Distinguished Speaker Seminars

Eisuke Sakakibara, professor at Waseda University and former vice minister of finance at Japan's Ministry of Finance, delivered a lecture on Market-driven Integration in East Asia on 24 June at ADBI.

Unlike the institution-driven integration of the European Union in which the public sector had an active role, markets have been pivotal in making Asian regional integration what it is today. It may have been the fortuitous effect of the 1985 Plaza Accord that doubled the Japanese yen's value vis-à-vis the US dollar, prompting Japanese firms to expand operations abroad. Mr. Sakakibara believes that regional integration is irreversible.

Intra-regional trade is expected to increase, which necessitates regional cooperation. But the lack of regional consultations and communication could stymie regional efforts. He particularly recommended some rapprochement between the People's Republic of China and Japan.

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Vinod K. Aggarwal , is a professor in the department of political science, affiliated professor in the business and public policy group, and director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Aggarwal gave a lecture on Look West: The Evolution of United States' Trade Policy Toward Asia on 10 August at ADBI.

For Mr. Aggarwal, the evolution of US trade policy from post-World War II until 2008 has had four phases: multiproduct multilateralism, liberal protectionism, regionalism, and competitive liberalism. Throughout these phases, he saw the significance of domestic coalitions shaping trade policy and believed that buying off losers may reduce future support for global negotiations. These strategies have also contributed to the proliferation of free trade agreements in Asia. He suggested reconciling these free trade agreements through the creation of a central clearing house and urged collective action to counter such preferential trade approaches and to continue the current liberal trade regime.

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Duck-Koo Chung, chairman of the North East Asia Research Foundation; former minister of commerce, industry, and energy for the Republic of Korea; and professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University, delivered a lecture on Post-Crisis Issues and East Asia on 8 September at ADBI.

To maintain the prosperity and stability of the region, Mr. Chung believes that Japan and the Republic of Korea must address their rising population dependency ratios, inefficient service sectors, and depressed domestic consumption. Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China, as the largest US creditor, is confronted by the risks of US dollar devaluation. Mr. Chung recommended that these three countries change their export-led growth paradigms and boost domestic consumption. While the road to an East Asian economic community is hardly paved, recent developments in the Chiang Mai Initiative and Asian bond markets, as well as efforts to promote regional exchange rate stability are steps in the right direction to address East Asia's needs.

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