Economic Integration: A Quasi-Common Economy Approach
Europe and Asia provide two different models of integration and growth. The former relied on political willpower to create a unified common market; the latter based its integration on a buildup of regional trade, investments, and production networks—eschewing a formal link-up in political or monetary terms. Interestingly, although economic integration has occurred along different lines, both regions have attained high internal trade intensity. Against this background, is it possible to say that one model of regional integration is more effective than the other? Is de jure integration better than de facto cooperation?The case of East Asia would suggest not. In comparison with its neighbors to the west, Asia can be said to have a quasi-common economy (QCE). As such, the region has a high level of physical integration, minimal barriers to intraregional trade, interlinked and interdependent production structure, and no formal or centralized body for coordination of the entire region’s economic policies. The rise of the Asian QCE was neither abrupt, nor was it micro-planned. Rather, factors such as advantageous geography, high infrastructure investment, technological diffusion, an export-led growth model, and economic openness led to the development of the region’s QCE.
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