This scholarly and interdisciplinary volume sheds much needed light on the realtionship between national policies, regional integration patterns and the wider global setting. It covers regional patterns in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Individual chapters focus on topics ranging from industrial or financial policies to social welfare regimes, as well as broader assessments and comparisons of regional arrangements in a global context. The chapters point to the diversity of regional patterns in the world economy and the continuing importance of national regulatory structures, yet they also point to the common pressures of globalisation felt by all, especially in the domain of capital markets. With broad coverage and clear but sophisticated analysis this new book will be vital reading to all those seeking to clarify their understanding of the contemporary regional/global paradox.

This timely book provides in-depth analytical comparison of the nineteenth century evolution of the American single market with corresponding political, economic, and social developments in post-WWII European efforts to create a single European market. Building the regulatory framework needed for successful adoption of an integrated single market across diverse political units represents one of the most important issues in comparative political economy. What accounts for the political success or failure in creating integrated markets in their respective territories? When social discontent threatens market integration with populist backlash, what must be done to create political support and greater legitimacy? Single Markets focuses on the creation of integrated economies, in which the United States and European Union experienced sharply contested ideas about the operation of their respective markets, conflict over the allocation of institutional authority, and pressure from competing political, economic, and social forces over the role and consequences of increased competition. Drawing upon four case studies, the book highlights the contestation surrounding the US and EUs efforts to create common currencies, expand their borders and territories, and deal with the pressures of populist parties, regional interests and varied fiscal and economic challenges. Theoretically, the book draws on work in European integration and American Political Development (APD) to illustrate that the consolidation of markets in the US and EU took place in conjunction with the expansion of state regulatory power and pressure for democratic reform. Single Markets situates the consolidation of single markets in the US and EU in a broader comparative context that draws on research in economics, public administration, political science, law, and history.

Analyzing the experience of Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 'Lessons from NAFTA' aims to provide guidance to Latin American and Caribbean countries considering free trade agreements with the United States. The authors conclude that the treaty raised external trade and foreign investment inflows and had a modest effect on Mexico's average income per person. It is likely that the treaty also helped achieve a modest reduction in poverty and an improvement in job quality. This book will be of interest to scholars and policymakers interested in international trade and development.

'International Handbook on the Economics of Integration edited by Miroslav Jovanovi? provides timely and rich academic contributions to considerations of the widest array of integration-related issues. European integration has been providing an inspiration to a number of academics and researchers. the Handbook is a recognition of the dynamic and strong solidarity of European integration. At the same time, the European Union often provided an example for integration schemes throughout the world which spread enormously since the mid-1990s. Leading experts from all continents contributed to this Handbook which will be a valuable input into academic and policy-making discussions and actions.' - José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

" Assessing the potential benefits and risks of a currency union Leaders of the fifteen-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have set a goal of achieving a monetary and currency union by late 2020. Although some progress has been made toward achieving this ambitious goal, major challenges remain if the region is to realize the necessary macroeconomic convergence and establish the required institutional framework in a relatively short period of time. The proposed union offers many potential benefits, especially for countries with historically high inflation rates and weak central banks. But, as implementation of the euro over the past two decades has shown, folding multiple currencies, representing disparate economies, into a common union comes with significant costs, along with operational challenges and transitional risks. All these potential negatives must be considered carefully by ECOWAS leaders seeking tomeet a self-imposed deadline. This book, by two leading experts on economics and Africa, makes a significant analytical contribution to the debates now under way about how ECOWAS could achieve and manage its currency union, andthe ramifications for the African continent. "

This book presents a theory of economic integration in developing regions, where the level of intraregional economic interdependence is low and the dependence on extra-regional economic relations is high. It argues that the success or failure of regional integration in the Global South is to a large degree dependent on the reaction of extra-regional actors in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. In doing so, it demonstrates that longstanding European integration theories cannot be successfully applied to other world regions, where economic conditions are fundamentally different. By providing detailed empirical analyses that are systematic in their use of a common theoretical and methodological framework the authors fill a significant lacuna in our understanding of these issues. This edited volume will appeal to students and scholars of comparative regionalism, area studies and global governance.

Costs and Benefits of Economic Integration in Asia brings together authoritative essays that identify and examine various initiatives to promote economic integration in Asia.

International economic integration has played a significant part in economic policy decisions for most countries and regions throughout the world over decades. This text looks at why the success of integration schemes has been so variable and what the prospects are for integration in the future.

First published in 1962, The Theory of Economic Integration provides an excellent exposition of a complex and far-reaching topic. Professor Balassa has been remarkably successful in covering so much ground with such care and balance, in a treatment which is neither in any way abstruse nor unnecessarily technical. His book will interest economists in Europe by reason of its subject and treatment, but it is also a valuable and reliable textbook for students tackling integration as part of a course of International Economics and for those studying Public Finance. He distinguishes between the various forms of integration (free trade area, customs union, common market, economics union, and total integration). In addition, he applies the theoretical principles to current projects such as the European Common Market and Free Trade Area, and to Latin American integration projects. In offering this theoretical study, the author builds on the conclusions of other writers, but goes beyond this in providing a unifying framework for previous contributions and in exploring questions that in the past received little attention – in particular, the relationship between economic integration and growth (especially the interrelationship between market size and growth, and the implications of various factors for economic growth in an integrated area).

This volume brings together experts from different world regions. It presents various experiences with building indicator systems for monitoring the implementation of regional economic integration policies such as preferential trade areas, common markets or economic and monetary unions. The volume discusses both the technical and governance aspects of such systems, and best practices. The regional experiences that are covered include: the European Union, Eurasia, ASEAN, the East African Community (EAC), COMESA, CARICOM, the African-Caribbean-Pacific Group, and the Americas. In addition, various chapters discuss cross-cutting methodological challenges related to trade-related indicators.