Baldwin, R. & Low, P. (2009). Multilateralizing Regionalism (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

This is a very important source on the concept of regionalism and liberalized trade. The source deals with specific issues that relate to regional trade agreements. Important aspects such green protectionism, intellectual property rights, technical standards and the effects of disarmament on international trade, the effects of abolishing the Multi-fibre Agreement are some of the critical issues discussed in various chapters of the book.  Also, essential aspects relating to liberalized trade and creation of world Trade Organization are also discussed in the source. It is a reliable source as it offers insights essential to regional trade agreement and liberalized trade.

Carbaugh, R. (2009). International economics (1st ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

This is another important source where the author has used a simple approach in understanding international economics. The author offers easy-to-understand coverage of international trade and finance theory. Even if you have little economics background, the relevance of economic theory is quickly made clear through applications from the real world today. It is an important source as it offers insights on international trade.

Chauffour, J. & Maur, J. (2011). Preferential Trade Agreement Policies for Development (1st ed.). Washington: World Bank

‘’Preferential Trade Agreement Policies for Development’’ is another essential source for this topic. The authors of this source acknowledge the increasing number of preferential trade agreements between states. Although there have been relentless efforts by NGOs and government agencies, regional trade agreements have been on the rise in the recent years. They have increased both in numbers and scope.  Deep integration provisions in PTAs have now become ubiquitous. Gaining market access or preserving existing preferences has remained an important motivation for acceding to PTAs. But with the liberalization of trade around the world and the related diminishing size of preferential rents, the growing success of PTAs cannot be only explained by traditional market access motives (even factoring for the possible substitution of tariff for other less transparent forms of protection). Countries are looking beyond market access in PTAs. They are interested in a host of objectives, including importing higher policy standards, strengthening regional policy coordination, locking-in domestic reforms, and even addressing foreign policy issues. This handbook on PTA policies for development offers an introduction into the world of modern preferential trade agreements. It goes beyond the traditional paradigm of trade creation versus trade diversion to address the economic and legal aspects of the regulatory policies that are contained in today s PTAs. The book maps the landscape of PTAs, summarizes the theoretical arguments, political economy, and development dimensions of PTAs, and presents the current practice in the main policy areas typically covered in PTAs. It is a reliable source since the information contained is verified by World Bank.

Dijk, M. & Sideri, S. (1996). Multilateralism versus regionalism (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Frank Cass.

The issue of regionalism versus multilateral agreements such as the Uruguay Round remains a crucial one, as is argued in the first five chapters of this volume. Successive chapters deal with specific issues such as green protectionism, technical standards, intellectual property rights protection, the effects of disarmament on international trade, the effects of abolishing the Multi-fibre Agreement and the external impact of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. The volume, on the whole, takes up where the newly created World Trade Organization will have to star.

Estevadeordal, A., Suominen, K., & Teh, R. (2009). Regional rules in the global trading system (1st ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

The proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) over the past two decades has highlighted the need to look closely at the potential conflicts between regional and WTO rules or disciplines. A major obstacle to advancing understanding of RTAs is the absence of detailed information about their contents. This has limited the debate between those who view RTAs as discriminatory instruments hostage to protectionist interests and those who see them as conducive to multilateral trade opening. This book provides detailed analysis of RTA rules in six key areas – market access, technical barriers to trade, contingent protection, investment, services and competition policy – across dozens of the main RTAs in the world. The analysis helps to provide new insights into the interplay between regional and multilateral trade rules, advances understanding of the economic effects of RTAs and contributes to the discussion on how to deal with the burgeoning number of RTAs.

Indraratna, A., Ranasinghe, A., & Abeysinghe, S. (2006). Global free trade versus trade agreements (1st ed.). Colombo: Sri Lanka Economic Association

This is another important source that offers a great analysis and comparison of RTA’s and free trade arrangements. These competing trading blocs may not be suitable for the economic development and global liberalization. Authors of the source have used Sri Lanka as a case study to help us understand the effects of such trade agreement. In essence, the source gives a detailed account on merits and demerits associated with the two concepts. I find an important source for understanding the two concepts.

Itō, T. & Krueger, A. (2007). Regionalism versus multilateral trade arrangements (1st ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

This source is another important one where the authors have given a good analysis and comparison between regionalism and multilateral trade agreements. here is no doubt that the open multilateral trading system after World War II was a key ingredient in the rapid economic development of the entire world. Especially in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, exports increased dramatically both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GNP. In the 1980s, however, preferential trading arrangements (PTAs) began to emerge as significant factors affecting world trade. This volume contains thirteen papers that analyze the tensions between multilateral trading systems and preferential trade arrangements and the impact of these tensions on East Asia. The first four chapters introduce PTAs conceptually and focus on the unique political issues that these agreements involve. The next five essays present more direct empirical analyses of existing PTAs and their economic effects, primarily in East Asia. The last four papers concentrate on the outcomes of individual East Asian nations’ trading policies in specific instances of preferential agreements.

Vamvakidis, A. & Vamvakidis, A. (2008). Regional Trade Agreements Versus Board Liberalization (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund.

This is another important source that has valuable insights on the concept of regional trade agreements and global liberalization. Should a closed economy open its trade to all countries or limit itself to participation in regional trade agreements (RTAs)? Based on time-series evidence for a data set for 1950-92, this paper estimates and compares the growth performance of countries that liberalized broadly and those that joined an RTA. The comparisons show that economies grew faster after broad liberalization, both in the short and long run, but slower after participation in an RTA. Economies also had higher investment shares after broad liberalization, but lower ones after joining an RTA. The policy implications support broad liberalization.

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