Measuring financial market integration in the European Union: EU15 vs. New Member States

This paper quantifies financial market integration in the European Union, using a large array of credit and bond market indicators, stock market indicators, as well as indicators based on household and firm decisions. It focuses on comparing the evolution of the European Union before the Eastern enlargement (EU15) with that of the 12 New Member States (NMS) that joined after 2000. It documents improvements in the integration of the credit and bond markets as well as stock markets for both groups within the EU27, the heightened heterogeneity brought about by the NMS, but also a reversal of the integration process over the recent years (corresponding to the financial crisis), divergence disrupting both the EU15 core and the NMS. For all the decades of achievements within both the EU15 and NMS groups in terms of credit and stock market integration, the ultimate goals of financial market integration, perfect capital mobility and full international risk sharing remain out of reach.     

国际产业政策:产业政策研究的新领域

国际产业政策是顺应经济全球化时代由传统国别产业政策转型而来的一种新产业政策.本文从国际产业政策概念、国际产业政策形成的必然性和合理性、政策目标及主要内容、政策实施方式和手段等角度,综述了国际产业政策的理论研究及其研究中存在的不足.本文指出,加强国际产业政策的研究,对于正处在力争跨越式发展和追赶阶段的我国产业和企业参与全球竞争具有十分重要的战略意义.     

The Neighbourhood Policy of the European Union

The European Neighbourhood Policy aims at creating a ring of stable, friendly and democratic countries surrounding the European Union. While this aim is generally accepted across the Union, major differences persist as to how it should be achieved. Where does the ENP stand today? What is its profile, potential and perspective?     

The Climate Policy of the European Union

There is now almost universal agreement that climate change, with potentially disastrous consequences, is happening and that it is contributed to by human activities. This Forum is dedicated to the discussion of various aspects of the European Union's climate policy, e.g. the EU's future role in the global effort to combat global warming, the efficiency of its climate strategy, the design of a new rule for sharing the corresponding burdens fairly among member states, and the interrelationships between the Union's climate policies, on the one hand, and its energy and transport policies, on the other. * and member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The author wishes to thank Helen Bicknell (Mainz University of Applied Sciences), Oliver Deke (WBGU) and Jürgen Schmid (ISET, Department of Efficient Energy Conversion at the University of Kassel) for their helpful comments. ** This contribution is based on a Jean Monnet Lecture held at Aarhus University on 19 March 2007. The author would like to thank Harri Kalimo for valuable comments.     

Bilateral Trade and the Eurozone: Evidence from New Member Countries

The question of whether and how much currency unions increase bilateral trade among their members has garnered much attention since Rose’s seminal article. The answer is as pertinent now as ever for both the Eurozone’s existing and future members as the financial crisis shook the very foundations of the European Monetary Union (EMU) and brought its shortcomings into the spotlight. This paper analyses the issue using the gravity equation with country pair and time fixed effects. For a sample of the four new members of the EMU – Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus – which has, to the author’s knowledge, not been studied thus far due to their recent joining, and controls drawn from the European Union, this paper finds a positive relationship between joining the EMU and trade with EMU partners but not with non‐EMU partners.     

Negotiating in the European Union: Comparing Perceptions of Eu Negotiators in Small Member States

Negotiation is one of the major tasks of the 15 member states comprising the European Union (EU). However, not much is known about the behavior and perceptions of those negotiating on behalf of these member states. On the basis of the responses to a survey of EU diplomats and civil servants of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Portugal, an attempt has been made to develop a profile of "the" European Union Negotiator. The EU negotiator is less outspoken and more likely to compromise than an "ideal" profile of the diplomatic negotiator. While negotiators from these member states share important behavioral and attitudinal proclivities, they also differ in many significant ways. This healthy diversity of negotiating approaches is likely to be nurtured by the cooperative and synergistic atmosphere within the European Union.     

发展中国家的竞争政策与产业竞争力培养

一般而言.竞争政策是一国产业竞争力的制度基础,但发展中国家产业发展的基础和国际竞争环境使发展中国家政府注重运用选择性干预作为产业竞争力培养的手段,这种选择性干预与竞争政策存在矛盾和冲突.导致了发展中国家竞争政策与竞争法价值与目标的多元化,造成了竞争机构效率低下及竞争法司法裁决的不确定性.发展中国家的竞争机构应当坚持将维护和促进竞争作为竞争政策的价值,将经济效率作为竞争政策的目标.同时通过设定特殊豁免为政府的选择性干预预留空间,并降低这种选择性干预的随意性,从而使竞争政策在产业竞争力培养过程中发挥应有的积极作用.     

The economics of enlarging the European Union: Policy reform versus transfers

While the European Union will hardly be in a position to receive new members without extensive policy and financial reform, the discussion so far has exaggerated the link between reform and enlargement. It has also tended to neglect the economic benefits to be expected from integrating the CEECs into the EU and has been dominated by concerns about intra-EU transfers. In an attempt to placate those member states which have complained that they pay too much, recent proposals could give rise to more inefficiencies and disparities within the Union. The author is grateful to Beuter, Frank Bollen, Veerle Deekmyn and Les Metealfe for their comments on a previous draft. The author alone is responsible for the views expressed in this paper.     

The European Commission’s New Industrial Policy in an Integrating and Globalizing World

The European Commission has launched a new industrial policy for Europe in October 2005. While manufacturing industry remains a key building block of the European economy, it faces a number of challenges—as well as opportunities—in the form of rapid technological change; increasing trade and financial integration of the world economy; and the rise of new emerging market competitors. Whilst some sectors are performing strongly, the overall industrial structure of the EU economy makes it less than ideally positioned to face these challenges. The new industrial policy articulated by the Commission is to help the European economy adapt to the new circumstances. In contrast to old policies that sought to ‘pick winners’, the new approach starts from the screening of horizontal policies and framework conditions in terms of their implications for specific industrial sectors. Second, the Commission has integrated policy by bringing more closely together different policy dimensions of key relevance to various industries. Finally, the industrial policy attempts to achieve a greater consensus over policy, through the involvement at an early stage of key stakeholders and Member States in policy making.     

Possible Dynamic Effects of AFTA for the New Member Countries

We discuss the possible dynamic benefits of economic integration for the new members of ASEAN. Direct evidence on regional integration and growth is weak, but three indirect channels are possible. Openness increases access to foreign knowledge, which could help productivity growth. Trade liberalisation is likely to stimulate investment and might promote the integration of the regional production network. Binding liberalisation under AFTA would help ‘lock‐in’ and accelerate liberal economic reforms. These gains are not automatic, however. Discriminatory liberalisation will switch imports from sources with high stocks of knowledge towards ASEAN countries, which have lower stocks, and so may lower productivity growth. We term this ‘dynamic’ trade diversion. In addition, local absorptive capabilities must be developed to benefit fully from technology transfer. Finally, we recommend extending AFTA commitments on an MFN basis in order to avoid static and dynamic trade diversions.     

New Members in the European Union and foreign direct investment

The expansion of the European Union in 2004 to new members from beyond the former Iron Curtain could boost the competitiveness of firms located in the enlarged Union. The competitive advantage of new locations is derived from labor productivity —not from lower taxes and large transfers from the European Union budget, as is sometimes claimed. Compared to opportunities, the foreign direct investment inflows of the new members have been so far small and slow‐growing. Part of this performance may be due to the wrapping up of privatizations and the slow take‐off of large greenfield projects in those countries. Part of the blame, however, goes to protectionist pressures in the old members of the Union, prompted by fears of massive relocation of economic activities to new members. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

欧盟国家低碳经济发展的经验及其启示

本文从低碳经济发展战略制定与低碳立法、财政税收、低碳技术研发、新能源等方面探讨了欧盟国家在低碳经济发展中的主要政策措施。我国在发展低碳经济方面面临着产业结构重型化、能耗高与技术水平低下等困难,需要在吸收国际经验的基础上,结合我国的特征制定适合我国国情的低碳经济战略规划,通过构建法律框架、建立财政税收体系、开发低碳技术、提高能源使用效率、树立低碳消费观念,共同推动我国碳排放的降低和经济发展模式的转换。     

欧盟并购控制政策的演变与启示

本文认为,欧盟建立后十余年的时间里,沿用了欧共体的并购控制政策.这一政策是特定历史时期的产物,包含了较多的对非经济因素的考虑,又具有结构主义的特点.2004年4月,以新并购控制规则正式生效为标志,欧盟并购控制政策发生重大变革.在实质性内容上,新政策以新古典的微观经济理论为依据,对并购控制标准和市场结构分析方法进行调整;对与并购相关的反竞争效应的产生机制及效率问题进行阐释,加强了并购审查过程中的经济学分析.欧盟并购控制政策的演变过程带给我们的启示是:"经济学化"是并购控制政策发展的一般趋势;"竞争文化"的培育和先进技术手段的运用是并购控制政策得到有效执行的保证.     

From the Soviet Union to the European Union: Estonian Trade Policy, 1991–2000

This paper examines the political economy of Estonian trade policy in the 1990s. Estonia is a unique case in the world economy, in that the country rapidly implemented unilateral free trade after regaining independence and sustained it right through the 1990s. We analyse the circumstances, interests, ideas and institutions that have shaped Estonian trade policy during the past decade. Our stress is on institutions, particularly the national decision‐making setting for trade policy. Through this prism we try to understand how a free trade regime was implemented and sustained, and what this experience suggests for the feasibility of tree trade elsewhere. We also look at the increasingly ‘multi‐track’ nature of Estonian trade policy through bilateral free trade agreements, WTO accession and, especially, the movement towards EU accession. Although the other trade policy tracks to some extent provide a lockin for unilateral reforms, we argue that EU accession is undermining the simple, classical liberal trade policy regime that existed during the 1990s.