ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. Developing countries have joined the rapidly growing global system of regional trade agreements (RTAs) en masse over the past few years. In contrast, formed against the backdrop of multilateral trade liberalization, today's RTAs are inherently outward-oriented. While regional integration around the developing world promises to be much more dynamic today than during the era of import substitution industrialization, its potential and actual contribution to the members' economic development and global trade remains unclear. At the national level, monitoring keeps various bureaucratic players up-to-date on the legal and administrative actions that are to be carried out in order for the country and its partners to live up to their regional commitments. At the regional level, monitoring helps synchronize the member countries' implementation agendas, and, crucially, provides an institutionalized channel of information-sharing, regular communications, and problem-solving between the members.
