Europe's achievements in economic integration have attracted worldwide interest and are seen as an example for other regions to follow. Ten years after the completion of the Single Market Programme, this book is able to utilise empirical data not available to previous studies, also building on research by reputed academic experts and staff at the European Commission. The book reveals that European product market integration has a significant impact on the conditions of competition, the strategies of companies and the structure of industry. It adds a quarter of a percentage to annual GDP growth rates and has not led to an increased exposure of the EU to asymmetric shocks. However, the book argues that further improvements in the functioning of European product markets are needed in order to improve the EU's growth performance over the next decade. Invaluably, the book provides not only current information about Europe's achievements in economic integration but also methodology to assess the outcome of economic integration in other regions of the World, such as NAFTA, MERCOSUR and ASEAN. Offering a uniquely up-to-date and comprehensive empirical analysis and assessment of the European integration process, this book will be of great use and interest to international institutions and NGOs as well as researchers and scholars of European studies and economics.

This book analyses the vertical relationships of firms in an international context. These relationships, Khalid Sekkat argues, have gained further relevance due to the notable increase in vertical specialization of production across borders in the past few years. The author discusses the objectives and instruments employed in vertical control, the reasons for the choice of instruments made and the way in which national and foreign policy and institutions interact with firms' strategy. Each chapter provides a theoretical analysis of the motivation of firms and their interactions with public policies as well as empirical evidence that underpins the theories presented. This book offers new perspectives for the analysis of the firm's vertical relationships in the global economy and will be of great interest to students and researchers as well as those working in international institutions and lawyers dealing with economic issues.

To what degree are trade liberalization, productivity, and economic growth correlated? Can economic policies designed to encourage competition and curtail industry protection result in large-scale improvements, such as increased innovation and reduced unemployment?

After 20 years of economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), economic performance is still lagging behind many regions of the world. Even in those countries that are the most advanced in implementing reforms, including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, industries with low productivity growth and high market power continue to dominate. Moreover, the termination of the Multi-Fiber Agreement and the negotiations concerning further liberalization of trade in agricultural products (under the framework of the World Trade Organization) put these and other countries under pressure of fierce competition from emerging nations.

Recent empirical evidence on the impact of reforms in a number of developing countries shows that such persistence of inefficiency and market power is specific to MENA. Showcasing in-depth analyses from Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey (with comparative data from Asia and Latin America), this book focuses on the dynamics of firm entry and exit to help explain the low productivity of the region. The results suggest a number of policy recommendations designed to foster competition, which, in turn, would contribute to innovation, productivity growth, and improved return on capital investments. The book not only reveals important correlations among policy and market factors in MENA, but suggests fruitful areas of research in other developing regions of the world.

This is the first book dealing with competition and efficiency issues in the Arab world. Combining quantitative analysis and field surveys to assess the degree of competition, the degree of efficiency and their relationships in the manufacturing sector, this book provides a unique insight into Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

This book explores how corruption is now widely recognized as a major "disease" which threatens not only economic development but also the foundations of societies. As well as examining the causes and consequences of corruption, this book also offers a deep analysis of possible cures. It discusses the solutions that have been adopted in different countries and at the international level in order to curb corruption. Previous analyses have focused mainly on the causes and consequences of corruption but by analysing the different solutions that have been adopted around the world, and the reason of their successes or failures, this book seeks to help national and international policy makers in setting an effective anti-corruption strategy. The book will be of particular interest to researchers, students, scholars and practitioners working on corruption.

In the last 25 years, Europe has experienced a reduction in growth and an explosion in unemployment. At a time when this and the continuing existence of the welfare state are top of the European agenda, it has become increasingly popular to blame the globalization of the world economy for current problems. This book provides the first comprehensive set of studies on the impact of trade with developing countries on the European labour market. It argues that the evidence does not point to trade with developing countries as a major cause of European unemployment. Instead, technological change and domestic policy choices are the main causal factors. As a result, the contributors argue against protectionist trade polices, whose benefits to employment would be limited at best, but whose risk to world growth due to trade wars is immense. The next ten years are a critical period for European integration and expansion: Trade and Jobs in Europe will be of crucial importance to all those at the heart of the current debate: advisers, policy-makers, and researchers alike.