Pre-eminent among the requisites for economic integration is monetary integration. It is the premise of the chapters in this book that if the Arab world is to achieve a closer degree of cooperation in economic and political spheres, the issue of monetary integration must be given much more attention. To this end the contributors to this book, who include well-known academics and economic experts from the Arab countries, Europe, the USA and Latin America, have looked at the experience of other areas of the world which have introduced monetary unity. They consider the experiences of Western Europe, Latin America and Western Africa, evaluating them with the objective of focusing on the various major issues which have to be coped with when planning for closer monetary cooperation. While the analysis concerning the scope for future Arab monetary integration revealed varying positions as to the factors which should be stressed and the pre-requisites which should be fulfilled, there emerged general agreement on certain major issues including the following: at the present time the Arab countries should strive to achieve partial rather than full monetary integration and to create the requisite conditions for such a move; economic and monetary integration should be viewed as mutually reinforcing rather than as successive processes; and the political will to achieve integration is a major pre-requisite for any move in that direction. First published in 1981.

This volume examines the economic and political incentives surrounding Arab regional integration. The contributors focus on three issues: the failure of past attempts at integration, the impact on countries involved in any future integration and the possible lessons from other regional experiences, particularly the European Union. A common theme is the importance of extending the reach of cooperation efforts beyond trade in goods.

Pre-eminent among the requisites for economic integration is monetary integration. It is the premise of the chapters in this book that if the Arab world is to achieve a closer degree of cooperation in economic and political spheres, the issue of monetary integration must be given much more attention. To this end the contributors to this book, who include well-known academics and economic experts from the Arab countries, Europe, the USA and Latin America, have looked at the experience of other areas of the world which have introduced monetary unity. They consider the experiences of Western Europe, Latin America and Western Africa, evaluating them with the objective of focusing on the various major issues which have to be coped with when planning for closer monetary cooperation. While the analysis concerning the scope for future Arab monetary integration revealed varying positions as to the factors which should be stressed and the pre-requisites which should be fulfilled, there emerged general agreement on certain major issues including the following: at the present time the Arab countries should strive to achieve partial rather than full monetary integration and to create the requisite conditions for such a move; economic and monetary integration should be viewed as mutually reinforcing rather than as successive processes; and the political will to achieve integration is a major pre-requisite for any move in that direction. First published in 1981.

Individual countries of the Maghreb have achieved substantial progress on trade, but, as a region they remain the least integrated in the world. The share of intraregional trade is less than 5 percent of their total trade, substantially lower than in all other regional trading blocs around the world. Geopolitical considerations and restrictive economic policies have stifled regional integration. Economic policies have been guided by country-level considerations, with little attention to the region, and are not coordinated. Restrictions on trade and capital flows remain substantial and constrain regional integration for the private sector.

The paper analyzes the scope and implications of greater economic integration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). After reviewing whether MENA satisfies the defining characteristics of a region, it documents the low level of regional economic interaction. It argues that gains from greater regional interactions will depend primarily on implementing domestic reform and external policies that, in any case, are needed for the region to benefit from the broader process of globalization of the world economy. It also discusses measures aimed directly at facilitating regional interaction.

The Eastern Caribbean Economic and Currency Union (OECS/ECCU) is one of four currency unions in the world. As in other parts of the world in the aftermath of the global economic and financial crisis, the region is at a crossroads, facing the major challenges of creating jobs, making growth more inclusive, reforming the banking system, and managing volatility, while grappling with high public debt and persistent low economic growth. Policymakers have the critical task of implementing strong reforms to strengthen the monetary union while also laying the foundation for accelerating growth. This Handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the key issues in the OECS/ECCU, including its organization and economic and financial sector linkages, and provides policy recommendations to foster economic growth.

The first casebook of its kind, Judicial Decisions on the Law of International Organizations contains relevant excerpts of leading court opinions and decisions on the law of international organizations (international institutional law) and critical commentaries written by leading experts in the field.

The focus of international financial reform in recent years has largely been at the global level, in terms of improving the international financial architecture, and at the national level in terms of getting domestic economic and structural policies right. But there is also a growing appetite for addressing some issues at a regional level. This debate has focused on improving regional policy dialogue and surveillance processes, as well as developing regional mechanisms to provide financial support to prevent and resolve financial crises. In East Asia, for example, governments have sought deeper regional policy dialogue by the creation of ASEAN+3 forum and enhanced financial cooperation by setting up the Chiang Mai Initiative. These developments raise many questions: What is 'best-practice' regional policy dialogue? How is a regional financial architecture complementary to the global architecture? What sorts of institutions work well at a regional level? Do regions need a regional monetary fund? What is going on in East Asia and how is it different to other regions? This volume brings together a range of policy, practical and conceptual papers to explore these and other issues.

The Arab upheaval and the world's biggest financial crisis after the Great Depression were almost simultaneous in their occurrence. The Mediterranean economies now face a dual challenge of a political and financial restructuring in the light of a shaky economic pedestal on which they stand. In light of this socio-political and economic shift in both inland and in world markets, this book offers a thorough analysis on problems, prospects and the way ahead for the financial integration of the South-Mediterranean region. Several perspectives on financial integration and policy recommendations are put forward from a leading group of researchers specializing on the Mediterranean region.

This book examines the proposed currency union of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which is due to come into effect in 2010.