The Theory And Measurement Of International Economic Integration

The global impact of economic integration is the subject of this book which examines policies in Europe and abroad. Ali M. El-Agraa is the author and editor of many books on economics and trade, including "Japan's Trade Frictions" and "Trade Theory and Policy".

First published in 1962, The Theory of Economic Integration provides an excellent exposition of a complex and far-reaching topic. Professor Balassa has been remarkably successful in covering so much ground with such care and balance, in a treatment which is neither in any way abstruse nor unnecessarily technical. His book will interest economists in Europe by reason of its subject and treatment, but it is also a valuable and reliable textbook for students tackling integration as part of a course of International Economics and for those studying Public Finance. He distinguishes between the various forms of integration (free trade area, customs union, common market, economics union, and total integration). In addition, he applies the theoretical principles to current projects such as the European Common Market and Free Trade Area, and to Latin American integration projects. In offering this theoretical study, the author builds on the conclusions of other writers, but goes beyond this in providing a unifying framework for previous contributions and in exploring questions that in the past received little attention – in particular, the relationship between economic integration and growth (especially the interrelationship between market size and growth, and the implications of various factors for economic growth in an integrated area).

This set of contemporary articles provides a uniquely comprehensive survey of international economic integration, covering the full range of theoretical and practical developments in the field over the past fifty years, and suggesting directions for future research. Topics covered in the 120 articles selected include: * the theory and measurement of international integration * monetary aspects and factor mobility * competition and industrial policy * regional policy and location of firms * agriculture * integration schemes. This set will prove an invaluable standard reference for researchers and students of international economics.

Regional Integration provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of both the theoretical and empirical literature in international economic integration initially inspired by the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and enhanced since the 1960s through the proliferation of regional integration schemes. Focusing on the pure theoretical and technical empirical work in the field, the author covers all developments in abstract modeling and measurement techniques. In assessing the experience of regional integration, El-Agraa addresses the issues of customs unions versus free trade areas, customs unilateral tariff reduction, regional integration and multilateralism, and estimating the benefits of integrated markets. Regional Integration fully updates and revises the analysis of the author s very well-received The Theory and Measurement of International Economic Integration (1989) to take into account the impact of another decade of rapid integration around the world."

This authoritative new collection presents a selection of previously published seminal articles that have led to the development of intra-industry trade theory and empirical research. Parts I and II cover the pioneering research in the 1960s and a number of models of intra-industry trade that were developed from 1979 to the present day. Parts III and IV look at the empirical research problems in the choice of measure of intra-industry trade and empirical studies that seek to identify the nature of this trade. Part V deals with the role of the multinational corporation and part VI completes the collection with articles that look at extensions to asset markets and applications to other problems such as the geography of trade and rules of origin. Intra-Industry Trade will be an invaluable source of reference to all international trade economists and libraries specialising in this area.