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?

One of the most important economic events in recent decades has been the on-going process of European integration. This book provides a basic yet rigorous understanding of the current issues and problems of economic integration and innovation in Europe, and argues that national or regional economic development depends mainly on technical change, social and human capital, and knowledge creation and diffusion This is clearly evident in the role of the Quadruple Innovation Helix of government, university, industry and civil society. Uniquely, the book examines the many aspects and consequences of the integration process that are obscure or as yet under-researched. The authors explore a wide range of topics, methodologies and perspectives in order to provide a stimulating and wide-ranging analyses. The Innovation Union in Europe will be of interest to students, economic theorists, empirical and social scientists, policy makers, as well as the informed general reader.

In this major new text, Miroslav N.Jovanovic presents an analysis of all the major aspects of economic integration in the European Union. Beginning with an overview of the origins of European integration, he moves on to discuss in detail all the main policy areas. These include: *monetary policy *competition policy *industrial policy *fiscal policy *trade policy *the Common Agricultural Policy *foreign direct investment *regional policy. The volume also includes a discussion of less well-known policy areas, such as social policy, environmental policy and transport policy. Containing an excellent blend of theory and practice and presenting a highly complex issue in an accessible and non-technical way, this text will be an invaluable resource for students of international economics, international business and European studies.

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.

This book addresses the important but understudied question of how social scientific knowledge is entangled in the process of European integration. More specifically, it provides the first systematic introduction to a sociology of knowledge approach to European integration and demonstrates the value of such an approach through empirical illustrations. Drawing on new research in the intersection of sociology of knowledge and political sociology, the book is the first to analyse the entanglement of social scientific knowledge and the development of the EU. The book provides the first systematic mapping of the relations between social scientific knowledge and particular aspects of European integration such as the Euro and monetary governance, constitution- and treaty-negotiation, education policy, enlargement and external relations. The book imports key ideas from the sociology of knowledge, sociology of science and political sociology to cast new light on the field of EU studies and its relation to the EU. The result is a fresh account of European integration, shaped – in often surprising ways – by relatively small groups of people and their particular ideas about economy, law, culture and politics. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration.

In this major new text, Miroslav N.Jovanovic presents an analysis of all the major aspects of economic integration in the European Union. Beginning with an overview of the origins of European integration, he moves on to discuss in detail all the main policy areas. These include: *monetary policy *competition policy *industrial policy *fiscal policy *trade policy *the Common Agricultural Policy *foreign direct investment *regional policy. The volume also includes a discussion of less well-known policy areas, such as social policy, environmental policy and transport policy. Containing an excellent blend of theory and practice and presenting a highly complex issue in an accessible and non-technical way, this text will be an invaluable resource for students of international economics, international business and European studies.

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.