ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the research that has been conducted on why states join preferential trade agreements (PTAs), placing particular emphasis on whether existing explanations account for the recent proliferation of PTAs in the developing world. I argue that these economic institutions have centrally important political underpinnings that are frequently underappreciated. I conclude by briefly discussing China’s growing interest in signing trade agreements, and how its rise has affected PTA formation throughout the world, an issue that bears heavily on the nexus between regional and global economic relations.
