Talamahu market in the central business district of Nuku’alofa, Tonga.

Overview of the second learning pathway

We continue our examination of regional economic imperatives in this learning pathway.

However, our focus now is on the regional economic imperatives of the Pacific region.

You may find similar imperatives this week as the ones you located last week in your examination of Asian economic imperatives.

However, the Pacific region faces some unique economic imperatives due to their location, size and the somewhat limited resources of many states in the region.

Objectives

On successful completion of this section, you will be able to:

• evaluate the main historical, theoretical and policy developments that have led to closer economic integration and cooperation in the Pacific,
• explain the rapid growth of regional trading partners in the Pacific,
• evaluate contemporary economic relations among regional trading partners in the Pacific region,
• identify and describe the major financial tensions and crises that have impacted the region.