For several years, preferential trade agreements have been oriented towards initiating a deep integration process including a “democratic” clause. The inclusion of such a clause can be interpreted as a political choice to promote democracy. However, it can also be viewed as a pre-condition...

For several years, preferential trade agreements have been oriented towards initiating a deep integration process. As a result, treaties include clauses concerning the harmonization of regulations, policies and standards. In order to join the European Union, a future member must be a stable...

For several years, preferential trade agreements have been oriented towards initiating a deep integration process including a “democratic” clause. We can consider the inclusion of such a clause as a political choice to promote democracy. However, it can also be viewed as a pre-condition for...

During the three past decades, most developing countries have opted for both a higher degree of political democracy as well as increased trade openness. This trend raises the question of the effect of democracy on trade liberalization. To address the question, this paper proposes a theoretical...

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) construction as well as the European Union (EU) enlargement from 15 to 25 members have taken place within a minimum institutional framework as regards common budgetary policies. The achievement of the Single European Market and the introduction of the single...

This paper evaluates the effects of the enlargement of the EU to the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs), focusing on agglomeration and industrial specialisation patterns in Europe. We first present the theoretical debate based on the New Economic Geography models. The outcome is...

The concept of a quite homogeneous Europe has been changing with the enlargement and the Euromed partnership. An assessment of the international integration of Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs) shows that these countries experience weak convergence relative to new EU members. Krugman and...

We consider a demand based theory along the lines of Murphy et al. (1989) to study the interaction between income inequalities and trade patterns. We analyze the effect of redistributive policies on the production patterns and welfare. We distinguish an intensive and an extensive channels...