The launch of the ASEAN Economic Community raises key issues: the deepening of regional trade and production sharing and the associated problem of exchange rate management. This volume questions the capacity of a shallow institution to deal with complex consequences on employment and inclusiveness, creativity and connectivity, and inequality and social cohesion. At a time when broader agreements are competing for regional leadership, contributors debate whether ASEAN can serve as a model of integration or else be diluted in wider Asian and Pacific arrangements. Approaches combine economics, history, geography, and political science to provide a clear understanding of ASEAN's potential and weaknesses in technical and non-technical but always readable terms.