a comprehensive framework to deal with inherent challenges facing cross-border infrastructure. The third section offers a conceptual framework with which to address political, economic and financial, and institutional challenges for cross-border infrastructure development. It emphasizes that the "software" component is inseparable from the "hardware" component if cross-border connectivity is to be improved. The fourth section identifies key actions that need to be taken by various stakeholders-Asian governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, and multilateral institutions-in connecting Asia.

Download this Discussion Paper [ PDF 312.4KB| 27 pages ].

Comment(s)

There are [1] comment(s) for this entry. Post a comment.

1. Cristela Goce Dakila
   (posted 08 October 2007 / 04:59:52 PM)
   
   Overall, the focus of the paper , which is cross-border infrastructure for Asian development is very timely, relevant and far-reaching in terms of perspective.
   
   The paper is rich with valuable insights which are useful for policy planners and implementors. It also provides academic researchers with a multidisciplinary framework useful in addressing the urgent concern for Asian regional cooperation.
   
   Among the infrastructure types mentioned,transport infrastructure investment, I think, is the most vital in establishing inter-country connectivity via trade in goods and services and investments.
   
   I wish to suggest the usage of a spatial computable general equilibrium model as an analytical tool to examine the impact of cross-border infrastructure investment on both producers(firms) and consumers (HHs) and other stakeholders in a specific Asian sub-region.