贸易协定深化对区域价值链分工优化的影响OACHSSCD

Against the backdrop of global economic volatility and the restructuring of the regional production division of labor,exploring the impact of trade agreement deepening on regional division patterns is of great practi-cal significance.This paper decomposes the optimization of the regional value chain(RVC)division into two di-mensions:compactness and complexity.Utilizing data from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank,this paper constructs indicators to measure the depth of trade agreements and the level of RVC division optimization a-mong East Asian economies.Based on panel data covering 35 industries across 13 East Asian economies from 2007 to 2021,this paper conducts an empirical test on the relation between trade agreement deepening and RVC division optimization.The results show that trade agreement deepening significantly improves both compactness and com-plexity of the RVC division.To alleviate endogeneity biases,the instrumental variable method is adopted.Further-more,robustness checks are conducted,including replacing the explained and core explanatory variables and ad-justing the sample interval. Mechanism analysis indicates that the optimization effect of trade agreement deepening on RVC division mainly operates through four channels.First,it reduces trade costs,strengthens input-output linkages,and facilitates the nested layout of diverse production segments across economies.Second,it stimulates technological innovation,en-hances specialized division and collaboration among economic entities,and promotes the upgrading of RVC struc-tures.Third,it improves institutional quality and strengthens contract enforcement and factor mobility efficiency,thereby consolidating the sustainability of division cooperation and realizing a more refined distribution of production links within the region.Fourth,it stimulates cross-border investment and optimizes firms' internal organizational ar-rangements and multi-stage task allocation,thereby increasing the compactness of regional division and driving the evolution of RVC division toward more complex patterns. Heterogeneity tests yield differentiated findings.In terms of cross-economy disparities in regional division trends,trade agreement deepening generates a more pronounced optimization effect on economies with slow progress in regional division integration.In terms of industrial heterogeneity regarding factor intensity and competitiveness,trade agreement deepening plays a stronger role in optimizing division patterns for technology-intensive industries and less competitive industries with insufficient regional division foundations,presenting a notable embedded gain effect that simultaneously enhances their division compactness and complexity.In terms of provision heterogeneity,the depth of WTO-X provisions contributes more to RVC division optimization than that of WTO+provisions,and such inter-provision differences are consistently supported in technology-intensive and less competitive industries. The findings of this paper provide policy implications for strengthening regional economic cooperation and pro-moting the optimization of regional production division through the deepening of trade agreements.