Regional Trade and Institutional Design: Long after Hegemony?

A major development within the international trading system during the post-World War II era is the creation and expansion of agreements to manage international trade. Although the GATT/WTO framework consumes the lion's share of attention in this realm, scholars increasingly acknowledge the rise of economic regionalism. Thus, while great strides have been taken to provide a universal forum for the establishment of standards, rules and regulations for the trading system, there has also been a concomitant rise in regionally-based preferential trading agreements (PTAs). These regional agreements bring together groups of states that are geographically linked or share some other common experiences that facilitate cooperation and mutual gains.