Toshihiro Okubo: This paper investigates the impact of economic integration by ASEAN on trade from 1990 to 2013, using export potential in the gravity model framework. There are various types and several stages of economic integration throughout the world today. As the authors note, ASEAN has three unique features: 1) de facto integration initiated by the private sector; 2) open regionalism; and 3) the absence of core nations and strong leadership. These features are in a sharp contrast with European economic integration.
In the literature, there are a number of papers on European economic integration. Many studies investigate the impact of EU and EURO on trade flows (e.g., Frankel and Rose 1998; Nitsch 2000; Rose 2002; Chen 2004). Several use the gravity model and test whether European economic integration causes trade diversion and creation. Some subsequent studies have provided meta-analysis on the euro impact (e.g., Rose...