Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/101246 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
ADBI Working Paper No. 442
Publisher: 
Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo
Abstract: 
The spread of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in Southeast Asia has ignited a debate about their impact on business, and ways to avoid raising the business costs from the Asian 'noodle bowl' effect. This paper undertakes a comparative and firm-level analysis of the impact of RTAs in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines including: a descriptive analysis of patterns of RTA use at the firm level and econometric analysis of factors affecting firm-level RTA use. The paper finds that firm-heterogeneity matters in RTA use. Acquiring knowledge about RTAs through in-house efforts and actively forging links with RTA support institutions, building technological capabilities, and membership of industrial clusters show up as significant factors affecting the likelihood of firm-level RTA use. A lack of information about RTAs and the absence of RTAs with major trading partners are the main reasons for non-use of RTAs. Key policy implications include the need to improve business support for RTAs, to conclude RTAs with major trading partners, and to create a database on preference use in RTAs.
Subjects: 
regional trade agreements
regional trade enterprises
trade southeast asia
asian noodle bowl effect
asian regional economic integration
free trade agreements
JEL: 
F13
F14
F15
O31
O32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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