The Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) of the European Commission intends to create an open, secure, integrated financial market across EU member countries. Although recent research has shown a positive impact of the FSAP directives on cross-border lending and industrial growth, the effect on...

This paper sets to analyze the dynamic feedback between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic growth—larger FDI promotes higher GDP, while higher GDP can be achieved with higher levels of FDI. We use panels and a sample of 19 Latin American countries to estimate a dynamic FDI and a...

The European Monetary Union is characterized by a crisis of governance, this has become more evident with the crisis of the euro which has shown the weaknesses of the European institutions and stressed the heterogeneity of member countries. The global financial crisis struck the euro area very...

This paper investigates the role of multilateral development banks in promoting economic integration in different regional blocs. The experience of financing regional public goods by several multilateral development banks is studied (Inter-American Development Bank, Central American Bank for...

The Eurocrisis challenges our definition of a common future in Europe. As first step, this article describes a vision of a future Europe without the Euro as state of political and economic marginalisation. I am contrasting this vision by demanding European values and civic duties that make the...

The introduction of the euro was one of the most important events in the process of European integration, especially in the financial sector. However, next to its many advantages, the joint currency and single monetary policy increased the probability of property bubbles in the EU low income...

Efforts to promote regional integration in North Africa to date have often been constrained by political differences as well as diversity in economic performance, pace of economic reforms and openness, and disparities in legal and regulatory frameworks. Overlapping preferential trade agreements...

The Eurozone debt crisis is an ongoing financial crisis that has made it difficult or impossible for some countries in the euro area to rollover their government debt without the help of third parties. The reasons for the Eurozone debt crisis can be summarized in three groups: (i) Errors on the...

Purpose – A spectre is hunting embryonic African monetary zones: the EMU crisis. This paper assesses real, monetary and fiscal policy convergence within the proposed WAM and EAM zones. The introduction of common currencies in West and East Africa is facing stiff challenges in the timing of...

This study investigates the return spillovers and volatility spillovers from developed markets (e.g., Europe, Japan and the US) into the financial markets of selected emerging countries in Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Based on constant and trend spillover models, we...