Regional Trade Agreements In Non-traditional Income: Theory, Application And Review

This dissertation mainly consists of three parts. The first part introduces the theory of nontraditional gains of regional trade agreements (RTAs), the second one tests the effectiveness of the theory, and the third evaluates the theory. The theory of nontraditional gains of RTAs argues except traditional gains such as trade creation, improved terms of trade, realization of economies of scale, increased competition and more investment, RTAs can also bring some nontraditional gains such as time consistency, signaling, insurance, bargaining power, coordination device and security benefits under certain conditions. After testing the effectiveness of the theory, I find it can well explain why the current wave of regionalism has occurred. Compared with traditional theories of international economic integration, the theory of nontraditional gains of RTAs has constructed some hypotheses which are more close to reality. It also remedies a defect of the traditional theories of international economic integration, that is, the neglect of institution's role in international economic integration. However, the theory of nontraditional gains of RTAs is still not mature, and some of its premises are not necessarily correct.