Summary of General Discussion on “The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC): Myths and Realities”

Fredrik Sjöholm liked the detailed description of the agreements and was intrigued by their described lack of substance. He wondered why countries have invested time and efforts to make these agreements if their impact is so limited? He saw two possible reasons. The first would be to attract attention and goodwill from the world community and thereby receive an increased amount of investments. A more likely reason would be that empty agreements are later filled with substance. It would therefore, thought Sjöholm, be interesting to examine if this has been the strategy in areas where integration in the region has been successful. Chalongphob Sussangkarn replied that the first explanation to the integration strategy—to attract foreign investment—might actually be important. The main driver in Southeast Asian industrialization and growth has been foreign multinational firms from outside the region. In fact, the region is more open to firms from outside than from...