Regional Integration Processes Research Articles

Effects of Regional Trade Agreements on Strategic Agricultural Trade in Africa and Its Implications to Food Security: Evidence from Gravity Model Estimation

The problems of African agricultural development have been at the forefront of the debate on Africa’s development since the Lagos Plan of Action in 1963. During the 2004 AU meeting in Sirte, Libya and subsequently in the 2006 AU/NEPAD Summit on Food Security in Africa, concrete steps have been taken to work towards Common African Market on 12 selected strategic agricultural products. Eight regional trade agreements which are to form the building blocks of the African Economic Community are engaged in trade liberalization and regional integration process on the selected strategic agricultural products with the ultimate goal being the formation of Common Markets for Agricultural products. However, the recent proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has intensified the debate on their merits especially the merits of south-south trade agreements. This study contributes to this debate by analysing trade creation and trade diversion effects of African RTAs on trade in nine of the twelve strategic agricultural products. An extended gravity model is estimated. We address econometrically the endogeneity of RTAs using a panel approach. Results indicate that African RTAs have mixed effect on trade creation and trade diversion. Net trade creation is positive in three of the eight RTA and it is negative in two. Although a lot remains to be done, RTAs in Africa are an attractive means to speed up the move towards common market for agricultural products in the continent. This will have positive implication for food security and sustainable agricultural development in the continent.

ON THE ISSUE OF TAX HARMONISATION PROCESSES WITHIN REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

The tax harmonisation process is presented in the contemporary context of regional economic integration process. The authors suggest that there is a new inevitable economic reason for tax harmonisation within the economic units - namely tax base erosion and profit shifting. The tax harmonisation process in the EU is presented in a systematic way giving reasons and logic of the process. The EEU to certain extent resembles the process. Tax harmonisation within a supranational integration entity covers indirect taxation and only to a certain extent the direct taxation issues. It is consistent with the consequence of introducing the freedoms within the integration process. Another issue of taxation arising within regional economic integration is the allocation of fiscal powers between the member-states at supranational level.

Armenia Caught Between (In-)Compatible Legal Orders: Paths of Competitive and Cumulative Integration

In 2013, Armenia abandoned the plan to sign the Association Agreement and to establish a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU. Instead, it acceded to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Against this U-turn in Armenia’s integration agenda, this contribution critically investigates the (in)compatibility of participation in the European and the Eurasian legal orders. While the customs union-based regional integration processes preclude Armenia’s participation in both, the authors argue that the strict dichotomy of having to choose one or another transnational legal order and the subsequent legal and political divisions harm Armenia and hamper the achievement of objectives inherent to the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood. It will be argued that this dichotomy may be overcome by a rapprochement between the EU and the EAEU, potentially through contractual relations. Moreover the creative ways in which the EU already provides for differentiated integration could be adapted to enable Armenia reconcile legal approximation with the EU with its engagement within the Eurasian region.

Economic Policy Challenges of Small European Countries

The aim of this paper is to study the pace and role of small states in international economic relations. The main characteristics of small states are a high degree of economic openness, export concentration and high dependence on strategic imports. In addition, their significant features are also indivisibility of overhead costs and diseconomies of scale. There is no single definition of small states since the size is a relative term. In addition to the size of population, sometimes other indicators are used as size criteria such as territory size or gross domestic product. This paper emphasizes the endogenous and macroeconomic characteristics of small states in detail and some small countries’ problems that can be challenging in developing their economies. Furthermore, the concepts of small states’ economic vulnerability and resilience are covered. This paper pays special attention to arguments in favor of regional cooperation among small countries. The final part of the paper is dedicated to the similarities, and also economic differences among the small European states. It also highlights the benefits of small states’ membership into the European Union. Numerous economic benefits for small countries arise from the process of regional integration, especially with regard to strengthening economic resilience, foreign trade, strengthening their bargaining power, joint management of regional public goods, receiving technical assistance and geopolitical aspect.

Bolivia – Chile: Integración con contenidos dispares

Este trabajo aborda las ideas y valores que subyacen a las políticas exteriores de Chile y Bolivia. Profundiza en los roles que le asignan a la integración y cooperación regionales, a partir de las preferencias y visiones de mundo que exponen los gobiernos de Evo Morales, Michel Bachelet y Sebastián Piñera entre 2006 y 2012. Para explorar estas tendencias, analizamos una serie de discursos presidenciales expuestos en distintas instancias internacionales y domésticas. Partimos de la premisa que señala que la participación de ambos países en distintos procesos de integración y concertación regionales, desde una práctica que involucra a varios países ubicados en el continente, deja en evidencia que no coinciden en sus énfasis, sobre todo en las materias referidas a los desafíos internacionales actuales en torno al comercio y cooperación internacionales, y en sus perspectivas del desarrollo en un contexto de crisis del modelo neoliberal. Concluimos que este fenómeno actual trae como consecuencia el surgimiento de un modelo de integración con contenidos dispares en el continente, es decir, en el que prevalecen roles distintos, de crucial importancia, respecto a sus posiciones y estrategias de inserción internacional, repercutiendo en las acciones y respuestas hacia el escenario internacional.

The revival of trade in the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)

In particular, transport infrastructure can be seen as a lever for economic and social development, as it can be an important accelerator of the regional integration process in the southern Mediterranean. Several studies have shown that the improvement of infrastructure and the redevelopment of ports, airports, railways and roads have positive effects on economic growth, employment, industry and competitiveness. More importantly, improving the flow of goods and people illustrates a major indicator of regional integration. In many countries, economic recovery cannot begin without upgrades to the infrastructure. In this Communication, we have shown the important role of the transport sector and its major contribution to improving intra-AMU trade. The results show that the transport factor in the southern region is still weak and unable to advance its integration process. This weakness will encourage these countries to pursue an adequate strategy that will advance the process of regional integration and the development of production capacities and infrastructure in order to achieve the objectives of their economic growth.

East Asia–Regional or Global Financial Integration?

The article considers the main directions of further financial integration of East Asian countries, developing deep and stable connections within the framework of global and regional economy. Currently, among the investment flows that lay ground for financial integration with other regions, the leading place is taken by funds from and to the countries of North America and Western Europe. At the same time, the growth in intraregional investment, especially in terms of assets, significantly exceeds growth from the group of developed countries, the share of participation of the latter in interregional relations is gradually decreasing. Through the development of regional integration at various levels of economic interaction, Asian countries are seeking ways to reduce vulnerability and contagion from the processes of financial globalization. While the trends in regional financial integration have certain advantages, they also involve some risks. On the one hand, the Asian region can benefit from greater financial diversification and reduce the concentration and dependence from western economies. On the other hand, this process can bring imported volatility from other countries of the region and reduce the regulatory counteraction from various types of shocks that arise in the economies of these countries and beyond. The intensity of further convergence of the financial markets and institutional arrangements of Asian countries will be largely determined by the scenarios of development of the world economy, as its slowdown and, consequently, decrease of activity in the global capital market clearly leads to strengthening of regional integration processes. The expansion of intraregional cross-border financial transactions requires a significant expansion of the regulatory framework for cooperation, the conclusion of two-and multilateral banking and investment agreements, as they directly determine the process of capital flows liberalization. As regional financial cooperation in Asia has not yet developed as in Western Europe and North America, it is important to pay attention to such essential elements as economic and financial supervision, normative harmonization of banking and securities market, strengthening of regional financial security system and maintenance of development of various segment of financial market, first of all bonds in local currency. In the process of work the basic methods of economic analysis were applied, namely basic system and statistical methods. The use of the system approach allowed to consider the movement of capital flows from an to Asia over a long period of time, the evolution of financial integration models. Calculations and comparisons, the construction of tables was carried out on the basis of statistical methods, which are applied for the study of currency and credit relations. The information base of the studies was based on reports and statistics of the World Bank (IBRD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank, as well as analytical materials of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of RAS.

An International Political Economy Perspective on Regional Integration Process in Northeast Asia: Coopetition in a Context of Hegemonic Ambitions

An International Political Economy Perspective on Regional Integration Process in Northeast Asia: Coopetition in a Context of Hegemonic Ambitions

Asean Integration In Improving Indonesian Women Education: A Literature Review

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an organization of countries in Southeast Asia established in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 8, 1967 under the Bangkok Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. For more th an five decades ASEAN has experienced many positive and significant developments towards a more integrative and forward - looking stage with the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015. The ASEAN Community not only affects the economic sector, but also other sectors, including "education" as an effort to build competitive human resources. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) challenges in education that will be faced are the proliferation o f foreign educational institutions, standardization of orientation in education, which is pro - market, and markets labor that will be flooded by foreign workers. Therefore, the era of ASEAN free trade should be welcomed by the world of education quickly, so that the human resources (HR) of Indonesia, especially by women who still have low resource. They should be prepared for facing an intense competition with other countries. ASEAN countries have considered synchronizing the certification standards, streng thening, and improving the skills and knowledge of ASEAN youth and women in the regional integration process. Therefore, ASEAN countries have always been active in encouraging cooperative relations in various levels of education and training, at the same t ime encouraging all organizations and schools in each country to seek cooperation partners in other countries of the ASEAN region.

Assessing Indonesia’s Leadership in the Advancement of ASEAN Political-Security Community under President Joko Widodo

<p>This paper aims to examine Indonesia’s leadership in ASEAN as the regional organization advances its community building in areas of political-security. Indonesia, the largest state in Southeast Asia both from geographic and economic size, is known for its <em>de facto</em> leadership within the regional integration process of ASEAN. Such integration is mostly prominent in areas of multilateral engagement, conflict management, and democracy as well as human rights promotion. With President Joko Widodo at the helm of Indonesia’s presidency since October 2014, Indonesia has reoriented its foreign policy cornerstone on ASEAN into other channels that best serve its national interest. As Indonesia repositions its focus from ASEAN, there is a need to evaluate whether the trajectory of ASEAN Political-Security Community will continue to thrive under the consensual decision-making process among its ten member states known as ASEAN way.</p><p> </p><p>To evaluate Indonesia’s leadership in the advancement of ASEAN Political-Security Community under President Joko Widodo, the paper will review Indonesia’s initiatives to ASEAN and how they contribute towards Southeast Asia’s regionalism. Subsequently, three areas of Indonesia’s leadership in ASEAN Political-Security Community building will be examined: the maintenance of ASEAN Centrality, South China Sea dispute management, and promotion of democracy and human rights. The paper concludes that ASEAN way works not only when ASEAN member states find a common ground on regional issues that affect their respective domestic politics. A presence of informal and voluntary leadership where “matured” member states bring about initiative and persuasion is needed to maintain ASEAN’s strategic relevance in Asia-Pacific. For this reason, Indonesia’s legitimacy as an informal leader in ASEAN plays an important role to ensure that the organization remain united and central to its member states.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: ASEAN Political-Security Community, Indonesian Foreign Policy, Regional Leadership</p><p> </p>

O Estatuto da Cidadania do Mercosul: é possível uma cidadania regional?

O processo de integração do Mercosul tem incorporado e hierarquizado novos temas na sua agenda de ação, tal qual o Plano de Ação do Estatuto da Cidadania do Mercosul para a construção progressiva desta cidadania regional até o ano de 2021, ano em que a organização comemora seu aniversário de 30 anos. Trata-se de um projeto profundo e complexo que se insere no contexto de valorização da dimensão social deste processo integral regional. A Cartilha da Cidadania do Mercosul valoriza a ideia de que o cidadão emerge como o destinatário final de diversas medidas adotadas com o escopo de tutelar seus interesses e direitos individuais e coletivos, tal qual o direito de residência em outro Estado Parte do Mercosul. Todavia, para a sua plena consecução, mostra-se necessária um efetivo envolvimento político por parte dos governos nacionais no sentido de atuar as medidas adotadas no foro intergovernamental a fim de possibilitar a introdução do conceito de Cidadão do Mercosul na região.

The Implications of the Pacific Alliance on the Evolution of Inequality in Member Countries

The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration process that seeks to promote greater economic growth, competitiveness and development in its member countries. In this paper, the author critically approaches this integration process and wonders if it affects the level of income inequality in their countries. When investigating the constituent agreements of the Pacific Alliance, and using Mercosur as a control group for the period 2000-2014, this study shows that the Pacific Alliance members conceive free capital flows as a mechanism to promote growth, however, the measures to promote this mechanism represent setbacks in distributive terms.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND POVERTY: A REVIEW OF THE TRANSMISSION CHANNELS AND THE EVIDENCE

AbstractWhile there is an extensive literature on the impact of regional trading agreements on trade and capital flows, as well as on the relationship between international trade, growth, and poverty there is comparatively little treatment of the possible linkages between regional integration and poverty. We analyze the channels through which regional integration could impact on poverty, and then review the existing evidence on the impact of regional integration on poverty. We focus on two key characteristics that make any regional integration process different from unilateral and multilateral liberalization: first, the asymmetric nature of the liberalization process; second, the scope or ambition of the regional liberalization being undertaken and the nature of the institutional arrangements that are put into place to manage the process of regional integration. We also distinguish between short, medium, and long run effects on poverty of regional integration processes. There is some direct evidence explicitly linking regional integration and poverty, but in good part the shedding of the light depends on an indirect literature on trade, FDI, migration, and inequality.

Development of Sunflower Oil Exports in Russia and the EEU: Main Trends, Prospects, and Evaluations by the Gravity Model

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to assess the major trends, factors, and prospects of development of Russian and EEU sunflower oil exports. The sanctions resulted in an increase of sunflower oil exports in 2014 to a peak value, which allowed the producers to accumulate revenues in hard currency. The gravity models findings for Russia and for the EEU show that the sanctions stimulated the growth of sunflower oil exports. As distinct from a common language, a common border also encourages the development of Eurasian exports to third countries. The tariff size in the importer country is strongly and negatively connected with exports both from Russia and from the EEU. The effect of regional integration within the EEU is insignificant for the development of sunflower oil exports, while regional integration processes in the CIS have a positive impact on exports.

Neo-development of underdevelopment: Brazil and the political economy of South American integration under the Workers’ Party

ABSTRACTThis article critically assesses Brazil’s role in the South American regional integration process. My hypothesis is that despite the rhetoric of Brazil’s Workers’ Party (PT) governments about a ‘new developmentalism’ project to support ‘post-neoliberal’ regional integration, the structural continuities imposed by neoliberal macroeconomic policies have constrained all possibilities of overcoming underdevelopment. In the realm of regional integration, the driving force has been the internationalization of oligopolic Brazilian business in a process that promised Brazil a leadership role in the subcontinent. This frame has fostered business based on the overexploitation of labour and the destruction of the environment, enforcing trends that deepen the structures of economic dependency and social conflict. The political outcome of that process is that the PT has contributed to contain social pressures, both in the domestic and in regional contexts, as Brazil has played a moderating role in South America’s so-called progressive wave.

Specifics of Integration Processes in the Former Soviet Union: The Case of the Eurasian Economic Union

In the present settings, the development of the world economy follows a key trend that consists in regional economic integration. It is quite predictable that the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are promoting the project of economic integration aiming to secure certain positions in the developing new structure of the global economic system. This study aims to establish whether EAEU meets the criteria for an international organization of regional integration, as well as to consider whether the EAEU countries can successfully combine their membership with the membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The study was based on specific techniques and methods for the research of phenomena and processes. In a bid to reach the objectives of the study, the authors considered the scientific opinions, online data sources, as well as the analytical data available on the official websites of EAEU, WTO and the Eurasian Economic Commission. The importance of the study lies in the actionable advice on the improvement of integration that was provided based on the analysis of the regional economic integration processes within EAEU. The study concludes that the EAEU was established in accordance with the norms of international law and that the Union possesses every attribute of an international organization. In addition to that, as a result of examining EAEU’s ‘outer borders,’ the study revealed certain problems for the member states in trying to maintain their EAEU membership alongside with the membership in WTO.

The Role of UNASUR in the South American Democratic Crises (2008-2015)

The paper aims to analyze the performance of UNASUR in its first initial phase of activities in cases of democratic crises that happened in South America, during the period 2008-2015. Thus, it examines the cases of Bolivia (2008), Ecuador (2010), Paraguay (2012) and Venezuela (2014-2015). The central hypothesis of this study is that the defense of democracy and its institutions has been incorporated as one of the fundamental elements of the organization. Therefore, UNASUR is guided by political dialogue and consensus building for the maintenance of the democratic order in the South American countries and, consequently, a deepening of the regional integration process. It is argued that UNASUR includes democracy as one of its core values and acts to defend it in unstable situation. Therefore, the strengthening of the organization depends, among other factors, on its ability to resolve conflicts and promote democracy in the continent.

O DIREITO DA UNIÃO EUROPEIA E A DETERIORAÇÃO DEMOCRÁTICA E SOCIAL

Se a União Europeia representa para muitos o auge dos processos de integração regional e, consequentemente, da paz pela normatividade, na primeira crise as brumas dissipam-se, revelando o real caráter do projeto comunitário. O objetivo deste artigo é escancarar o processo europeu pela ferramenta da crítica ao direito. A organização internacional atinge um patamar inédito de desenvolvimento institucional e normativo, ao mesmo tempo em que se deteriora socioeconomicamente, com a desconstrução do modelo de bem-estar social. Por isso, a compreensão do fenômeno social em sua plenitude demanda um olhar pela ótica da teoria materialista do Estado. A discussão teórica envolve o desfazimento das ilusões europeias pós-Maastricht. Dessa forma, a internacionalização das relações capitalistas da era pós-fordista esgarça o modelo de bem-estar social nas sociedades europeias.

A influência do mercosul no desenvolvimento da economia criativa no Brasil

A finalidade deste artigo é realizar uma análise sobre a importância do processo de integração regional do Mercosul para o desenvolvimento da Economia Criativa no Brasil. Para isto, o artigo apresenta o conceito de economia criativa, sua origem histórica e alguns fatos que evidenciam sua aplicabilidade, especialmente, o reconhecimento do tema como estratégico por diversos países e por organismos internacionais. Em seguida são estudados os impactos que a participação do Brasil junto ao bloco regional traz para o desenvolvimento do setor criativo brasileiro, especialmente no que concerne a falta de uma política econômica conduzida pelo Bloco regional. Conclui-se que, o atual estágio de desenvolvimento do Mercosul contribui para a economia criativa brasileira em alguns aspectos importantes, porém torna-se necessário um avanço e aprofundamento do sistema de integração para no mínimo, uma União Aduaneira completa, face às peculiaridades que o setor exige e a forte concorrência que ocorre com outros países cuja estratégia de ação no setor criativo já se encontra em estágios mais avançados. Em razão de seus objetivos, utilizou-se o método descritivo analítico como modalidade de raciocínio lógico e a pesquisa bibliográfica como técnica.

Миграция и будущее европейского интеграционного проекта в монографии «A European Crisis: Perspectives on Refugees, Solidarity, and Europe»

The article is a review of the collective monograph «A European Crisis: Perspectives on Refugees, Solidarity, and Europe». The monograph is devoted to the study of the impact of the migration crisis in Europe on regional integration processes. The authors evaluate both the political and social effects of the migration crisis and state the likelihood of a split of a single European geopolitical space.