Geometry of global value chains in East Asia: The role of industrial networks and trade policies

East Asia is one of the best-known examples of a regional economic integration process that was initially driven by deepening industrial relations, rather than by political agreements, among countries of the region. The institutional or legal aspects of regional integration came only afterwards, in a typical “bottom-up” way. The situation differs from what has occurred in North America, where the ratification of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a catalyst for the build-up of the USMexico economic ties.