Egypt is lagging behind other countries in the Mediterranean region in reforming its economy. This book explains why. The authors contend that the Egyptian political system, based to a large extent on discrete patronage and dominated by powerful interest groups was inherently resistant to...

International trade has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks in part to the progressive reduction of tariffs and quotas through successive rounds of multilateral trade liberalisation. However, this progress brings to light one of the remaining weak links of international trade, which prevents...

The Southeast Asian region has experienced remarkable economic dynamism in the past few decades. An interesting feature of recent developments in the region, is that in spite of its diversity, several initiatives have been launched towards integration. The peer review mechanism has been a tried...

For the first time in its history, Latin America can benefit from not one but three major engines of world growth. Until the 1980s, the United States was the region's major trade partner. In the 1990s, a second growth engine emerged with the European investment boom in Latin America. Now, at the...