Regional Economic Integration, Foreign Direct Investment and Efficiency-Seeking Industrial Restructuring in Asia: The Case of India

This paper examines the Indias RTAs policy in Asia and the emerging patterns of efficiency-seeking industrial restructuring unleashed by it. Section 2 provides a discussion of the analytical relationship between RTAs, patterns of trade, FDI resulting from the industrial restructuring. It also summarizes some examples of industrial restructuring of the type the EUs Single Market Plan has led to. Section 3 summarizes the Indias RTA policy in Asia and indicators of its growing economic integration with East Asian countries. Section 4 highlights the emerging patterns of industrial restructuring resulting from Indias RTAs policy. Section 5 concludes the paper with a few remarks on the importance of a broader framework for regional economic integration.