Components have been a dynamic leading sector in East Asian imports and exports. East Asian global exports of parts and components totaled $178 billion in 1996; imports, $12 billion less. Components now account for a fifth of East Asian exports of manufactures.

Global Production and Trade in East Asia focuses on the profound change that the traditional paradigm of production and international trade has undergone in the last two decades or so as a result of worldwide trade and investment liberalization. This ongoing transformation has been both aided and stimulated by advances in telecommunications, transportation, and information management. The liberalization of trade and investment on the one hand and advances in communications technology on the other have further promoted global production networks in which vertical stages of final goods are fragmented across countries. International fragmentation of production, which enables international division of labor not only in final products but also in vertically related components, is more evident than ever before. The book documents the process of international production fragmentation and trade in East Asian economies, studies the mechanics of the process, explores the theory behind the phenomenon, and identifies important policy implications. It focuses on production fragmentation and trade in East Asia because this is the part of the world where the phenomenon is most visible. With contribution by well-known international economics scholars from North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific, the book distinguishes itself with high global quality and rich regional content. It achieves a fine balance between theory, policy, and empirical work. This book will interest scholars of international trade, foreign investment and international business, regional specialists in East Asian economies, policymakers and advisors in international economic relations, and anyone else who follows important economic issues of globalization.

"Easily the most informed and comprehensive analysis to date on how and why East Asian countries have achieved sustained high economic growth rates, this book] substantially advances our understanding of the key interactions between the governors and governed in the development process. Students and practitioners alike will be referring to Campos and Root's series of excellent case studies for years to come." Richard L. Wilson, The Asia Foundation Eight countries in East Asia--Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia--have become known as the "East Asian miracle" because of their economies' dramatic growth. In these eight countries real per capita GDP rose twice as fast as in any other regional grouping between 1965 and 1990. Even more impressive is their simultaneous significant reduction in poverty and income inequality. Their success is frequently attributed to economic policies, but the authors of this book argue that those economic policies would not have worked unless the leaders of the countries made them credible to their business communities and citizens. Jose Edgardo Campos and Hilton Root challenge the popular belief that East Asia's high performers grew rapidly because they were ruled by authoritarian leaders. They show that these leaders had to collaborate with various sectors of their population to create an environment that was conducive to sustained growth. This required them to persuade the business community that their investments would not be expropriated and to convince the broader population that their short-term sacrifices would be rewarded in the future. Many of the countries achieved business cooperation by creating consultative groups, which the authors call deliberation councils, to enhance accountability and stability. They also obtained popular support through a variety of wealth-sharing measures such as land reform, worker cooperatives, and wider access to education. Finally, to inhibit favoritism and corruption that would benefit narrow interest groups at the expense of broad-based development, these countries' leaders constructed a competent bureaucracy that balanced autonomy with accountability to serve all interests, including the poor. This important book provides useful lessons about how developing and newly industrialized countries can build institutions to implement growth-promoting policies.

Global Production and Trade in East Asia focuses on the profound change that the traditional paradigm of production and international trade has undergone in the last two decades or so as a result of worldwide trade and investment liberalization. This ongoing transformation has been both aided and stimulated by advances in telecommunications, transportation, and information management. The liberalization of trade and investment on the one hand and advances in communications technology on the other have further promoted global production networks in which vertical stages of final goods are fragmented across countries. International fragmentation of production, which enables international division of labor not only in final products but also in vertically related components, is more evident than ever before. The book documents the process of international production fragmentation and trade in East Asian economies, studies the mechanics of the process, explores the theory behind the phenomenon, and identifies important policy implications. It focuses on production fragmentation and trade in East Asia because this is the part of the world where the phenomenon is most visible. With contribution by well-known international economics scholars from North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific, the book distinguishes itself with high global quality and rich regional content. It achieves a fine balance between theory, policy, and empirical work. This book will interest scholars of international trade, foreign investment and international business, regional specialists in East Asian economies, policymakers and advisors in international economic relations, and anyone else who follows important economic issues of globalization.

An accessible overview of political, economic, and strategic dimensions of global supply chains in a changing global political economy.