Protection of the Single Market, monetary integration, institutional and pol - icy reform, as well as enlargement are hot topics in the European Union. This article considers only the economic dimension of the enlargement. Five coun - tries with economies in transition (the Czech Republic,...

This study identifies income convergence in Europe over 1960 to 2012. The Great Recession since 2008 reversed the GDP per capita convergence in the EU-15, but the extransition countries have mostly continued to catch up. We found this by analysing the Sigma convergence of GDP per capita in the...

Since the end of the Second World War, economic integration has been regarded as being one of the most important global economic policies. Its relevance has not diminished and most countries, especially those that are developing, consider it to be a long-term strategy. Integration is present in...

The objective of this paper is to examine the effects of political asymmetries on a FTA and a CU. I have shown that either a higher lobbying sensitivity to the foreign firm or a more susceptibility of politicians to lobbying are sufficient to lead to a higher tariff protection at the individual...

We evaluate the potential dynamic effects of MERCOSUR on the Argentinean economy. Two approaches, already used with other regional integration agreements, are applied for measuring medium and long-term effects. Special care has been taken in separating intra from extra zone effects. All...

The paper examines Greek external trade following accession to the EU, placing emphasis on the 1990s. Using original disaggregated data we find: (i) Mutually offsetting, stable trade creation/trade diversion in imports from EU and third countries respectively. (ii) No EU effect on exports. These...

This paper examines the qualitative impact and the degree of effectiveness of several labor market policies when domestic union’s wage response and economic integration are explicitly taken into account. The employment policies considered include payroll tax cuts, unemployment benefits cuts,...

This paper attempts to quantify the extent to which U.S. growth is an “engine” of the world economy. Results based on fixed-effects estimation using panel data suggest a significant positive impact of U.S. growth on growth in the rest of the world, especially developing countries, in recent...

We analyze industrial specialization and geographic concentration patterns within the NAFTA area during 1988-2000 and examine the determinant of spatial concentration. NAFTA countries have become increasingly dissimilar over time. A changing spatial structure of total NAFTA manufacturing is also...

In this paper the Balassa steps of economic integration are first reviewed, and then extended to cover currernt integration configurations. Pre-conditions for each stage of integration are detailed using a backward-looking economic conditionality approach, and then both economic and political...