This edited volume brings together cutting-edge theoretical and empirical contributions at the intersection of international economics, development, and regional analysis.

The contributions are organized in three parts. Part 1, New Perspectives in International Trade, examines how firms and governments interact in international markets, with particular attention to trade policy, market structure, and the conditions under which trade liberalization can be sustained. Part 2, Global Interactions Through Factor Mobility and Services, covers the movement of people and capital across borders—including the consequences of international migration for income inequality, the governance challenges raised by forced return migration, and the growing economic significance of tourism and foreign direct investment. Part 3, Global Interactions and Economic Development, takes a broader view of how global forces shape development outcomes, addressing themes such as innovation-driven growth, institutional quality and corruption, climate risk perception, and the spatial effects of infrastructure change on regional populations.

The contributors are economists, predominantly from Italy and Japan, whose collaboration grew out of the long-standing academic partnership between the University of Bari Aldo Moro and Chukyo University. Several of the chapters were presented at the annual conference “Economics of Global Interactions: New Perspectives on Trade, Factor Mobility and Development,” held in Bari, Italy, though the volume also includes work developed independently within this research community. Together, the contributions reflect more than a decade of dialogue on the economic challenges shared—and sometimes distinctively faced—by Italy, Japan, and the broader global economy. The book will be of interest to academics and graduate students in international and regional economics, as well as to readers following debates on trade fragmentation, rising protectionism, migration governance, climate risk, and uneven regional development.

Nicola Daniele Coniglio, University of Bari Aldo Moro

Kenji Kondoh, Chukyo University