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This book explores the questions raised by the liberalization of Eastern Europe. It provides a model of world trade to assess the potential for Eastern Europe's trade growth, which it shows to be very substantial. It looks at EC trade policy in a number of industries and examines the agreements currently in force between the EC and Eastern Europe. These are shown not to go far enough towards liberalizing trade. It then looks at Eastern Europe's comparative advantage by examining the development of human capital which it shows to be higher in parts of Eastern Europe than income levels would suggest, and also by examination of one industry in detail. It shows how parts of the Polish clothing sector are adapting to new opportunities and examines their capacity for further export growth. ... Read more

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Liberalisation in the power sector is high on the agenda of policy makers, regulators and the industry around the world. There is growing recognition of the benefits of power marker liberalisation and the need to further integrate regional markets in a liberal trade and investment environment.

This volume brings together articles written by leading experts in the field of electricity trade and regulation in Europe. Organised in two parts, the contributions cover a range of issues from market structure, trade flows, infrastructure and investment to the regulatory framework within which the industry operates, including international trade rules and national technical, environmental and regulatory regimes. These are complex and sensitive issues requiring an in-depth understanding of the economics and regulation of the electricity trade and the primary object of this volume is to contribute to an informed debate on the subject. To this end, the contributors demonstrate how a competition ¿friendly and liberal environment for electricity trade, including a system of non-discriminatory and transparent access to transmission and distribution networks, could contribute to improving market integration, economic efficiency , supply security and environmental health. ... Read more

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Has globalisation led to a convergence in policy-making across nations and, if so, what are the causal mechanisms? This book analyses the extent to which the environmental policies of nation states have converged over the last thirty years and whether this convergence led to a strengthening or weakening of environmental standards (a race to the top, or a race to the bottom). It also analyses the factors that account for these developments. Based on a unique empirical data set, the study covers the development of a wide range of environmental policies in twenty four OECD countries, including EU Members States as well as Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Mexico and the USA, with particular emphasis on the impact of institutional and economic interlinkages among these countries. ... Read more

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The financial turmoil of the late 1990s resulted partlyfrom an excessive dependency between countries and regions.Thisimportant and timely new book examines the growing interdependencybetween Europe and East Asia and provides suggestions to preventfinancial crises in the future.

Special attention is given to the contributions of international tradeand investment to deeper regional and global integration, andparticular emphasis is placed on major issues such as:

* the organization of multinationals and the relationship between exports and foreign direct investment
* Asian and European firms as global actors and the role of trade in the integration of the two regions
* the changing patterns of East Asian economies as host and home countries for direct investment

In conclusion the authors argue that more emphasis should be placed ondirect investment rather than speculative inflows.This will create amore stable environment for the contribution of foreign capital to thegrowth of East Asian economies, and reduce both dependency betweenregions and the risk of financial instability in the future.

The Global Integration of Europe and East Asia will be welcomedby those working in the fields of international economics andbusiness, European and Asian Studies and the globalization of theworld economy. ... Read more

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In the wake of the political landslide of 1989-1990 inCentral and East Europe the countries of the region realizedthat international economic relations play a crucial role intheir transition. The scope, speed and success of theefforts to transform the formerly centrallyplannedeconomies to market economies became increasingly dependentonthe pattern how these countries form their relation tothe rest of theworld. This book is a collection of paperson the task of transformation of international traderelations of these economies.It's major topics are:1) The role of exchange rate regimes(with special emphasis on the goals of macroeconomicstabilization, currency convertibility, and tradeperformance); 2) Trade liberalization and the emergingtradepatterns (with special emphasis on the sustainability oftherecent bold liberalization of trade, the pattern ofrestructuring and the countries' relation to their formerpartners in ex-CMEA, as well as to the economies of theEuropean Communities; 3) Enterprises and traderestructuring(with special emphasis on the impact of trade reorientation,price liberalization and privatization on the behavior ofEast European enterprises). The book uses current empiricaldata material that is unaccessible from other sources. Itcollects confronting views and scholarly arguments on themost critical issues of transitions andinternational traderelations from leading East European and Westernexperts.Readers will find an up-to-date review and comparativeanalysison the transformation of institutions and on theemerging patterns of trade in Eastern Europe. ... Read more

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As the world marketplace becomes ever more globalized, much is at stake for the prosperity of hundreds of millions of people in Europe and Central Asia as the region’s transition process continues through its second decade. Understanding the underlying dynamics shaping the contours and most salient impacts of international integration that have emerged—and likely to emerge prospectively—in the region is thus a crucial challenge for the medium term economic development agenda, not only for policymakers in the countries on themselves, but also for their trading partners, the international financial institutions, the donor community and the future of the world trading system as a whole. This book addresses this challenge. The study finds that a hallmark of the transition from communism to capitalism in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the disintegration of the Soviet trade bloc is the region coming “full circle”—albeit not ending up where it started—reintegrated into international commerce. ECA as a whole has experienced rapid trade flows and now trades largely in line with comparable regions in the world. But two “new” intra-regional trade blocs have emerged, one fast growing and tending toward the advanced countries in Europe, the other registering significantly slower growth and pulling back towards a Russia-centric sphere, still dominated by commodity trade and risking non-participation in the international division of labor. There is a way out: as elsewhere, ECA countries that have liberalized trade and judiciously implemented complementary domestic, “behind the border” policies have been more effective in leveraging international integration to raise growth rates. Further trade policy reforms need to be pursued by virtually all the countries in the region, with some still requiring fundamental changes. The larger unfinished agenda concerns behind the border reforms, which will necessitate economy-wide efforts in boosting domestic inter-enterprise competition and market flexibility, strengthening basic market institutions and incentives, developing trade-facilitating infrastructure, deregulating services sectors and attracting cutting edge foreign direct investment. Meeting these challenges will require certain policy reforms by developed countries and assistance from donors. But the lion’s share of actions will need to come from the countries in the region themselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Exceptional study from the World Bank
I worked first-hand with reformers marketing civil society and democratic participation in the run-up to Ukraine's Orange Revolution, and so I was drawn to this new book about the future of the Former Soviet Union after a review of it in The Economist (2/2/06) piqued my interest.(Full disclosure: I also know the author.) As the review notes, communism "once divided the world into two camps, with a grey zone in between.Now capitalism has similarly divided the former captive nations." So what are today's dividing lines, as so articulately and convincingly described in this book? The newest members of the EU, who increasingly participate in the world economy vs. the more insular nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), who are being drawn into a new, isolated Russian Empire. (The war-torn Ballkan states represent the grey area in between.)Wow! I had no idea that World Bank economists actually could write interesting--and relevant--stuff, especially uncovering trends that will surely affect the world economy's future, if not our national security and those of future generations.The principal author of this book, Harry Broadman, is obviously an exception.Read the book to uncover the reasons behind this rapidly emerging state of affairs -- which evokes acertain sense of historical deja vu -- and to find out what can be done about it.The key lies in the fact that contrary to what might be conventionally thought, it is the lack of domestic--or what the book calls "behind-the-border"--reforms, rather than international factors, that account for the current gap between these camps and their relative success in integrating internationally.Put another way, what goes on behind the "curtain" is once again posing a threat to us; but, regrettably, most of us don't see it.I admit that books about economic affairs may not strike many as sexy--especially if they come out of the Bank--but this one is. ... Read more

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Chapters: Nato, Council of Europe, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation, National Institute of Mental Health, Hazelden Foundation, Freedom House (Roxbury, Massachusetts), American College of Cardiology, Christian Medical Fellowship, World Peace Council, Ninasam, Deutsche Bundespost Berlin, Bernard Van Leer Foundation, Soviet Peace Committee, Serrv International, Communications Workers of America, Australian National Kennel Council, International Association of Women in Radio and Television, All Pakistan Women's Association, Society for Early Historic Archaeology, Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de La Educación, Nysarc, Inc., Association of Child Care Officers, Landsmannschaft Westpreußen, American Topical Association, Danmarks Ishockey Union, National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, Charlbury Society. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 177. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt:The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO; pronounced , ); French: ), also called "the (North) Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. For its first few years, NATO was not much more than a political association. However, the Korean War galvanized the member states, and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two U.S. supreme commanders. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, famously stated the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=21133 ... Read more