Policy Coherence and Coordination for Trade Facilitation: Integrated Border Management, Single-Windows and other Options for Developing Countries

There is now increasing recognition of the critical importance of trade facilitation to further international commerce, accelerate growth, and enhance welfare if not alleviate poverty among trading nations. But there is also increasing appreciation that it is not just attention to the barriers and bottlenecks behind-the-border that are involved in trade facilitation (TF), it also calls for coherence between policies and regulations at the border and inside the border. The unavoidable participation of many government agencies and private stakeholders in border transactions calls for coordination among them towards a harmonized approach to trade facilitation. This paper discusses the need and relevance of policy coherence and coordination to facilitate trade and to what extent some trade facilitation measures (concepts) such as integrated border management and single-windows may be applicable in developing countries to improve both policy coherence and coordination.Trade Faclitation, Border trade, Policy coherence, Economic Integration

Regional Integration and Inclusive Development: Lessons from ASEAN Experience

The current economic crisis has lent extra urgency to ASEAN’s efforts at economic integration and raising its attractiveness for trade and investment. This process gained momentum in the 1990s and has made much progress, as reflected in the emergence of a wide range of extra- and intra-regional agreements. However, the effectiveness of this network of arrangements in stimulating trade and investment depends on not just the characteristics of each arrangement but how well they complement each other. This paper addresses these two areas by examining and evaluating past and present initiatives individually and collectively. Findings suggest that the fundamental impeding issues have endured over the years: lack of political will, ASEAN-style consensus-reliant negotiation, and insufficient management in implementing and harmonising of initiatives. Recommendations include agreement design innovation and focus on shared concerns to overcome lack of will, role expansion of the secretariat to monitor implementation through issuance of score cards, and establishment of specialised bodies such as sub-committees and working groups to enhance implementation and dispute settlement.ASEAN, Economic Integration, Development, Trade

Preparedness versus paranoia : examining the effects of over-communicating crisis preparedness messages

Communication plays a vital role in the crisis management plans of organizations. However, research has shown that overly stressing a threat may lead to undesirable outcomes such as desensitization and paranoia. This concept, however, has been under-studied and -emphasized in the crisis communication field, where the focus has been mainly on how to enhance the effectiveness of communication in eliciting desired outcomes. Addressing this gap, this study sets out to test an adaptation of the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), which the authors have modified to capture the possible negative effects of repeating and intensifying preparedness messages. The new model was empirically tested in an experimental context of an impending flu pandemic, suggesting that crisis communication strategists should not only be concerned with conveying a threat; they should also be careful not to over-communicate.Bachelor of Communication Studie