Abstract
In Pacific Asia, globalisation has resulted in rapidly growing international flows of goods, portfolio capital, and direct investment. At the same time, several countries have shifted from a command to a market economy. Against this background, we analyse perhaps the most popular model used to depict the process of economic integration and development in Pacific Asia, commonly known as the “flying geese” pattern of shifting comparative advantage. Our point of departure is that economic and other social processes are best understood in relation to one another. We confine ourselves to intra-regional patterns of trade and investment but locate them within the broader framework of global trends.