EU member states do not get much from participating in a regional trade agreement and economic integration regime: beside the questionable effects on growth perspectives (€-area grew since 1960 with a gradually smaller rate than the world economy), there is a clear evidence for a profound,...

Standard growth theory emphasizes the closure of gaps: as internationalization proceeds, socioeconomic, structural characteristics of different countries become similar. Despite the fact that the European Union (EU) represents a historical experiment of a region of gradually strengthening...