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Fischer, Doris. "Regionale Integration in Asien - Regional integration in Asia - Duisburger Arbeitspapiere zur Ostasienwirtschaft 67(2003)." Gerhard-Mercator-Universitaet Duisburg, 2004. http://www.ub.uni-duisburg.de/ETD-db/theses/available/duett-03092004-111303/.
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In the past, regional integration in Asia has basically been limited to market-driven economic integration and private networking. Policy-driven or institutional co-operation and integration have been very limited. The Asian financial crisis as well as the introduction of the Euro has contributed to a change in this pattern. A growing awareness of the advantages of regional co-operation is discernible among Asian states. The Chiang Mai initiative and numerous regional trade agreements are the most visible results of this growing awareness. Nevertheless it is to be doubted that this awareness will transform into concrete and higher level institutional integration among Asian states within the near future. The paper summarises the progress achieved so far in regional co-operation and integration and discusses the main factors favouring and limiting future perspectives.
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Nosova, Olga. "Statistical analysis of regional integration effects." Universität Potsdam, 2008. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/2910/.
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The paper studies the regional integration as the unique process which depends on the degree of cooperation and interchange among regions. The generalisation of existing approaches for regional integration has been classified by the criterions. The data of the main economic indicators have been analysed. The economic analysis proves the differences in production endowments, the asymmetry in fixed capital investment, the disproportional income, and foreign direct investment distribution in 2001 – 2005 in Ukrainian regions. Econometric modelling depicts the existence of the division for the industrial regions with high urbanisation and backward agrarian regions in the Ukraine, the industrial development disparities among regions; the insufficient infrastructure (telecommunications, roads, hotels, services and etc.), the low labour productivity in industrial sector, and insufficient regional trade.
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Oreta, Balaoing Edylinda Annette. "Regional integration and endogenous protection." Rotterdam : Rotterdam : Erasmus Universiteit ; Erasmus University [Host], 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/8112.
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Bruecher, Jonne. "Regional economic integration and development." Doctoral thesis, Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig, 2016. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-211672.
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Regionaler Wirtschaftlicher Integration (RWI) liegt ein doppelter Zielkonflikt (“trade-off“) zugrunde. Zum einen besteht dieser trade-off auf räumlicher Ebene da es sich um eine politische und ökonomische Organisationseinheit zwischen dem Lokalen und Globalen handelt. Zum anderen besteht ein trade-off da sowohl Liberalisierungsansätze innerhalb der Region als auch das Aufrechterhalten (oder gar Erweitern) von Protektionismus gegen die Außenwelt Teil von regionalen Ansätzen sind. Darüber hinaus ist RWI ein facettenreiches, polymorphes und idiosynkratisches Phänomen, das (potentiell) eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Politkfelder und Politikschlagrichtungen enthält. Traditionell wird RWI nach der Klassifizierung von Balassa (1961) in Präferenzabkommen (PTAs), Freihandelsabkommen (FTAs), Zollunionen (CUs) Gemeinsame Märkte (CMs), Währungsunionen (MUs) und ggf. Politische Unionen (PUs) eingeteilt und meist auch eine zeitliche Abfolge in dieser Reihenfolge unterstellt. In Wahrheit finden solche Prozesse teilweise parallel und in vielen Fällen unvollständig statt. Daher erscheint es sinnvoller, in vier verschiedene Kategorien an Politikfeld0ptionen zu unterschieden, nämlich
• Präferentielle Liberalisierung von Güterhandel;
• Präferentielle Liberalisierung anderer Produktionsfaktoren;
• Koordinierung & Harmonisierung von Regularien und Institutionen;
• Koordinierung und gemeinsame Verausgabung von öffentlichen Mitteln.
Ein solch vielgestaltiges und janusköpfiges Phänomen bezieht seine Rechtfertigung aus einer großen Anzahl an unterschiedlichen theoretischen Schulen. Wir diskutieren diese Schulen in dieser Arbeit in drei separaten Kapiteln zum Neo-Klassischen Ansatz, zu Ansätzen der Politischen Ökonomie sowie zu Heterodoxen Ansätzen. Dabei lassen sich fünf Gruppen von Effekten unterscheiden. Diese sind
• Allokationseffekte;
• Akkumulationseffekte;
• Lokationseffekte;
• Levellingeffekte;
• Und Gouvernanz-Effekte.
Bei der Analyse von RWI sind darüber hinaus Imperfektionen zu beachten, die insbesondere in Afrika eine entscheidende Rolle spielen. Dies bezieht sich insbesondere auf die teilweise sehr schwache Implementation von beschlossenen RWI Maβnahmen, die sich z.B. im „Spaghetti Bowl“ Phänomen, politischen Widerständen auf nationaler Ebene, administrativen Schwächen und massiven Deckungslücken in den Budgets der regionalen Behörden niederschlagen. Auch die Dominanz der Informalität in der Wirtschaft wirft Fragen zur potentiellen Wirkungsmächtigkeit von RWI auf. Während solche „Papiertiger“-Phänomene grundsätzliche Fragen an der Ernsthaftigkeit der jeweiligen Regionalvorhaben aufwerfen, kann die Präsenz solcher Hürden auch Grund für Optimismus sein da die empirisch bislang beobachteten, relativ geringen Wohlfahrtseffekte zu einem substantiellen Anteil auf die geringe Implementierungstiefe zurückgeführt werden können und nicht zwangsläufig ein Beleg für die Ineffektivität von RWI per se gesehen werden muss. Mit anderen Worten, eine wirkliche empirische Überprüfung des Erfolgs oder Versagens von RWI in Entwicklungsländern könnte erst stattfinden, wenn es tatsächlich ordnungsgemäß umgesetzt würde.
Der bekannteste und am umfangreichsten entwickelte Ansatz zur Analyse der Effekte von RWI ist fraglos der Neo-klassische Ansatz, der sich grundlegend und ausschlieβlich mit der auf Viner zurückgehenden Gegenüberstellung von Handelsschaffung und Handelsumlenkung. Wir zeigen, dass die neoklassischen empirischen Methoden und Resultate trotz Tausender Studien wenig robust sind und zu einem Gutteil arbiträr gewählt sind. Kleinste Änderungen in Modell-Parametern, der empirischen Strategie oder den Datenquellen führen zu stark abweichenden Resultaten. Grundsätzlich scheint Handelsumlenkung weniger stark ausgeprägt zu sein als Handelsschaffung, der Netto-Effekt für die Regionen scheint also aus dieser Perspektive in den allermeisten Fällen positiv zu sein (dies zeigen sowohl Sekundärstudien als auch eigene Berechnungen). Es gibt sowohl Gewinner als auch Verlierer innerhalb der Regionen. Allerdings scheinen diese nicht wie vom Neoklassischen Ansatz vorhergesagt, durch die anfängliche ökonomische Machtverteilung vorherbestimmt zu sein. Dennoch bleibt die axiomatische Inferiorität von RWI zwischen Entwicklungsländern gegenüber multilateraler Liberalisierung (sowie Nord-Süd Integration und unilateraler Liberalisierung) intakt, solange die Analyse auf diese Perspektive beschränkt bleibt. Dies wirft die Frage auf, warum es dann sein kann, dass Regionalintegration so weit verbreitet ist – sowohl die Analysen aus Politökonomischer Sicht als auch jene aus Heterodoxer Sicht versuchen jeweils Antwort auf dieses scheinbare Rätsel zu geben. Darüber hinaus mündet eine unvoreingenommen und holistische Analyse von Regionalintegration innerhalb des Neoklassischen Ansatzes in einer fundamentale Erkenntnis, die überraschenderweise nur selten in der Literatur diskutiert wird. Ein näherer Blick auf die jeweiligen Schätzungen offenbart, dass selbst die optimistischsten Berechnungen in Größenordnungen enden, die absolut vernachlässigbar sind im Verhältnis zu generellen Wachstumsdynamiken, da es sich bei den Effizienzgewinnen aus Allokationseffekten um Einmal-Effekte in Höhe von unter einem Prozent des BIP handelt. Dies trifft interessanterweise nicht nur auf RWI zu, sondern auch für eine mögliche allumfassende multilaterale Liberalisierung. Diese eklatante Bedeutungslosigkeit der allokationsbedingten Handelsschaffung von sowohl RWI als auch multilateraler Liberalisierung wirft in unseren Augen mehr Fragen bezüglich der Zweckdienlichkeit des Neoklassischen Ansatzes auf, als bezüglich des Entwicklungs- und Wachstumspotentials von Regionalintegration. Allerdings stellt sich die Frage, warum dieser Analyse dann ein solch großer Raum beigemessen wird. Der Hauptgrund scheint, wie in vielen anderen Bereichen der Volkswirtschaft auch, weniger der Umstand zu sein, dass die Einsicht fehlt, dass diese Analysen die Realität nur unzureichend ab- und nachbilden, sondern vielmehr, dass von vielen Autoren mehr Wert auf eine elegante, mathematisch raffinierte und zumindest scheinbar klar quantifizierte und eindeutige Ergebnisse liefernde Methode setzen wollen als auf eine, bei der die Disziplin methodisch bestenfalls in den Anfangsschuhen steckt, Datengrundlagen in substantiellem Umfang fehlen und Ungewissheiten aufgrund der Komplexität kaum abschließend überwunden werden können.
An zweiter Stelle folgt in Bezug auf Popularität und Anzahl an Studien ein spieltheoretischer Ansatz der Politischen Ökonomie. Hierbei wird der Frage nachgegangen, warum Regionalintegration betrieben wird, obwohl der Neoklassische Ansatz (scheinbar) nachweist, das seine multilaterale Lösung zu präferieren wäre. Als Grund wird hierbei der Einfluss von Lobbyisten und anderen Interessengruppen angenommen. Die Diskussion widmet sich im weiteren Verlauf fast ausschließlich der Frage, ob eine solcherart zustande gekommene Regionalintegration weitere, multilaterale Liberalisierungsschritte beflügelt und behindert. Allerdings ist der Erkenntnisgewinn aus den unzähligen Studien und Modellen äußerst überschaubar.
Andere wichtige Ansätze für die Analyse von RWI erhalten deutlich weniger Aufmerksamkeit in der wissenschaftlichen Diskussion, obwohl diese heterodoxen Ansätze, die den Fokus auf dynamische Effekte und Strukturwandel legen, in der öffentlichen Debatte eine nicht unbedeutende Rolle spielen. Diesen Ansätzen ist gemein, dass sie einen Fokus auf Marktversagen und Externalitäten legen. Das Triumvirat der Neuen Handelstheorie, der Neuen der Diskussionen, wobei zusätzlich einige Keynesianische Einflüsse, der Neue Institutionalismus (sowie praxisorientierte Aspekte der Öffentlichen Finanzen) und einige radikalere Ansätze mit Ökonomischen Geografie und der Neuen Endogenen Wachstumstheorie bildet hierbei den Kern Fokus auf Arbeitsmärkte und Entwicklungsfallen eine Rolle spielen. Heterodoxe, dynamische Effekte sind sehr komplex und divers und die theoretische und empirische Anwendung auf Regionalismus ist nur sehr schwach entwickelt. Einige heterodoxe Argument ändern die Resultate der Neoklassischen Theorie nur in beschränktem Umfang und zeigen sowohl Vorteile und Nachteile von regionalen und multilateralen Liberalisierungsschritten. Einige andere heterodoxe / dynamische Effekte treten entweder ausschließlich bei RWI auf oder zu einem deutlichen geringeren Maβe auch im Gefolge von Multilateralismus und Nord-Süd Integration. Einige davon haben unserer Einschätzung nach tatsächlich das Potential, die Neoklassischen Argumente zur Dominanz von multilateralen Lösungen komplett ins Gegenteil zu verkehren. Leider ist die empirische Analyse von dynamischen Effekten jedoch sehr schlecht entwickelt. Dennoch erscheinen Schätzungen aufgrund von dynamischen Modellen “sufficiently specified to suggest that the benefits behind the dynamics of integration are potentially large” (Develin & French-Davis, 1998:20). Die Komplexität der heterodoxen Effekte impliziert, dass komplizierte Entscheidungen zur Auswahl von spezifischen Maβnahmen getroffen werden müssen. Auch wenn Regionalismus dynamische Effekte auslösen kann, ist dies keineswegs ein Automatismus, der aus jeglichen regionalen Anstrengungen entspringt. Rodrik’s Kommentar zu Industriepolitik paraphrasierend, sollte daher in Zukunft weniger der Frage nachgegangen werden, ob Regionalismus unter Entwicklungsländern eine gute Politikwahl ist, sondern eher, wie Regionalismus ausgebildet werden muss, um erfolgreich Entwicklungsimpulse geben zu können.
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Kolovos, Amaleia E. "Regional Integration in East Asia." PDXScholar, 2010. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/93.
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Regional integration is not a new phenomenon but has become an increasingly important topic of political research with the continued expansion of the European Union as well as an increased number of regional organizations around the globe. This paper will seek to use both Europe and East Asia as illustrations in order to better comprehend the driving forces behind integration as well as why some regions are further integrated than others. The purpose of this research is to achieve a better understanding of what causes regional integration in hopes of developing a more inclusive theory. More specifically, it aims to see how integrated the region of East Asia is, in particular when compared to Europe. Through comparing the two regions and analyzing factors in both Europe and East Asia as determined by current integration theory, this research aims to achieve a better understanding of the driving forces behind regional integration as an international phenomenon. My research is an attempt to tie together the multiple existing theories of regional integration with the goal of creating a more cohesive and measurable theory. With an increased understanding of regional integration, we will be better able to both explain and predict integration in both Europe and East Asia, as well as other, less integrated regions around the world.
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Maze, Alinne. "Regional Integration: The Case of Mercosur." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2004. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/421.
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This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Arts and Sciences
Political Science
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Chowthee, Nishi Lalmanie. "Regional economic integration in Africa : the importance of regional economic communities." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/932.
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Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since independence in the early 1950's, Africa's overall economic performance compared very unfavourably with those of other regions of the developing world mainly because it attained political independence as a fragmented continent. From this time, the vision of African leaders has been that of regional integration and the creation of the African common market. The vision of a common market which unites Africa's mostly small and fragmented economies would lead to economies of scale, thereby making African countries more competitive. That vision however, has been clouded by the devastation of war, both civil and territorial and corruption which drains the state. Therefore, the importance of regional economic integration is pertinent and more so, the role of Regional Economic Communities as integrative institutions. The African Union, the main institution for political, economic and social integration established the African Economic Community whose main role is to facilitate the regional economic integration process in Africa. Africa's RECs have been designated by the Abuja Treaty as the building blocks for integration and the eventual creation of an African Economic Community. The Abuja Treaty and the Constitutive Act of the African Union provides for the coordination and harmonization of the policies of the Regional Economic Communities. One of the main challenges confronting Africa in its quest for full integration is the rationalisation of regional economic communities. The RECs with their treaties, protocols and agendas are logical institutions to jumpstart Africa's integration. The African Union recognises eight Regional Economic Communities, but the African continent has fourteen inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), all of which are working on regional integration issues. The RECs have had some successes but have not met their objectives of greater production. The RECs need to be revived and the first thing would be to rationalise their structure and their interactions with national governments. Rationalisation has benefits and costs and rationalisation efforts should focus on efficiency and effectiveness. Ultimately, rationalisation would allow Africa to attain the full benefits of integration, particularly growth for trade within and outside Africa. Regional Economic Communities are viewed as pillars of continental integration by the African Union. The strategy of economic emancipation must denote economic development for all African people including grass roots level and there is no doubt that significant challenges exist and must be addressed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert die onafhanlikheid in die vroeë 1950's het die oorgrote ekonomiese groei van Afrika goed vergelyk met die ander onwikkelende streke in die wêreld grotendeels as gevolg van die gefragmenteerde onafhanklikheidswording in Afika as geheel. Vir die eerste keer was die visie van Afrika leiers dit eens dat Afrika streke as een moet integreer asook die daarstelling van een gemeenskaplike mark. Hierdie visie is egter vertroebel deur die verwoesting van oorloë, beide siviel en territoriaal, asook korrupsie, wat 'n staat dreineer. Daarom is die belangrikheid van streeks ekonomiese integrasie steeds belangrik, en nog meer so, die rol van Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe (REC's) as integrerende instelling. Die Afrika Unie, die hoof instelling vir politieke, ekonomiese en sosiale integrasie het die Afrika Ekonomiese Gemeenskap, wie se hoof taak dit is om die streeks ekonomiese integrasie te fasiliteer, gestig. Afrika se Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe is aangewys deur die Abuja Verdrag, om as die bouers van integrasie op te tree, met die uiteindelike daarstelling van 'n Afrika Ekonomiese Gemeenskap. Die Abuja Verdrag en die Konstutiewe Wet van die Afrika Unie maak voorsiening vir die koordinasie in ooreenstemming met die beleidsrigting van die Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe. Een van die hoof uitdagings wat Afrika in die gesig staar, met die soektog na volle integrasie, is die rasionalisasie van streeks ekonomiese gemeenskappe. Die Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe met hulle verdrae, protokol en agendas is die logiese instelling om die integrasie van Afrika 'n hupstoot te gee. Die Afrika Unie erken agt Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe maar die Afrika kontinent het veertien inter-regerings organisasies (IGO's) wat almal werk aan streeks integrasie kwessies. Die Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe het 'n sekere mate van sukses behaal, maar het nog nie hulle geteikende groter produksie bereik nie. Die Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe moet opnuut herleef word en die eerste stap sou wees om te rasionaliseer oor hulle struktuur en die interaksie met nasionale regerings. Rasionalisering het voordele en kostes en pogings behoort te fokus op doeltreffendheid en effektiwiteit. Die uiteinde van rasionalisering sal Afrika die volle voordele van integrasie, veral t.o.v handelsgroei binne en buite Afrika, ervaar. Streeks Ekonomiese Gemeenskappe word beskou, deur die Afrika Unie, as die pilare van kontinentale intergrasie. Die strategie van ekonomiese emansipasie moet 'n aanduiding wees vir ekonomiese ontwikkeling vir al die mense van Afrika, ook op grondvlak, en daar is geen twyfel dat beduidende uitdagings bestaan en dat dit moet aangespreek word.
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Orfao, Anita. "European economic integration and human development, the consequences of regional integration." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1996. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq26355.pdf.
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NYAMBI, COLLINS ENOH. "EPA, Regional Integration And Export From Africa." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, Economics, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-12756.
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Introduction: The trade relationship between the European Union (EU) and African coun-tries based on regional groupings, under the framework of Economic Partnership Agree-ment(EPAs) came to play in most countries in January 2008. It replaces the preferential trade treatment granted by the EU under the Lomé convention and Cotonou agreement which allowed African, Carribean and Pacific countries(ACP) greater access to EU markets as a means of leveraging African exports, and encouraging the competitiveness of African economies in the global economy. Method: Conclusion:
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Berthelon, Matias. "Essays on regional integration and development economics." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/38.
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Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2003.Thesis research directed by: Economics. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Odinkalu, Chidi Anselm. "Regional integration and human rights in Africa." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.559763.
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Human rights norms may have universal application but States have the primary obligation alone and through international and regional co-operation to guarantee their protection and enjoyment. Regional systems for the protection of human rights have become an established part of such mechanisms of international co-operation. Each regional system is uniquely shaped by the States comprised in it, often reflecting both regional contextual characteristics and comparative and historical experience. So far as the African human rights system is concerned, the scope of its overall obligations and institutional elements are somewhat unclear in the context of regional integration arrangements. This thesis therefore sets out to bring clarity to these issues in order to better realise the full potential of the African human rights system in its quest to ensure effective protection of human rights and offer more effective remedies for violations of human rights. The study takes a holistic approach and argues that Africa's regional human rights system includes regional integration arrangements in which human rights are fused on the continent. It investigates and analyses the evolution of regionalism as well as norms and institutions for advancing regional integration and human rights in Africa. Particular attention is paid in this connection to evidence of over-laps, complementarity, and convergence in such norms and institutions. A related objective of this study is to unravel the extent to which Africa's regional intergration systems may be said to be now underpinned by objective political values binding upon its Member States as reflected in the treaties establishing such systems. This is justified on the premise that integration is an imperative response to the contradictory tendencies of globalisation, nationalism, and the potential or actual arbitrary behaviour of individual States, which tend to undermine the objective of the universal protection of human rights. In these circumstances, the continuing sustainability of the promise of human rights in Africa depends significantly on effective international and regional oversight of State conduct. For this purpose, regional integration and human rights mutually reinforce one another in binding legal commitments and .. 11 regional institutions for their implementation. Far from being mutually antagonistic, they are now mutually interdependent and overlap in defining the scope and functions of sovereign territoriality in Afiica. In examining these issues, the thesis deploys the principal sources and methods of intemational law. 111
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Albertin, Giorgia. "Membership, enlargement and deepening of regional integration." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2006. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1870/.
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This thesis contributes in several ways to the theoretical literature that studies regionalism. First, this thesis investigates whether there are incentives for a regional trading bloc to enlarge through further extensions of its membership, or to reject new membership requests. Chapter 2 develops a theoretical model where the incentives for a regional trading bloc to enlarge and for third countries to join are formalised, and the enlargement of the bloc is endogenously determined by the interaction between supply of, and demand for membership. Furthermore, this analytical set-up is used to assess how deeper integration among the members of a regional trading bloc affects the equilibrium size of the bloc. Second, this thesis studies the incentives for a country to enter a regional trade agreement when a multilateral free trade agreement is available, and the implications of the choice of regionalism for the incentives to pursue subsequent multilateral trade liberalisation. Chapter 3 provides a theoretical model that formalises a country's choice between entering a regional trade agreement or a multilateral free trade agreement, depicted as alternative trade policy options. Also this analytical framework is used to assess how a country's choice to enter the regional trade agreement affects its incentives to liberalise trade multilaterally. Third, this thesis studies the trade effects of deeper integration among the members of a regional trading bloc, and the impact of economic dissimilarities on the identified trade effects. Chapter 4 develops a general equilibrium model which formalises the trade effects of the formation of a currency union among the members of a regional trading bloc, and of the subsequent enlargement of the currency union to include an economically dissimilar country. Furthermore, this analytical framework is used to assess how economic dissimilarities between the members of the currency union and the accession country affect the magnitude of the trade effects that would follow the enlargement.
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Caraballo, Luis. "Caricom: The Need for Caribbean Regional Integration." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2006. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/1210.
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This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Arts and Sciences
Political Science
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Madala, Sithembele. "African regional integration track: challenges and prospects." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28337.
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Africa has been very slow in effectively implementing regional integration and trade agreements and has made little progress to achieve its stated objectives, especially the goal of eradicating poverty and promoting development. In addition, the economic integration model currently being pursued in Africa suffers from several challenges and has not achieved its goals, because of among other things, weak legal and institutional frameworks, and lack of support from ordinary African citizens and the private sector. In light of the above, this research investigate the appropriateness of this model. This research begins with the theoretical discussions of integration and identifies the existing gaps within the African regional integration process. This reveals that there are not only foundational and definitional disparities within the African regional integration process but also that Africa lacks the necessary prerequisite for any successful regional integration. In particular, this research reveals that the institutions that are mandated to accelerate regional integration process lack the necessary capacity to achieve regional integration process. The discussions of theories behind regional economic integration reveals that the understanding of regional integration in Africa are rooted in the economic understanding of regionalism with insufficient attention given to the importance of strong institutional and legal frameworks and a human centred development. Importantly, these discussions reveal that the European integration economic model that was a success in European Community has been adopted in Africa without reviewing its appropriateness for the continent. The debates of the history of African regional integration in Africa demonstrate that regional integration process is not a new phenomenon in Africa and that African leaders have always embraced integration and have perceived it as a way of addressing Africa’s social and economic challenges. Importantly, the discussions of the history demonstrate the role African leaders played in fighting colonialism and dismantling the apartheid system in South Africa. Unfortunately, these discussions also show that after independence Africa was a continent faced with many challenges. In particular, history shows that after independence African leaders gave little support to Pan Africanism which had been driving force behind decolonisation and became oppressive and in many instances, committed human rights violations against their own people. This state of affairs has led to economic development being sacrificed. The discussions of the benefits of economic integration shows that while there are benefits linked to economic integration such as the reduction of poverty and development in countries such as China, India and Thailand, for Africa is unable to deal with the challenge of poverty and underdevelopment . African countries continue to witness increasing levels of poverty and poor development while few businesses and political elites remain the main beneficiaries of the economic integration model. The analyses of the institutional and legal structures reveal that the institutions mandated with regional integration and the laws governing regional integration process are either weak or nonexistence. This is demonstrated by the slow implementation of regional projects. Even though Africa has made significant steps to facilitate its regional integration, it has been unable to deal with the challenges confronting the continent, especially the rising levels of poverty and underdevelopment. While this this research supports and approves the steps that have been adopted to facilitate regional integration and trade, nevertheless this research observes that institutions that are mandated to drive regional integration have been unable to promote African regional integration. Africa lacks the necessary infrastructure and human capacity to achieve regional integration. The research question therefore is whether the economic integration model currently being pursued in Africa under its existing framework is the appropriate model for African regional integration since it is not supported by a proper legal system and the African people and does not directly address the issues that confront ordinary African citizens? While the author observes that Africa has considerably improved its trade and strengthened its integration process, the author nevertheless concludes that the economic integration model currently being pursued in Africa is unlikely to succeed, because it does not take into account African realities and lacks the necessary prerequisites for successful economic integration.
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HASAN, SHARINA FARIHAH BINTI. "REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND PRODUCTION DIVISIONS IN MALAYSIA." 京都大学 (Kyoto University), 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/85385.
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Globalization is the increasing world-wide integration of markets for goods, services, labor, and capital. It seems to increasingly dominate discussion on the direction of social change and representations of the world. This study is of no exception; it provides an overview on the economic aspects of globalization. It mainly focuses on economic integration, trade patterns of multinational firms and international labor movement. As part of the analysis, international labor movement is centered on the inflow of unskilled labor into host country and the effects they brings along to the welfare of local populations. Particular attention is also given to the construction sector. International trade grows rapidly along with the progress of globalization. The massive development of new communication and transportation technology has made possible for heterogeneous firms to look for optimum production allocation worldwide. There has however been massive debates among researchers on the conditions that firms decided upon when choosing the production allocation, i.e; whether to locate in one country and export to another or to locate in both countries at the same time. The study proposes a general equilibrium model in order to understand the mechanism of decision behavior of heterogeneous firms on production allocation. Apart from that, international labor movement is an important dimension of globalization and has become increasingly embedded in changes in global economic and social structures. Like the rest of the world, Malaysia is affected by globalization. The wide economic and demographic differences between Malaysia and its immediate neighbors triggered the cross-border movement of labor. The country began to rely on foreign labor, particularly unskilled labor, due to the structural changes and labor market segmentation that first emerged in the early 1970s. The unprecedented influx of these labors, following unabated high growth since the mid-1980s, raised several social, political and economic concerns. The popular perception was that foreign labors were affecting local unskilled labors, both in terms of wages and living standards. It is important to note that the vast majority of preceding discussions on the subject are from the social and political point of view. There is however lack of discussions from economic and quantitative perspective. This study endeavors to fill in these gaps and contribute to the body of knowledge. Consequently, empirical analysis is accomplished using CGE modeling on international labor movement in Malaysia. And this is the first attempt such approach is carried out thus far.Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(工学)
甲第14920号
工博第3147号
新制||工||1472(附属図書館)
27358
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PUSTERLA, FAZIA. "Regional integration agreements: impact, geography and efficiency." Doctoral thesis, Università Bocconi, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/11565/4050328.
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Musema-Kiluka, Jean Paul. "Legal impediments to regional integration in the great lakes region." University of the Western Cape, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/8263.
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Magister Philosophiae - MPhilThe Great Lakes Region has long been viewed as a land of untapped economic potential due to, amongst other factors, the failures of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC)1 and the Rwandan genocide. The region has many opportunities and common initiatives despite tensions among its core countries. Cross-borders trade, common infrastructures and common border security zones operations have shown that regional integration is possible within the region. From the Dar-Es-Salaam Conference and Declaration2 in November 2004, and thereafter, the signing of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Pact3 in Nairobi, in 2006 the Group of Friends (GoFs) and the member states plus international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) took a stance to build for the future of the region. They created this new regional integration initiative in order to achieve peace. Peace has multiple dimensions and implications among which poverty alleviation and building of common future in the region are crucial and conducive to increase of population resources.4 Poverty alleviation, sustainable management of common infrastructures, trade and security can be effectively achieved by integrating economically the region.
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Nare, Boitumelo. "Accelerating regional trade integration in Africa through regional value chains: A SADC perspective." Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32934.
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Regional integration has been a key ambition, vision and standing agenda of the African continent for the past two decades. The recent signing of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) (signed by 54 of the 55 members of the African Union as of July 2019) brings to the fore the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of what has been thus far an elongated period of planning and discussion. One of the key mandates of the AfCFTA is to ensure acceleration of intra-African trade and boost Africa's trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa's common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations (African Union, 2018). Intra-regional trade can be considered as a quick avenue for the continent and its respective Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to implement this agenda by leveraging collective resources and opportunities such as increased focus on the establishment of regional value chains (RVCs). Currently, the SADC region has been at the forefront of driving regional trade integration (RTI) in the continent; however, intra-regional trade is still only but a fraction of the RECs total global trade, averaging 5-7% of total trade in 2015-2017. Because of the myriad of challenges in the region – including but not limited to the low rate of RTI, poor infrastructure, poor institutions, unstable political environments, and slow economic growth – RECs, let alone the continent as a whole, cannot take part in and capitalise on the opportunities from complex trade networks through global and regional value chains. Moreover, when African countries do participate in global value chains, they find themselves at the lower end of the value chain where it is harder to reap the benefits due to the unequal distributional effects of such trade activities. This study therefore examined the key factors that drive RTI, and sought to ascertain the relationship between regional value chains and regional trade integration. Lastly, the study aimed to uncover the contribution to economic growth of such trade activities. Thirteen SADC countries are observed over the period 2000-2017 using panel data analysis and various key estimation techniques to ensure robustness of the models used. The study finds that there are definitely key factors that drive regional trade integration in the REC that require increased focus from policy makers and trade activity participants as they have the potential to change the trajectory of the region and the continent's trade landscape. The study also indisputably finds a two-way relationship between RTI and RVCs, suggesting that if key aspects of these activities are addressed, this would lead to a mutual increase in iv these factors as they are highly complementary activities. Lastly, the study confirms the positive impact that RTI and RVCs would have on economic growth attributed to an increase in the level of productive economic trade activity thereby contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries as individuals and as a collective. The study therefore concludes that there should be more focus from policy makers and all key trade activity stakeholders on driving regional trade integration and participation in regional value chains as the benefits could prove highly rewarding to the SADC RECs and the continent as a whole. Such increased focus will ensure that the region is fully capitalising on the unique strengths of the African continent and driving collective growth and development.
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Gama, e. Souza Lauro da. "Telecommunications and regional integration, the case of MERCOSUR." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ64275.pdf.
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Gama, e. Souza Lauro da 1962. "Telecommunications and regional integration : the case of Mercosur." Thesis, McGill University, 1999. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=30299.
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This masters thesis analyzes telecommunications policies in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and relates these to the ongoing economic integration of these countries within MERCOSUR. To this end, a survey of the telecommunications sector in each of the MERCOSUR countries, depicting the main features of their respective regulatory framework, competition policy, and universal service goals is provided in Part II. Part III briefly describes the GATS/BTA framework and comments on MERCOSUR countries' commitments towards market liberalization. In Part IV, MERCOSUR's legal and institutional framework, along with the common initiatives that have been taken with respect to the telecommunications sector, are considered. By way of conclusion, Part V proposes further reflections on theoretical approaches aimed at framing telecommunications normativity in consideration of its dynamic interaction with globalization and integration in the context of MERCOSUR.
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Sapwarobol, Teerasak. "Essays on Regional Economic Integration in East Asia." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/18.
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This dissertation seeks to understand the pattern of trade and portfolio investment in East Asian economies and how trade integration can affect the level of bilateral asset holdings. On the trade side, the determinants of bilateral trade flow is examined at the product level, not the aggregate, so as to assess the impact of RTAs across product types as well as the nature of the home market effect and the role of similarity of demand structures. On the financial side, the dissertation synthesizes analyses of the composition of cross-border portfolio holdings in East Asian economies, focusing on the importance of capital market development as well as a linkage between goods and financial markets. The dissertation begins with a re-examination of the determinants of bilateral trade in differentiated, reference-priced, and homogeneous products over the period of 1983-2000. The results suggest that trade liberalization under the ASEAN PTA and AFTA frameworks played a significant role in promoting intra-regional trade in differentiated and reference-priced, but perhaps not homogeneous products. The weak evidence of trade creation in homogeneous products reflects the fact that the implementation of trade liberalization among ASEAN states has provided limited benefits to its members due to waivers of concessions. Despite the massive increase in intra-ASEAN trade, nevertheless, the findings reveal that the formation of RTAs in the region did not lead to trade diversion in any product category. The analysis of the composition of cross-border portfolio holdings in East Asian financial markets employs a panel dataset of the IMF's CPIS over the period of 2001-2009. One key finding from the analysis is that the volume of bilateral imports appeared to play a significant role in spurring cross-border portfolio holdings in East Asian financial markets. In particular, the dissertation shows empirically that the development of the capital markets in East Asia has become one of the key factors in attracting foreign portfolio investment from most regions of the world
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Puga, Diego. "Regional integration and the location of economic activity." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.263362.
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Liu, Fu-Kuo. "External incentives, industrial development and regional economic integration." Thesis, University of Hull, 1994. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:4619.
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The revival of regional integration in the European Community (EC) in the early 1980s has brought about profound implications for the development of regional integration and its related theory. Firstly, European industry searching to promote its competitiveness highlighted the need for a "European-level" solution to European economic decline and contributions to the relaunching of European integration. Secondly, as a result of the renewed momentum for regional integration, external factors which were neglected by previous efforts in theory-exploration, have become more noticeable in the process of regional integration.The purpose of this thesis about external factors is to analyse to what extent the progress of regional integration is driven by the private sector. The relaunching of European integration which brought about the successful passage of the Single European Act has demonstrated the crucial contribution of the business community to accelerating the progress of integration.This thesis further offers an analysis of the proposition that the impact of external factors on industrial development is the key to understanding the process of creating the Chinese Economic Area (CEA). It explores the argument that instead of being motivated by political factors, the process of regional integration is primarily stimulated by industrial development in the private sector. It concludes by suggesting a new focus for the study of regional integration - the "external incentives-industrial development" approach, and comparative insights into the EC and the CEA.
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Farías, Pelcastre Iván. "The institutionalisation of regional integration in North America." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2014. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5413/.
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Current studies of regional integration in North America claim that this process is limited to the entering of intergovernmental agreements that aim to expand and enhance crossborder flows of goods and capitals between Mexico, Canada and the US. Such studies claim that the political effects of the process on nation-states are limited and constrained by the decisions of the national governments. In contrast, this thesis argues that the actions of transnational actors have increased the policy interdependence between the three countries in the arenas of environmental protection, labour cooperation and protection of foreign direct investment. Transnational actors have used, applied and interpreted the rules originally created by the intergovernmental agreements –NAFTA, NAAEC, BECA and NAALC– and have subsequently demanded additional and improved rules. Regional institutions have in turn responded to these demands by supplying new and improved regional rules. In doing so, transnational actors and regional institutions have furthered the policy interdependence between the three countries. This phenomenon, known in other contexts as institutionalisation, demonstrates that the process of regional integration in North America is more substantial than previous studies claim. In addition, it illustrates the relevance of the theories of Liberal Intergovernmentalism and Supranational Governance to the analysis of the emergence and development of the North American integration process.
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Iyer, Arun. "Regional Integration in South Asia (Based on SAARC)." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2013. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-191993.
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The aim of the thesis was to show the weakness of SAARC right from its origins as well as a great flaw in the making of the charter which excluded the notion of security as well as "bilateral" and "contentious" issues to be discussed in the organization. South Asia has for long been an area prone to violence and mistrust and the exclusion of elements of vital importance has further added to the weakness of SAARC. In the following work I will portray the dynamics and working of the region of SAARC as well as individual countries on how it affects the region as a whole and also why SAARC continues to be a toothless organization in-spite knowing the origin of the problem and why nothing is being done. Also, with the case study of India and Pakistan, it shows us that when two nations of totally opposite ideologies and bloody beginnings since independence exist within the region, the idea of integration is a far fetched dream.
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Artsy, Avishay. "Regional integration and conflict resolution in southern Africa." Thesis, Boston University, 2002. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/27577.
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Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
2031-01-02
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Chambers, Annette. "External actors and regional integration, the effects of the United States' strategic-economic policies on regional integration in the Commonwealth Caribbean." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/mq26905.pdf.
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Chambers, Annette Carleton University Dissertation Political Science. "External actors and regional integration; the effects of the United States' strategic-economic policies on regional integration in the commonwealth Caribbean." Ottawa, 1997.
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Mathibe, Precious. "Regional cooperation and integration : intergovernmentalism approach to regional integration: a case of the African Continental Free Trade Area and effects on trade." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/80471.
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The liberal intergovernmentalist approach has been applied to numerous studies within
the European Union (EU) context in the past, and lately to studies within the African
regional integration context. Differing experiences with regards to regional integration
have emerged in the EU and African contexts. The purpose of this study was to
investigate the application of the liberal intergovernmentalist approach within the African
context, in particular the African Contintental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The study
followed a single case research design, meaning it was conducted within the setting of
the AfCFTA. The study population comprised 16 participants and documents from the
African Union (AU) regarding the AfCFTA. Various data-collection methods were used,
including focus group interviews, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and qualitative
content analysis – the rationale being that the case study approach required numerous
data-collection methods to be employed. The methods utlised for data analysis were
thematic analysis for focus groups and face-to-face semi-structured interviews, and
qualitative content analysis for data obtained from the AU documents regarding the
AfCFTA. Findings from the study might have a considerable effect regarding the
interaction of African member states when undertaking regional intergration
engagments.Mini Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2020.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MPhil
Unrestricted
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Martínez, Galarraga Julio. "Market Integration and Regional Inequality in Spain, 1860-1930." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/2059.
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IN ENGLISH:This thesis represents an attempt to examine the evolution and causes of regional inequality in Spain during the early stages of economic development, in the period in which the integration of the domestic market was completed and the Spanish economy was going through the early stages of industrialization. With this objective, the research adopts a New Economic Geography (NEG) approach. This theoretical framework aims to analyse the distribution of economic activity across space and it appears to be particularly suitable for the study of regional inequality from a historical perspective (Krugman, 1991).
After reviewing the NEG literature, both theoretical and empirical, in which market accessibility becomes a key variable to understand where production takes place, the first step in the research is the construction of two databases that are essential for the empirical analysis in the following chapters. Firstly, GDP estimates at a provincial level are obtained following the standard methodology developed by Geary and Stark (2002) for the years 1860, 1900, 1914 and 1930. At a second stage, the availability of GDP figures allows constructing estimates of market potential at a provincial level using Harris (1954) equation (Crafts, 2005). The results suggest that the integration of the domestic market brought about significant changes in the relative accessibility of the Spanish provinces. In particular, it has been stressed that the construction of the railway network and the subsequent fall in transport costs triggered a polarised geographical pattern with two clearly differentiated groups where coastal provinces (plus Madrid) showed higher market potential than their inland counterparts.
More importantly, the availability of an indicator of market access becomes essential for the empirical analyses undertaken in the next chapters. First, the focus is placed on the industrial sector. The exercise conducted in chapter 4 aims to disentangle the factors that lie behind the intense process of spatial concentration recorded in Spain's industry between the mid-19th century and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). To do this, a model that combines comparative advantage in line with the Heckscher-Ohlin model, and NEG-type mechanisms is estimated (Midelfart-Knarvik et al., 2002). The results show that in the mid-19th century, the spatial distribution of industry in Spain was determined by comparative advantage. However, when industry began to concentrate in a limited number of provinces, evidence in favour of NEG effects is found. In this case, the main driving force in industrial location was the interaction between market potential and increasing returns.
Once the impact of NEG-type mechanisms has been confirmed in industry, the aim of chapter 5 is to examine whether geography also had an influence at a more aggregate level, when income per capita is considered. In so doing, the empirical strategy developed by Ottaviano and Pinelli (2006), in which growth literature (Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1991) and economic geography are combined, is applied to the Spanish case. Conditioned growth regressions are estimated, i.e., income per capita growth rates are regressed on the customary proximate sources of growth and a set of explanatory variables (wider influences) that include, among others, first nature geography (à la Sachs) and second nature geography (à la Krugman) variables. In the second half of the 19th century, the impact of geography on provincial growth came from pure geography. Then, in the first decades of the 20th century, there is evidence of a positive and significant relationship between market potential and economic growth, as some recent cross-country studies within NEG have demonstrated (Redding and Venables, 2004). In the light of these results it can be concluded that the role of geography needs to be considered in the analysis of regional inequality in the long term.
EN CASTELLANO:
Esta tesis representa un intento de indagar en la evolución y las causas de la desigualdad territorial en España durante las primeras etapas del proceso de desarrollo económico, en el período en el que se completó la integración del mercado doméstico a la vez que la economía española transitaba por las primeras etapas de la industrialización. Con este objetivo, la investigación adopta un enfoque de Nueva Geografía Económica (NEG), un marco teórico cuyo fin es analizar la distribución de la actividad económica en el espacio, y que por lo tanto, se convierte en una herramienta de gran utilidad para el estudio de la desigualdad regional. Tras revisar esta literatura, tanto a nivel teórico como empírico (capítulo 2), en el capítulo 3 se procede a la elaboración de sendas bases de datos que resultan fundamentales para el análisis posterior. En primer lugar, se lleva a cabo una estimación del Producto Interior Bruto a nivel provincial en diversos años comprendidos entre 1860 y 1930 para, a continuación, calcular el potencial de mercado de las provincias españolas. Una vez obtenido este indicador de acceso a los mercados se examina, primero, los determinantes que se hallan detrás del intenso proceso de concentración espacial de la industria que se dio en España entre mitad del siglo XIX y la Guerra Civil (capítulo 4). Para ello, se estima un modelo que permite cuantificar la fuerza relativa de los factores vinculados a la existencia de ventaja comparativa en la dotación de factores en la línea de los argumentos de tipo Heckscher-Ohlin, y por otro lado, de los mecanismos de tipo NEG. Finalmente, a partir de la nueva base de datos de PIB provincial construida, en el capítulo 5 se estudia el efecto del potencial de mercado sobre la desigualdad regional a partir de la estimación de regresiones de crecimiento condicionadas, basadas en un modelo NEG donde, junto a las variables típicas utilizadas en este tipo de estudios, se incorporan al análisis tanto los elementos de geografía pura (à la Sachs) como los de segunda naturaleza vinculados al potencial de mercado (à la Krugman).
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Griffiths, David James. "Foreign direct investment, regional integration agreements and economic growth." Thesis, Lancaster University, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.507425.
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Lakkis, Ramy A. "Arab regional integration : a neo-functionalist and transactionalist analysis." Thesis, Durham University, 2003. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3651/.
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This thesis is a multidisciplinary analysis of Arab regional integration using the neo- functionalist and transactionalist approaches to integration. Neo-functionalism analyses the process of integration in the Arab World by studying the role of regional institutions including the league of Arab States and three Arab joint ventures. The transactionalist approach examines the impact of regional trade on political and economic integration in the Arab Mashreq. The analysis of the Arab joint ventures is taken further by using elements of business and finance theories. It is conducted on two different levels: the first analyses the operational and financial performance of these ventures. The second examines their role in promoting regional integration especially in the sectors concerned. The analysis is intended to find out whether these ventures were commercially viable or were more politically inspired. Qualitative information was collected from conducting constructive interviews with Arab economists, politicians and managers of the Arab joint ventures examined. The quantitative data was collected from recognisable resources including the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia and the Arab Monetary Fund. The problems encountered in this thesis resulted from the application of these theoretical approaches to integration, which are designed to study integration in politically developed societies with more advanced economies. However, the choice is justified since there are no alternatives. Secondly, the data on trade and Arab joint ventures may not be completely accurate since it does not record all transactions. The thesis concludes the following: at the political level, regional institutions did not promote Arab integration since they lacked aspects of supranationality and collective decision-making processes. Also, they did not affect the Arab elite's attitudes and could not initiate a viable process of integration that would spill over from one sector to another. At the economic level, the low level of regional trade in the Arab Mashreq did not prevent the occurrence of many attempts at Arab integration. Moreover, the Arab joint ventures were more politically inspired than commercially. Although they were more resilient to economic and political instability in the Arab World, their role in promoting regional integration was limited.
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Kaboyoka, Livingstone S. "Regional integration and co-operation in sub-Saharan Africa." Thesis, University of Westminster, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.433844.
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Versailles, Bruno Andre Gaston Marie. "Essays on aid and regional integration in East Africa." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:719589cd-1188-436f-af52-79204f798c14.
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This thesis tackles issues related to regional integration, trade costs and aid, with empirical work related to the East African Community (EAC). The common thread is the impact of various types of trade costs on the structure and functioning of the economies of EAC member states. The first chapter introduces the literature and chapters 2, 3 and 4 constitute the core of the thesis. Chapter 2 develops a three-good, two-country duality-based general equilibrium model to investigate the effects of different types of aid and preferential trade on welfare and relative prices. The model is innovative in two ways: (i) a regionally tradable good is introduced, the price of which is determined endogenously, (ii) a regional infrastructure good, bought with aid monies, is brought in which lowers trade costs within the region. Using comparative statics, the properties of the model are explored in terms of the effects of tariff and aid shocks on welfare and relative prices. Chapter 3 develops a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model calibrated on Uganda and Kenya to gauge the importance of chapter 2’s results. The regional spill-over is now modeled as regional public capital serving as an input in both countries’ production functions. The simulations show how Kenya effectively exports some of the standard aid-induced real exchange rate appreciation to Uganda through a regional trade channel. Distributionally, Kenya’s urban and Uganda’s rural households win—which corresponds to regional comparative advantage patterns. Abolishing the intra-regional tariff increases welfare in Uganda and reduces it in Kenya, showing the ambiguous welfare results of Customs Unions known since Viner. Chapter 4 gauges the importance of border effects in Eastern Africa by testing the law-ofone- price (LOP) hypothesis on a consumer price data-set covering 24 goods in 39 cities in 4 countries. Using level regressions a significant border effect is found, whilst distance also plays a big role, both between and within countries. Neither the nominal exchange rate, nor non-tariff barriers (NTBs) reduce the border effect very much, even though both variables are significant. Looking at specific goods, markets for staple foods are the most integrated. As for the impact of the Customs Union between Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya (since 2005), there is a positive integration effect for the Kenya-Uganda border. Finally, Kenya’s political crisis at the end of 2007 can be linked to higher departures from the LOP throughout the region and can thus be said to have had clear knock-on effects for the landlocked EAC countries that depend on it as a transit country.
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Tagg, Shannon Maria. "Food security and regional integration in the SADC region." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5686.
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Bibliography: leaves 97-99.This thesis focuses on food security, policy and trade in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Food security is rigorously defined, and its ideological foundations are examined. Because food security is so intricately linked to poverty and rural development, a discussion of the food security situation renders a study of the socio-economic situation in the SADC region necessary. Food security is not just an agricultural phenomenon, and thus policies to eradicate hunger have to be broad based as opposed to merely concentrating on increasing food production.
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Chenchen, Li. "Regional Integration : From the European Experience to Southeast Asia." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Malmö högskola, Institutionen för globala politiska studier (GPS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-18445.
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This thesis is based on the theoretical knowledge derived from the European integration experience to conduct a comparative study between the EU and ASEAN. This thesis investigates how endogenous factors affect how exogenous factors influence the EU and ASEAN institution building process within the European Single Market and ASEAN Free Trade Area. It argues that ASEAN members' domestic political interest and national preference formed within their cultural context as a result of their informal institutional economic cooperation. The thesis reviews literature and finds that the European model cannot be simply applied to ASEAN, thus a combination of new regionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism seeks to contribute alternatives to different aspects in the analysis of ASEAN regional integration.
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Ahcar, Olmos Jaime Rafael. "An inquiry on Regional Trade Integration and Trade Potentials." Thesis, Paris 9, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015PA090055/document.
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Dans un contexte où les négociations commerciales multilatérales languissent dans une impasse, les accords commerciaux régionaux ACR prennent de l’élan. Cette thèse doctorale cherche à faire avancer la connaissance sur ce domaine. C’est grâce au modèle de gravité du commerce que trois chapitres supportés par des analyses économétriques appliqués ont été mis au point.Le premier chapitre examine les effets sur les flux bilatéraux de commerce attribuables aux ACR, le système généralisé de préférences (SGP) et l’appartenance à l’Organisation mondiale du commerce OMC. Plusieurs spécifications économétriques et techniques d’estimation ont été testées. Particulièrement Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML), qui se présente comme la technique la plus recommandée pour contenir des biais bien connues et des problèmes d’endogénéité. Cette recherche a été conduite avec un modèle de gravité du commerce international qui comporte 153 pays sur la période 1980-2012. Les résultats montrent systématiquement qu’un effet positif et significatif sur les flux bilatéraux de commerce est à attendre après l’entrée en vigueur d’un ACR. De même, des effets positifs mais peu importants, voir nuls sont accordés à la participation au sein de l’OMC. La spécification qui utilise PPML et qui contrôle l’influence de l’hétérogénéité inobservable montre un effet non-significatif pour le SGP. Le deuxième chapitre, coécrit avec mon directeur de thèse Jean-Marc Siroën, explore quel est l’effet de l’hétérogénéité des ACR sur le cadre de l’approfondissement de l’intégration. Nous envisageons pouvoir déceler si les ACR qui sont plus profonds contribuent plus à la création de commerce que ceux qui sont moins profonds. Nous avons recours à deux bases de données récemment ouverts au public. La première appartenant à l’OMC et la deuxième a la World Trade Institute (WTI-DESTA). Nous procédons à créer des indicateurs crédibles de l’approfondissement de l’intégration pour passer à les tester dans un modèle de gravité. Nous trouvons qu’un effet positif et significatif peut-être accordé aux accords les plus profonds, indépendamment que l’indicateur testé soit un indicateur additive où un indicateur obtenu par l’Analyse de correspondance multiple (ACM). De même cet effet est constaté pas seulement dans les accords qui comportent des clauses classiquement négociées sur le cadre de l’OMC, mais aussi dans les accords qui dépassent cette dimension. Le troisième chapitre se consacre à étudier l’existence des potentiels de commerce entre la Colombie et l’Union Européenne. Des prédictions dans l’échantillon après des estimations avec PPML et effets fixes qui varient dans le temps nous indiquent que des potentiels de commerce existent avec l’Autriche, la République Tchèque, la Finlande, la France, l’Allemagne, la Hongrie, la Suède et la Pologne. Dans le sens inverse la Suède, l’Irlande, la Finlande et Pologne détiennent une marge importante à gagner dans le marché colombien. Des tests de sensibilité ont été effectués pour garantir la robustesse de ces résultatsRegional trade agreements (RTAs) have surged in a context of stalled multilateral trade negotiations. This doctoral thesis intends to advance scientific knowledge in the field. Thus, thanks to a gravity model theoretical framework, three chapters of applied empirical econometrics analysis have been completed. The first chapter examines the effects of RTAs, the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) and World Trade Organization memberships on bilateral trade flows. I put into practice different econometric specifications and estimation methods, notably Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML), which is the one that better seems to contend with well-known biases and endogeneity problems. I conduct this research with an international trade gravity model estimated across 153 countries from the year 1980 to 2012.I consistently found a strong positive impact of regional trade agreement RTAs on most specifications and low or non-significant results for WTO membership. The estimates from the PPML method that includes controls for unobserved heterogeneity show non-significant effects of the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) on trade.The second chapter, co-authored with my supervisor Jean-Marc Siroën, explores the effect of heterogeneity of RTAs in the scope of deep integration. We intend to determine if deeper RTAs promote trade more effectively than less ambitious agreements. We make use of two recently available data sets from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Trade Institute (WTI-DESTA) to generate credible indicators of deep integration. Additive and Multiple Correspondence Analysis derived indicators for the depth of the agreements are then computed and their significance is tested in a gravity model. We find that deeper agreements increase trade more than shallow ones, whereas the provisions they included are within or outside of the WTO domain.The third chapter investigates the existence of trade potentials between Colombia and the EU. I obtain in-sample predictions after the estimation of a gravity model with the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood estimator. I control for unobserved omitted variable bias by the inclusion of exporter and importer time varying fixed effects, and run a series of sensitivity analysis.Untapped trade potentials are found between Colombia and a group of EU countries in both directions of the trade flows. Exports from Colombia have a gap to bridge with Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Sweden. In the other direction, Sweden, Ireland, Finland and Poland have an interesting margin to gain in the Colombian market
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Mgaya, John A. "Regional integration : the case of the East African community." Thesis, Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/123097.
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Regional cooperation in the three East African
countries Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda has developed over a
number of years, taken several forms and had a chequered
history. It was established by the British Administration
in East Africa as a convenient contrivance for rationalising
British hegemony in this part of Africa. When independence
was won by the three countries, the institutions of East
African cooperation, then known as the East African High
Commission, were bequeathed to the three independent States
and its name changed to East African Common Services
Organisation (EACSO). The three countries tried to use EACSO
as a nucleus for an East African Federation. The attempt
failed in 1963. The enthusiasm for forming a federation
temporarily concealed the weakness in the economic
cooperation which had been inherited. After earlier
attempts at federation had been frustrated, the Partner
States became more concerned with economic cooperation and
in correcting its weaknesses. The Kampala-Mbale Agreement of
1965 and the Treaty for East African Cooperation of 1967
were part of the effort to improve and strengthen economic
cooperation instead of political unification.
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Nyirabikali, Gaudence. "Promoting Socio-Economic Development through Regional Integration - The Politics of Regional Economic Communities in Africa." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Management and Economics, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-206.
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Regional integration has gained momentum since the 1980s and throughout the world. The new regionalism process prevailing since differs from the old one by its multidimensionality covering economic, political, social, and cultural issues within a regional setting. While the old regionalism focused on market protection using a range of tariff and non tariff barriers, the New Regionalism is reinforced by the globalisation effects and strives for efficiency in production, and market access. Using the New Regionalisms Approach, the aim of this thesis is to appreciate the actual levels of regional integration in Africa and explore plausible ways of deepening the integration process with the view that regional integration can promote socio-economic development, provided a pro-development approach is privileged in the conception and implementation of the regional integration process. Focusing on SADC as a representative regional economic community, a qualitative content analysis is used for data collection while policy analysis is carried out using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. The results of this study reveal discrepancies between policy formulation and policy implementation when it comes to enhancing the pro-developmental aspects in the unfolding regional integration process. In spite that shortcomings in past experiences triggered dramatic structural reforms ranging from the reorganisation of the Organisation of African Unity into the African Union, the creation of NEPAD, to structural reforms within regional economic communities with the example of the 2001 restructuring of SADC, empirical evidence shows that little change has occurred at the operational level. Moreover, even policy formulation at the collective-action level still lacks concrete strategies and plans for harmonisation and implementation of regional initiatives. Some of the strategies for deepening the regional integration process would include prioritising regional commitments to external ones and improving policy formulation as well as establishing linkages between different regional policies and strategies.
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Scheibe, Eduarda Figueiredo. "Integração física e integração regional : a iniciativa para Integração da Infraestrutura regional Sul-Americana (IIRSA) como instrumento multiescalar de integração." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/84952.
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Durante a Primeira Reunião de Presidentes da América do Sul, ocorrida em Brasília, no ano de 2000, representantes dos doze Estados independentes do subcontinente acordaram reunir esforços em um plano para Integração da Infraestrutura Regional Sul-Americana (IIRSA). A importância da integração física para a consecução dos objetivos de integração regional foi reafirmada com o lançamento da iniciativa, de abrangência sem precedentes. A presente dissertação analisa as formas pelas quais a IIRSA, com suas particularidades, pode contribuir para o momento atual da integração regional sul-americana. A fim de dar conta do caráter multiescalar da integração física, foi desenvolvida uma abordagem (multi)territorial para o entendimento dos processos de integração regional e apreensão da multiplicidade de interesses neles envolvidos.During the First Meeting of South American Presidents, held in Brasília, in 2000, representatives of the twelve independent states of the subcontinent have agreed to join forces in a plan for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA). The importance of physical integration to achieve the goals of regional integration was reaffirmed with the launch of the initiative of unprecedented scope. This study examines the ways in which the IIRSA, considering its particular features, can contribute to the current moment of regional integration in South America. In order to account for the multiscale character of physical integration, a (multi)territorial approach was developed in the analysis of the regional integration processes and the understanding of the multiple interests involved therein.
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FILHO, CLAUDIO URBANO B. PINHEIRO. "REGIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN SOUTH AMERICA: THE CONTINENT S REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE ACCORDING TO ITS INSTITUTIONS - MERCOSUR, ALBA AND AP." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2018. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=34590@1.
Full textAbstract:
PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
PROGRAMA DE EXCELENCIA ACADEMICA
A presente dissertação tem por finalidade analisar a atual disposição da arquitetura regional da América do Sul; fazendo-a em particular, por meio do sistemático exame da composição e do conteúdo dos principais temas e agendas, que compõem as mais proeminentes instituições regionais do continente, isto é, o Mercosul, a ALBA e a Aliança do Pacífico. Para cumprir com tal objetivo, pretende-se construir um modelo analítico simples, centrado na percepção que cada uma das referidas instituições possui, a respeito de quatro temas-chave considerados institucionalmente prioritários – princípios institucionais, integração produtiva, sistema financeiro e infraestrutura e transportes – e que envolvem integração regional; visando, identificar sobre que orientações paradigmáticas integrativas tais instituições se assentam, se as agendas entre estas instituições são: convergentes, complementares ou dissonantes entre si; e a influência que a combinação das interações entre estas exercem, para com a atual disposição da Arquitetura Regional na América do Sul. Esta dissertação argumenta que a atual disposição da Arquitetura Regional sul-americana subsiste em módulos.
This dissertation aims to analyze the current provision of regional architecture in South America; by doing so, in particular, through the systematic examination of the composition and the content of the main themes and agendas, which make up the most prominent regional institutions of the continent namely Mercosur, ALBA, and the Pacific Alliance. To fulfill this objective, the intente is to build a simple analytical model, centred around the perception that each one of these institutions have about four key institutional priority issues – institutional principles, productive integration, financial system and infrastructure and transport - and also involves regional integration; in order to Identify on which paradigmatic integrative guidelines such institutions are based, If the agendas between these institutions are: convergent, complementary or dissonant to each other; and the influence that the combination of the interactions between them exert, in relation to the current disposition of Regional Architecture in South America. This dissertation argues that the present layout of South American Regional Architecture subsists in modules.
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Umurungi, Francine. "A critical overview of regional trade integration: lessons from COMESA." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2005. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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The aim of this study was to determine which strategy would be most appropriate to enhance regional trade integration in COMESA so that it can provide to its member states the benefits they expect to have from it.
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Muyatwa, Virginia Pumulomo. "The liberalization and integration of regional maize markets in Zambia." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0025/NQ51660.pdf.
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Ezekwesili, Chinweuba E. "Can the Monetary Integration of ECOWAS Improve Intra-Regional Trade?" Scholarship @ Claremont, 2011. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/279.
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A gravity model is used to evaluate the effects of currency union on intra-regional trade of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) member states. The panel data used includes bilateral observations for fourteen years spanning 1994 through 2006 for 16 countries. Controlling for determinants and deterrents of trade, I find the presence of a currency union three times as likely to increase intra-regional trade between ECOWAS member countries. In addition, I find that the effect on trade creation has been steadily falling since 1994.
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Commendatore, Pasquale, Ingrid Kubin, Carmelo Petraglia, and Iryna Sushko. "Regional integration, international liberalisation and the dynamics of industrial agglomeration." WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 2014. http://epub.wu.ac.at/4079/1/wp164.pdf.
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This paper presents a 3-Region footloose-entrepreneur new economic geography model. Two symmetric regions are part of an economically integrated area (the Union), while the third region represents an outside trade partner. We explore how the spatial allocation of industrial production and employment within the Union is affected by changes in two aspects of trade liberalisation: regional integration and globalisation. Our main contribution pertains to the analysis of the local and global dynamics of the specified factor mobility process. We show that significant parameter
ranges exist for which asymmetric distribution of economic activities is one of the possible long-run outcomes. This is a remarkable result within the NEG literature. We then analyse the impact of international trade liberalisation on the dynamics of agglomeration conditional on the endowments of skilled and unskilled labour of the outside region. (authors' abstract)Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series
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Orr, Clinton Dale. "Entrepôts, regional and global economic integration in East Asia." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.284982.
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Christodoulopoulou, Styliani. "Trade and business cycle effects of regional and multilateral integration." Thesis, University of Essex, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.537924.
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Zhao, Xiaodan. "THREE ESSAYS ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES." UKnowledge, 2008. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/646.
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This dissertation consists of three independent essays addressing several key issues related to the empirical application of optimum currency area. The first essay explores the features of the CFA franc zone by operationalizing Robert Mundell’s (1952) criteria for an optimum currency area. A vector autoregression method is used in modeling national outputs as determined by global, regional and country-specific shocks. It finds that domestic outputs of the CFA franc zone countries are strongly influenced by country-specific shocks. These results suggest that the CFA franc zone countries are structurally different from each other and the monetary union may have been a costly arrangement for the member countries.
The second essay focuses on the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). A 2-vairable vector autoregressive model is estimated to investigate the extent of symmetric shocks in the small open economies of the ECCU. The paper finds that domestic outputs of the ECCU countries are strongly influenced by regional shocks. These results indicate that the ECCU countries are structurally similar to each other and exchange arrangements appear to have well served the region and the group of countries is more likely to be an optimum currency area.
The third essay explores the possibility of a currency union in East Asia. In this essay, the extent of global and regional integration in East Asia is investigated using the stock price index as a measure of economic performance. A similar VAR model is employed to separate the underlying shocks into global, regional and country-specific shocks. The estimation results show that country-specific shocks play a dominant role in East Asia although their role appears to have declined over time, especially after the 1997 financial crisis. Global and regional shocks are responsible for small but increasing shares of stock price fluctuations in most countries. The results indicate that, despite years of liberalization and regional integration, economies in East Asia remain dissimilar and are subject to asymmetric shocks and it might be costly for East Asian countries to abandon monetary policy independence to form a monetary union and that a more flexible exchange rate regime might be desirable.
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Jerram, Richard. "The political economy of contemporary regional integration : evidence and interpretation." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2000. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1605/.
Full textAbstract:
This research takes a rigorous approach to examining available data for signs of regional integration and interprets the findings in terms of their illustration of the changing structure of the international political economy. A range of methodologies are examined and the inadequacies of various commonly-used approaches to measure regionalisation are discussed. Bearing this in mind, statistical measures of regional bias are developed, and time series of results are displayed to show trends in the three major economic areas over the past three decades in a way that has not been attempted in other studies. The findings suggest that regional integration has been advancing steadily in North America and Europe and there are suggestions that preferential trading arrangements have helped to promote closer regional integration. Surprisingly, the preferential bias between the founder members of the European Union is little changed in the past three decades. In the developed world the non-discriminatory qualities of some of the deeper aspects of regionalism have helped to blunt its preferential impact, as have corporate organisational strategies, which are also important in shaping regional production. The impact of preferential regional arrangements on internalisation of corporate transactions is ambiguous. It is argued that multinational corporations are less concerned about whether liberalisation is regional or multilateral than is commonly assumed. This makes the "building block-stumbling block" debate less important than the question of whether barriers to cross-border business are declining. Taking the analysis down to the micro level highlights the complex relationship between trade and investment flows which is not captured in theoretical literature or the available statistics. Although economics can explain the attractiveness of regional agreements, political economy explanations are useful to explain its growing popularity. One neglected issue is the benefit resulting from lower systemic risk. A more accurate description of the structural change identified in this research is that of "regional globalisation", where the prime concern of multinational corporations is that of globalisation, but it is a trend which is currently manifested through regional organisation. This is not a fixed trend and could be superseded by sub-or supra-regional integration depending on technical change and political co-operation.
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Mahabir, Reshma. "Essays on global and regional integration of the Caribbean Region." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.408619.
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