Comparative study of FDI in Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean

The European Union (EU) is currently being exposed to strong integration dynamics. However, the full implications of such dynamics for the location of foreign direct investment (FDI) for both the European Union and the bordering countries are not understood. We construct a panel of more than 3500 European multinationals that have invested in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Mediterranean (MED) over the 1990–1997 period in 48 NACE 3 industries. After controlling for industry and time-specific effects, it is found that Central and Eastern Europe displays a greater potential in the attraction of FDI flows when compared to the Mediterranean region.     

From Bismarck to Maastricht: The March to European Union and the Labor Compact

This paper considers the likely impact that European Union (EU) will have on the labor compact. It is argued that, despite increased economic integration in Europe, countries will still be able to maintain distinct labor practices if they are willing to bear the cost of those practices. The incidence of many social protections probably already falls on workers. In addition, it is argued that imperfect mobility of capital, labor, goods and services will limit the pressure that integration will place on the labor compact. Evidence is presented suggesting that labor mobility among EU countries has not increased after the elimination of remaining restrictions on intra-EU labor mobility in 1993. Moreover, immigration from non-EU countries, which is much larger than intra-EU migration, has declined since 1993. Evidence is also reviewed suggesting that the demand for social protection rises when countries are more open, and therefore subject to more severe external shocks. This finding suggests that increased economic integration and European Monetary Union (EMU) could lead to greater demand for social protection. The U.S. experience with state workers' compensation insurance programs is offered as an example of enduring differences in labor market protections in highly integrated regional economies with a common currency.     

The Eurobarometer and the process of European integration

For nearly 40 years, the European Commission has observed the development of the European Union as it is reflected in public opinion. The Eurobarometer measures the European population’s attitudes about various issues related to Europe. The informational value of the Eurobarometer is viewed as quite high, since the surveys, which are conducted twice a year, generate a large quantity of data. This article investigates the role of the Eurobarometer in the process of European integration by analysing the methodological foundations of the Eurobarometer and discussing its weaknesses. The final section addresses the issue of whether the European Commission, as the contracting entity, utilizes the Eurobarometer as a political instrument to promote support for the process of European integration. It is argued here that the Commission’s instrumentalisation of the Eurobarometer jeopardizes its informational value, whereas at the same time the political benefits of this shift remain debatable.     

Trade integration in the European Union: Openness,interconnectedness, and distance

This article presents a set of indicators to measure regional trade integration, focusing on the case of the European Union. We propose measures of openness, connectedness and integration which are tuned to evaluate not only how these components contribute to the advance of international integration, but also to control for the potential threat posed by the proliferation of regional trade agreements to trade globalization. Although this and related questions have been examined from several perspectives, the present article explicitly attempts to quantify how regional trade agreements either intensify or thwart trade globalization. Results show that the process of trade integration has intensified among European Union members, whereas integration with non-members is advancing slowly. Our indicators provide a more complete view of the differing speeds of integration, which depend on whether the component of integration considered is openness or connectedness.     

Prospects for an ordoliberal reform of the European Union

This article discusses the prospects for an ordoliberal reform of the European Union in order to tackle its multiple crises. It shows what an ordoliberal European Union would have to look like and examines the constraints its implementation faces. Three reasons are identified that make an ordoliberal reform of the EU at present unlikely. First, in the EU's most powerful member state, Germany, where ordoliberalism has its origins, economic policy adheres increasingly less to this strain of economic thinking. Second, given the primacy of European integration in domestic politics, Germany values European unity higher than economic principles. Third, once Brexit is complete Germany will lack influential allies for an ordoliberal reshaping of the EU.     

Adopt the euro? The GME approach

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the degree of financial integration achieved in the European Union based on covered interest parity and using Generalized Maximum Entropy. EU countries are divided into two groups according to their current situation with respect to the adoption of the euro. Financial integration before the adoption of the euro is analyzed for the countries that adopted the euro in 1999. Similarly, current financial integration is evaluated for non-euro EU countries. Besides the importance of comparing the situation of the non-euro EU countries with the situation of the euro EU countries previous to the euro adoption, which may be useful to evaluate an eventual decision of the non-euro members to adopt the euro, it is interesting to analyze the performance of Generalized Maximum Entropy. Generalized Maximum Entropy has the ability to estimate the parameters of a regression model without imposing any constrains on the probability distribution of errors and it is robust even when we have ill-posed problems. Overall our results suggest that the degree of financial integration on non-euro countries is lower than the degree of financial integration that existed among euro adopting countries before the adoption of the euro.     

TRADE AND FACTOR FLOWS IN A DIVERSE EU: WHAT LESSONS FOR THE EASTERN ENLARGEMENT(S)?

Abstract.  This paper reviews the neoclassical and new economic geography (NEG) theoretical frameworks used to analyse the effects of integration on trade and factor flows, and the empirical work carried out within those theoretical frameworks for the European case. The European Union (EU) is of particular interest because it is illustrative of the tensions between deepening of the integration process and widening membership: whereas deepening requires homogeneity, widening has made the EU increasingly diverse. The orthodox framework saw trade and factor flows as substitutes, thus separating their analysis, and was mainly concerned with efficiency issues of trade integration. The NEG framework saw trade and factor flows as complements, and analysed them jointly, looking mainly at distribution issues such as disparities in industry location and wages arising from a single market for goods and factors. The main lesson for the Eastern enlargement(s) is that integration in its various forms leads to an uneven distribution of gains across member countries when these have very diverse economic structures.     

THE EUROPEAN COURT: THE FORGOTTEN POWERHOUSE BUILDING THE EUROPEAN SUPERSTATE

Less attention is paid to the European Court of Justice than to other European Union institutions when discussing the centralising tendencies of the Union. However, the court has given an important impetus to the process of centralisation through its individual decisions and also through its tendency to give effect in its decisions to what it believes to be the'purpose'of EU treaties rather than to the text of the treaties. The proposed EU constitution will significantly widen the power of the European Court since it includes articles which are wide open to a number of different interpretations, and it will be for the court to decide how they should be interpreted.     

东南亚国家联盟与欧盟、北美自由贸易区之比较

东南亚国家联盟现已经成为很有影响的多边经济合作组织.在很多方面,它不同于欧盟、北美自由贸易区这两个区域经济一体化组织.这种差别体现在组织内成员国之间的地缘亲和力、经济优势的互补性、组织的发展历程、组织的运作机制、区外合作模式以及内部关系等方面.     

发展中的欧盟高等教育国际化

伴随着欧洲经济一体化的不断深入,日益激烈的国际教育市场的驱使以及信息技术和互联网学习的发展,高等教育国际化越来越成为欧盟继经济联盟和统一货币之后的另一重要行动。欧盟的高等教育国际化进程从欧共体产生之日就开始了其进程,直至今日依然在发展。本文探求了从经济和文化因素分析欧盟国家高等教育的动因,接着从欧盟教育的一体化及其国际发展两个方面讲述了欧盟高等教育国际化的主要举措,企盼为我国高等教育国际化提供启示及借鉴。     

论欧盟对华反倾销歧视政策的松动

文章指出,欧盟对华反倾销歧视政策虽然有所松动,但中国的企业仍然很难得到市场经济地位或个案待遇的承认,因此通过分析欧盟对华反倾销现状后得出结论:欧盟反倾销法是其灵活性与消极性的统一。     

European integration,productivity growth and real convergence: Evidence from the new member states

We estimate the determinants of labor productivity growth in 8 new European Union (EU) member states that joined the Union in 2004. Our focus is on the impact of globalization and EU integration efforts on labor productivity growth. Previous studies test the impact of trade using either exports or trade openness. We also test the impact of imports separately on labor productivity growth. Using panel data for 1995–2006 period, we find that globalization has mixed effects. FDI and exports improve productivity, but imports hurt it. Regarding domestic variables, we find that human capital is the most important source of labor productivity growth in the new member states. There is also considerable adjustment of labor productivity towards EU15 levels, indicating significant “catching up” and hence real convergence. Policy implications of the findings are also discussed.     

欧盟为什么推迟认可IFRS9?

深入阐释了欧盟推迟认可IFRS9的原因,即公允价值应用扩大、分阶段评估困难和欧盟委员会换届。展望了欧盟对IFRS9的后续策略,对欧盟2015年开始执行IFRS9持乐观态度。了解欧盟对IFRS的认可机制和处理会计标准国际协作问题的做法对我国会计准则国际趋同及与欧盟进行会计准则等效谈判有借鉴意义。     

Does the Lisbon Treaty Effectively Limit the Power of the European Union?

Although the Lisbon Treaty recognises the necessity to limit the power of the European Union, some of its limitations are poorly expressed. As a result, the European Commission has the possibility to act arbitrarily by expanding Union power. The position of the Commission is pre‐eminent, notably with respect to the drafting of EU measures. Not only can the Commission expand Union power, but it may also favour certain actors at the expense of the principals (Member States and their citizens). Indeed, the Commission may apply definitions of the ‘common European interest’ that go beyond the preferences of the principals.     

Book Reviews

This article notes some patterns of diversity as well as some moves towards harmonization of industrial relations arrangements and that there are certain parallel trends in European countries. It examines developments affecting unions, employers and the state as well as the changing approaches to collective bargaining. It goes on to discuss the increasing impact of the European Union (formerly European Community) and it concludes that, rather than finding much convergence, there are continuing and significant differences between European countries.     

An empirical model of transfers within a federation, with an application to the European Union

We construct a stylized model of transfers within a federation and apply it to the European Union. Our approach differs from that of most of the existing literature in that we fix the preferences for redistribution of resources among a federation's members, rather than fix the current budgetary rules or modify them on the basis of assumed scenarios. The model is tested (successfully) by assessing its ability to predict the effects of the last (1995) enlargement on the European budget. We then use the estimated model to predict the reallocation of the Union's net transfers after the upcoming Eastern enlargement. Our estimates of transfers to the incoming member states exceed those of the rest of the literature. Our results can be interpreted in one of two ways: first, either the European Union, in its collective decision-making process (that in the future will include the five incoming countries as voting members), will institute new rules and programs to further reduce the regional disparities in income, or second, if the current rules and programs are maintained, then the Eastern enlargement would result in a reduction in the “depth” of the Union. The approach we introduce can be more generally applied to the analysis of other intergovernmental or international organizations.     

Economic Theories of Political (Dis)integration

Abstract.  This paper surveys the recent political economy literature on countries' incentives to form international unions and/or to disintegrate in smaller jurisdictions. The main factors that affect these incentives are (i) economic integration, (ii) the international order, (iii) international spillovers and (iv) the institutional setting. Some implications are drawn for the current debate in Europe on the political effects of economic integration, on the enlargement process and on the distribution of prerogatives between the European Union and national governments.     

Unemployment and the Independent European System of Central Banks

A bstract .This paper scrutinizes the case for an Independent European System of Central Banks (IESCB) Proposals for IESCB are based on some specific interrelated theoretical propositions upon which we cast some doubt The case for an IESCB is rejected on the grounds that it would worsen the performance of the real economy We propose different arrangements, which are focused on high levels of employment throughout the European Union as the prime objective Such a scenario, which emphasizes full employment and requires coordination among member countries in terms of economic policy, will avoid most, if not all, of the problems of the IESCB proposals. The alternative would thus be better able to tackle the unemployment problems of the European Union     

Consolidating segmentation: post‐Socialist employment relations in Central and Eastern Europe

The article argues that, of the four major potential mechanisms for integration—the state, tripartite social partnerships, employer and employee organisations and shared values—in Central and Eastern Europe only the trade unions are contributing significantly towards national employment relations convergence. Against a background of imminent European Union accession, incorporation into global production systems, economic growth and gradual improvement in real incomes, four divergent employment relations systems are thus emerging: the state budget, privatised or about to be privatised, private and multinational.     

European Monetary Union or competing currencies: which way for monetary integration in Europe?

In theAntibes in September, Mr. Laws on perplexed and irritated his fellow European finance ministers by proposing a scheme for allowing currencies to compete one against the other in Europe. It perplexed them because it was presented as a basis for proceeding towards monetary union within the European Community in accordance with the resolve of European Heads of State at the Madrid Summit, whereas it appeared as a recipe for monetary confusion, not fusion. It irritated them because it appeared to them to be yet another British manoeuvre to derail agreed progress towards greater economic and monetary integration in Europe. It especially annoyed the potential allies of the UK on this issue who regard the French and Commission attempts to push rapidly towards monetary union as ill-advised, and who saw the Chancellor's ill-thought out proposal as playing into their hands. Some political commentators have suggested that Mr. Lawson was seeking to play a clever hand. He is known to favour UK entry to the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System, and on this is at odds with Mrs. Thatcher. Professor Alan Walters, adviser to the Prime Minister, is said to favour the idea of competing currencies in Europe. It may be that the Chancellor was not displeased to have this idea knocked down in the Antibes, leaving a strengthened EMS as the only realistic alternative to full monetary union in Europe. Whatever the truth of this, it seems inevitable that UK opposition to ambitious proposals for European Monetary Union will be met with less sympathy in future as a result of the Antibes meeting. This is a pity. For as we suggested in the June Economic Viewpoint, there is a serious case yet to be made in favour of the idea of competing currencies. This idea need not be in conflict with the objective of exchange rate stability, so that it is not incompatible with the EMS. Competition between currencies need not mean exchange rate instability. Rather it may mean competition over responsible monetary policies, encouraging their spread within Europe. An implication is that full monetary union may not be desirable. If the UK advanced this position in Europe, it may well carry the day. In this Viewpoint, we develop this argument about the direction for further monetary integration in Europe.