IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ind/igiwpp/2007-017.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Economic co-operation in South Asia: The Dilemma of SAFTA and beyond

Author

Listed:
  • A. Ganesh Kumar

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Devleopment Research)

  • Gordhan Kumar Saini

    (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad)

Abstract

This paper attempts to evaluate the Pareto optimality of SAFTA for all the member states. Besides, the welfare optimality of three other alternative sets of coordinated trade policies that go beyond SAFTA has also been studied here. These include (a) extended preferential trading between SAFTA and three other major trading blocs (ASEAN, NAFTA and EU27), (b) coordinated full trade liberalisation (carried out unilaterally or as part of a multilateral agreement) by South Asian countries, and (c) SAFTA plus a customs union (two variants with 5 and 10 CET). The analysis, using the standard static GTAP model, shows that the welfare basis for establishing SAFTA or for deeper trade policy coordination is not very strong. Nor is it obvious that cooperation among the South Asia would be forthcoming given the anticipated welfare impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Ganesh Kumar & Gordhan Kumar Saini, 2007. "Economic co-operation in South Asia: The Dilemma of SAFTA and beyond," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2007-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2007-017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2007-017.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Drysdale, 1969. "Japan And Australia: The Prospect For Closer Economic Integration," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 1(30), pages 12-28, February.
    2. Robinson, Sherman & Thierfelder, Karen, 2002. "Trade liberalisation and regional integration: the search for large numbers," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 46(4), pages 1-20.
    3. Khan, Saleem M., 1999. "South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation1, 2, 3, 4," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 489-495.
    4. DeRosa, Dean A. & Govindan, Kumaresan, 1995. "Agriculture, trade and regionalism in South Asia," 2020 vision briefs 46, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Baldwin, Richard E. & Venables, Anthony J., 1995. "Regional economic integration," Handbook of International Economics, in: G. M. Grossman & K. Rogoff (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1597-1644, Elsevier.
    6. Harry Flam, 1992. "Product Markets and 1992: Full Integration, Large Gains?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 7-30, Fall.
    7. DeRosa, Dean A. & Govindan, Kumaresan, 1995. "Agriculture, trade and regionalism in South Asia:," 2020 vision discussion papers 7, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Saman Kelegama, 1999. "SAARC — From Association to Community: a Small Country Economic Perspective," South Asian Survey, , vol. 6(2), pages 259-270, September.
    9. Arvind Panagariya, 2000. "Preferential Trade Liberalization: The Traditional Theory and New Developments," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(2), pages 287-331, June.
    10. M. Akhlaqur Rahman & Ayubur Rahman Bhuyan & Sadrel Reza, 1981. "The Trade Effects of a South Asian Customs Union. An Expository Study," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 20(1), pages 61-80.
    11. Baysan, Tercan & Panagariya, Arvind & Pitigala, Nihal, 2006. "Preferential trading in South Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3813, The World Bank.
    12. DeRosa, Dean A. & Govindan, Kumaresan, 1996. "Agriculture, trade, and regionalism in South Asia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 293-315.
    13. Jose Daniel Rodríguez-Delgado, 2007. "Safta: Living in a World of Regional Trade Agreements," IMF Working Papers 2007/023, International Monetary Fund.
    14. Arvind Panagariya, 1996. "The Free Trade Area of the Americas: Good for Latin America?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(5), pages 485-515, September.
    15. Jayatilleke S. Bandara & Wusheng Yu, 2003. "How Desirable is the South Asian Free Trade Area? A Quantitative Economic Assessment," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(9), pages 1293-1323, September.
    16. Pitigala, Nihal, 2005. "What does regional trade in South Asia reveal about future trade integration? Some empirical evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3497, The World Bank.
    17. Michaely, Michael, 1996. "Trade preferential agreements in Latin America : an ex-ante assessment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1583, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gordhan K. Saini, 2009. "Non-tariff measures and Indian textiles and clothing exports," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2009-002, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    2. Mamoon, Dawood & Paracha, Sohail & Mughal, Hammad & Ayesha, Anam, 2011. "Pakistan's trade competitiveness & complementarities in South Asia," MPRA Paper 31369, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Narayanan, Badri G. & Hertel, Thomas W. & Horridge, J. Mark, 2010. "Disaggregated data and trade policy analysis: The value of linking partial and general equilibrium models," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 755-766, May.
    4. Narayanan, Badri & Thomas Hertel & Mark Horridge, 2010. "Linking Partial and General Equilibrium Models: A GTAP Application Using TASTE," GTAP Technical Papers 3192, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University.
    5. A. Ganesh Kumar & Gordhan K. Saini, 2009. "Economic Cooperation in South Asia," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 4(2), pages 253-281, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. A. Ganesh Kumar & Gordhan K. Saini, 2009. "Economic Cooperation in South Asia," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 4(2), pages 253-281, July.
    2. Jayatilleke S. Bandara & Wusheng Yu, 2003. "How Desirable is the South Asian Free Trade Area? A Quantitative Economic Assessment," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(9), pages 1293-1323, September.
    3. Jayatilleke S. Bandara & Wusheng Yu, 2007. "Agricultural trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific region with specific reference to preferential trade agreements - scenario and impact analysis," STUDIES IN TRADE AND INVESTMENT, in: Studies in Trade and Investment - AGRICULTURAL TRADE - PLANTING THE SEEDS OF REGIONAL LIBERALIZATION IN ASIA, volume 60, pages 131-162, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
    4. Hossain, Sharif M., 2009. "South Asian Free Trade Area: Implications for Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 18517, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Burfisher, Mary E. & Robinson, Sherman & Thierfelder, Karen, 2004. "Regionalism," MTID discussion papers 65, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Sangeeta Khorana & Badri G. Narayanan, 2017. "Modelling Effects of Tariff Liberalisation on India’s Key Export Sectors: Analysis of the EU–India Free Trade Agreement," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, February.
    7. Hansa Jain, 2019. "Implications of SAFTA for Indian Economy: Trade, Compatibility and Welfare Effects," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 54(4), pages 355-374, November.
    8. Keck, Alexander & Piermartini, Roberta, 2005. "The economic impact of EPAs in SADC countries," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2005-04, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    9. Ahmed, Saira & Ahmed, Vaqar & Sohail, Safdar, 2010. "Trade agreements between developing countries: a case study of Pakistan - Sri Lanka free trade agreement," MPRA Paper 29209, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Tokarick, Stephen, 2011. "Should Countries Worry About Immiserizing Growth?," Conference papers 332133, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    11. Susanto, Dwi & Rosson, C. Parr & Adcock, Flynn J., 2007. "Trade Creation and Trade Diversion in the North American Free Trade Agreement: The Case of the Agricultural Sector," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(1), pages 121-134, April.
    12. Philippa Dee, 2005. "The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement: An Assessment," Asia Pacific Economic Papers 345, Australia-Japan Research Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    13. Jeffrey D. Lewis & Sherman Robinson & Karen Thierfelder, 2003. "Free Trade Agreements and the SADC Economies," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 12(2), pages 156-206, June.
    14. Chad P. Bown & Patricia Tovar, 2016. "Preferential Liberalization, Antidumping, and Safeguards: Stumbling Block Evidence from MERCOSUR," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 262-294, November.
    15. Gutiérrez, Gabriel, 2005. "Ex-post evaluation of the employment effects of a preferential trade agreement: methodological issues, illustrated with a reference to Chile," Comercio Internacional 4399, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    16. Rajiv Kumar, 2011. "SAARC: Changing Realities, Opportunities and Challenges," Chapters, in: Ulrich Volz (ed.), Regional Integration, Economic Development and Global Governance, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Robinson, Sherman & Thierfelder, Karen, 2002. "Trade liberalisation and regional integration: the search for large numbers," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 46(4), pages 1-20.
    18. Xiao-guang Zhang & George Verikios, 2006. "Providing Duty-Free Access to Australian Markets for Least-Developed COuntries: a General Equilibrium Analysis," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 06-09, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    19. Andrea Bonilla‐Bolaños, 2021. "A step further in the theory of regional integration: A look at the South American integration strategy," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 845-873, July.
    20. Khadan, Jeetendra & Hosein, Roger, 2014. "Trade, Economic and Welfare impacts of the CARICOM-Canada Free Trade Agreement," MPRA Paper 54836, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2007-017. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Shamprasad M. Pujar (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/igidrin.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.