A relatively loose definition may be better for comparative studies. But, rapid discordant economic integration resulted social and environmental. The objectives of the agreement could range from economic to political to environmental, although it has typically taken the form of a political economy initiative where commercial interests are the focus for achieving broader socio. Implementation of regional economic integration strategies mainly measures on the regional level, e. Both descriptive and quantitative analyses are used to this end.
Lessons for other african construction industries ebunoluwa bimbola akinrata department of quantity surveying, federal university of technology akure, ondo state, p. Overview of integration across the following areas. Before we enunciate the several reasons why this is so, we need to be clear regarding the concept. The role of regional integration in strengthening democracy and political institutions 198 regionalism and the nationstate 201 regional integration to deal with outside threats and regional hegemons regional integration and negotiations with the outside world notes 206 chapter 8. These examples show that regional integration today holds a notable attraction all over the globe. Community eac within the context of regional integration chapter 1, and analyses the impact of eac regional integration on womens wellbeing with a focus on womens employment chapter 2. The research focus could be identified as the concept of political integration, in the perspective of the theory of neofunctionalism. Regional integration in southern africa overview of recent developments lolette kritzingervan niekerk emmanuel pinto moreira december 2002 the findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors.
Regional integration is a process in which countries enter into a regional agreement in order to enhance regional cooperation through regional structure and rules. Regional integration theory seeks to explain the establishment and development of regional international organizations. The north atlantic area as a partial international system, international organization. Rarely have the concepts of regional integration and cooperation come up as. Concept note assessing regional integration in africa ix. Member countries remove all barriers to trade between. Regional integration can be promoted through common physical and institutional infrastructure. Its distinctive feature, exemplified in the founding example of modern federalism by the united states under the constitution of 1787, is a. Economic integration is an economic arrangement between different regions, marked by the reduction or elimination of trade barriers and the coordination of monetary and fiscal policies.
Abstract in lieu of an abstract, below is the essays first paragraph. If goods are sufficiently strong substitutes, regional trade agreements will cause the demand for third party goods to decrease, which will drive down prices. In all parts of the world regional integration was seen as a route towards a fairer, more inclusive globalization. So came the concept of sovereignty under attack that had put the nationstate as the highest point of citizens allegiance. Regional integration operates in between the two, in the sense that it promotes ideas of active and voluntary cooperation among nationstates within a specified geographic area towards removing or. An arrangement for enhancing cooperation through regional rules and institutions entered into by states of the same region. This paper examines the history of regional integration in africa, what has motivated it, the different initiatives that african governments have pursued, the nature of the integration process, and the current challenges. Mwasha abstract regional economic integration rei refers to the commercial policy of discriminatively reducing or eliminating trade barriers only between the states joining together. Although a regional mechanism called the asian pacific economic cooperation apec 1 was established in 1989 to work towards building closer economic ties among its members, its functioning has been restricted to that of an economic forum. Usually integration involves one or more written agreements that describe the areas of cooperation in detail, as well as some coordinating bodies representing the countries involved. However, it seems fair to say that collective decisionmaking is an important aspect of all regional integration efforts. As integration policies are adopted and implemented in practice, another aspect of the logic of policymaking emerges.
Overall development goal of the greater pearl river delta gprd region is to the emergence jointly as the most dynamic, internationally competitive, worldclass city cluster of the asiapacific region. The benefits of regional economic integration for developing countries in africa. To achieve this goal harmonious regional integration towards sustainable development is decisive. Caribbean governments can no longer protect the regional manufacturers by restricting extraregional imports, as such. Concepts, measurements and a bit of theory1 philippe c. It implies the elimination of economic boarders between countries. Lindberg considered his own concept of integration more cautious than that of haas. Regional integration allows countries to overcome these costly divisions integrating goods, services and factors markets, thus facilitating the flow of trade, capital, energy, people and ideas. Effective regional integration will increase competition, reduce private transaction costs, enable firms to exploit economies of scale, encourage inward foreign investment and facilitate macroeconomic policy. Theories and approaches introduction the devastation and havoc brought by world war ii forced politicians, thinkers and humanists to think seriously about the means that should be adopted in the relations among the nations that could significantly reduce the. Regional integration is the process by which two or more nationstates agree to cooperate and work closely together to achieve peace, stability and wealth. Regional integration among developing countries is part of a wider strategy to promote equitable growth and is not an end in itself. Regional integration has been defined as the process through which independent. Regional integration in europe was consolidated in the treaty on the european union the maastricht treaty, which came into force in november 1993 and established the european union.
Yet, only the eu has been able to achieve a relatively deep level of integration during the last fifty years, while sadc has not been able to proceed in its. Understanding on the interpretation of article xxiv of the general agreement on tariffs. Regional manufacturers have improved their products and services, and this has made it possible for them to compete with producers in developed countries. Bilateral agreement trade agreement between two companies or countries. Regional integration is a process in which neighboring states enter into an agreement in order. Regional economic integration concept on south african. Regional economic integration in east asia comparatively lags behind. Dictionary term of the day articles subjects businessdictionary business dictionary dictionary toggle navigation. That calls for better integration of social and economic policies in the process of regional integration.
Keyuanzou, in chinaasian relations and international law, 2009. Caribbean regional integration regional integration and cooperation long seen as critical to caribbean development, pre and post independence unsuccessful attempt at political union west indies federation 195862 parallel and intersecting paths of economic integration and institutional poolingcooperation economic integration. Regional integration refers to various types of political and economic agreements that form closer ties between sovereign countries. One of the first definitions of the concept of integration in the context of regional integration theory and one that has been widely used in the literature is the concept of security community of deutsch et al. Regional integration is a process in which neighboring states enter into an agreement in order to upgrade cooperation through common institutions and rules. It represents case study of the concept of political integration appearing in the theory of neofunctionalism. Africa is infested with the deepest levels of poverty, lowest share of world trade, and weakest development of. Definition of terms regional a bloc or geographic regionarea that have things in common. Regional integration and sustainable development in hong kong. Although integration processes are long term in naturethey take at least a generationthe political process in democratic societies requires that policies bear fruit within much shorter timeframes. Membership of a regional integration arrangement is a political choice of any one country, whether based on political, social, geographic and or economic considerations. Federalism is the mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government the central or federal government with regional governments provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other subunit governments in a single political system. Definition of terms multilateral agreement trade agreement. Regional integration is a process in which neighboring states enter into an agreement in order to upgrade.
Clearly, the process of european integration within the ec has gone further than integration in other regional settings. If there is a single sovereign national state sns that has not yet joined some transnational regional organization tro. Regional economic integration can best be defined as an agreement between groups of countries in a geographic region, to reduce and ultimately remove tariff and nontariff barriers to the free flow of goods. Key questions are why and under which conditions states decide to transfer. Both the eu and sadc have been able to attract new members regularly during their operation. The importance of regional economic integration is a very pertinent issue in africa, particularly in light of existing political and economic weaknesses. Regional integration is the key to achieve positive outcomes for africas youth development, such as youth skills development, best practices. This paper is a qualitative research of the concept of political integration. Regional integration in africa world trade organization. Pdf this article proposes a discursive constructionist approach and methodology for studying regional integration and related issues, such as. The first section traces the origin and formation of the au, examines the rationale for regional integration, its membership, objectives, organs, as well as the successes and weaknesses of the au. Regional economic integration has enabled countries to focus on issues that are relevant to their stage of development as well as encourage trade between neighbors. States differ in their size and in the power that they possess. Schmitter european university institute january 2007 regionalism across national borders has become a global phenomenon.
Regional integration eclac digital repository cepal. The other sections present the practice of regional security partnership in different areas of the contemporary world, namely in europe, asia, and africa. There are four main types of regional economic integration. Definition of economic integration the combination of several national economies into a larger territorial unit. Chapter 3 of the report presents the main findings and policy recommendations. This is the most basic form of economic cooperation. This paper examines the history of regional integration in africa, what has. Regional integration could have as its objective political or economic goals. Cornett and others published regional integration and regional development.
The concept of integration as an analytical tool and as a. Last section presents a preliminary comparative scheme for the analysis of the five cases here examined. Ssa 47 countries are small and least developed, according to unctads definition. Compliance translation of regional agreements into national regulations and. The european free trade association is a free trade bloc of four countries iceland, liechtenstein.
Central to it was the development of devices and processes for arriving at collective decisions by means other than autonomous action by national governments ibid 5. Most of the early attempts at regional trade agreements rtas in the 1950s and 1960s, many of them among developing countries, met with little success. Regional economic integration concept on south african construction industry. Monitoring of regional economic integration processes 24112016 related monitoring should take place on different levels 1.
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