Regional Economic Integration

What are the implications of hard economic times for regional economic cooperation? Existing research is sharply divided on the answer to this question. Some studies suggest that economic crises encourage governments to strengthen their regional institutions, but others indicate that they lead to decreasing investment in such initiatives. Both sides overlook the possibility that the passage of time conditions these relationships, however. We aim to bridge these opposing perspectives by distinguishing between short-term and long-term effects of economic hard times on institutionalized regional cooperation. We argue that in the short term economic crises impede regional institutionalization due to protectionist pressures, nationalistic public sentiments, and political instability. This effect is reversed in the longer term, as interest groups and the public adopt more favorable attitudes toward regional economic organizations (REOs) and governments employ these institutions to demonstrate their competence and to improve economic conditions. We evaluate this argument in relations to regional institutionalization, which refers to the functional scope and structure of REOs. Using a data set that contains information on this dimension for thirty REOs over four decades, we find strong support for the theoretical framework: regional institutionalization remains stagnant in the immediate aftermath of economic crises, but increases in subsequent years.

La comparación entre procesos de integración, como método de análisis utilizado para estudiar las similitudes, particularidades o diferencias, se utiliza con cierta frecuencia en el medio académico especializado que analiza el “nuevo regionalismo” en América Latina.
En primera instancia nos interesa conocer como antecedente, qué significa este proceso de la nueva integración Latinoamericana y por qué la Unión Europea no puede considerarse como un modelo de integración, sino básicamente como un referente de los procesos de integración, con sus propias especificidades.
Una revisión bibliográfica especializada nos ha permitido determinar diferentes propuestas de indicadores, que se utilizan para monitorear procesos de integración, sobre la base de criterios y parámetros fundamentados conceptualmente, cuya aplicación facilita el uso de la comparación para analizar diferentes aspectos de los entes de integración regional.
Sin embargo la dificultad de la comparación no radica en el establecimiento de indicadores que puedan medir elementos cuantitativos, como se ha anotado, sino en la determinación de aspectos cualitativos de los procesos de integración, en vista de que no todas las instituciones, experiencias sociales y de política pueden ser replicables en diferentes contextos, incluso si aparentemente ciertos procesos tuvieran características similares, por ello no sería correcto hablar de modelos de integración regional.
En este caso es necesario recalcar que los procesos están en permanente evolución, lo que los convierte en estructuras dinámicas sujetas a la in- fluencia de diferentes factores políticos, económicos, sociales, históricos, ambientales, que modelan su desarrollo permanente.
La visión de las diferentes propuestas para monitorear, que generan parámetros de comparación en los procesos de integración, permiten establecer la pertinencia de este método de análisis para detectar las especificidades de cada proceso.

The ghost of Berlin Conference (1884-1885) that partitioned Africa into specific spheres of influence has continued to haunt Africa many years after colonialism, reinforcing the fragmentation of African economies. The shadow of the Conference is still with us such that after over a century of pan-Africanism and five decades of regional integration in Africa, African economies remain decimated. This explains the reason why the announcement of the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (T-FTA) of the EAC-SADC-COMESA in eastern and southern Africa was received with both optimism and pessimism. The optimism concerning the prospects of the proposed T-FTA, though often exaggerated, is not totally unfounded as it could help African Economic Community (AEC) strengthen intra-RECs, and inter-RECs integration by reducing the incidence of multiple memberships and proliferation of regional economic groups and subgroups, among other things. With the use of qualitative method and some indices from the secondary sources, and by propounding a new theory of post-neo-functionalism, a combination or a synthesis of neo-nationalism and post-nationalism, this paper concludes that the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (T-FTA) would be confronted with some challenges capable of overcoming, impeding or confounding these prospects. The paper seeks to deconstruct and problematize neo-functionalism in African integration as well as rejects neo-functionalist, one-size-fits-all, state-centric or inter-governmental approach to integration in Africa, and rather recommends bottom-top, humanistic, people-centric or private-sector-driven approach to integration, or people-to-people integration. The study is essentially prognostic.

Con el fin de la bonanza de materias primas también parece terminar una etapa del regionalismo y la integración regional en América Latina y el Caribe, entre 2000 y 2015, que se ha interpretado a través de la divisoria entre la América Latina liberal-conservadora o “pacífica”, y la “atlántica”, progresista y neodesarrollista. Este articulo desafía esta visión, simplista y dicotómica, mostrando que no ha impedido que exista cooperación sectorial y concertación política en diversas agendas, y que en realidad, los nuevos regionalismos latinoamericanos de este periodo tienen elementos en común en cuanto a su diseño institucional, y su vulnerabilidad externa de cara al fin de ciclo de las materias primas y los riesgos que puede plantear la crisis o estancamiento de la globalización.

The end of the commodity bonanza also seems to finish a stage of regionalism and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2000 and 2015, which has been interpreted across the divide between the “Pacific” liberal-conservative Latin America and the “Atlantic”, progressive and neo-developmentalist one. This article defies this simplistic and dichotomous view, showing that it has not prevented sectoral cooperation and political coordination in various agendas, and that in reality, the new Latin American regionalisms of this period have elements in common in their institutional design, and its external vulnerability when dealing with the end of the cycle of commodities and the risks that could entail the crisis or the stagnation of globalization.

Although the states comprising the English-speaking Caribbean have much in common, integrating them politically and economically has proven to be an extremely challenging endeavor. All three integration initiatives since 1958 whether political or economic have failed to deliver their economic development and trade expansion goals. Uncompromising insular political interests of the key participants were at the heart of the demise of the West Indies Federation, the Caribbean’s first integration attempt. These interests have continued to be a dominant influence in the outcomes of the later attempts to integrate. Integration efforts have, been hampered by the absence of a strong political commitment to regionalization. Despite the chequered history of Caribbean integration, the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) were established in 2006. That arrangement essentially provided for a deeper form of economic integration, requiring a higher level of political commitment to integration than ever before.

Specifically this paper seeks to answer the question: is this latest arrangement any different from its three predecessors in terms of its expected results? The following discussion shows that while the concept of the CSME is radically different, the current approach to its implementation is not fundamentally different to that of the three previous ventures. As such, it does not represent the rebirth of Caribbean regionalism but rather, an attempt to resuscitate a politically and structurally flawed development strategy. The renewed ambition to integrate is not matched by the requisite political will and commitment to effectively carry the new venture forward. I use a combination of

historical, political, and economic analysis as the primary methodological approach to test this hypothesis. I conclude that while a renewed political will might have overcome some past hurdles, that commitment still falls far short of the unified force required to create a robust and deeper form of integration that addresses economic and other challenges and keeps the region afloat in the relentless tidal flow of economic globalization.

This course introduces students to regions of the world in historical and geographical context. We focus both on geographical locations and patterns, which we will learn to describe, and also on processes by which regions come to be, which we will learn to explain. We also learn concepts that are useful for describing and explaining regional differences. The course stands alone, but it can also serve as preparation for upper division courses. I am happy to discuss relevant courses or programs of study with interested students.

This course is taught in person, unless the societal or institutional conditions require us to change modality. Any such change will be duly communicated. To be a successful student, you must regularly attend our class meetings and actively engage with course material (lectures, readings, videos, handouts, and assignments). See more details below, under “Habits of Successful Students.”

This course begins with an activity that prompts us to account for our preconceptions about world regions, as well as an example of how regions are made. In subsequent weeks, we focus on processes through which regions take shape, and we substantiate our understanding of these processes with examples of regions and their histories. Emphases of this course include regional and national identity formation, state formation, migration, environmental change, and trade and the production of value through economic circuits. We cannot discuss all regions in one semester, but the course provides tools with which students can develop an understanding of regions we do not have time to examine in the course.

La emergencia de nuevos procesos de integración en América Latina, como la Alianza del Pacífico (ap), integrada por México, Colombia, Chile y Perú, manifiesta el interés de estos países por construir un proyecto común a través del cual fomentar su crecimiento económico e insertarse mejor en las actuales dinámicas mundiales. Los países miembros de la Alianza tienen vínculos importantes con Estados Unidos, tanto por su modelo económico como por los tratados de libre comercio firmados con dicha potencia, pero la creación de este bloque está orientada principalmente al comercio con Asia Pacífico, pues se desarrolla en un contexto económico internacional en el cual están surgiendo potencias emergentes, como China, que está compitiendo con Estados Unidos por el comercio regional e internacional, y cuya economía es ya la segunda más importante a escala mundial. De ahí que estos países latinoamericanos busquen aprovechar su relación también con China y fomentar su comercio con la región asiática como una forma de diversificación, lo que, además abre las puertas a la inversión de China para tener mayor presencia en la región latinoamericana. El presente artículo analiza esa compleja relación de elementos internos e internacionales que incentivaron la creación de la Alianza del Pacífico, y revisa el lugar clave que ocupa este proyecto integracionista en la pugna hegemónica de Estados Unidos frente al crecimiento de la presencia China en la región latinoamericana. De igual forma, mediante la revisión de los volúmenes comerciales y de inversión
extranjera directa de los países miembros, tanto entre ellos como con terceros, se hace una interpretación de la actual potencialidad de la Alianza del Pacífico y sus posibilidades de crecimiento, pues ha despertado el interés de numerosos países en el mundo.

The rise of the Pacific Alliance as one of the newest integration process in Latin America, shows the interest of these countries to build an economic block to promote their growth and to engage better on today´s global dynamics. The countries of the Alliance, composed by Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru, share with the United States free trade agreements and a similar economic model, however the creation of this block is mainly focused on boosting the trade with Asia Pacific, this region has an intense economic growth and have emerging powers as China, which is competing with the United States for the regional and global market and whose economy is already the second largest worldwide. The Pacific Alliance is an attempt to promote the trade with Asia’s growing economies and take advantage of this diversification, nevertheless, from China view, this is an opportunity to have a greater presence in Latin America. This paper analyzes the relation between internal and international elements that encouraged the conformation of the Pacific Alliance, and presents an approach to the key role of this integration project in the US hegemonic struggle against the growing Chinese presence in Latin America. It also evaluates the current potential of the Pacific Alliance and its potential of growth, as it has aroused the interest of many countries worldwide.

The Central and South Asia regions have a long history of trade relations. There have nearly always been movements of goods and people between the regions, which in turn have linked their cultural and religious ties and impacted political relations. Yet today’s trade between the two regions remains low and significantly below regional trade in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Using different measures of trade, we estimate that inter-regional trade is only between 0.2 and 4 percent of total trade to all destinations. Even within the regions, trade among countries remains low. Intra-regional trade in Central Asia is less than 5 percent and that of South Asia is 1.5 percent of trade with all countries.
The present study explores opportunities and challenges for intra- and inter-regional trade in the Central and South Asia areas by analyzing a wide range of channels impacting trade. Trade enhancing channels are divided into two broad categories. The first set refers to disaggregated or product-level characterizations of trade affecting competitiveness and complementarities between trading partners within and between the regions. The second refers to price, non-price and structural determinants that tend to affect all products traded between countries. The analysis also includes a gravity model to gauge the effect of economic growth, distance and price, non-price and structural determinants of regional trade.
The empirical results indicate that, under existing trade patterns, the potential value of trade in the two regions is nearly twice as large as the actual level. The finding is not surprising. Opportunities for regional trade abound and there are numerous policy initiatives that could be taken to help spur trade and investment in and between the two regions. Among the possibilities are regional value chains that could create large gains in terms of higher value additions to exports, technologies transfers and employment generation. The analysis of different types of value chains in this study categorizes industries according to their value added contribution to trade, and it prioritizes industries according to interests ranging from the diversification of industries across resource-intensive, labor-intensive, and technology-intensive industries, as well as the potential participation of Afghanistan due to its comparative advantages in products exported by the industries or its geographic location for transit trade.
Based on quantitative analyzes of actual and potential channels of trade, the study ranks the pattern of trade in terms of its adaptability to intra- and cross-regional commerce in the Central and South Asia regions and its predilection for regional value chains. The ranking uses an innovative methodology that takes account of difference preference orderings of stakeholders, such as governments and development partners that have interests in pro-poor trade, or large companies that favor cross-border fragmentation of production for regional and global value chains.
Ratings are classified into the following categories: trade complementarities, export diversification, comparative advantages, structural factors, intra-industry trade, price competitiveness, trade costs, economic growth; and regional value chains. The baseline ratings suggest the following: First, the larger economies have higher ratings than the smaller, less developed ones, suggesting that size and level of development matter in the development of regional trade. Second, among the different channels of regional trade development, the most effective ones are (i) measures that promote price competitiveness; (ii) intra-industry trade; (iii) trade complementarities; and (iv) economic growth. Third, the effectiveness of country-specific measures differ, as for example in Afghanistan, where the trade enhancing channels that matter the most are structural factors, price competitiveness and trade complementarities with other countries in South Asia and with Central Asia in general.
These findings have important implications for the ability of different trade-related policies, programs and institutional mechanisms to successfully promote greater commerce within and across the two regions. Each of these mechanisms has costs associated with them and different types of mechanisms can be programmed on the basis of their ease of implementation and impact potential.
The material in this study is designed in such a way as to provide practical knowledge and methods for businesses to take advantage of Central and South Asia regional opportunities; analytical tools for policymakers and researchers; and policy and program recommendations for governments and development partners. It should be of interest to businesses, governments, international development partners, policymakers and researchers, and others concerned with Central and South Asia’s trade and the potential for developing value chains or so-called ‘trade in tasks’ across the two regions.

This paper analyzes the relationship between the business cycles of Mexico and the United States. The purpose is to study the consequences of regional economic integration. As the manufacturing sectors of the two economies have become more integrated, the Mexican business cycle has become synchronized with that of the United States. This synchronization has stabilized the Mexican trade balance by causing fluctuations in Mexican exports and imports to converge. As a result, the volatility of the Mexican trade balance has declined.

This paper analyzes the absence of correlation between China-ASEAN economic interdependence and dispute settlement in the South China Sea, against liberals' prediction. It argues that there are a few trends in the dispute settlement process that reflects liberalist theory irrelevance, i.e. (1) the main feature of the dispute settlement is power politics; (2) the progress of multilateral arrangement for dispute settlement is constrained by unilateral policies; (3) the deepening economic integration and growing interdependence are intentionally maintained exclusive from and thus have little impact on the on-going disputes; and (4) the constrained multilateral arrangement through ASEAN invites further power politics between the claimants and actors from outside the region. It also argues that three factors have contributed to the trends: i.e. (1) power structure in the region; (2) divergence of each actor's geopolitical interests and strategies in the South China Sea; (3) weak regional coherence and institutional design.

This study examines the impact of East African Community (EAC) integration on trade development and economic growth in the EAC. It also examines whether the initiatives have presented any real benefits from trade liberalization. The findings suggest that the efforts to integrate notwithstanding, the EAC region will realize considerable trade development benefits if full integration and complete openness to trade are achieved, and secondly, challenges of ambitious targets, slow implementation record, linear market integration (focusing on border measures such as import-tariff, with less emphasis on resolving supply-side constraints,), lack of harmonized laws and multiple RTA memberships partly explain the failure of openness to trade and full integration.

Der Beitrag analysiert am Beispiel der Eurasischen Wirtschaftsunion, wie sich Asymmetrien auf den regionalen Integrationsprozess auswirken. Dabei wird zuerst geklärt, welche theoretischen Grundannahmen es zu dieser Fragestellung gibt. Dann wird analysiert, welche strukturellen, institutionellen und informellen (Macht-)asymmetrien in der Eurasischen Wirtschaftsunion vorherrschen und mit welchen Maßnahmen diesen politisch begegnet wird. Abschließend wird die Rolle Russlands aus der Perspektive der kleineren Mitgliedsstaaten beleuchtet, die zwischen Ernüchterung und Hoffnung schwanken.

Inquiry into regional integration has recently created the attention particularly of social scientists and policy makers into this new field of knowledge with emphasis on European integration as the best existing model of integration. This has consequently led to the development of theories and concepts that explain the philosophical ideologies of regional integration from the perspectives of European integration. While these theories have been borrowed heavily to explain integration across the globe, there are certain specific Africans theories that best explains African integration since independence to date. This paper hopes at using these African perspectives to explain African integration. The inspiration from this paper is to help understand what regional integration in Africa is and what fundamental ideologies explain regional integration in Africa. It must be emphasized that this paper seeks to analyze two important African ideologies (Pan Africanism and African Renaissance) that promote and explain regional integration in Africa. While Pan Africanism sought to promote African unity through political liberation of African states from colonialism and slave trade, African Renaissance goes beyond political liberation to chart the path of Africa's economic, socio-cultural and political development advanced by globalization and technology for Africa unity.

Major issues of regional economic integration in Africa could be grouped into two interrelated broad areas: issues of implementation and the limitation of insight form both the theoretical and empirical literature regarding the specific approaches that are appropriate for the continent. Implementation issues cover the economic, political and institutional constraints that surface at the implementation stage of economic integration treaties.

On the basis of the application of the Economic geography approach on the economic
integration process of Mercosur, I discuss the advantages and the limits of such a conception, pointing out the absence of certain fundamental variables that are nevertheless worth being considered in the study of the economies of the region. Indeed, the monetary and financial aspects are of dramatic importance in the finance-led accumulation regime that most Latin America countries experience.

A partir de la creación de la iniciativa Alianza del Pacífico en el año 2012, el esquema de la integración regional en América Latina ha tomado un viraje distinto. Nos encontramos ante una situación donde países vecinos deben compartir, en un mismo un espacio territorial, dos organizaciones internacionales, el Mercosur y la Alianza del Pacífico, que guían sus vías de integración y desarrollo conjunto en caminos paralelos, y que han sido creadas para orientar el crecimiento de la cooperación y coordinación de políticas en sentidos que las oponen entre sí.
Si bien tienen puntos en común en su conformación, el Mercosur y la Alianza del Pacífico poseen aspectos que los distinguen uno del otro. Los caminos recorridos por ambos también poseen diferencias temporales que invitan a una reconsideración de los problemas que enfrentaron, enfrentan y van a enfrentar en un futuro, para lograr el objetivo, esquivo a lo largo del tiempo, de una integración amplia y efectiva en la región latinoamericana.
Palabras clave: Integración Regional, concertación política, integración económica, cooperación regional, interacción interestatal, organizaciones internacionales.

From the creation of the Pacific Alliance initiative in 2012, the scheme of regional integration in Latin America has taken a different turn. We are facing a situation where neighboring countries should share, in the same territorial space, two international organizations, Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance, guiding their way of integration and joint development in parallel paths, and have been created to guide the growth of cooperation and policy coordination in ways that conflict with each other.
While they have points in common in their conformation, Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance have aspects that distinguish them from one another. The paths traveled by both temporary differences have also invite a reconsideration of the problems they faced, they are facing and will face in the future, to achieve the goal, elusive over time, a wide and effective integration in the region Latin American.
Key Words: Regional integration, political cooperation and economic integration, regional cooperation, interstate integration , international organizations.

ASEAN will require a new economic community vision beyond 2015, given the changing nature of the region’s political economic landscape. Such a new vision, suggestively called AEC 2025, needs to be based on ASEAN’s own strengths and weaknesses. The present slowdown in the US and the EU markets, growing competition from China and possibly India will convince ASEAN to hasten economic cooperation among its members. This will offer opportunities for foreign investors. AEC 2025 should aim for an economically desirable, politically acceptable and developmentally achievable region. It should aspire to increase productivity, enhance connectivity, liberalize services sector, give due attention to the PPP model of regional investment, deepen financial sector cooperation and seek new FTA partners.
• The new vision needs to address cross-cutting issues such as good governance, stronger institutions, and a transparent economic scorecard. In delivering on its promises by 2025, ASEAN should be able to build up on its credibility and maintain its centrality in the FTA structure of the Asia-Pacific in the long run.

La aprobación del Código Aduanero del MERCOSUR (CAM), a través de la Decisión CMC Nº 27/10, durante la Cumbre de Presidentes en San Juan –Argentina-, cuya elaboración estuvo a cargo del Grupo Ad Hoc para la Redacción del CAM, marca un antes y un después en el proceso de armonización de normas comunitarias hacia el perfeccionamiento de la Unión Aduanera.

This paper is part of a wider research on South and East Asian countries' taxation, carried out in this Department, under the direction of L. Bernardi, A. Fraschini and P. Shome, and under the supervision of. V. Tanzi. South and East Asia are a particularly fast developing world economic areas, and are becoming increasingly more economically integrated. These countries, however, are not homogenous, and are lacking in any supra -national Authority. The total fiscal pressure of South and East Asian countries looks somewhat low when compared to that of countries with a similar per-capita income, pertaining to other economic world areas. However, a smooth Wagner law is confirmed by the data so that fiscal pressure is destined somewhat to increase as growth continues. With regards to similar experiences of developing and transition countries, indirect taxes prevail over direct ones. Low tax wedges on labor improve efficiency, by inducing both the supply and demand of labor. The heavy burden on consumption lessens equity and increases welfare losses. Any further uniform analysis of South and East Asian countries' tax policy issues would be however quite fruitless. It is far better to consider tax policies issues which rise inside the whole area separately to those more specific to each cluster made up by similar countries. Intra-regional economic integration poses severe challenges to the tax structure in the Asian area. Three tax policy issues seem most problematic: the building of intra-countries' agreements on reducing trade tariffs; the sequential revenue consequences of reduction in foreign trade taxes; the increasing tax competition for FDI. Intra-countries clusters' tax policy issues differ from each other. In Japan and in S. Korea different choices have been made regarding the comprehensiveness of the PIT's basis, whose burden as a consequence ends up being more fairly distributed in S. Korea. The two countries are facing the common problem of an ageing population and consequentially, social contributions, and eventually VAT are being raised. Malaysia's direct taxes look higher than Thailand's, but this is only because of the taxation of oil companies. Thailand has adopted VAT, while Malaysia has not changed its traditional sales tax. Both the countries are engaged in the recovery of revenue by improving tax administration. Both in China and in India income tax is small and poorly redistributing. Also, India has just moved from a schedular to a comprehensive tax basis. VAT is well established in China, while it is just arriving in India, as a consequence of a long waited but challenging reform, especially regarding the tax relationships among levels of government. Taxing power is now more centralized in China, but this needs to be corrected in order to avoid a lack of accountability on the part of the provinces. JEL Classification numbers: H20, H24, H25, H29

This paper is part of a wider research on South and East Asian countries' taxation, carried out in this Department, under the direction of L. Bernardi, A. Fraschini and P. Shome, and under the supervision of. V. Tanzi. South and East Asia are a particularly fast developing world economic areas, and are becoming increasingly more economically integrated. These countries, however, are not homogenous, and are lacking in any supra -national Authority. The total fiscal pressure of South and East Asian countries looks somewhat low when compared to that of countries with a similar per-capita income, pertaining to other economic world areas. However, a smooth Wagner law is confirmed by the data so that fiscal pressure is destined somewhat to increase as growth continues. With regards to similar experiences of developing and transition countries, indirect taxes prevail over direct ones. Low tax wedges on labor improve efficiency, by inducing both the supply and demand of labor. The heavy burden on consumption lessens equity and increases welfare losses. Any further uniform analysis of South and East Asian countries' tax policy issues would be however quite fruitless. It is far better to consider tax policies issues which rise inside the whole area separately to those more specific to each cluster made up by similar countries. Intra-regional economic integration poses severe challenges to the tax structure in the Asian area. Three tax policy issues seem most problematic: the building of intra-countries' agreements on reducing trade tariffs; the sequential revenue consequences of reduction in foreign trade taxes; the increasing tax competition for FDI. Intra-countries clusters' tax policy issues differ from each other. In Japan and in S. Korea different choices have been made regarding the comprehensiveness of the PIT's basis, whose burden as a consequence ends up being more fairly distributed in S. Korea. The two countries are facing the common problem of an ageing population and consequentially, social contributions, and eventually VAT are being raised. Malaysia's direct taxes look higher than Thailand's, but this is only because of the taxation of oil companies. Thailand has adopted VAT, while Malaysia has not changed its traditional sales tax. Both the countries are engaged in the recovery of revenue by improving tax administration. Both in China and in India income tax is small and poorly redistributing. Also, India has just moved from a schedular to a comprehensive tax basis. VAT is well established in China, while it is just arriving in India, as a consequence of a long waited but challenging reform, especially regarding the tax relationships among levels of government. Taxing power is now more centralized in China, but this needs to be corrected in order to avoid a lack of accountability on the part of the provinces. JEL Classification numbers: H20, H24, H25, H29

The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s contributed to the intensification of regional economic integration in East Asia. However, the initial optimism resulting from the greater interest in integration among participants weakened over time. One of the most important countries with real and growing influence on partners in East Asia is China. Its rising economic position makes China's perception of regional integration and its activity in that field crucial for the development of the process. These issues are covered in this study. The main purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate China's role in the development of regional economic integration in East Asia in the period from the Asian financial crisis to the present. Two most important components of the regional economic integration will be analysed, namely regionalisation and regionalism. The main conclusion is that as a result of China's growing position as one of the leading economic centres of East Asia, its role in the development of East Asian economic integration has significantly increased. It can be observed in engagement in institutional frameworks, but above all, in the development of real economic ties in the region. Potentially, China can act as the most influential promoter of regional economic integration in East Asia. However, it depends on the significance of regional aspirations in a broader global strategy of China. It seems that currently global ambitions far outweigh the regional ones. Various research methods are used to achieve the goal of the study: method of critical analysis of literature, method of inference and method of statistical data analysis.

This publication has two main goals. On the one hand it is a brief introduction to the competition between globalization and regionalization in the international system, visible especially at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, with initial dominance of globalization and gradual retreat towards regionalism, or even the nation-states. On the other, it briefly introduces the main theories of regional integration, especially classical theories , including functionalism, neo-functionalism, transactionism, as well as the theories of regionalism of Joseph Nye, Louise Cantori and Stephen Spiegel, William Thompson or Björn Hettne and Fredrik Söderbaum. The analysis concentrates on classical theories of integration and regionalism, as contemporary theoretical developments as well as regional security complex theory are discussed in subsequent chapters.

This paper examines the relationship between regional economic integration and FDI in North America, where two RIAs have been established over the past decade: a bilateral free trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. (CUSTA) and a trilateral agreement (NAFTA) incorporating Mexico as well. The North American experiences suggest substantially more modest impacts of regional trade agreements on intra-regional trade creation and extraregional FDI stimulation than is associated with the earlier stages of EU integration. At the same time, there is support for the European findings that trade and investment impacts will differ across countries within the integrating region. These results serve as a caution against generalizing from earlier experience when forecasting the impacts of expanded economic integration within Europe or the Americas. The consequences of regional economic integration are sufficiently conditioned by inherited policies, as well as by existing macroeconomic conditions, to make extrapolation from historical experience very risky and potentially misleading.

The port plays a key role in serving landlocked countries in general and those in the ECOWAS region. The port of Cotonou is a hub that serves as an interface between the northern countries and the ECOWAS hinterlands by facilitating the import of manufactured goods and the export of local and mining products. The overall objective of this study is to analyse the contribution of the port of Cotonou to the free trade area of the ECOWAS region. Documentary research, direct observation and field surveys are the techniques used to collect the data. The questionnaire addressed to economic operators, concessionary port operators, transporters, and drivers. Thus, two hundred and ninety-five (295) socio-professional actors in the field of transport, port and maritime were surveyed. The results showed that Benin's economy is dependent on foreign trade (90%) which is carried out through port and maritime activities. The study reveals that, in terms of trade integration, almost all EU countries have an above-average score, except Benin (0.474), Niger (0.467) and Guinea-Bissau (0.307). Most maritime and port actors interviewed admitted that more than 71% of the flow of goods through the port of Cotonou is destined for the consumer and distribution markets of the Sahel countries, especially the Republic of Niger. Services have been put in place in several structures to improve and accelerate the fluidity and speed of transit. Certainly, efforts remain to be undertaken to make the port of Cotonou more competitive in the West African row to capture more customers from landlocked countries.

This paper analyses the potential for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to function as a development-oriented organization. It departs from the developmental regionalism analysis that is currently emerging in the literature on regional integration. In the context of Southeast Asia such an analysis has been limited and can be further developed. The report focuses on ASEAN's economic integration initiatives and the extent to which they help advance its stated sustainable development objectives in the areas of poverty reduction, rural development, social protection and the environment.

These reports present an important aspect of regional cooperation in Central Asia – trade. Many factors speak in favour of regional trade and cooperation, including (a) the communication, transport and energy infrastructure created by the former Soviet Union as an integrated national system; (b) environmental issues which require regional approaches; (c) the potential attraction of a region free of trade and transit barriers for foreign and local investors, compared with the limitations of small national economies; (d) utilization of regional cooperation to overcome geographical obstacles and to improve access to global markets. However, statistics on intraregional trade indicate that the level of trade in the region still falls short of its potential.

These reports (three in total) are based on data collected from various sources, with the results of this laborious effort presented in tables and graphs. As the data come from different sources they may not be free of methodological flaws. However, where possible the data have been verified and compared with various alternative sources.

Key findings
- The leaders of the Central Asian countries have adopted diverse economic strategies which have led to divergence in trade policies, ranging from quite liberal (Kyrgyzstan) to relatively restrictive (Uzbekistan). This can be seen as one obstacle to harmonization of regional trade and cooperation.
- All five Central Asian states have natural resources as their main export items, and are largely dependent on these exports. In 2011, the most important export commodity in Kazakhstan (crude oil and gas condensate) and Tajikistan (aluminium) accounted for 62.4% and 63.4%, respectively, of total exports.
- The Central Asian states have a low degree of trade complementarity: they produce and export many of the same items and therefore need to look for trade partners beyond their immediate neighbours.

The paper examines the recent emergence and rapid development of one of the world's most active, regionally based, migrant-labour systems. Explanation is sought through two major theoretical perspectives: the neo-classical economics view of labour flows responding to international differences in labour market conditions, and the world systems view of migration as an integral part of the global restructuring of capital. The prime analytical focus is on the economic and migration linkages of the region's three leading labour-exporting countries---the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. While the basis for the rapid development of the East Asian labourmigration system has been the widening demographic and economic inequalities within the region, it is shown that the detailed geographical pattern of ensuing labour flows reflects particular macro-economic, cultural and institutional linkages that selectively channel particular types of labour to particular core economies. 0

In  light  of  regional  economicintegration  approaches,  whatistheintegrationproposedbytheRegionalComprehensiveEconomic  Partnership  (RCEP)?  The  agreementwassignedonNovember  15,  2020,  afternearly a decadeofnegotiations. It wasknown as thelargest trade agreement in the world, as it wassignedbetweenfifteen  countries  thattogethercontributeapproximately  30%  oftheworld  Gross  DomesticProduct, besideshavingalmosta  thirdoftheworld'spopulation.  In ordertocharacterizetheagreement, theworkwasdividedintotwoparts. In thefirst, guidingconcepts are presented, basedontheeconomicintegration  framework.  In  sequence,  the  RCEP  isanalysed.  The  studyqualitativelyaddressestheinformationcollectedthroughbibliographicanddocumentary  data.  Thepropertyofthestudyisanalyticaldescriptiveandconcludesthattheintegrationarrangementismainlyaimedatfacilitatingintrabloc trades, withthepotentialto cause trade andinvestmentsdiversion.

Regionalism and regional integration in East Asia has developed dynamically at various levels over the past two decades. In the world system, East Asia's degree of regional economic coherence is second only to the European Union's. In addition to deepening micro-level regionalisation, new regional frameworks and organisations have emerged, centred on an East Asian collective of nations and economies. This paper examines the development of new regional institutions involving the whole East Asia region, focusing on four ‗supra-structure institutions': ASEAN Plus Three, East Asia Summit, Asia-Europe Meeting, and Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum; and two ‗supporting institutions': Pacific Basin Economic Council and Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. Particular attention is made to what likely future regional institutional architecture centred on East Asia may emerge over forthcoming years, and the following core arguments are made. Owing to issues of ‗variable geography', the constituent membership of an East Asian region is open to contestation and East Asia's patterns of regional economic coherence are to some extent in a constant state of flux. The formation of an East Asian regional community will also depend on an alignment of national interests, developmentrelated imperatives and ideological factors, and primacy will come to the regional institution that develops the most effective instruments of regional co-operation and integration. The paper argues that this will probably be ASEAN Plus Three, which has the most realistic prospects of advancing regional economic integration. Each regional institution should functionally specialise, the larger grouping of EAS, ASEM and APEC concentrating for example on developing their multilateral utility regarding global governance issues. Finally, fostering a more functionally effective partnership between Japan and People's Republic of China is vital to the future prospects of East Asia's regional community-building.

Formation of integration associations of any type requires selection of a certain integration model which will best meet the requirements for the presentation of its subjects and interests. To select an appropriate integration model in the formation of new economic associations, it is necessary to explore the theoretical and practical aspects of existing international integration models. The aim of the study is to identify common structural elements inherent in all types of existing models and to establish their logical relationship. The research method allows to reveal the features of the structure of integration models in existing integration associations, as well as to form new improved or simplified models based on the presented generalized classification features. The study has shown that there is no universal integration model for all associations in theories of international economic integration. Its formation occurs by defining the necessary classification criteria that form the structure in accordance with the interests and stated goals of the subjects of integration. However, glossaries of international financial, economic and political organizations do not give any definitions of an integration model, in particular, in the context of economic integration. Therefore, the application of an integration model of any association on the grounds of economic success is possible only in theory, but in practical terms, even taking into account the same goals and interests, it will create an institutional trap since the elements of the structure have different characteristics, and the functioning and interaction of subjects occurs in different conditions.

Este trabalho versa sobre a questão da harmonização tributária no Mercado Comum do Sul. No capítulo I, aborda-se o Mercosul, suas origens, seus princípios e atualidades. Aborda-se, também, as fases da integração regional, demonstrando-se que atualmente o Mercosul é uma união aduaneira imperfeita. Em seguida, analisa-se o tema da harmonização tributária, demonstrando-se que o Mercosul está na fase de harmonização dos impostos sobre o consumo, e que a harmonização tributária é algo essencial para os acordos regionais, a fim de reduzir distorções. No capítulo II, são abordadas as características básicas do sistema tributário dos Estados-membros do Mercosul, dando uma atenção especial ao Brasil, cujos impostos federais, estaduais e municipais são estudados com maior atenção. Alguns dos problemas do sistema tributário nacional são tratados, como o aumento da carga tributária bruta nas últimas décadas. No Capítulo III, são demonstradas as diferenças fundamentais entre os sistemas tributários dos países-membros do bloco. Em seguida, são argumentadas as vantagens e desvantagens dos princípios da tributação exclusiva na origem e da tributação exclusiva no destino, comparando-os e demonstrando que o princípio do destino é o mais adequado para o bloco, ao menos no curto prazo. Da mesma forma, é estudado o Imposto sobre o Valor Agregado (IVA), suas origens, suas vantagens e sua importância para a harmonização tributária. Ao final, são apresentadas opções para a harmonização, a saber: uma harmonização mais aprofundada, ou uma harmonização mais restrita.

CARICOM is one of the least explored in academic literature. As the European example has enlightened, regional integration organizations can generate development especially for people of those marginalized or remote areas. Learning from the most sophisticated example of integration, poorer regions like Latin America can incorporate improvements to their institutions and better serve their populations.

The Mercado Comum do Sur (Mercosul in Portuguese) is a regional integration bloc in Latin America. Mercosur has fallen dramatically from being a regional integration bloc, experiencing remarkable success in integration to becoming a stalled bloc that has failed to meet the initial expectations set. This paper looks beyond current European-centered theories of regional integration. It tests Malamud's (2003) theory of inter-presidentialism and Mattli's (1999) theory of regional integration to evaluate what drove Mercosur integration. The focus is on Mercosur, from its formation in 1991 to the present day, engaging with theory, academic papers and official government speeches to identify what controlled integration in this regional bloc. This paper concludes that state leadership, especially that of Brazil's, was and continues to be crucial in shaping the integration in Latin America. This leadership was largely influenced by the national gains, both economic and political.

This paper examines the relationship between regional economic integration and FDI in North America, where two RIAs have been established over the past decade: a bilateral free trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. (CUSTA) and a trilateral agreement (NAFTA) incorporating Mexico as well. The North American experiences suggest substantially more modest impacts of regional trade agreements on intra-regional trade creation and extraregional FDI stimulation than is associated with the earlier stages of EU integration. At the same time, there is support for the European findings that trade and investment impacts will differ across countries within the integrating region. These results serve as a caution against generalizing from earlier experience when forecasting the impacts of expanded economic integration within Europe or the Americas. The consequences of regional economic integration are sufficiently conditioned by inherited policies, as well as by existing macroeconomic conditions, to make extrapolation from historical experience very risky and potentially misleading.

Since the emergence of nation-states as primary actors in the international system, relations among states have been defined and guided by their strategic interests in all areas of interaction. International economic relations, particularly, became inevitable because no state is self-sufficient or able to meet its domestic economic needs entirely. Consequently, countries depend on one another to meet economic needs through the medium of international trade and economic cooperation among other means. However, the need to safeguard the domestic economy, maximise trade opportunities and engender economic growth necessarily compelled states to develop rules of engagement that clearly defines how, individually, they intend to engage with the rest of the world through trade and other forms of economic cooperation and interdependency within the global economic system. Trade policy is a major instrument to achieving this end. Adopting a historical approach, this chapter examines Nigeria’s trade policy and trading objectives since 1960. It explores the role of trade in Nigeria’s bilateral and multilateral relations as well as the trajectory of her trade policy since independence. It highlights some of the observed trends and pattern in the development of the policy and concludes that Nigeria needs to evolve a trade policy that encapsulates her long-term development interests as she engages in international trade relations.

The East Asian region is a major global economic player, given its economic size and potential. As such, Regional Economic Integration in East Asia could be considered as an important building bloc toward integration of the Asia-Pacific region. East Asia has made significant progress in creating institutions for closer cooperation and integration. The next step would be how to strengthen support to these mechanisms such that they would effectively deliver the regional goals, as well as help the region overcome pressing issues. This short paper will discuss the state of economic integration in East Asia. It will also discuss the challenges in economic cooperation and integration in the region, as well as some policy strategies to overcome the challenge.

Cepeda-Ladino, Julio-César. 2010. 'Foro de Cooperación Económica Asia-Pacífico - APEC Japón 2010: Fin de la moratoria para Colombia?'. Paper presented at the 'I International Relations Students Colloquium' ('I Coloquio de Estudiantes en Relaciones Internacionales'). Bogotá: Universidad Nacional de Colombia. May 6-7.

Japan plays host to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings from January to November 2010, to define its future as International Intergovernmental Organization. In this sense, it tries to address the lifting of the moratorium on the entry of new APEC economies like Colombia. For this, Colombian Foreign Policy toward the Pacific Basin will be essential in the interests of strengthening the diplomatic, trade and cultural ties with this region of the planet.

El Foro de Cooperación Económica Asia-Pacífico (APEC) se reunirá durante el año 2010 en las principales ciudades de Japón, para definir su futuro como Organización Internacional Intergubernamental. En este sentido, tratará de abordar el levantamiento de la moratoria impuesta para el ingreso de nuevas economías como Colombia a APEC. Para ello, la construcción de la Política Exterior Colombiana hacia la Cuenca del Pacífico será fundamental en aras del fortalecimiento de las relaciones diplomáticas, comerciales y culturales con esta región del planeta.