Book Review: Debashis Chakraborty and Jaydeep Mukherjee (Eds), Trade, Investment and Economic Development in Asia: Empirical and Policy Issues
| Author | Bibek Ray Chaudhuri |
| Published date | 01 November 2017 |
| Date | 01 November 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0015732517721783 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Review
Debashis Chakraborty and Jaydeep Mukherjee (Eds), Trade, Investment
and Economic Development in Asia: Empirical and Policy Issues. Abingdon:
Routledge, 2016, £95, 387 pp., ISBN 978-1-138-96243-9.
The world is going through a transition where we are witnessing increased
protectionism. Many reports are pointing towards troubled waters in developed
countries due to economic slowdown and anti-trade sentiments leading to uncertainty.
Asian countries, on the other hand, are experiencing mixed fortunes. China the global
powerhouse is experiencing slowdown and excess capacities, whereas India is
being portrayed as a bright spot with a 7 per cent plus expected economic growth.
The questions which are thus important at this juncture are:
1. Can trade play a similar role in development of Asia as it did during the
post-World War days until the global financial crisis (with occasional
cyclical problems)?
2. Will investment of foreign origin from developed countries outside and
within Asia to low-cost destinations still continue?
3. What are the likely impacts on development of Asian economies due to
this changed circumstance?
Given the economic conditions in most of the Asian countries which still
houses a substantial portion of the world poor these questions assumes a lot of
importance. The book is thus topical and addresses burning issues in trade and
development in the Asian region. The selected chapters from a greater number of
submissions show editorial proficiency.
At the outset mention must be made about the excellent opening chapter by the
editors. The chapter gives an apt introduction to the varied topics covered by
unearthing the commonalities and links between the contributions. This is sup-
plemented by analysis of trends of major economic variables and studies related
to the issues covered. The four sections under which the contributions have been
classified are empirical issues in trade, foreign direct investment, trade and envi-
ronment and institutions and trade.
In the first section topics as varied as intra-industry trade trends, production
network patterns, Iran–India trade potential, exportability of Indian manufactur-
ing firms, services trade issues including accounting services and impact of
euro adoption and EMU trade have been included. Tools like intra-industry
Foreign Trade Review
52(4) 265–267
©2017 Indian Institute of
Foreign Trade
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0015732517721783
http://ftr.sagepub.com
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