Conference Theme:
While rapid economic growth in East Asia and the emergence of China and India as major players in the global system are frequently cited and debated in the academic literature and popular press, much less attention is being placed on the rapid rise in intra-regional trade and investment, or “regionalization”. Unlike the case of the European experience of economic integration, this process is being led by market forces without a strong role attributable to government-related cooperation policies. Moreover, recent studies show that the evolution of growth and development in the region is becoming increasingly self-sustained; Asia has not “de-coupled” completely from the OECD but it would appear that its self-sustainability has been rising. In addition, the region appears to be becoming more symmetric, from rising correlations of business cycles to increasingly-similar export structures and composition of the inflows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). As the above process of integration intensifies, Asian economics have been negotiating various forms of formal economic integration arrangements, mainly as a way to support the market integration process. These arrangements are especially in the form of bilateral free-trade areas (FTAs) but also higher forms of cooperation, including monetary and financial cooperation. The ASEAN Economic Community, for example, aims to create a “single market and production base” by 2015. Asian economic integration raises myriad economic- and political-economy-related issues that are critical to the future of the region and Asia’s most important trading partners in North America and Europe. For example, what will be the implications of rising economic integration in Asia for the region and the rest of the world? What does it mean for the future of global commercial policy? How should non-partner countries, such as the United States and the EU, respond to regionalization in Asia and “deeper” regionalism? Is Asia really decoupling from the rest of the world, and, if so, what are the implications of this process? How should Asia be sequencing its integration programs? The goal of this conference, which marks the 18th ACAES conference and the first joint endeavor between the ACAES and the RCEA is to address these and other topics pertinent to Asian economic integration in a global context.

Submissions:
Authors of papers should submit an extended abstract of up to 500 words. The deadline for paper submission is June 1, 2008. Please submit abstract by sending them to: acaes2008@acaes2008.org The conference committee is also currently accepting proposals for panels of three-four papers. If you are interested to submit a panel please send panel topic, paper titles, names of authors and arrange for abstracts to be sent to: acaes2008@acaes2008.org. The authors will be notified no later than July 1, 2008 whether their papers have been accepted

Travel and Accommodation:
For each accepted paper, the committee will be able to contribute to local lodging but not for travel, except in the case of participants from Least Developed Countries.

Registration and Conference Fees:
The Conference Fees for participation in the conference are €100, which will help cover expenses associated with general logistics, coffee/tea, and special meals/events. The Conference Fees may be denominated in euros or the dollar equivalent ($150). You should register on-line by going to: http://www.acaes2008.org and by following the relevant link. Registration on site at the Rimini campus of the University of Bologna will start on August 29th

Publication:
The best papers will be published in special issues of the Journal of Asian Economics and the Review of Economic Analysis.

Location and Dates:
The conference will be held in Rimini, Italy, August 29-31, 2008. It will be held at the University of Bologna-Rimini campus.