It is often claimed that de facto economic integration has proceeded in East Asia, yet this is only true in part. Few studies have been conducted on the extent of the integration and what sort of integration has been accomplished. Currently economic integration in East Asia has not reached the level of that in the European Union with East Asia's trajectory seeming to be different from the path on which Europe once advanced. The nature and characteristics of de facto economic integration are also crucially important and this book presents a deeper understanding of the on-going de facto economic integration in East Asia.

Introduction: East Asia's De Facto Economic Integration; M.Fouquin, D.Hiratsuka & F.Kimura
The Development of Fragmentation in East Asia and Its Implications for FTAs; F.Kimura
Intra-Industry Trade and Economic Integration; P.Ecochard, L.Fontagné, G.Gaulier & S.Zignago
Production Networks and Spatial Linkages in East Asia; I.Kuroiwa
Catching Up of Manufacturing Cum De Facto Economic Integration in East Asia; D.Hiratsuka
China's Specialization in East Asian Production Sharing; G.Gaulier, F.Lemoine & D.Ünal-Kesenci
Vertical Intra-Regional Production Networks in East Asia: A Case Study of the Hard Disc Drive Industry; D.Hiratsuka
A Comparison of De Jure Economic Integration in East Asia: Is East Asia Discriminating Against Itself?; M.Freudenberg & T.Paulmier
Regionalization in East Asia: Simulations Using a CGE Model MIRAGE; M.Fouquin

DAISAKE HIRATSUKA is Director of the Regional Integration Studies Group and Director of the APEC Studies Centre at the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), JETRO. He serves as Visiting Professor of Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. He has been Co-ordinator of the research project entitled Challenges for East Asia since 2003, and presented many papers and lectures related to regionalization and regionalism in East Asia.