Economists generally accept that competition discloses knowledge, enhances efficiency and restrains power. However, these effects of competition have so far been discussed mainly with respect to economic markets in which firms and households compete within a given set of institutions, that is within a given legal order. The question arises whether competition may also have comparable effects on the institutional level in the sense of competition among legal orders and thus serve as an antidote to today's problems. The present book addresses some of the fundamental aspects associated with institutional competition and identifies some possible lines for further research on how institutions can compete to bring about social and economic change.

Economists generally accept that competition discloses knowledge, enhances efficiency and restrains power. However, these effects of competition have so far been discussed mainly with respect to economic markets in which firms and households compete within a given set of institutions, that is within a given legal order. The question arises whether competition may also have comparable effects on the institutional level in the sense of competition among legal orders and thus serve as an antidote to today's problems. The present book addresses some of the fundamental aspects associated with institutional competition and identifies some possible lines for further research on how institutions can compete to bring about social and economic change.

Dieses Buch liefert eine umfassende, theoretisch fundierte und konzeptionelle Basis fur die Beantwortung der Frage, welche Bereiche der Wirtschafts- und Rechtsordnung der Europaischen Union auf der zentralen Ebene und welche auf der mitgliedstaatlichen Ebene geregelt werden sollten. Es gibt damit aktuelle Entscheidungshilfen im Hinblick auf die Revisionskonferenz "Maastricht-II" 1996. Fuhrende Vertreter aus Wissenschaft und Politik befassen sich sowohl mit den ubergreifenden Fragen des Ordnungswettbewerbs, des Subsidiaritatsprinzips und der Europaischen Verfassung als auch im Detail mit den Bereichen der Wirtschafts- und Rechtsordnung, die fur die europaische Integration von besonderer Bedeutung sind: Wahrungs- und Finanzverfassung, Wettbewerbsordnung sowie Beschaftigungs-, Forschungs- und Regionalpolitik.