Bloc Countries Research Articles

Loneliness and Social Networks in Europe

The paper analyses social causes of loneliness in Europe using cross-national data from the 2017 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) module “Social Networks and Social Resources” from 13 countries categorised as Northern Europe, Continental Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. The paper aims to examine loneliness with regard to three specific groups of predictors, related to network, sociocultural and sociostructural aspects. The results suggest that sociability patterns and personal networks are the most important predictors of loneliness. While the frequency of contacts with family members and close friends and the overall number of contacts showed significance, loneliness was primarily related to the quality of personal relationships. Considering sociocultural factors, the obtained findings showed that social trust is consistently associated with lower levels of loneliness. Furthermore, people from Continental Europe were, in general, less lonely than North and East Europeans. Age was an important factor here as respondents from younger age groups were lonelier in Nordic countries than in the other two blocs of countries, while older respondents were lonelier in Central and East European countries. Finally, sociostructural indicators in general showed less predictive value compared to sociability patterns and sociocultural variables. However, when it came to socioeconomic exclusion, this aspect showed a stronger connection with loneliness for the individuals from the Nordic group of countries. The findings of this paper contribute to the vibrant field of contemporary scholarship on loneliness with a fresh perspective based on comparing three large blocs of European countries and an integrated approach to various predictors of loneliness.

Computable General Equilibrium Models of Trade in the Modern Trade Policy Debate

We set up two rival Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models of world trade, one based on classical theories of comparative advantage, the other based on recent gravity theories. We have tested them by indirect inference on the time-series of trade facts for four major countries or country blocs: the UK, the US, China and the EU. The UK is a small enough economy for the rest of the world’s behaviour to be treated as exogenous, so we test the UK model with this held constant; the other countries/blocs are large so we test their model by a ‘part of model’ test in which the other world variables are simulated by a reduced form VAR of the unknown true world model. We show by Monte Carlo experiments that these tests have high power. Our findings are that the Gravity version of the world model is rejected strongly for two of these country cases, but passes the test for the other two. By contrast the Classical model is comfortably accepted in all cases; our power experiment implies that this world model is very likely to be close to the truth and should therefore be used for policy analysis. The policy message of the classical model is that protection is damaging to welfare; this includes protection by customs union, where even though some members may gain, general welfare is reduced.

Evolution: Police Cooperation in the EU

Abstract Cooperation is key to policing and keeping mankind safe and secure; this includes protecting citizens from various crimes, including terrorist attacks. However, it is not an easy feat to always achieve – as is explained within this paper. The related research considers the complexities and challenges of sharing and coordinating across divides – or, in other words, cooperating across borders (be they open or closed). Specifically, it discusses the advancements made between one bloc of countries – the European Union; and, how the evolutionary process has aided to expand cooperative community practices via various means between the police and other lea’s. As part of this, transport and movement are viewed as an essential element to be discussed and factored in. Finally, the paper considers the, arguably, devolutionary position of the UK and the implications – post 2020, in terms of marking a ‘potentially’ regressive position, one that stands to compromise safety and security.

مقارنات دولیة فى ضوء المؤشرات التنمویة الاقتصادیة العالمیة

الملخص العربى : تهدف الدراسة الى سکب الضوء على تأثير المؤشرات التنموية الاقتصادية العالمية على أداء اقتصادات الدول المتقدمة والتى تصدرت أعلى المراکز في المعايير التى تقوم عليها المؤشرات التنموية الاقتصادية العالمية ، وهو الأمر الذى يبرز أهمية الإعتداد بتلک المعايير فى علاج الإختلالات الهيکلية باقتصادات الدول النامية والمتخلفة ، وبدراسة تلک المعايير في ذاتها اتضح أنها من الأهمية بمکان بحيث يکون نهوض الاقتصاد القومى في تلک المعايير والمؤشرات دليلا ومؤشرا على قوة الاقتصاد وکفاءته وقدرته على مواجهة الإختلالات الهيکلية به . واسفرت الدراسة عن عدة نتائج وتوصيات أهمها : 1- أهمية دراسة المعايير التى يقوم عليها عمل المؤشرات ودراسة تجارب الدول الناجحة والمتقدمة ذات الاقتصادات سريعة التقدم والنمو والتى أحرزت أعلى المراتب فى معايير المؤشرات ، خاصة تلک الدول شبيهة الظروف بالاقتصاد المصرى ، والعمل على محاکاة تلک التجارب . 2 – أن يکون الهدف من محاکاه تجارب اقتصادات الدول المتقدمة هو جعل مصر فى مقدمة أفضل عشر أو عشرون دولة فى المؤشرات التنموية الاقتصادية العالمية وليس مجرد التحرک مرتبة أو اثنتين للأمام أو الخلف فى ترتيب الدول بالمؤشرات . 3 - أهمية التعاون الاقتصادى بين مصر مع الدول العربية خاصة صاحبة الترتب الأقوى بالمؤشرات محل الدراسة ، وذلک لامکانيات وفرص استفادة الاقتصاد المصرى من خلال الشراکة الاقتصادية مع تلک الدول في إطار تکتلات اقتصادية . 4 - أهمية قيام الاقتصاد المصرى بالمجهودات اللازمه للإنضمام لتجمعات وتکتلات الدول ذات الإقتصاديات الناشئة سريعة النمو مثل تجمع بريکس ( BRICS ) . 5 – ضرورة قيام تعاون بين الاقتصاد المصرى واقتصادات دول القارة الأفريقية فى إطار شراکة اقتصادية ناجحة مع تصب في مصلحة الجميع (الإقتصاد المصرى واقتصاد الدول الاقريقية)، وعلى الخصوص تلک الدول التى يرتبط معها بروابط ذات بعد جغرافي اقتصادى مؤثر على الموارد الاقتصادية المصرية – علم الجغرافيا الاقتصادية – مثل دولة ( اثيوبيا ) والتى تتشابه إقتصاديا وتعدادا سکانيا مع مصر والتى تعانى من مشاکل اقتصادية حادة . 6 - في ظل تفوق وتقدم الاقتصاد الإسرائيلى وتوغلة داخل اقتصادات الدول الأفريقية خاصة الدول التى يرتبط معها الاقتصاد المصرى بروابط ذات بعد جغرافي اقتصادى مؤثر على الموارد الاقتصادية المصرية مثل دولة ( اثيوبيا ) والتى تعانى من مشاکل اقتصادية حادة – فيجب على الاقتصاد المصرى المسارعة للتعاون مع اقتصادات تلک الدول خاصة ومحاولة تقديم يد العون والمساعدة في إطار ما تعانيه من مشاکل . الملخص الانجليزى : The study aims to shed light on the impact of global economic development indicators on the performance of the economies of developed countries. The study resulted in: 1- The importance of studying the criteria on which the indicators work and the experiences of successful and developed countries. 2 - That the aim of simulating the experiences of developed countries ’economies is to place Egypt in the forefront of the ten or twenty best countries in the global economic development indicators. 3 - The importance of economic cooperation between Egypt and the Arab countries. 4 - The importance of the Egyptian economy making the necessary efforts to join the groupings and blocs of countries with rapidly growing emerging economies. 5 - The need for cooperation between the Egyptian economy and the economies of the African continent 6- In light of the progress of the Israeli economy and its incursion into the economies of African countries, especially the countries with which the Egyptian economy is linked with ties with a geographical and economic dimension affecting the Egyptian economic resources such as the country (Ethiopia), which suffers from severe economic problems - the Egyptian economy must rush to cooperate with the economies Those countries in particular and try to provide a helping hand in the context of their problems.

Digital Currency of Central Banks

The study provides a systematic analysis of central banks digital currencies (CBDC) as a new financial instrument. The main goal of the study was to review the CBDC economic development scenarios both domestically and internationally based on the assessment of the main features, advantages and risks of introducing this financial instrument into the modern monetary policy. The study considers the following three main characteristics of CBDC: a tool for domestic settlements, a single unit of account for the economic bloc of countries and a universal international digital currency. Each of these models was considered by the author in terms of the motivation of market participants, degree of readiness of the project and its compatibility with the existing financial system. Differentiation of models, depending on the payment architecture, the technological parameters and the implementation scale, allowed to conclude that currently there is no common understanding of the CBDC nature and economic advantages neither for individual countries nor for the international community as a whole. Noting the technological advantages of digitalization of the financial system, states are yet to answer the question of the CBDC implementation scale. Will it replace cash domestically or will it become a single international payment instrument? And are states ready today to consider such a possibility? The author concludes the study by substantiating the idea that in the next 3-5 years interest in the digital financial services sector will grow mainly in developing countries looking for a qualitative leap in the development of the digital financial services. As for the developed countries, those are neither objectively nor subjectively ready to change the already built and well-proven financial system, and therefore, given their weak interest in paradigm shifts, digital currency in the next 10 years will not be able to provide an alternative to the US dollar as a unit of international settlements. At the same time, there is a high probability of the CBDC development as a means of payment within the economic bloc of countries provided the unity of purpose of its participants.

“Epidemic of Disinformation” Around Sars-Cov-2: Are Russian Counteractions Effective Against COVID-19?

Accusations concerning the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic are mounting between Western and Eastern countries, where Russia is far from being an exception. Division lines exist even within blocs of countries having very similar political, socio-economic and cultural identities. There are as many ways to handle the COVID-19 pandemic as governments, international organisations etc., but the necessity of at least some forms of lockdown is almost universally agreed. Unfortunately, instead of abandoning previous conflicts and maximising international cooperation to successfully contain the pandemic, minimising casualties and social stress, virtually all aspects of the pandemic become over-politicised and used to advance competing interests. Russia is an important part of the “blame-game”. Having a culture of strong presidential power, harsh measures had been introduced meeting compliance of most of the society. As of November 2020, the number of newly infected people was still rising quite rapidly and systematically. Thus, the effectiveness of Russian countermeasures to tackle the pandemic was debated not only in Russia, but around the world.

The Final Frontier: China, Taiwan, and the United States in Strategic Competition for Central America.

China’s rise as a global power corresponded with a diminution of Taiwanese diplomacy, which has left Central America as the last region to host a continuous bloc of countries that recognize the ROC. In this article, we argue that China’s success in gaining diplomatic recognition from Taiwan’s former allies has largely resulted from China's economic policy, specifically its promises of large-scale infrastructure projects and the integration of Central American economies with Chinese markets. However, there are limits to how far China has advanced in gaining full recognition from the region. The competing political and economic interests of China, Taiwan, the United States, and the Central American countries themselves, continue to influence patterns of diplomatic switching. More specifically, we argue that the threat of punitive measures from the United States combined with a turn in Taiwanese diplomacy toward assistance efforts to combat Covid-19 may deter future switching in the short to medium-term. Our analysis offers case studies of four Central American countries (Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua) to illustrate the multi-year processes by which China’s economic strategy leads to diplomatic switching and examine the paths ahead for the remaining holdouts facing the prospect of economic and political penalties by the United States.

A crise da Unasul pelas agências internacionais de notícias: a veiculação do colapso da integração regional Sul-americana pela mídia

O artigo investiga o discurso perpetrado pela grande mídia no que se refere à crise interna pela qual a União das Nações Sul-Americanas (Unasul) enfrenta desde 2017. Para essa análise foram selecionadas e analisadas todas as notícias publicadas sobre o assunto nos sites de duas grandes agências de notícias internacionais, a Reuters e a EFE, no período de abril a agosto de 2018 – da suspensão das atividades de seis membros do bloco à notificação por parte da Colômbia de retirar-se do bloco. Parte-se da hipótese que a maneira como a mídia – representada neste estudo pelas agências de notícias selecionadas – ressignifica os acontecimentos, por meio do conteúdo midiático veiculado, pode reforçar discurso contrário à integração sul-americana. Observa-se que os desafios da integração na América do Sul são complexos, indo desde as assimetrias e a situação política e econômica dos países do bloco até o enfrentamento do discurso propagado pela grande mídia.

Generation of energy and environmental-economic growth consequences: Is there any difference across transition economies?

One of the European Union’s (EU) membership conditions includes an ambitious energy policy objective such as energy security, environmental protection and diversification using renewables. However, the impact of the energy policy on environmental sustainability is yet to be assessed. In line with EU energy policy, we investigate the nexus between energy generation and CO2 emissions in three blocs of countries namely Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and New Member States (NMS) from 1992–2014. The experimental exercise was conducted using the Generalized Method of Moment. The empirical results show that a 1% increase in renewable energy generation increases CO2 emissions in CIS countries by 0.04% and CEE countries by 0.02% respectively, but decreases CO2 emissions by 0.02% in NMS countries. Both subsamples of NMS and CIS countries conform to the inverted U-shape of the EKC hypothesis. However, the results of the subsample of CEE countries do not uphold the EKC hypothesis. This, suggests that environmental consequences of sustained economic growth in CEE countries does not increase pollutant emissions. Thus, we conclude that there exists a difference in the level of environmental degradation across the blocs. This study highlights the need to embark on decarbonized economic agenda that prioritizes clean environment.

How relieving is public debt relief? Monetary and fiscal policies in a monetary union during a debt crisis

We use a dynamic game model of a two-country monetary union to study the consequences of sovereign debt reliefs for a member country or bloc of countries of the union after an exogenous fall in aggregate demand and the resulting increase in public debt. The debt reliefs are assumed to occur endogenously, being enacted after an increase of government debt beyond a certain threshold. We assume that the governments of the countries participating in the union pursue national goals when deciding on fiscal policies whereas the common central bank’s monetary policy aims at union-wide objective variables. The union considered is asymmetric, consisting of a “core” with lower initial public debt, and a “periphery” with higher initial public debt. The “periphery” may experience debt reliefs due to the high level of its sovereign debt. We calculate numerical solutions of the dynamic game between the governments and the central bank using the OPTGAME algorithm. We show that a debt relief as modeled in our study is disadvantageous for both the “core” and the “periphery” of the monetary union, and that after an initial haircut further debt reliefs will be required to an extent that threatens the existence of the entire union.

Gathering Europe in Football: UEFA, the Development of European Football and the Cold War (1949–1961)

At a meeting in Basel on 15 June 1954, 25 of Europe’s national football associations agreed to form a representative body for European football, a decision which would, four months later, give rise to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Five years later, the new body had exceeded the expectations of most of its founders and had become one of the most important actors in European football. Furthermore, it appeared as the sole pan-European body as other “European organizations” - created at the same period - in other fields never crossed the Iron Curtain and were mainly composed by Western Bloc or neutral countries. This paper - which summarizes some of the key arguments examined in the book Creating a United Europe of Football (2020) - looks back at UEFA’s formation and early development. In doing so, it examines the issues of why UEFA developed so quickly, even though conditions for this development were not initially conducive, and how UEFA managed to overcome Cold War divisions to become a truly pan-European body. The article brings together information from original archive documents (mainly from UEFA’s and FIFA’s Documentation Centres, but also from national football association archives), French press reports (mostly from L’Equipe and France Football) and interviews with three leading figures in European football during the 1950s.

Does Intra‐regional Trade Matter in Regional Stock Markets? New Evidence from the Asia‐Pacific Region

We provide new evidence on the relationship between bilateral trade and stock market returns across the Asia‐Pacific region. Using three country blocs in this region, including the Far Eastern bloc, the Chinese bloc and the Australian bloc, we examine whether trade linkages between countries affect their stock returns. Incorporating two distinct dynamic properties of regime shifting and cointegration in intra‐regional trade and stock market returns, we employ the newly suggested multivariable smooth transition autoregressive vector error correction model (STAR‐VECM). A series of estimations reveals evidence that bilateral trade significantly Granger‐causes stock returns in the Asia‐Pacific region, with effects that are asymmetric depending upon the stock market regime and the country pair. Among the three blocs, the Far Eastern bloc displays a more pronounced positive effect of bilateral trade growth on stock returns than do the other blocs.

Combining Carbon Taxation and Offset Payments: A New Approach to Climate Policy in Low-Income Countries

I consider a “low-ambition” (LA) country with no current climate policy, with two sectors. Sector 1 can in principle sell an unlimited amount of carbon offsets to a bloc of “high-ambition” (HA) countries. A condition for access to the right for sector 1 to sell unlimited offsets is that sector 2 of the LA country implements a comprehensive carbon tax. When the two sectors have equal size, and public and private revenues are valued equally by the LA government, a carbon tax in sector 2, equal to the offset price for sector 1, can be incentivized. The HA country bloc then buys offsets from the LA country at a price equaling its carbon externality cost. When sector 1 is larger (smaller) than sector 2, the offset price in sector 1 will be lower (higher) than the carbon tax in sector 2. When public funds are more valuable than private funds to the LA government, the implementable carbon tax is higher, and the optimal offset price lower. The model provides a novel mechanism by which a bloc of HA countries can incentivize LA countries to implement enhanced greenhouse gas mitigation.

Foreign Direct Investment Dynamics in Hungary

The study discussed the dynamics of FDI in Hungary during the period from 1991 to 2015. The impact of FDI, FDI trends and determinants of FDI in Hungary were discussed. Empirical literature observed that FDI positively influenced economic growth in Hungary through boosting human capital development levels, total factor productivity, economic transformation, innovation, research and development, additional capital in the economy, modern technology, increased volume of additional capital and technology transfer. The study also revealed that most of the net FDI inflow into Hungary originated from developed countries and the least FDI net inflow came from transitional economies during the period under study. The general trend of FDI net inflow into Hungary followed a mixed pattern, with some years experiencing a positive net FDI inflow whilst other years were characterised by negative net FDI inflows. What is clear however is that FDI net inflow was consistently positive and experienced a positive growth following the integration of Hungary into the EU bloc of countries? The accession of Hungary into the EU removed barriers for the movement of capital, people, goods and services within the EU, reduced the cost of doing business and improved trade openness. These are the key locational advantages of FDI which improved FDI inflow into Hungary for a sustained period of time after the EU accession. The study also empirically tested the determinants of FDI in Hungary using the OLS multiple regression model with data ranging from 1991 to 2015. In contradiction to most previous studies on the subject matter, trade openness and financial development were found to have had a negative influence on FDI. The study also observed that inflation had a positive influence on FDI, contrary to Sayek (2009) who revealed that higher inflation levels erodes the foreign investors’ profits, thereby making the host country not an attractive investment destination. However, exchange rate, education and economic growth had a positive but non-significant impact on FDI in Hungary, consistent to both theoretical and empirical literature. The implication of the study is that the Hungarian authorities are urged to design and implement policies aimed at improving education and economic growth in order to attract more FDI. Practical steps need to be taken by the Hungarian authorities in making sure that the value of the local currency is not overvalued and that trade openness is controlled and managed so that it does not reach a point where it begins to negatively affect FDI inflows.

International trade, pollution, and economic structure: evidence on CO2 emissions for the North and the South

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the mechanics of international trade and CO2 emissions in two blocs of countries (‘North’ and ‘South’) by analyzing data from the World Input–Output Database. We adapt the Miyazawa technique to estimate the linkages between international trade and the environment at a global scale. Therefore, this study is in line with the idea of highlighting the role of feedback effects as well as the nature and extent of extra-regional influences on an economy in response to an additional stimulus. This is a contribution that, to our best knowledge, has not yet appeared in the literature. Our results suggest that both the North and the South have become less pollution-intensive (technique effect) over the years. Interestingly and in contrast to much of the literature, we also find support to the hypothesis that the South has specialized in relatively more pollution-intensive activities (composition effect).

Institutions, Behaviour, and the Propensity to Hold Income Protection Insurance by Country of Residence

In this paper, we report the results of a survey on the individual propensity to hold income protection insurance across 11 countries and focus on whether it is meaningful to assume that observed preferences for such products are driven by factors such as respondents’ socio-demographic and economic circumstances or country of residence. We also ask whether it is meaningful to associate observed preferences for income protection insurance to blocs of countries such as the Americas and continental Europe. While country-specific effects dominate the empirical analysis, there is evidence of common preferences across higher-paid individuals within and between blocs of countries. Implications are drawn from our results for understanding the relationship between national institutions, labour market practices and individual behaviour.

Measuring agricultural total factor productivity for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region

The agricultural sector remains to be one of the key growth engines of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, underlining the importance of strong and sustained agricultural growth as well as enhanced productivity of the sector which could play an instrumental role in contributing to development of the region. In this context, this paper examines agricultural productivity across eight ASEAN countries over the period 2000-2011. The paper contributes to the growing literature on productivity measurement pertaining to agricultural sector in the ASEAN region by empirically estimating agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) through a combination of growth accounting as well as non-parametric techniques such as the Malmquist index data envelopment analysis. The empirical results reveal that ASEAN countries as a group had an average TFP growth around 1.5% over the period of consideration (2000-2011). Individually, the findings show that Malaysia outperforming other countries in terms of TFP growth, with the CLMV countries consisting of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, being laggards. The results also show a significant scope for greater collaboration among the ASEAN bloc of countries which can in turn enhance inter-region learning on agricultural technology and resource management.

What do unions want from BRICS?

The BRICS group of countries is an international Bloc of countries comprising five of the world’s most influential emerging economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, spanning Latin America, Africa, Eurasia, and Asia. The first BRIC meeting (South Africa joined later, creating BRICS) was convened at the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and was held as a side event during a Session of the UN General Assembly. Foreign ministers of Russia, Brazil and China and the Indian Defence Minister took part in the meeting. They expressed their interest in expanding multilateral cooperation. Two years later, a Joint Communiqué was issued, with BRIC political leaders meeting as a group later that year, during the G8 Summit in Japan. South Africa joined in 2010. The BRICS Forum was established as a formal international body in 2011, thought it still lacks a robust secretariat – what formal information exists about the BRICS group and its meetings is still largely coordinated by the country hosting each session1. In this regard it follows the G7 / G8 model, rather than the model of the EU, or of NAFTA, or ASEAN, all of which have bureaucracies of varying complexity. Yet despite the lack of a central BRICS office (inviting the old line, ‘who do I call when I want to speak to BRICS’?), the grouping does have a clearly articulated political vision, and it is surprisingly radical, and challenging to the current global economic order. At its most radical this ambition saw Russia mooting the establishment of a new global reserve currency to challenge the dollar. That may have overstepped the ambition of other BRICS parties, for now, and official statements from the BRICS subsequently called only for a more stable and predictable monetary system. Yet the BRICS’ ambition to challenge global economic paradigm took a practical step forward in 2014, with the foundation of the New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement, broadly based on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Planned cooperation on currency and trade stability continues, and other projects under development include a BRICS-wide submarine communications cable network, intended to circumvent Westernand , particularly, US-controlled communications hubs, in the wake of revelations about the extent of US spying. The BRICS Trade Union Forum As in a number of other international institutions, most notably the ILO, with its Workers Group, and the OECD, with TUAC, labour is organised into a body that works alongside the BRICS political bloc, the BRICS Trade Union Forum. But the Forum is not strictly a part of the BRICS machinery, but was established independently by the trade unions involved. The concept was mooted and supported at the 2010 Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and came to fruition with the signing of the BRICS Trade Union Forum Declaration during an ILO Decent Work conference in Moscow in December 2012. Within the Forum, almost all major trade union centres from the BRICS countries are represented, including moderates, socialists and communists, ITUC affiliates, WFTU affiliates, and the ACFTU, which otherwise participates only infrequently in trade union international affairs. Alongside this diverse grouping, the ITUC is a regular participant. The only significant exceptions among relevant national trade union centres are the CITU of India and the (newly established) SAFTU of South Africa. Unions were quick to call for a formal position within the BRICS Forum, but despite their repeated calls for such a body to be established, as yet unions have no formal role within the group. This has been a source of some tension. But as yet bursts of discontent have tended to emanate from one national group at a time, and have been temporary. The unions do meet each year, during the BRICS Forum, as a side meeting, and arising from these meetings has been a series of joint annual declarations issued by the BRICS trade unions, which demonstrate a degree of unity and common FOCUS | THE BRICS COUNTRIES AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS 3 24/4 | International Union Rights | The BRICS group has clear and radical policies WhatdounionswantfromBRICS? Daniel Blackburn is Director of ICTUR in London 4 | International Union Rights | 24/4 FOCUS | THE BRICS COUNTRIES AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS purpose. But the lack...

Análisis estructural de la red económica de exportaciones e importaciones de la Alianza del Pacífico y el Mercado Común del Sur

Several integration treaties have occurred in the history of Latin America. The most recent between them is the Pacific Alliance, which represents an opportunity for regional unification by means of the Southern Common Market. Studies on this issue and trade about integrations with central structures and blocs of countries on the periphery which promotes regional asymmetries are recurrent. Consistent with this, the objective of this study is to analyze the structural centrality of commercial economic exchange of both blocks and an eventual integration. The research method involved calculating centrality metrics grounded in network theory. It is concluded that the blocks have a layered structure and final effective integration should move towards a strategic regionalism.

The global digital divide: a sociological assessment of trends and causes

This article concerns the comparative dimension of the digital divide, the global digital divide, assessing processes of various sorts that shape this differentiating feature and mapping its trends of change. The authors (a) map the global digital divide with multiple indicators to find patterns of varying degrees of differentiation between countries worldwide and between blocs of countries and (b) assess the various national characteristics that contribute to the level of IT connectedness. The authors compare the effects of these various social national conditions on the pervasiveness of IT. Their preliminary results indicate that it is neither political nor economic national characteristics that are the determinants of IT connectedness but that cultural features are the prime causes. In this sense, the global digital divide is more a product of networking into global society than it is a mere reflection of local economic capabilities.