Why Infrastructure Beats Trade Deals in Asia’s Job Market

The research, covering 173 economies between 2006 and 2023, indicates that physical integration—roads, ports, and power grids—remains the clearest driver of employment. For every adjustment in the model, the impact of intraregional infrastructure on job creation remained statistically significant, far outpacing the effects of simple tariff reduction. Better logistics and digital access allow businesses to participate in global value chains, yet this growth remains dangerously uneven. Southeast and East Asia continue to outperform the rest of the region, while South Asia lags behind in nearly every metric of integration.

This "integration divide" creates a risk where poorer nations are left behind as investment clusters around already established economic hubs. To bridge this gap, policymakers must pair trade reforms with domestic investments in workforce skills and regulatory quality. Institutional cooperation at the subregional level proves to be the only dimension capable of both creating jobs and reducing income inequality. Development partners are urged to pivot their financing toward weaker economies and border areas rather than concentrating capital in competitive centers. Ultimately, the success of regional integration in the Pacific will not be measured by trade volume, but by its ability to spread economic opportunity into underserved regions and remote populations.