The EU Single Market and the opening up of Eastern Europe offer a chance to create a truly pan-European market economy. In this respect, many lessons can be learned from early 20th-century developments in Europe. Bearing this in mind, the authors analyze the fragility of international trade, financial investment and foreign relations in and across Europe, from both a contemporary and historical perspective. In a period of increased migration and higher capital mobility, the major OECD countries are faced with such issues as monetary integration, the role of banks and the requirement for structural adjustment. Even more complex is the integration of Russia. Policymakers and the business community alike are presented simultaneously with unique opportunities and unique challenges - with old and new pitfalls looming.

By examining the various policy subfields of European economic integration such as agriculture, trade, banking, economic governance and sustainability this book offers a comprehensive and wide-ranging analysis of developments that have taken place in the past five years aimed at exploring the path of economic integration in Europe.

Economic integration is one of the most noteworthy issues in international economic policy at the end of the twentieth century. The recent examples of the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) have raised important questions about the economic integration process and the possible establishment of economic unions in other parts of the world. Against the backdrop of the financial crisis in Europe and prospects of increasing integration in Asia, this volume showcases research from an international array of researchers to provide a basic understanding of the current issues, problems, challenges, and opportunities for achieving integration, addressing both empirical and theoretical aspects of such topics as monetary union, social policy reform and social union, public finance and technology policy. The chapters in Part 1 are focused primarily on economic issues, while Part 2 covers on social policy, the welfare state, and political reforms, with a particular emphasis on the European Union. Among the questions addressed: What are the main determinants and implications for socio-economic integration? How can economic policy influence the growth and integration process? Why is innovation important for regional economic development? What has been the policy response so far and what lessons have we learned from it? And finally, what are our action lines for the future?

In this innovative work, Guglielmo Carchedi argues that only an analysis centered on class as the basic unit of social life, with production and distribution of value understood as the bedrock of the economy, can throw light on the internal contradictions of European economic integration. Two specific themes emerge from this radical approach. First, familiar topics such as competition and social policy, economic and monetary union, the Common Agricultural Policy and immigration, are treated in an original manner. Second, subjects usually ignored in the standard textbooks, for instance the role of interest groups in the Union's decision-making process, are shown to be of crucial importance in understanding the economics of the European Union. This work therefore provides both an introduction to and a critique of the European project. The book's central message however, is that another sort of Europe is possible, one based on the erosion of economic polarization, on the abolition of Europe's imperialist relations with the Third World, and on the creation of truly democratic institutions of self-determination.

Progressive integration has been a significant characteristic of economic development in the last few decades worldwide and in Europe - where it has found expression notably in the European Community (EC), now the European Union (EU). The issue of monetary integration has been central to the discussion on European economic integration. This text aims to select the more relevant aspects and developments, placing them in a robust conceptual structure, and integrate theoretical developments with the results of empirical research and of policy analysis. The authors explain the logic of the dynamic process, describe the structural features of the European economy, and depict the historical developments so as to give a sound basis for the understanding of the present situation and the likely future developments. In addition, it sets the European developments in the light of global developments. This revised edition covers recent developements, such as the setting up of the economic and monetary union, the widening of the EU, updated data, and integrates the results of recent theoretical and empirical work.