Mapping European Economic Integration

By examining the various policy subfields of European economic integration such as agriculture, trade, banking, economic governance and sustainability this book offers a comprehensive and wide-ranging analysis of developments that have taken place in the past five years aimed at exploring the path of economic integration in Europe.

In this innovative work, Guglielmo Carchedi argues that only an analysis centered on class as the basic unit of social life, with production and distribution of value understood as the bedrock of the economy, can throw light on the internal contradictions of European economic integration. Two specific themes emerge from this radical approach. First, familiar topics such as competition and social policy, economic and monetary union, the Common Agricultural Policy and immigration, are treated in an original manner. Second, subjects usually ignored in the standard textbooks, for instance the role of interest groups in the Union's decision-making process, are shown to be of crucial importance in understanding the economics of the European Union. This work therefore provides both an introduction to and a critique of the European project. The book's central message however, is that another sort of Europe is possible, one based on the erosion of economic polarization, on the abolition of Europe's imperialist relations with the Third World, and on the creation of truly democratic institutions of self-determination.

The book brings together an international panel of experts on economic integration and international business to address the essential link between the two fields, namely the impact of integration processes on the business environment. Focusing on the European Union, it presents numerous examples and case studies to demonstrate how local business is becoming international business, and addresses the opportunities, constraints and overall historical changes. Starting with the regional and global economic integration framework, and subsequently exploring the institutional structure that makes everything possible and how the union came to be, the book reveals how the common policies of the EU impact businesses and entrepreneurship within both the common market and the member states. Readers will learn about the economic and political context that affect businesses in Europe; understand the basic concepts of integration, accompanied by cases and examples; gain a new perspective on important EU sectoral policies and challenges for individuals and businesses; become aware of the main challenges to EU enlargement; and better grasp the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in Europe in the present context.

In this major new text, Miroslav N.Jovanovic presents an analysis of all the major aspects of economic integration in the European Union. Beginning with an overview of the origins of European integration, he moves on to discuss in detail all the main policy areas. These include: *monetary policy *competition policy *industrial policy *fiscal policy *trade policy *the Common Agricultural Policy *foreign direct investment *regional policy. The volume also includes a discussion of less well-known policy areas, such as social policy, environmental policy and transport policy. Containing an excellent blend of theory and practice and presenting a highly complex issue in an accessible and non-technical way, this text will be an invaluable resource for students of international economics, international business and European studies.

An innovative, bipartisan and comprehensive account of why European economic integration has been in disarray and how to fix it.

Routledge Handbook of the Economics of European Integration provides readers with a brief but comprehensive overview of topics related to the process of European integration in the post-World War II period. Its short chapters reflect the most up-to-date and concise research, written by a collective of experts on their own subjects. The aim of this book is twofold. Firstly, the text illustrates the broad and diverse range of issues associated with European integration, and lastly, the key approaches and findings are summarised. Since institutional integration in Europe is an ongoing process, with possibly frequent and sometimes rapid changes, the chapters are intended to focus on the key features of the economic analyses of these topics. A wide and diverse set of economic issues is of direct relevance for European integration. These topics cover various fields, ranging from the history of the European Economic and Monetary Union, EU Trade Policy and the stability of international trade, single market issues over fiscal, monetary and other policies, the crisis that faces the Euro area, and institutions such as EU Council of Ministers. Not surprisingly, many of these issues have also been analysed from a European perspective. This handbook is designed to provide students, researchers, the public and policy makers with ready and accessible knowledge of issues related to European integration and will provide the definitive overview of research in the area.

Many changes have occurred in Europe in the last few years, with more developments arising in light of the unification of the European economic market in 1992. This volume scrutinizes the process of economic integration in Western Europe and its gradual emergence as a new regional entity. Tsoukalis identifies some distinguishing features of this economy as well as the outstanding issues as 1992 approaches. Strongly oriented toward policy, the book contributes to the debate about the nature and future of European economic development, without neglecting the wider political ramifications of the issues.