This paper analyzes developmental trajectories in the EU. In doing so, it diagnoses economic polarization on two different levels: for one, we observe a divergence of average incomes across EU countries as a persistent empirical feature associated with European integration. For another, European...

EU enlargement has stalled since the last member joined over ten years ago, marking the longest period without expansion since 1973. This elapsed time contrasts with the potential income gains membership promises. Drawing on the biggest EU enlargement in 2004 and employing a synthetic...

This paper draws a concise overview of the economic relationship between the European Union (EU) and selected Asian regions in the context of the twin transition - green and digital. A series of significant initiatives adopted in recent years to consolidate the cooperation with these regions are...

This paper analyzes developmental trajectories in the EU. In doing so, it diagnoses economic polarization on two different levels: for one, we observe a divergence of average incomes across EU countries as a persistent empirical feature associated with European integration. For another, European...

A study conducted by the European Parliamentary Research Service (2023) notes that the European Union's (EU) relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries are being affected by changes in global power, economic uncertainty, and security threats. The current working paper...

By utilizing panel statistics of 1520 country pairs and economic integration agreements (EIAs) from 2007 to 2017, this paper presents evidence of the effect of EIAs on export margins, i.e., both extensive (firms) and intensive margins (average exports per firm). In doing so, this work adds...

How does dismantling deep integration affect international trade? This paper provides new evidence on the consequences of disintegration by estimating the impact of Brexit on goods trade by UK firms. The UK’s exit from the EU’s single market and customs union in January 2021 led to an...

This paper examines how EU Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) reshape firms’ global supply chains, extending Grossman et al. (2024) to incorporate adaptation costs between sourcing partners. To test the model’s predictions, we construct a novel dataset linking EU TBTs to French firm-level...

Empirical models of trade agreements implicitly assume that withdrawal from a trade agreement has an equal and opposite trade effect as accession, i.e., symmetry. With increasing opposition to international economic cooperation, it becomes urgent to test this assumption. We analyze a...

This article focuses on moral judgements about the integrity of politicians expressed by various actors in public opinion in the wake of Dutch integrity scandals. The research assesses the link between a supposed act on the one hand and moral judgements of the actors involved on the other in an...

Income convergence refers to the idea that poor countries grow more quickly than rich ones and catch up in terms of per capita income; as a result, the per capita income of integrated nations eventually converges. Beta convergence suggests that less developed nations grow more quickly than more...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considered as one of the successful regional cooperations and has played a remarkable role in regional, and potentially global, order through its principles of consensus, non-interference, and peaceful resolution of conflicts, providing platform for...

The study analysed the macroeconomic developments in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), focusing on macroeconomic imbalances for the period 2001-2022. The variables of interest in this study include inflation rate, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, current account balance,...

Purpose - While the industry-education integration has achieved significant results, it also faces many prominent problems. The current problems include some projects prioritizing research and development over education, insufficient breadth and depth of cooperation and a lack of quality...

Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine (R-U) conflict, this paper investigates the convergence process of the bond market in East Asia from 2010 to 2024, focusing on the impact of the R-U crisis on bond yield convergence. Our findings show convergence toward both benchmarks, with an...

Diese Publikation handelt von der Europäischen Union (EU). Die EU beeinflusst unser Leben vielfältig: beim Arbeiten und beim Reisen, beim Studieren und in der Währung, beim Umweltschutz und beim Einkaufen, beim Essen und beim Trinken. Bei Redaktionsschluss dieser Publikation (im Dezember...

Trade agreements are powerful drivers of global economic integration, leading to increased trade flows between countries. Usually, trade agreements are extensive documents with hundreds of provisions and different levels of enforceability. Are all these provisions useful, even those that are...

Trade barriers and poor infrastructure play an important role in limiting trade integration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Closing half of the infrastructure gap between LAC and advanced economies could lift exports by 30 percent. Reducing import tariffs could boost LAC's trade, but...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accelerated global dynamics that profoundly impact the post-Soviet South. Relations with Russia are still strong, but the former subalterns are raising their voices. The empowerment is most visible in their foreign relations, but also tends to strengthen...

Using detailed global trade and novel Multi-Region Input-Output (MRIO) data, this paper examines the East African Community’s (EAC) global and regional integration through trade, global, and regional value chains (GVCs and RVCs). With surgical attention to detail, the first part of the paper...

We explore whether a civic integration component dedicated to labor market training (the ONA) boosts refugees' economic outcomes and the quality of firms they work for. Using linked employer-employee administrative data from 2014 to 2021 for the Netherlands and Regression Discontinuity design we...

On 16 September 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger - all three states led by military regimes - decided to establish a new regional organisation, the Alliance of Sahel States (Alliance des Etats du Sahel - AES). This move was prompted by the worsening of the crisis within the Economic Community...

Now that the European Council has given the green light to opening EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, it is clear that the Union is no longer simply showing symbolic solidarity with neighbours invaded or threatened by Russia. Rather, a new chapter of enlargement policy is...

Why is integration progressing successfully in some parts of the world but not in others? Why are only some integration blocks hugely important for member countries? And why this is not the case globally? This article provides a comparative analysis of international economic structures, aiming...

Economic integration, encompassing the removal or reduction of trade barriers and the coordination of monetary and fiscal policies, plays a pivotal role in promoting cooperation among nations. This systematic literature review examines the role of global value chains (GVCs) in promoting economic...

In this article, we study the effects of geopolitical risks and world uncertainty on time-varying fiscal and external sustainability coefficients. We use Schlicht’s (2021) methodology to estimate time-varying fiscal and external sustainability coefficients for the EU for 27 economies between...

The CEMAC’s economy lost some momentum in 2023 and the external position deteriorated somewhat, while inflation cooled but remained high. Updated statistics revealed a much more deteriorated fiscal situation than originally estimated. The near-term outlook is one of continued recovery, with...

The objective of the paper is to investigate the legitimacy of the African Union by examining the socio-demographic determinants of citizens' support of African integration. To do this, we use Rounds 4, 5, 6 and 8 of the Afrobarometer survey data corresponding to more than 110 000 respondents....