Towards a better understanding of the political economy of regional integration in the GMS: Stakeholder coordination and consultation for subregional trade facilitation in Thailand

This paper examines the importance, involvement, influence, impact and interest of various group of Thai stakeholders in GMS regional integration, focusing in particular on trade facilitation initiatives, i.e., the GMS Economic Corridors and the Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA).Political economy, GMS, Trade Facilitation,Thailand

Specific trade facilitation measures to promote export of traditional knowledge based goods: A case study of Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom

Due to multilateral trade liberalization and a large number of bilateral and plurilateral preferential trade agreements, border barriers to trade, especially tariffs, have decreased tremendously. As a result, trade facilitation plays an increasingly important role in removing behind-the-border trade barriers which have become a major trade obstacle. Realizing this, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) program created two important initiatives for the improvement of transportation and trade facilitation. Complementing the ADB's GMS program, Thailand has implemented several national infrastructure and trade facilitation projects. However, these trade facilitation initiatives have yet to positively impact microenterprises, especially the producers of traditional knowledge-based goods in border communities. With a renewed emphasis on rural economic growth, it is important to recognize the challenges microenterprises face and the potential benefits that could be enjoyed if proper policies were put in place to promote their economic integration. This paper illustrates the results of a survey performed by Cheewatrakoolpong et al. (2011) analyzing the main constraints microenterprises face in expanding their businesses and in export promotion. The findings suggest that better access to microfinance products and the procedure for accessing microfinance are instrumental in enabling small businesses to take advantage of trade facilitation initiatives in place. In addition, better coordination between offices of provincial development, the provincial chambers of commerce and other academies such as vocational schools or universities to provide necessary skills and knowledge to the poor and microenterprises. The community groups also have the potential to be very influential in providing knowledge sharing, skills training and access to microfinance and should be explored

Thailand's economic integration with neighboring countries and possible connectivity with South Asia

Thailand's increasing importance as a regional co-production base and as an intra-regional trade and border trade hub is due mainly to recent changes in its economic structure, namely, the lack of operational workers, rises in wages, and increases in outward foreign direct investment (FDI), together with a change of regional policies in Southeast Asia. As a result, improvements in physical connectivity, trade facilitation, energy cooperation, and financing infrastructure play an important role within an ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) framework. Extending connectivity to South Asia could also complement the current promotion of regional trade and regional production networks. This paper reviews the current stages of Thailand's intra-regional trade, physical connectivity, trade facilitation, energy cooperation, and infrastructure funding as there are projects planned in these areas that could impact Thailand and its links to Southeast Asia and beyond to South Asia. However, Thailand's political instability impedes the progress and implementation of such projects. The paper also examines the current financing mechanism of Thailand's infrastructure projects that relies heavily on public spending. The authors propose strategies to promote Thailand's physical infrastructure, trade facilitation, and energy cooperation with the mainland countries of Southeast Asia and South Asia

Towards a better understanding of the political economy of regional integration in the GMS : stakeholder coordination and consultation for subregional trade facilitation in Thailand

By Kornkarun Cheewatrakoolpong Thailand has been actively involved in the GMS programme since its creation. While intraregional trade has increased substantially, there are concerns about how the programme fits with the ASEAN, ASEAN-China and other triangular initiatives, as well as the slow implementation of some of the main initiatives. This paper therefore examines the importance, involvement, influence, impact and interest of various group of Thai stakeholders in GMS regional integration, focusing in particular on trade facilitation initiatives, i.e., the GMS Economic Corridors and the Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA). Coordination problems exist among the various stakeholders. The main problems come from ineffective communication between the central and provincial government agencies as well as a lack of two-way communication channels between government and border communities. Other problems impeding the implementation of Economic Corridors and CBTA are inconsistency in government policies, political instability, and resistance among people in the affected areas and civil society organizations

Does exporting increase productivity of Thai firms via linkage spillovers?

Several studies using firm-level data could not find significant evidence to support that exporting activities promote productivity growth. However, few studies have considered whether exporting companies can create spillovers to domestic firms. In fact, exporting companies create positive productivity spillovers to their domestic peers (horizontal spillovers), suppliers (backward linkage spillovers) and buyers (forward linkage spillovers). This paper investigates the existence of productivity spillovers via backward, forward and horizontal linkages from exporting firms to other firms, based on Thai firm-level data. In contrast to existing literature on firms’ productivity, which uses a firm-level dataset to conclude that exporting activities make no contribution to productivity growth of firms, the authors find that backward linkages are the most important spillover channel for exporting firms. Also, the current study finds that export destinations are an important factor in supporting linkage spillovers; only exporting to developed countries creates backward linkage spillovers. Moreover, exporting firms gain most spillovers from backward linkages. Finally, the authors show that productivity spillovers from domestic suppliers are more important than outsourcing

Trade facilitation and microfinance for poverty reduction in the Greater Mekong Subregion : a case study of Thailand

By Kornkarun Cheewatrakoolpong, Sothitorn Mallikamas and Kawin Phupoxsakul This paper investigates whether trade facilitation measures benefit the poor and explores the role of microfinance in supporting the utilization of the trade facilitation initiatives. The focus of the study is on the Economic Corridors and Cross Border Transportation Agreement (CBTA), an Asian Development Bank programme to facilitate trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion. The paper shows that trade facilitation measures have brought about major improvements in transportation between Thailand and its neighbouring countries, such as the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Viet Nam and southern China. This has helped considerably in promoting tourism, export activities, labour movement and investment activities. However, the poor and microenterprises still face many obstacles in taking advantage of such opportunities due to their inability to access financing as well as a lack of relevant skills and knowledge

Purinergic Receptor Functionality Is Necessary for Infection of Human Hepatocytes by Hepatitis Delta Virus and Hepatitis B Virus

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) are major sources of acute and chronic hepatitis. HDV requires the envelope proteins of HBV for the processes of assembly and infection of new cells. Both viruses are able to infect hepatocytes though previous studies have failed to determine the mechanism of entry into such cells. This study began with evidence that suramin, a symmetrical hexasulfated napthylurea, could block HDV entry into primary human hepatocytes (PHH) and was then extrapolated to incorporate findings of others that suramin is one of many compounds that can block activation of purinergic receptors. Thus other inhibitors, pyridoxal-phosphate-6-azophenyl-2′,4′-disulfonate (PPADS) and brilliant blue G (BBG), both structurally unrelated to suramin, were tested and found to inhibit HDV and HBV infections of PHH. BBG, unlike suramin and PPADS, is known to be more specific for just one purinergic receptor, P2X7. These studies provide the first evidence that purinergic receptor functionality is necessary for virus entry. Furthermore, since P2X7 activation is known to be a major component of inflammatory responses, it is proposed that HDV and HBV attachment to susceptible cells, might also contribute to inflammation in the liver, that is, hepatitis

Corneal Epithelium Expresses a Variant of P2X7 Receptor in Health and Disease

Improper wound repair of the corneal epithelium can alter refraction of light resulting in impaired vision. We have shown that ATP is released after injury, activates purinergic receptor signaling pathways and plays a major role in wound closure. In many cells or tissues, ATP activates P2X7 receptors leading to cation fluxes and cytotoxicity. The corneal epithelium is an excellent model to study the expression of both the full-length P2X7 form (defined as the canonical receptor) and its truncated forms. When Ca2+ mobilization is induced by BzATP, a P2X7 agonist, it is attenuated in the presence of extracellular Mg2+ or Zn2+, negligible in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, and inhibited by the competitive P2X7 receptor inhibitor, A438079. BzATP enhanced phosphorylation of ERK. Together these responses indicate the presence of a canonical or full-length P2X7 receptor. In addition BzATP enhanced epithelial cell migration, and transfection with siRNA to the P2X7 receptor reduced cell migration. Furthermore, sustained activation did not induce dye uptake indicating the presence of truncated or variant forms that lack the ability to form large pores. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Northern blot analysis revealed a P2X7 splice variant. Western blots identified a full-length and truncated form, and the expression pattern changed as cultures progressed from monolayer to stratified. Cross-linking gels demonstrated the presence of homo- and heterotrimers. We examined epithelium from age matched diabetic and non-diabetic corneas patients and detected a 4-fold increase in P2X7 mRNA from diabetic corneal epithelium compared to non-diabetic controls and an increased trend in expression of P2X7variant mRNA. Taken together, these data indicate that corneal epithelial cells express full-length and truncated forms of P2X7, which ultimately allows P2X7 to function as a multifaceted receptor that can mediate cell proliferation and migration or cell death

P2X7 in Cancer: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutics

P2X7 is a transmembrane receptor expressed in multiple cell types including neurons, dendritic cells, macrophages, monocytes, B and T cells where it can drive a wide range of physiological responses from pain transduction to immune response. Upon activation by its main ligand, extracellular ATP, P2X7 can form a nonselective channel for cations to enter the cell. Prolonged activation of P2X7, via high levels of extracellular ATP over an extended time period can lead to the formation of a macropore, leading to depolarization of the plasma membrane and ultimately to cell death. Thus, dependent on its activation state, P2X7 can either drive cell survival and proliferation, or induce cell death. In cancer, P2X7 has been shown to have a broad range of functions, including playing key roles in the development and spread of tumor cells. It is therefore unsurprising that P2X7 has been reported to be upregulated in several malignancies. Critically, ATP is present at high extracellular concentrations in the tumor microenvironment (TME) compared to levels observed in normal tissues. These high levels of ATP should present a survival challenge for cancer cells, potentially leading to constitutive receptor activation, prolonged macropore formation and ultimately to cell death. Therefore, to deliver the proven advantages for P2X7 in driving tumor survival and metastatic potential, the P2X7 macropore must be tightly controlled while retaining other functions. Studies have shown that commonly expressed P2X7 splice variants, distinct SNPs and post-translational receptor modifications can impair the capacity of P2X7 to open the macropore. These receptor modifications and potentially others may ultimately protect cancer cells from the negative consequences associated with constitutive activation of P2X7. Significantly, the effects of both P2X7 agonists and antagonists in preclinical tumor models of cancer demonstrate the potential for agents modifying P2X7 function, to provide innovative cancer therapies. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding of the structure and functions of P2X7 and how these impact P2X7 roles in cancer progression. We also review potential therapeutic approaches directed against P2X7