Regional Economic Integration

This study explored the regional integration in Africa's political economy. The study found that regional integration in Africa has the potential to improve economic markets, provision of public goods and infrastructure, social expenditure, poverty reduction and employment, taxation and revenue generation, money regulation and inflation, peace, security and political stability. Moreover, the study found that several underlying challenges related to inadequate political commitment, poor policy design, inadequate coordination, lack harmonization, weak infrastructural, human and institutional capacity, small economies, limited financial resources, civil wars, interstate conflicts and multiplicity of regional integration schemes are negatively affecting the potential of regional integration in Africa. The study recommends that focus should be made on harmonization of domestic policies with the regional policies to ensure adequate interstate coordination and regional integration. States should also work towards ensuring adequate institutional, human, infrastructural capacity, factors which are prerequisites of success of a regional integration. Moreover, the political will by the leadership of the member countries should support and ensure that obligations are met as intended.

The study could not have been successful without the professionalism and dedication to duty by my office staff who worked hard during odd hours in putting together the various pieces of the research report. Mr Elvis Chifamba and Mrs Winnie Mandenga were outstanding with their clerical and editing contributions. Last but not least I wish to express my profound appreciation for the patience and moral support I received from my wife Lucia Kamusoko and children Rumbidzai, Tapiwa and Ruvimbo. I also wish to express my appreciation to my extended family for their encouragement and support.

We shall measure our progress by the improvement of the health of our people; by the number of children in school, and by the quality of water and electricity in our towns and villages, and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our people is our chief pride, and it is by this that my Government will ask to be judged (Kwame Nkrumah Broadcast to the Nation 24 December, 1957).

There has been an uneasy dilemma for each economy to strike a balance between protecting welfare of nationals and catching up with the world standards in terms of regulations. Before APEC launched the Ease of Doing Business Initiative in 2009, Chinese Taipei has actively engaged in reviewing and improving relevant regulations. It hopes to advance its business environment through removing unnecessary regulatory restrictions on business activities. The efforts of climbing up the ladder have generated significant results: Chinese Taipei's overall ranking on the World Bank's Doing Business report had jumped from 61 st in 2008 to 33 rd in 2010. The goal of this paper is to exemplify Chinese Taipei as a notable case to explain how external pressures, either stemmed from regional economic arrangements, like APEC, or derived from the assessment of international organizations, like the World Bank's report, compel governments to initiate regulatory reforms as well as shape policy orientation of the public sector. This paper argues that for an export-oriented economy, like Chinese Taipei, it is critical to catch up with international standards, in order to maintain its competitiveness in the global economy. It implies that an economy with strong

Part One of the Osaka Action Agenda has clarified the implications of the basic political commitment to free and open trade and investment in the Bogor Declaration and has set out operational guiding principles and a well-developed strategy of implementation. This paper seeks to build on the broad concepts set in Part Two of Osaka Agenda to clarify the implications of the shared commitment of APEC leaders to development cooperation. From the concepts put forward by the APEC Eminent Person Group and the proposal of Partners for Progress, precise objective, guiding principles and priorities can be set out for the implementation of a realistic and balanced strategy for development cooperation.trade sector, investment, APEC

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between contextual connectivity and implementation of intra-national economic regionalism policies, with a focus on the Lake Region Economic Bloc in Kenya. The population of the study was 634, and comprised of 24 members of the Lake Basin Development Authority,  440 Members of County Assembly, 27 Economic experts, 130 County Executive Committee Members and 13 members of the Council of Governors. A sample of 245 was obtained using proportionate stratified sampling. Interview schedules and semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Means, percentages and standard deviations were used for descriptive analysis while correlation and regression analysis were used for inferential analysis.
Analysis of the qualitative data was based on the trends, themes and patterns that emerged from the qualitative responses. The result of the correlation analysis, r(157)=0.735, ρ=000 indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between contextual connectivity and implementation of the intra-national economic regionalism policies in the Lake Region Economic Bloc. The regression results, β=0.631, ρ<0.05 similarly indicated that contextual connectivity significantly predicts implementation economic regionalism policies in the Lake Region Economic Bloc. The study, therefore, concluded that contextual connectivity significantly influences implementation of economic regionalism policies in the Lake Region Economic Bloc. The analyses provided significant empirical findings on the role of specificity on implementation of intra-national economic regionalism policies. Moreover, the study recommends that the bloc should promote
continuous learning, flexibility and innovative evidence-drawing to facilitate local-based implementation of the intra-national economic regionalism policies. Decision makers must ensure self-organization, adjustment mechanisms and promotion of variation in the policy processes in the Economic Bloc. Generally, this study recommends that the county governments that are members of Lake Region Economic Bloc to develop agile policies to will make it easier to implement economic regionalism efficiently in the entire Bloc.

Este estudo discute a viabilidade e os possíveis impactos da implementação do Imposto sobre o Valor Agregado (IVA) no Brasil. Para tanto, expõe o conceito e a evolução histórica do IVA, discute o modelo utilizado na União Europeia e analisa o ambiente fiscal brasileiro, com vistas a conhecer os parâmetros para a determinação do IVA. O método utilizado é o dedutivo operacionalizado através de revisão bibliográfica e pesquisa documental qualitativa pertinente à temática abordada, o qual se for conduzida de forma adequada, essa iniciativa pode contribuir para a melhoria da arrecadação de impostos, para a simplificação do sistema tributário e para o aumento da eficiência econômica do país. No entanto, para que a implantação do IVA seja efetiva, é importante que o governo trabalhe conjuntamente com os setores da sociedade civil e os representantes tanto da indústria, como do comércio. Palavras-chave: carga tributária; redução; imposto sobre o valor agregado.

O objetivo do artigo é discutir a reforma tributária e seus efeitos na harmonização tributária na construção da "autonomia regional" e os efeitos no interesse comum construído no bloco Mercosul, que chamamos de "interesses sul-americanos", por meio de análise doutrinária e da legislação. Para isso, compara as estruturas tributárias dos países do Mercosul; descreve alguns dos objetivos e desafios de harmonização fiscal enfrentados pelos países deste grupo econômico; e menciona o impacto da recente reforma tributária do Brasil no processo de harmonização tributária. Pode-se constatar que cada Estado-Membro do Mercosul mantém o seu próprio sistema fiscal, e a harmonização fiscal tem-se revelado difícil devido às diferenças nas estruturas econômicas, nas considerações políticas e nos níveis de desenvolvimento dos Estados-Membros. No entanto, observou que tem havido discussões e esforços para harmonizar certos aspectos da tributação, como no contexto da recente reforma fiscal do Brasil, para facilitar o comércio e a cooperação económica dentro do bloco.

Development Economics (ABCDE) is a forum for discussion and debate of important policy issues facing developing countries. The conferences emphasize the contribution that empirical economic research can make to understanding development processes and to formulating sound development policies. Conference papers are written by researchers in and outside the World Bank. The conference series was started in 1989. Conference papers are reviewed by the editors and are also subject to internal and external peer review. Some papers were revised after the conference, to reflect the comments made by discussants or from the floor, while most discussants' comments were not revised. As a result, discussants' comments may refer to elements of the paper that no longer exist in their original form. Unless otherwise noted, participants' affiliations identified in this volume are as of the time of the conference, June 22-24, 2009. The planning and organization of the June 2009 conference was a joint effort by the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Korea Development Institute (KDI), and the World Bank. We gratefully acknowledge timely and valuable contributions made by all the members of the Steering Committee and several anonymous reviewers. We would also like to thank Alan Gelb and Aehyung Kim for their insightful advice and Leita Jones, conference organizer, whose excellent organizational skills helped to ensure a successful conference. Finally, we thank the editorial staff from the World Bank's Office of the Publisher for their efforts in pulling this volume together.

The study assesses free movement of persons on bilateral trade between Kenya and its trading partners in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. The study employed the Panel Correlated Standard Error method to estimate augmented gravity model. The data used covered 17 partners between 2012 and 2021. The findings indicate that the free movement of persons stimulates Kenya's bilateral trade in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. A unit improvement in the implementation of the no-visa policy requirement stimulates the volume of Kenya's bilateral trade with the partner country by 0.25 per cent. From the findings, Kenya and other Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa member States could consider fasttracking the full implementation of free movement of persons efforts put forward by each State to ease the cost of trade in the region.

10 Economic Reforms and People Mobility for a More Effective EU-MED Partnership Ishac Diwan* Mustapha Nabli Adama Coulibaly† Sara Johansson de Silva† Introduction The new framework for partnership between the European Union (EU) and the Southern ...

 Thailand is caught in the middle income trap. It suffers from a lack of skilled labour; its firms exhibit little innovation; and the national education system has failed, over decades, to deliver the required human resource. Investments in R&D also remain low.  Thailand needs to identify and develop new sources of growth. One good option is for it to import foreign technology, and through imitation of this, attain the knowledge base required for new domestic innovations.  Bangkok should also reconsider its import substitution policy and explore exportled growth strategies instead.  Most importantly, an orderly and predictable political environment is needed if the country is to attract and encourage economic growth.

 Thailand is caught in the middle income trap. It suffers from a lack of skilled labour; its firms exhibit little innovation; and the national education system has failed, over decades, to deliver the required human resource. Investments in R&D also remain low.  Thailand needs to identify and develop new sources of growth. One good option is for it to import foreign technology, and through imitation of this, attain the knowledge base required for new domestic innovations.  Bangkok should also reconsider its import substitution policy and explore exportled growth strategies instead.  Most importantly, an orderly and predictable political environment is needed if the country is to attract and encourage economic growth.

Business relationships have been studied as a driver for firm competitiveness through relationship marketing, but not as a strategic advantage when entering an economy. Prior research has identified several dimensions of market entry drivers from host country, home-location, sector-related as well as firm-level perspectives. This research study takes a managerial perspective and argues that relationships and their benefits are pivotal during market entry strategy formulation. It asserts that firms should alter their market entry strategies, specifically for emerging economies, taking into consideration the net gains of a client. This study used a mixed method design involving exploratory research and explanatory research. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to make sense of the use of relationship benefits when entering the African market. An online self-administrative questionnaire was also used to gather further insights of attributes that individuals use when entering the East African Community (EAC) market.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has been initiated under the concept of regionalism in 1985, the peripheral smaller South Asian states gathered on one platform to ensure economic integration and cooperation. The forum remained underutilized due to the inherited structural security issues and interstate disputes among the South Asian memberstates. SAARC couldn"t prove its importance and deliver constructive development in the region due to the sustained security environment. The paper is highlighting the regional security issues and political cleavages that affected the bases of SAARC and didn"t allow regionalism to function in South Asia, and it also explains the prevailed insecurities of the region with the help of Regional Security Complex Theory. The study examines that regionalism can prove fruitful if the security environment of the region is addressed and the interstate conflicts are defused. Thus, the regional security of South Asia is the main impediment behind SAARC"s productive economic success and integration.

The study finds that there has been a limited impact of trade liberalization on the volume of trade between the two countries. The shift from positive list to negative list has not resulted in any major increase in new exports. The share of new commodities exports in total exports has showed a rise of only 9 percentage points between 2012-13 and 2016-17. However, the trade basket has witnessed a diversification in terms of number of new items traded. The study finds that there is evidence of items shifting from informal to formal channels. The study also finds that the imposition of regulatory duties and compliance of standards has not affected India’s exports to Pakistan. The study concludes by making policy recommendations that could enhance and facilitate bilateral trade between India and Pakistan.

foram de extrema valia para a elaboração da versão final deste trabalho. O apoio de Karla Sarmento Gonçalves da Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) no tratamento e na interpretação dos dados também foi de grande valia. Erros e omissões remanescentes são, evidentemente, de minha inteira responsabilidade.

Nestes últimos anos em que me dediquei a esta tese, pude contar com o apoio e a colaboração de várias pessoas, sem as quais tudo seria mais difícil. Meus familiares estiveram sempre por perto, me incentivando e, mesmo sem que soubessem, me confortando nos momentos mais angustiantes. Um estímulo semelhante recebi dos amigos mais próximos (Lucas, Luana e Priscila), os quais, movidos por uma certa curiosidade, solicitaram vez ou outra explicações sobre minha pesquisa, colocando-me, sem qualquer pretensão, questionamentos que me fizeram repensar ideias quase consolidadas. A convivência com meus colegas de trabalho no Instituto Federal de Goiás, campus de Formosa, foi outro importante alento. Os debates dos quais participei em um dos núcleos de pesquisa da instituição (Núcleo de estudos e pesquisas em Trabalho, Educação, Cultura e Ciência -NEP-TECC), embora não estivessem relacionados ao tema de minha tese, fixaram em mim a percepção da necessidade de buscar sempre o rigor intelectual e científico. Recobrei essa mesma impressão durante a ocasião de qualificação da minha tese. As sugestões e os apontamentos feitos pelos professores Márcio Bobik Braga e Renato Perim Colistete foram fundamentais para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, o que obviamente não os responsabilizam pelo resultado final. Parte das ideias contidas nesta pesquisa são desdobramentos de um interesse científico despertado ainda no curso de graduação em Ciências Sociais da Universidade Estadual Paulista, campus de Marília, onde recebi oportunamente a orientação do professor Francisco Luiz Corsi. Desde esse período, o exemplo da dedicação acadêmica de uma grande amiga, Fabrícia Viviani, hoje docente no IFMT, tem sido uma referência importante. Tive também a felicidade de usufruir, nesse doutoramento, da orientação do professor José Jobson de Andrade Arruda, a quem imediatamente passei a respeitar não só pela sua admirável produção intelectual mas também pela sua generosidade e solicitude. Foi, sem dúvida, uma grande conquista poder cursar o doutorado na Universidade de São Paulo. A todos, meus sinceros agradecimentos.

Nestes últimos anos em que me dediquei a esta tese, pude contar com o apoio e a colaboração de várias pessoas, sem as quais tudo seria mais difícil. Meus familiares estiveram sempre por perto, me incentivando e, mesmo sem que soubessem, me confortando nos momentos mais angustiantes. Um estímulo semelhante recebi dos amigos mais próximos (Lucas, Luana e Priscila), os quais, movidos por uma certa curiosidade, solicitaram vez ou outra explicações sobre minha pesquisa, colocando-me, sem qualquer pretensão, questionamentos que me fizeram repensar ideias quase consolidadas. A convivência com meus colegas de trabalho no Instituto Federal de Goiás, campus de Formosa, foi outro importante alento. Os debates dos quais participei em um dos núcleos de pesquisa da instituição (Núcleo de estudos e pesquisas em Trabalho, Educação, Cultura e Ciência -NEP-TECC), embora não estivessem relacionados ao tema de minha tese, fixaram em mim a percepção da necessidade de buscar sempre o rigor intelectual e científico. Recobrei essa mesma impressão durante a ocasião de qualificação da minha tese. As sugestões e os apontamentos feitos pelos professores Márcio Bobik Braga e Renato Perim Colistete foram fundamentais para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, o que obviamente não os responsabilizam pelo resultado final. Parte das ideias contidas nesta pesquisa são desdobramentos de um interesse científico despertado ainda no curso de graduação em Ciências Sociais da Universidade Estadual Paulista, campus de Marília, onde recebi oportunamente a orientação do professor Francisco Luiz Corsi. Desde esse período, o exemplo da dedicação acadêmica de uma grande amiga, Fabrícia Viviani, hoje docente no IFMT, tem sido uma referência importante. Tive também a felicidade de usufruir, nesse doutoramento, da orientação do professor José Jobson de Andrade Arruda, a quem imediatamente passei a respeitar não só pela sua admirável produção intelectual mas também pela sua generosidade e solicitude. Foi, sem dúvida, uma grande conquista poder cursar o doutorado na Universidade de São Paulo. A todos, meus sinceros agradecimentos.

Globalization is often heralded as a catalyst for economic growth and cultural exchange, yet its impacts are not universally beneficial. In Africa, globalization is frequently perceived as a modern extension of colonial exploitation, perpetuating economic dependency and exacerbating inequality. This essay explores the historical context of colonialism, highlighting how past exploitation has shaped contemporary economic dynamics. The analysis delves into economic dependencies fostered by globalization, such as the extraction and export of raw materials with minimal local benefit, and the role of foreign direct investment that often favors external investors. Additionally, it examines the social and cultural ramifications, including increased inequality and the erosion of local traditions. The essay argues for the need for African nations to reclaim economic sovereignty, diversify their economies, and promote cultural independence to counter the neo-imperialistic tendencies of globalization.

El Magreb se está convirtiendo en una zona cada vez más importante en la relación transatlántica por dos razones fundamentales: primero , porque para la UE, los acontecimientos que se producen en el norte de África tienen repercusiones en el sur de Europa, por lo que los países a los que afecta (especialmente España, Francia e Italia) están presionando para desarrollar una nueva y mejor relación económica, social y política con el Magreb y esto influye en la relación transatlántica. Segundo, porque después de la Guerra Fría, el Mediterráneo en general ha adquirido un carácter relevante internacionalmente. El hecho de que se hayan creado más iniciativas políticas, económicas y militares por parte de la UE y EE.UU. para mejorar la relación con el Magreb lo prueba. Este interés por parte de la UE y de EE.UU. parece haber dado lugar a un reparto de tareas respecto a la región del Magreb. Siendo la UE la que se enfrente a temas como la inmigración y las relaciones culturales y económicas, y EE.UU. tratando otros temas como el terrorismo, la proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva, etc. Este trabajo de investigación trata de establecer la relevancia de esta región dentro de la relación transatlántica y por qué es importante para EE.UU. y la UE.

From the perspective of the political economy of development, this article analyzes the role played by Mexican labor in the U.S. productive restructuring process under the aegis of the North American Free Trade Agreement. By conceptualizing the labor export–led model it dissects three basic mechanisms of regional economic integration: maquiladoras, disguised maquilas, and labor migration. Not only does this analytical framework cast light on the contributions made by Mexican migrants to the economies of the United States and Mexico, it also reveals two paradoxes: the broadening of the socioeconomic asymmetries between the two countries, and increased socioeconomic dependence on remittances in Mexico.

Despite Kenya dominating trade volumes in the East African Community (EAC), it has been trading below its potential within the region. This is also in spite of the increased scope of the country's trade opportunities resulting from the region's increased market integration. Empirical evidence has shown that macroeconomic policies influence international trade flows. However, there is limited empirical evidence on the effect of macroeconomic policies on trade efficiency. The few existing studies on this topic have also used estimation techniques that depict efficiency as being drawn from an average level of trade and not the optimal level of trade, as well as also not separating the effects of inefficiencies from the statistical noises. This, therefore, creates a knowledge gap that this study aims at investigating by using the stochastic frontier gravity model (SFGM), to determine the effect of Kenya's macroeconomic policies on its trade efficiency within the EAC. The study used annual panel secondary data for the period 2000 to 2021. This study finds that the GDP of Kenya and that of its EAC trading partners, the geographical distance and border significantly affects trade volume. It also finds that globalization plays a significant role in influencing Kenya's trade. For the inefficiency model variables, exchange rate depreciation was found to significantly increase trade efficiency, while increase in tariff rate had an adverse and significant effect. Further, the study included corruption as a control variable and found that it significantly increases trade inefficiency. Kenya, though trading at an average efficiency level of 86.91 percent, was found to have high unexploited trade potentials within the region especially with Tanzania and Uganda. The study recommends that Kenya's policymakers deliberately advance the macroeconomic policies that promote trade efficiency while at the same time closely monitor the ones that hinder efficiency.

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Resumen: Para cualquier economía se plantea el problema de encontrar qué sectores son más sensibles a cambios en la demanda final. En este trabajo se derivan las condiciones matemáticas para obtener la importancia relativa de los coeficientes de insumos. El método se basa en los impactos sobre los productos brutos ante alteraciones en el coeficiente técnico. En la literatura se define como el método de "errores inducidos", y, en términos del trabajo empírico desarrollado, los resultados permiten una clasificación entre coeficientes importantes y no importantes de la tabla insumo-producto de la economía de Nuevo León. Palabras clave: modelo insumo-producto, economía regional, demanda final, coeficientes técnicos, tabla de transacciones, matriz técnica, ecuación de Leontief, error absoluto, error relativo, importancia relativa y sistema económico.

Regional integration, defined as a process in which countries enter into agreements to enhance regional trade, economic and political cooperation, remains an integral part of Africa’s development strategy as evidenced by the proliferation of regional integration agreements on the continent. The implications of these regional agreements on the strategy and operations of multinational corporations on the continent is a question that has received little attention, and as a result, largely remains unanswered. The East African Community, the regional intergovernmental organisation between the Republics

Incoherence is an expression that could be used to describe the political, economic and security developments in the Western Balkans. Armed conflicts during the 1990s, attempts at reconciliation during the 2000s and regional cooperation under "external" mentorship represent three focal points that characterize the contemporary history of the Western Balkans. Meanwhile, numerous regional models, frameworks and initiatives for economic integrations followed the formula-economic integration as a prerequisite for lasting peace. All of these have contributed to the fact that actors in the Western Balkans have only one common denominator-membership in the european union, as a key and strategic foreign policy goal. However, the achievement of that common denominator was without a clear strategy on how to do it and whether such a foreign policy goal, in real international circumstances, is still achievable. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to establish how regional circumstances determine the realization of the foreign policy goals of the Western Balkan actors. How and whether potential economic integration, as a basis, has contributed to essential reconciliation and cooperation? From the academic perspective, in a theoretical sense, the goal is to establish how much economic integration is a realistic basis for reconciliation on the political level in ongoing international circumstances, which would probably be best described today by neoclassical realists.

This study employs the gravity model to estimate the extent of the contribution of six African trade blocs to the global economy using the gravity model spanning from 1980 to 2018. The gravity equation that models the export contributions of the six selected African RECs to the global export is estimated. The estimated gravity model reveals that the long run estimations show that the coefficient estimate for SACU and ECCAS are insignificant in the long run while SACU, EAC and ECCAS as RECs, have insignificant contribution to export in the short run. Our findings, after establishing cointegration, on the other hand show that COMESA has the highest contribution to the global exports, followed by EAC, ECOWAS and SADC with ECCAS and SACU the lowest contributors. The highest contribution of COMESA followed by EAC may be due to the growing economy of member countries like Kenya and Rwanda, while that of COMESA and SADC may be as a result of the large economy of Nigeria and South Africa respectively. This study concludes that African countries are emerging with great export potentials, therefore, governments and private sectors should create the necessary incentives and export policies for the realization of these potentials to maximise the global value chain.

To mark the 30 th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, this paper aims to assess developments in Central, East and Southeast Europe (CESEE) over the past three decades, and to look forward to what the next 30 years might bring. First, we measure the convergence of per capita income, wages and life expectancy in CESEE with Western Europe since 1989, and examine demographic trends. We find that, after a difficult start, many countries have become significantly wealthier and their populations much healthier. However, for others, the outcomes of the first 30 years are less positive, and a large number of countries in CESEE have already experienced significant population decline. Second, our experts look back at the situation in 1989, and to what extent their expectations have played out, reflecting on both successes and disappointments. Third, we analyse current trends in the region, and attempt to project what will come next. Here, we focus on automation, digitalisation, institutions, demographics and geopolitics. We find evidence of institutional regression, demographic challenges, and a changing geopolitical backdrop which will have important implications for much of the region. However, we also see reasons for optimism, including the opportunities provided by digitalisation and automation, and an active civil society that could in time force positive change.

After two decades of meagre results in post-Soviet regionalism, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is the first gleam of hope. However, research on the EAEU is mostly Russia-centred and focused on trade issues, which leaves the small states' perspectives and developmental aspects, such as the EAEU's industrial cooperation agenda, understudied. The small states might disproportionately benefit from a shift towards developmental regionalism, but there are also many challenges associated with this issue. Thus, this paper examines Armenia's and Belarus' industrial development prospects in the framework of the EAEU. Based on Regulation Theory, the paper triangulates data from national, supranational and international organisations, official EAEU documents and reports with insights from 10 expert interviews with policy makers, policy advisers and management consultants. The paper identifies diverging (and sometimes conflicting) interests regarding the relevance and concrete arrangement of industrial cooperation, which has particular implications for smaller member states like Armenia and Belarus.

Regional integration, defined as a process in which countries enter into agreements to enhance regional trade, economic and political cooperation, remains an integral part of Africa’s development strategy as evidenced by the proliferation of regional integration agreements on the continent. The implications of these regional agreements on the strategy and operations of multinational corporations on the continent is a question that has received little attention, and as a result, largely remains unanswered. The East African Community, the regional intergovernmental organisation between the Republics

Regionalism and regional integration in East Asia has developed dynamically at various levels over the past two decades. In the world system, East Asia‘s degree of regional economic coherence is second only to the European Union‘s. In addition to deepening micro-level regionalisation, new regional frameworks and organisations have emerged, centred on an East Asian collective of nations and economies. This

The peace and looking for ways to keep it have been one of the most essential obsessions of the human beings throughout the history. Creation of regional or international organizations is considered as a way to peace building and keeping. In fact, one of the causes of transformation of international organization after the Cold War has been settlement of peace and security. The role of international organizations in order to settle conflicts is more vital and important, because most of these organizations have the ability and legitimacy to play an important role in this regard. In this regard, this article using descriptiveanalytic method is intended to investigate the question: “why after the Cold War we have witnessed lower conflicts and tensions in the South East Asia than Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus and Africa?” Research findings show that ASEAN has had an effective role in peace building and peace keeping through creating norms and regimes of peaceful settlement of dispu...

In recent years, there has been a growing literature -known as endogenous growth revealing the fact that human resources are the main constituent of economic growth. Turkey has implemented for a long time a state policy by which human resources have been weakened and paralyzed. This chapter looks into the historical trajectory of this dead-lock policy, linking the basis of the current deficiencies of democracy and market economy in Turkey at institutional level on one hand, and lack of tolerance and xenophobia at societal level on the other. We argue that the Republican era‘s Jacobean
type of ultra-nationalist unification policies explain by and large not only relative economic backwardness, but also ongoing political, economic and social adjustment problems in Turkey.

Filósofo y especialista en relaciones internacionales. Actualmente se desempeña como asesor en el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Las opiniones aquí expresadas tienen carácter personal y no representan el punto de vista de la institución en la cual presta sus servicios.

This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-have laid out a path to a common market by 2007 and monetary union by 2010, based on economic convergence. To monitor convergence and support economic and monetary policy, comparable economic data for member countries and data for the region as a whole will be essential. What is the most efficient way to produce these data? The authors survey the statistical institutions in the GCC countries and present the case for creating "Gulfstat"-a regional statistical agency to operate within a "Gulf States System of Statistics." Valuable lessons can be learned from regional statistical organization in Africa and the European Union-Afristat and Eurostat.

OIC members have much potential in their economic development. Therefore, their economic integration leads to more increment for partners and deal with global system as a unique organization. Consequently, studying the convergence of OIC members and their encountered challenges has especial importance which can assist the policy makers to develop their commercial relationship and consequently employment enhancing and economic situation improvement in future planning. Therefore, in this research the commercial effects of selected OIC members during 2005-2011 were modeled using gravity method. Results showed that from the basic gravity equation, the economy size of other 6 OIC members is the main determinant in the Iranian bilateral trade relationship. Thereby, 1% increase in the economy size of other 6 OIC members, leads to 0.91% increase in the volume of trade inflows between considered OIC members.

OIC members have much potential in their economic development. Therefore, their economic integration leads to more increment for partners and deal with global system as a unique organization. Consequently, studying the convergence of OIC members and their encountered challenges has especial importance which can assist the policy makers to develop their commercial relationship and consequently employment enhancing and economic situation improvement in future planning. Therefore, in this research the commercial effects of selected OIC members during 2005-2011 were modeled using gravity method. Results showed that from the basic gravity equation, the economy size of other 6 OIC members is the main determinant in the Iranian bilateral trade relationship. Thereby, 1% increase in the economy size of other 6 OIC members, leads to 0.91% increase in the volume of trade inflows between considered OIC members.

in Harvard Law School for guidance and comments and Wendy Whittaker of the Program for preparing the database and related graphics. Special thanks are due to numerous officials in stock exchanges and regulatory agencies across the European Union. Responsibility for opinions and errors remains my own.

The right of health is one of the most fundamental human rights, which is emphasized in human rights documents. The spread of the corona virus has posed major challenges to the various dimensions of human rights, the most important of which is the right of being health. There are basically two perspectives about the belief in the role of government and international law in general. The first view is the realists view, who see the behavior of governments based on their benefits the and question the implementation of international law. The second group is the liberals, who place great emphasis on the application of international law. According to the beliefs of this group, governments also generally have certain responsibilities in relation to securing and guaranteeing this right. It is clear that governments cannot fully guarantee the health and well-being of individuals, but governments can provide conditions in which the health of individuals is protected and access to health is possible for individuals. This obligation is driven from the obligations of governments to implement human rights in accordance with international law.

This paper analyses the perspectives of Regional Integration in the East African Community. It delves into the process, prospects and challenges towards integrating the East African Community countries of Kenya. Uganda. Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The authors argue that integration remains an important avenue of capital formation and collective self-reliance. The federalism. functionalism and Baregu's imperatives provide the theoretical lenses of the paper. The central question thus; does integration better positions economies tor faster economic development? The paper recommends inter-alia the need for institutional capacity building and popular participation of the people for successful integration. This paper is significant as it points to the importance of integration; if peace. economic development. higher production. trade and self-sufficiency are to be achieved amidst the fierce competition in the global market. The fear of losing power and authority to a regional government should therefore, not hamper the EAC from harnessing the benefits of Regional Integration.