Institutional development in new and potential member countries determines the success of both the catching-up of developing European countries and the deepening of the European integration process. This paper argues that the timing of future enlargement should depend on institutional...

Preferential trade agreements are mushrooming in Asia. However, they have not been facilitating intra-regional trade as much as the supporters of these exclusive arrangements have suggested. The complexities of rules of origin - part and parcel of all preferential agreements - have resulted in...

This paper argues that the large reduction in corporate tax rates and only gradual widening of tax bases in many countries over the last decades are consistent with tougher international competition for foreign direct investment (FDI). To make this point we develop a model in which governments...

This paper analyses the causes of the precipitous fall in trade among the twelve CIS countries since 1990; points out the implications for industrial restructuring; and discusses the policy options for regional reintegration. The main finding is that the decline in intra-C!S trade was initiated by...

The paper discusses similarities and differences between past EU binding internal liberalization „across the board“ in the industrial sector and present so-called voluntary sectoral liberalization of member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). While both approaches are...

This paper analyses the prospects and problems of a Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) between the European Union and the United States. Possible economic reasons for the proposal of TAFFA such as the intensity of bilateral trade and a strong interdependence in investment flows and the...

The paper discusses the relevance of past concerns about trade and foreign direct investment diversion to the detriment of Asian suppliers and hosts as a result of EU integration deepening and widening in the nineties. Based on recent empirical evidence, these concerns are rejected. As concerns...

Regional integration is often considered a means to improve member countries’ attractiveness to foreign direct investment (FDI). But regional integration agreements (RIAs) as well as FDI are too diverse to allow for generalized verdicts. Our case studies on Mercosur in Latin America, ASEAN and...

The analysis of Baltic trade statistics and gravity estimates reveal that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have rapidly integrated into the international division of labour with a distinct EU focus. The Baltic States have taken a road towards the EU common market which pays particular attention to...

This paper examines the transition process within Eastern Europe and the integration process with the EU and shows that the requirements for the transition towards a market economy overlap with the requirements for EU accession. Furthermore, the economic situation of the candidate countries is...