Regional Integration: Experience, Theory and Measurement

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