Thailand and the EU started negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) in 2005, but negotiations were subsequently suspended in 2014 after the country’s military coup. The significance of these negotiations are important because of the mutual benefit of achieving higher levels of trade and investment between the world’s largest single market and the second largest ASEAN economy. The Specific Factors (SF) model of production and trade is applied to identify potential winner and loser industries and factors of production in Thailand. The model identifies short-run loses for some labor inputs, return to capital, and output in agriculture and services. In the manufacturing and energy sectors, higher output will benefit some labor inputs and capital owners. Understanding the short-run impact of an FTA could allow policymakers in Thailand to reinforce the institutional infrastructure such as implementing trade adjustment assistance programs (TAA), to help re-train workers who may become unemployed due to free trade.

The increase in world carbon emissions is always in line with national economic growth programs, which create negative environmental externalities. To understand the effectiveness of related factors in mitigating CO₂ emissions, this study investigates the intricate relationship among macro-pillars such as economic growth, foreign investment, trade and finance, energy, and renewable energy with CO₂ emissions of the high gross domestic product economies in East Asia Pacific, such as China, Japan, Korea, Australia and Indonesia (EAP-5). Through the application of the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), this research reveals the long-term equilibrium and short-term dynamics between CO₂ emissions and selected factors from 1991 to 2020. The long-term cointegration vector test results show that economic growth and foreign investment contribute to carbon reduction. Meanwhile, the short-term Granger causality test shows that economic growth has a two-way causality towards carbon emissions, while energy consumption and renewable energy consumption have a one-way causality towards carbon emissions. In contrast, the variables trade, foreign direct investment, and domestic credit to the private sector do not have two-way causality towards CO₂ emissions. The findings reveal that economic growth and foreign investment play significant roles in carbon reduction, which are observed in long-term causality relationships, while energy consumption and renewable energy are notable factors. Thus, the study offers implications for mitigating environmental concerns on national economic growth agendas by scrutinizing and examining the efficacy of related factors.

Cross-border infrastructure projects offer significant economic and social benefits for the Asia-Pacific region. If the required investment of $8 trillion in pan-Asian connectivity was made in the region’s infrastructure during 2010–2020, the total net income gains for developing Asia could reach about $12.98 trillion (in 2008 US dollars) during 2010–2020 and beyond, of which more than $4.43 trillion would be gained during 2010–2020 and nearly $8.55 trillion after 2020. Indeed, infrastructure connectivity helps improve regional productivity and competitiveness by facilitating the movement of goods, services and human resources, producing economies of scale, promoting trade and foreign direct investments, creating new business opportunities, stimulating inclusive industrialization and narrowing development gaps between communities, countries or sub-regions. Unfortunately, due to limited financing, progress in the development of cross-border infrastructure in the region is low.

This paper examines the key challenges faced in financing cross-border projects and discusses the roles that different stakeholders—national governments, state-owned enterprises, private sector, regional entities, development financing institutions (DFIs), affected people and civil society organizations—can play in facilitating the development of cross-border infrastructure in the region. In particular, this paper highlights the major risks that deter private sector investments and FDIs and provides recommendations to address these risks.

The primary objective of this paper is to explore the impact of household policies in both Saudi Arabia and Nigeria towards achieving efficient and sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. Fundamentally, the objective of the study was sparked by the basic factors of comparison the importance of culture in international relations, challenges related to terrorism which impede adequate implementations of economic policies, trade facilitation and logistics to enhance economic growth and cross-border movement of goods and services. Systematic literature review (SLR) and content analysis (CA) were used as methodological approaches of the paper. The articles explored for review were accessed using visualization of similarities (VOS) by exploring different database such as: journals, core collection of Web of Science (WOS), peer review sources and library sources. The findings demonstrated that Saudi Arabia and Nigeria have different policies regarding households in achieving sustainable economic growth. On one hand, in Saudi Arabia, the focus is on the economic burden associated with chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and the out-of-pocket spending among individuals diagnosed with these diseases. In addition, the study found that households with older and more educated members, an employed head of household, higher socioeconomic status, health insurance coverage, and urban residency had significantly higher out-of-pocket expenditure in achieving sustainable economic development. On the other hand, Nigeria’s policy is centered around trade liberalization and its impact on household welfare as an integral part of sustainable economic development. The policies implemented in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria have implications for the well-being of their citizens. In Saudi Arabia, the household policies have significantly impacted the quality of life (QoL) of households, particularly those with low income, large size, male-led, urban, and with elderly heads. In Nigeria, trade liberalization policies have mixed welfare implications for households in the aspects of real income, they also induce unemployment in key sectors, such as agriculture and industry. To mitigate negative effects, it is suggested that Saudi Arabia should effectively address chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the households while Nigeria should efficiently pursue trade liberalization on a sectorial basis, focusing on sectors that do not severely undermine household welfare.

This paper analyses the impact of an integrated business management system on business operations in trade in Republic of Croatia. The integration of management systems provides various benefits to a company, so the aim of this paper is to analyse the impacts of integrated management systems on the business operations of trade companies in the Republic of Croatia. The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyse, but also to adequately theoretically argue the impact of transformational leadership, quality culture, and the degree of integration on the development of integrated management systems. Empirical research investigated integrated management systems in companies in the trade sector in the Republic of Croatia. Based on the set conceptual model and research results, we conclude that companies with a highly developed quality culture have proven management system integration. Our research didn’t confirm the significance of transformational leadership in interpreting changes in the degree of management system integration, but it highlights the positive correlation between the application of quality culture and integration; confirms the substantial impact of integrated management systems on both internal and external benefits, emphasizing its strategic imperative for sustained business success.

This article investigates how green logistics influences Vietnam’s trade balance with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. By using the gravity model, the article applies fixed effects (FEM) and random effects (REM) to analyze panel data on trade balance, GDP, population, trade openness, and the green logistics index of Vietnam with ASEAN countries from 2012 to 2018. The research findings indicate that green logistics has not significantly affected Vietnam’s export trade balance with ASEAN countries. The article suggests solutions for the Vietnamese government and export businesses to enhance Vietnam’s trade balance with ASEAN countries by integrating green logistics activities. By following these recommendations, Vietnam can ensure that international trade aligns with environmental conservation, laying the groundwork for sustainable and inclusive economic development in Vietnam.