Reshaping the Asia Pacific Economic Order

Relationships and alignments among the nations of the world’s most populous and productive region, the Asia Pacific, are in flux. Current global political, economic and security uncertainty, heightened by 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror, has fuelled a reassessment by many Asia Pacific nations about the structure and form of future economic and political cooperation and development.

Featuring contributions from some of the most eminent and influential economists and political scientists in the Asia Pacific region, this book explores the forces reshaping the Asia Pacific economic order, and where these changes may lead. Focusing on the origins of the shift towards policy driven integration, the book examines what new structures may eventually emerge on both sides of the Pacific, the ways in which this shift will affect the progress of economic integration and how cross-Pacific relations will therefore be affected.

Relationships and alignments among the nations of the world's most populous and productive region, the Asia Pacific, are in flux. Current global political, economic and security uncertainty, heightened by 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror, has fueled a reassessment by many Asia Pacific nations about the structure and form of future economic and political cooperation and development. This book, featuring contributions from some of the most eminent and influential economists and political scientists in the region, examines the forces reshaping the Asia Pacific economic order, and where they lead.

The questions this book seeks to answer are the origins of the shift towards policy driven integration, what new structures might eventually emerge on both sides of the Pacific, the ways in which that shift will affect the progress of economic integration and how cross-Pacific relations will therefore be affected. This discussion directs attention to the fact that economic cooperation and security are complementary.

Christopher Findlay is Professor of Economics in the Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University, following a period as Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Adelaide. Professor Findlay major research interests are regional economic cooperation and trade and investment in services.

Hadi Soesastro is Executive Director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta and Adjunct Professor at the Australian National University. He was a member of the National Economic Council, an advisory council of President Abdurrahman Wahid, from December 1999 to September 2000, and his principal research interests are international trade, regional cooperation and international political economy.