Measuring Agricultural Trade Integration in Southeast Asia

Bouët, Antoine; Elbehri, Aziz; Nguyen, Duc Bao; Traoré, Fousseini

doi:2022.37.2.235

The Journal of Economic Integration 2022 June;37(2) :235-266.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11130/jei.2022.37.2.235

Measuring Agricultural Trade Integration in Southeast Asia

Antoine Bouët, ¹ Aziz Elbehri, ² Duc Bao Nguyen, ³ Fousseini Traoré, ⁴

¹IFPRI and Bordeaux School of Economics, USA
²Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation(FAO), Bangkok
³VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Viet Nam
⁴IFPRI-Dakar, USA

Corresponding Author: Antoine Bouët ,Email: a.bouet@cgiar.org

ABSTRACT

This paper offers an evaluation of agricultural trade integration in Southeast Asia. Since the ultimate objective is to provide policy recommendations, the indicators presented include those obtained from a measurement based on trade barriers: tariffs applied on imports, tariffs faced by exports, customs procedures and trade facilitation measures, and nontariff measures. A new estimation of the trade impact of nontariff measures in the agrifood sector is provided, based on refinements to the methodology of Kee, Nicita, and Olarreaga (2009) and Ghodsi, Grübler, and Stehrer (2016a). Globally, the Southeast Asian region appears to be relatively open to the world, but regional integration could be strengthened, particularly in the agriculture and food sectors. Specifically, a convergence of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures and Technical Barriers to Trade measures could achieve more integration.

JEL Classification

F14: Empirical Studies of Trade
F15: Economic Integration

Keywords: Trade integration | Trade indicators | Southeast Asia | Non-Tariff measures