The threat of the subprime crisis in the United States began to make itself felt in early 2008, with its effects subsequently become global. It is evident that trade linkages have been the most important channel for transmitting the subprime crisis to East Asian countries, including Thailand. The international trade literature points out that trade concentration is considered to be an important factor in the amplification of the effects of the crisis.

This paper examines various indicators of the economic activities of Japanese and American multinational corporation (MNC) affiliates in India compared to the case of China, using the unique affiliate-level data. The study shows that Japanese MNCs in India follow the typical MNC expansion strategy in that rapidly growing emerging economy with a focus on the transport equipment industry, whereas United States counterparts are concentrated more in information technology-related services, thus strengthening service-led growth of the Indian economy.

Cultural, institutional, and psychic distances between countries are critical determinants of bilateral trade. In this paper we examine if ethical distance and difference between an exporting country and an importing country matter in international trade. Ethics in international trade is important because purchasing, exports, marketing and sales activities are more likely to involve unethical behaviors like bribery and corruption. The focus of the paper is on the similarities and differences in ethical behaviors between a trade dyad (an importing and an exporting country).

To mitigate the level of vehicle carbon emissions in the next few decades, effective policy and technical options must be considered by the governments and automakers (and their suppliers) within Asia and the Pacific, where rapid development of the automotive sector is expected. Various factors and players, however, are also driving carbon emissions from vehicles in the region, leaving policymakers with complicated coordination tasks.

The volume of trade worldwide has increased as various trade barriers have been removed over time. Tariffs are one of the trade barriers that trading countries have made efforts to reduce. Tariff rates are determined based on the category that trade partners belong to. There are six possible categories for classifying trade partners: General, Temporary, World Trade Organization (WTO), Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), Least Developed Country (LDC) and Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)...

The India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) came into effect on 1 January 2010 with regard to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. For the remaining ASEAN members it will come into force after they have completed their internal requirements. With this background, the present study analyses the impact of this free trade agreement (FTA) on India and the ASEAN members. Using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database, several simulations were undertaken, involving different scenarios, of India’s trade liberalization with the ASEAN region.

This paper explores the relationship between manufacturing and growth rate in recent years. We undertake a simple cross-country analysis using UN data. When controlling for variables relevant to growth, we find no significant relationship between the two variables. We argue that manufacturing protectionism cannot be rationalized by the data for this time period.

In India, the popular perception is that economic reforms have benefited the rich more than the poor, leading to unequal income distribution as in Quah’s twin peaks hypothesis. If economic reforms are pro-rich then we would see the emergence of twin peaks in the underlying income distribution function – clustering of rich people and clustering of poor people. On the other hand, a uniform growth process at a pan-India level will lead to the disappearance of any such clusters.

Thailand’s exports include agricultural and industrial goods such as rice, processed and frozen food, electronics, fashion garments and textiles, automobiles and auto parts and accessories. The export of jasmine rice, sugar, frozen shrimp, automobiles and auto parts has been a key contributor to economic growth. Thailand has negotiated free trade agreements with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that have helped to increase the total value of its exports.

During the past two decades, public awareness and concern regarding food safety in developed countries have increased as a result of a series of highly-publicized food scares and scandals (Henson and Caswell, 1999). In response to these events, regulations governing food production in those countries have been tightened. This has been accompanied by significant institutional changes and intensified border control of food imports in the industrialized countries.