A multi-model study of the hemispheric transport and deposition of oxidised nitrogen.

Fifteen chemistry-transport models are used to quantify, for the first time, the export of oxidised nitrogen (NOy) to and from four regions (Europe, North America, South Asia, and East Asia), and to estimate the uncertainty in the results. Between 12 and 24% of the NOx emitted is exported from each region annually. The strongest impact of each source region on a foreign region is: Europe on East Asia, North America on Europe, South Asia on East Asia, and East Asia on North America. Europe exports the most NOy, and East Asia the least. East Asia receives the most NOy from the other regions. Between 8 and 15% of NOx emitted in each region is transported over distances larger than 1000 km, with 3–10% ultimately deposited over the foreign regions

Critical Review of East Asia – South America Trade

There is a general consensus that trade between East Asia and South America is becoming increasingly important. However, we know little about the actual dynamic development of this inter-regional trade. This paper examines whether the trend of East Asia–South America trade is a general phenomena or a country- and commodity-specific issue, and whether the increase in trade values has a solid basis in terms of commodity diversification and/or price and quantity effects. While South America has an overall trade surplus with East Asia, detailed country and commodity analysis of inter-regional trade reveal several potential weaknesses in South America’s trade with East Asia. Our research finds that (i) the increase in trade between the two regions can be explained mainly by the increase in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) trade with South America, (ii) the increase in the PRC’s imports from South America is limited to a few commodities, (iii) the increase in East Asia’s imports from South America is due partly to commodity price increases, and (iv) the PRC has started to export various types of electronics and machinery products to South America. Overall, East Asia’s exports to South America seem to show more promising signs of growth than South America’s exports to East Asia

Connecting South East Asia: a Blueprint for ASEAN Connectivity

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries, consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, met in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration. The regional grouping has made the most progress in economic integration, aiming to create an ASEAN Community by 2015. Recently, the Member Countries of the ASEAN have accepted the concept of ASEAN Connectivity, which emphasized on the three pillars regional cooperation of security, socio-cultural, and economic integration. In particular, ASEAN Connectivity is expected: (1) to enhance trade, investment, tourism, and development, (2) to narrow development gaps, and (3) to facilitate people-to-people contacts. As a preparation to adapt with a new system, Indonesia is geared to improve its domestic connectivity as a prerequisite of regional connectivity. In Indonesia's view, regional connectivity should help empower and develop the local economies, as an effort to narrow the development gaps within ASEAN. To fulfill these goals, Indonesia needs to strengthen its physical connectivity through better transportation infrastructure. However, to support trade facilitation, good transportation infrastructure alone is not sufficient. It needs to be enhanced with ICT infrastructure, which is crucial in supporting trade facilitation through its ability to facilitate information exchange and to reduce the cost of doing business. This paper aims to explore how Indonesia's domestic connectivity coops with the concept of ASEAN connectivity. Some data and various existing policies in their effort to accomplish ASEAN connectivity will be explored. With the new legal framework in ICT and transportation, the performance of the ICT and transportation system in Indonesia is expected to ameliorate, hence supporting the development of other sectors, and this will ultimately lead to the realization of ASEAN Connectivity

East Asian Currency Area: A Fuzzy Clustering Analysis of Homogeneity

This paper attempts to examine the degree of homogeneity and the plausibility of a currency union in East Asia from the perspective of multiple OCA criteria, using the technique of fuzzy clustering analysis. The question of homogeneity is obviously of importance to the smooth formation and operation of the prospective currency union. We find that East Asia has not been sufficiently homogeneous and can be divided into about four groups with significant degree of fuzziness. We find no notable trend of convergence from the data. In fact, East Asian has appeared to be more diverged since the onset of the regional financial crisis. Thus, we suspect the possibility of forming a currency union in East Asia in the near future.Fuzzy Clustering Analysis; East Asia; Currency Area

Examining the case for Reserve Pooling in East Asia: Empirical Analysis

Two features of East Asia?s recovery from the financial turmoil of 1997-98 appear to be rather paradoxical. First, the regional economies (except Hong Kong, China and Malaysia) have allowed a relatively greater albeit modest degree of variability of their currencies according to market conditions. Second, the regional monetary authorities have simultaneously appeared keen on bolstering reserves to historically high levels. This paper examines the subject of reserve management in the broader context of monetary cooperation in East Asia. The paper briefly reviews the factors that go into the determination of ?optimal reserves? in general, and specifically in the case of East Asia. It then goes on to investigate the gains, if any, to be reaped if the East Asian economies were to pool their reserves.Coverage Index, East Asia, Fiscal Costs, Foreign Exchange Reserves, Reserve Pooling, Reserve to Imports Ratio.

International Production Networks And Changing Trade Patterns In East Asia The Case Of The Electronics Industry

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the spread of different international production networks in East Asia has affected the trade links of the region with the U.S. and Japan. We concentrate on one particular aspect, i.e. changes in the product composition of U.S. and Japanese electronics exports and imports to and from the East Asia region. We find that compared to the U.S. , Japan’s trade links with East Asia display a far greater diversity of the product groups involved. Of equal importance is a second finding: the trade balances of both countries with the region are radically different. A consistently high and growing trade deficit characterizes U.S. trade links with East Asia in the electronic industry. This is true even for computers and components, the two sectors where the U.S. has re-established itself during the last few years as an uncontested leader. This is in stark contrast to the situation in Japan, where a large and rapidly growing surplus characterizes its trade links with East Asia. Although this is now slowly changing as East Asia has become the most important source of Japanese electronics imports, there is reason to doubt whether this positive development is strong enough to reduce any time soon the asymmetric nature of Japan’s trade links with East Asia. These differences can only be partially attributed to traditional macroeconomic factors that are the focus of standard trade theory. In the paper, we show how the observed differences can be better explained by some peculiar features of the international production networks that American and Japanese firms have established in East Asia. The chain of causation appears to work both ways. Changes in the organization of international production have led to changes in the composition of bilateral trade flows. Such changes in international trade patterns, in turn, lead to further changes in the organization of international production.international trade; international investment; economic development; business strategies; networks; Japan; USA; Asia; electronics industry

Radiative absorption enhancement of dust mixed with anthropogenic pollution over East Asia

The particle mixing state plays a significant yet poorly quantified role in aerosol radiative forcing, especially for the mixing of dust (mineral absorbing) and anthropogenic pollution (black carbon absorbing) over East Asia. We have investigated the absorption enhancement of mixed-type aerosols over East Asia by using the Aerosol Robotic Network observations and radiative transfer model calculations. The mixed-type aerosols exhibit significantly enhanced absorbing ability than the corresponding unmixed dust and anthropogenic aerosols, as revealed in the spectral behavior of absorbing aerosol optical depth, single scattering albedo, and imaginary refractive index. The aerosol radiative efficiencies for the dust, mixed-type, and anthropogenic aerosols are −101.0, −112.9, and −98.3 Wm⁻²τ⁻¹ at the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA); −42.3, −22.5, and −39.8 Wm⁻²τ⁻¹ at the top of the atmosphere (TOA); and 58.7, 90.3, and 58.5 Wm⁻²τ⁻¹ in the atmosphere (ATM), respectively. The BOA cooling and ATM heating efficiencies of the mixed-type aerosols are significantly higher than those of the unmixed aerosol types over the East Asia region, resulting in atmospheric stabilization. In addition, the mixed-type aerosols correspond to a lower TOA cooling efficiency, indicating that the cooling effect by the corresponding individual aerosol components is partially counteracted. We conclude that the interaction between dust and anthropogenic pollution not only represents a viable aerosol formation pathway but also results in unfavorable dispersion conditions, both exacerbating the regional air pollution in East Asia. Our results highlight the necessity to accurately account for the mixing state of aerosols in atmospheric models over East Asia in order to better understand the formation mechanism for regional air pollution and to assess its impacts on human health, weather, and climate