RIETI Symposium

Asian Economic Integration - Current Status and Future Prospects -

Announcement

In recent years, various policy initiatives have been undertaken in East Asia to create free trade areas and form economic partnership agreements between different economies. Cooperation in the area of monetary policy has also been accelerated. Will such initiatives lead to prosperity and stability in Asia and eventually serve as a building block toward a global regime for free movement of goods, services, capital and people across the border? At this symposium, world's leading experts will explore future prospects of the Asian economic integration, first by analyzing the state-of-play of the ongoing economic integration in the region and clarifying their policy implications. The symposium will focus on the future of the Asian economic integration and how the intended policy goals can be achieved.

The symposium, which follows the one titled "Asian Networking of Economic Policy Research" held in January 2001, is organized by the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) in cooperation with a network of Asia's economic policy researchers and Asia specialists in Japan, the United States and Europe.

Information

* This symposium is a closed session.
It will be videotaped and broadcasted via internet. The paper materials will also be available on the RIETI website.

Specifically, participants are expected to address the issues from the following perspectives:

  • To what extend has de facto economic integration in Asia proceeded? How will the inter-regional competitive and/or complementary relations impact the progress of economic integration?
  • What changes has the economic integration brought to the economic and institutional structures of each Asian economy? What is the future prospect for the ongoing integration? Will it lead to the harmonization and convergence of different institutions and systems?
  • How should the Asian economy be integrated if it is to be compatible with global economic integration? How can we overcome political and economic obstacles, if any?

Program (Simultaneous Interpretation)

Monday, April 22, 2002

9:00-11:30 Keynote Addresses
9:00-9:30 RIETI / Stanford University
AOKI Masahiko
9:30-10:30 Columbia University Joseph STIGLITZ
10:30-11:30 Development Research Center of the State Council of PRC / Tsinghua University
CHEN Qingtai
11:30-12:30 Break
12:30-17:00 Session 1: Current Status of Economic Integration in Asia
(Intermission 30 min.)
RIETI / Hitotsubashi University
FUKAO Kyoji
French Centre for Research on Contemporary China
Francois GIPOULOUX
Tsinghua University
HU Angang
RIETI
C.H.KWAN
Korea Institute for Economic Policy
LEE Chang Jae
RIETI / Tsinghua University
MENG Jianjun
University of Malaya
Jomo SUNDARAM
RIETI / Waseda University
URATA Shujiro
Institute of World Economics and Politics
YU Yongding
Chinese Academy of Social Science
ZHANG Yunling

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

9:30-12:30 Session 2-A: Institutional Harmonization and Diversity: Corporate Governance
RIETI / Aoyama Gakuin University
FUKAGAWA Yukiko
RIETI
Gregory JACKSON
Korea University
JANG Hasung
Peking University
LIN Yifu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Edward STEINFELD
12:30-13:30 Luncheon speech: Economic Integration from a European Perspective
Economic Mission-French Embassy in Tokyo
Denis TERSEN
13:40-14:40 Session 2-B: Institutional Harmonization and Diversity: Information and Communication Technology
Asia Network Research / GLOCOM
AIZU Izumi
China Reform Foundation / National Economic Research Institute
FAN Gang
14:45-18:30 Session 3: Prospects for Economic Integration in Asia: Approaches from Political Economy (The Way Ahead)
(Intermission 15min.)
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
CHIA Siow Yue
RIETI / Ministry of Foreign Affairs
KITANO Mitsuru
WTO Shanghai Research Center / Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade
LIU Guangxi
RIETI / The Brookings Institution
MUNAKATA Naoko
RIETI / Keio University
SOEYA Yoshihide
RIETI / Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
TSUGAMI Toshiya
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
WANG Yunjong
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research
WU Rong-I
18:45-20:00 Reception (Restaurant UN Cafe)