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.

Demonstrates how new techniques of economic analysis can be used to study the process of regional integration.

In theory, regionalism and globalization are intended to be viewed as two separate concepts. However, as long as the approaches complement each other, considering these paradigms in tandem can have significantly positive effects on the overall status of the world economy. Regional Economy Integration and the Global Financial System addresses recent trends in regional integration projects and the strides that such projects are making on the road toward globalization. Focusing on a range of economic projects, emerging supranational units, and possible implications for future trends, this book is an essential reference source for professionals, scholars, and institutions interested in the dynamic effects of regionalism and globalization.

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.

This text examines regionalism from the perspective of developing countries. It presents a comprehensive account of existing theory and empirical results and incorporates the findings of formal analyses ofthe politics and dynamics of regionalism.

Exploring regionalism from a political economic perspective, this text investigates why regional arrangements are formed, the conditions under which these arrangements solidify, and why they take on different institutional forms.

Regional trade agreements have expanded exponentially over the past decade, and have become a significant, if controversial, factor in the expanse of economic globalization. Social Regionalism in the Global Economy attempts to take a fresh, interdisciplinary approach to addressing labour regulation by drawing upon insights from industrial relations, comparative capitalism, and new governance schools of thought. It stands for the proposition that an interdisciplinary study of regional regulation holds the potential to offer a fuller account of social regionalism. Its focus is to consider how institutions and labour market actors reconstruct and renegotiate regulatory space in a changing economic environment characterized by regional impulses. It argues that there is a dynamic interplay between institutions and actors of social regulation. This interplay occurs at many levels. The book therefore maps both how actors shape institutions as well as how institutions shape social actors’ ability to affect regulatory processes. The editors bring together leading international specialists willing to move beyond textual analyses of regional agreements to offer alternative accounts of regional integration. The work emphasizes that institutional context and social actors at multiple governance levels are integral to the progressive construction and regulation of regional space. It further contributes to the literature by combining insights from overlooked regional entities in transition and developing countries with original analyses from the European Union and the NAFTA. These aims will be achieved by combining original research that is empirically grounded with theoretically informed analysis.

Increasing terrorist activity has led the Maghreb countries—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Libya—to focus on antiterrorism efforts, unintentionally at the expense of full-fledged economic reform. These countries have tightened their border restrictions on the flow of people and goods, reducing commerce and depressing economic activity. In fact, Maghreb has one of the lowest rates of intra-regional trade in the world; other factors like rigid economic structures, slow productivity growth, and modest investment levels continue to stymie progress toward economic integration. Do these countries' diverse circumstances symbolize insurmountable obstacles in achieving economic cooperation and an improved standard of living for citizens? How can the United States and European Union facilitate economic progress? Maghreb Regional and Global Integration: A Dream to Be Fulfilled utilizes two distinct econometric tools to assess four key sectors—energy, banking and insurance, transport, and agribusiness—and outlines achievable sector-specific recommendations. This book not only assesses the gains from economic integration among the Maghreb countries, but also focuses on the tangible benefits from enhanced economic ties between the region and the world economy. With this critical analysis, the authors provide an in-depth look at practical measures such as bilateral trade and investment agreements, regional arrangements, and financial assistance that can significantly boost short-term success and ensure long-term gains through integration in an unstable region.

This book explores a central issue of the world economy today: the role of regional integration for economic development and global governance. The importance of this issue comes from the fact that the globalisation process that we have been experiencing in recent decades is also a process of open regionalism. [¿] To what extent does this process contribute to development? The reader will find many interesting answers to this question in the book, [which] is an outstanding contribution to this debate. I welcome its publication and look forward to its influence on global debates on the relations between regional integration, development and global governance.' - From the foreword by José Antonio Ocampo, Columbia University, US The contributors expertly provide a comparative perspective on regional integration in different regions of the world while at the same time analysing the various facets of integration, relating to trade, FDI, finance and monetary policies. They provide a comprehensive treatment of the subject and offer new perspectives on the potential developmental effects of regional integration and the implications of regional integration for global economic governance. Whilst highlighting and illustrating the potential benefits deriving from regional economic integration, the book also stresses the problems and challenges regional integration processes are usually confronted with.

After two centuries of nation-building, the world has entered an era of region-building in search of political stability, cultural cohesion, and socio-economic development. Nations involved in the regional structures and integration schemes that are emerging in most regions of the world are deepening their ambitions, with Europe’s integration experience often used as an experimental template or theoretical model. Volume I provides a political-analytical framework for recognizing the central role of the European Union not only as a conceptual model but also a normative engine in the global proliferation of regional integration. It also gives a comprehensive treatment of the focus, motives, and objectives of non-European integration efforts. Volume II offers a unique collection of documents that give the best available overview of the legal and political evolution of region-building based on official documents and stated objectives of the relevant regional groupings across all continents. Together, these volumes are important contributions for understanding the evolution of global affairs in an age when power shifts provide new challenges and opportunities for transatlantic partners and the world community.