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This paper sets out to estimate the contribution of European Union co-financed and nationally funded public investment expenditures to regional growth in Greece during the period 2000–14. The results are sensitive to the time period and the geographical level of the interventions. While nationally funded projects boosted the growth performance of the regions before the eruption of the economic crisis, there is no indication that the European Union co-financed projects have led to increased growth. The results question the additionality and coordination between European Union Cohesion Policy and the domestic regional policies for the promotion of regional growth in the less well-off regions of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the prospective exit of the UK from the European Union (EU), a crucial question is whether EU Structural Funds have been beneficial for the country and which aspects of Cohesion Policy should be maintained if EU funds are to be replaced. This paper addresses this question through a twofold investigation, assessing not only whether but also how EU funds have contributed to regional growth in the UK from 1994 to 2013. It documents a significant and robust effect of Cohesion Policy in the UK, with higher proportions of Structural Funds associated with higher economic growth both on the whole and particularly in the less developed regions of the country. In addition, it is shown that the strategic orientation of investments also plays a distinct role for regional growth. While concentration of investments on specific pillars seems to have no direct growth effects, unless regions can rely on pre-existing competitive advantages in key development areas, clear evidence is unveiled that targeting investments to specific areas of relative regional need has a significant and autonomous effect on growth. These findings have important implications for the design of regional policy interventions in Britain after Brexit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of the study is the competitiveness of the economies of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries. Assessment of the level of competitiveness is one of the urgent problems of the modern economy. There are still no uniform methods and standards in the world for defining the concept of «competitiveness of the economy», methods for its assessment and factors influencing it, which raises many questions regarding the comparison of the level of development and competitiveness of world economies. Given the comparative advantages of economies, different methodological approaches may produce different results in relation to the competitive position of a given country. In the course of the study, the author presented the developed mathematical model for calculating the competitiveness of the similarity and dissimilarity index, which comprehensively characterizes the state of the economy of the Eurasian Economic Union countries. Thus, comparing the measure of similarity or dissimilarity of countries according to different methods will undoubtedly give a comprehensive idea of their competitiveness, as well as allow the development of an appropriate and effective economic policy. The analysis in the paper of the dynamics of the index of similarity and dissimilarity in the external economic activities of Kazakhstan with the EAEU countries over the years, it is possible to establish the trend observed in this process, and, consequently, to determine the strategy of international economic relations for the future. The results of the study can be used by government agencies that make decisions in the field of trade, economic and investment cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ten Southeast Asian economies will announce the formation of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on 31 December 2015. The AEC aspires to deliver an integrated market and production base with the free movement of goods, services, capital and skilled labour. However, member economies are still a long way from achieving an integrated production space as they have not yet fulfilled all the stipulated targets set in the 2007 AEC Blueprint. A possible explanation for the current state of economic integration is the presence of conflicting domestic economic interests in member countries. This paper reviews the literature on this issue and synthesizes main observations from selected country studies examining the nature o f these conflicting interests. It concludes by providing key policy recommendations for fostering domestic consensus in the respective countries studied in this special issue so that they may support the implementation of their respective commitments as well as deeper ASEAN economic integration beyond 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the deadline for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) approaches, the Philippines has yet to complete the implementation of its commitments in the AEC Blueprint. While it is true that the government has implemented most of them, these policy reforms have yet to make an impact on the economy. This paper examines the country's performance in terms of its commitments in the AEC by identifying the gaps between those commitments and actual implementation. It also examines the domestic economic conflicts that have hampered Philippine policy reform efforts, focusing on the automobile industry. The conflicts may be due to a lack of common economic interests among firms in the industry as well as because of the lack of coherence of domestic policies that have limited, if not negated, progress towards economic integration. Domestic conflicts have created an industry that has failed to develop as a major exporter as well as a source of employment and income for the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the end of 2015 draws nearer, the prospect of meeting all the goals of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint appears dimmer by the day. The literature identifies two prominent gaps in ASEAN's journey towards an economic community as defined by its own vision. First, the extensive literature on the AEC, and this includes the scorecard designed to monitor the implementation of its goals, suggests that there appears to be a gap between commitments and the achievements of the AEC Blueprint targets. Second, attaining a "free flow of services" as stated in the AEC goals, is also hampered by a gap between commitments in liberalization and actual practice. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, it seeks to review the gap between commitments and practice in Malaysia. Second, it aims to examine domestic conflicts that may constrain Malaysia's services liberalization efforts in ASEAN. A key question considered in the analysis is the source or sources of these conflicts. Is the conflict confined to the private sector or is the government conflicted from within in terms of services liberalization? In other words, are there certain policies that may negate or off-set liberalization efforts? The key finding in this paper shows conflicting objectives in government policies to be the main reason for the slow pace of liberalization thus far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper estimates Myanmar's export potential based on bilateral export patterns observed for six countries in Southeast Asia. Against that benchmark and controlling for outliers, Myanmar is found to be trading at about 15 per cent of its potential. The bulk of this gap is explained by low trade with industrialized countries. It is conjectured that economic reforms and integration with the world economy are likely to close this gap to potential rather swiftly, particularly if Myanmar can manage to capitalize on its favourable predisposition to international trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Initiative of jointly building the Belt and Road has drawn world-wide attention since 2012, and it is reasonable to believe that the ongoing implementation of the Belt and Road strategy will sustainably attract the international society in the years to come. Although the Chinese Government only recently made public the official paper entitled Vision and Actions of the Belt and Road, discussion and comments have been speedily and increasingly abundant among politicians, economists, entrepreneurs and scholars in various disciplines both in China and abroad. In spite of the difficulty at the moment to define the Belt and Road conceptually, especially from a legal point of view, this article tries to make a conceptual analysis of it with available sources and by comparison with its related traditional concepts of regional economic integration, partnership arrangement and community of common destiny, the last of which is as new as the Belt and Road. Finally, the author concludes that the Belt and Road is a new formula of global governance which bears some elements of regional economic integration on the one hand and resembles to some extent a partnership arrangement between States on the other hand. However, the implication of the Belt and Road surpasses both regional integration and partnership. It takes both as its basis and priorities with a far-reaching view of building a regional community of common destiny. This new type of regional community aims at building a "community of shared interests", "a community of shared destiny" and "a community of shared responsibility". In essence, it is a part of the community of common destiny of the whole of mankind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses Singapore's progress in implementing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and tries to explore whether the city-state has encountered any domestic conflict whilst doing so. It concludes that being a highly trade- and FDI-dependent economy, it is in Singapore's national interest to be a part of the AEC. It is one of the leading ASEAN countries to implement the AEC initiatives. When examining domestic conflicts, Singapore presents a unique case as the city-state has long been exposed to the competitive forces of globalization, well before the development of the AEC. The country adopts non-protectionist measures to manage competitive pressures from the global economy. Almost full employment and a low incidence of poverty also minimize the negative impacts of liberalization. Case studies of the electronics and aviation sectors highlight how these two sectors are adjusting to liberalization and competition from the global economy, including the AEC. With respect to the electronics sector, which is an integral part of regional production networks, Singapore is continually progressing up the value chain. In the case of the aviation sector, the city-state continues to meet global and regional challenges through cooperative arrangements with the aviation industries of other countries and by upgrading and expanding its air services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a new agenda for the relations between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is necessary, and that city regions can play an important role in it. Due to the shortcomings of the previous interregional strategy and the futile discussion if Latin America follows the European integration model, this new agenda should focus more on triangular and decentralized forms of cooperation aid, trade issues, and the knowledge transfer of poverty- and polarization-reduction strategies. Based on the foreign policy approaches of two Colombian case studies (the city-regions of Barranquilla and Medellin), it is shown that the international activities of Latin American city-regions can open new perspectives for EU-LAC relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the development of cooperation between Argentina and Brazil from their initial rapprochement of 1979 to the construction of Mercosur in 1991. It presents an account of cooperation that emphasizes the power and organizational interests of the armed forces and that challenges the prevailing emphases on democratization and neoliberalism. In doing so, it addresses a methodological problem for qualitative research in international relations: What can be done if our theories of why cooperation occurs affect our perceptions of when it begins? Conventional explanations of Argentine-Brazilian cooperation may be biased toward what historian Herbert Butterfield called 'Whig history,' which sees in past events associations that exist only in the present. These tendencies can alter our periodization of cases, omit or falsely reject important causal variables, and too readily confirm our preferred hypotheses, but they can also be corrected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As a top trading partner and the foreign investor in Kazakhstan, attempting to deepen bilateral relations and review its previous policy towards Kazakhstan and the post-Soviet Central Asian region (The post-Soviet Central Asian region unites five former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) as a whole, the European Union is facing up to a new set of internal and external conditions which affects its approach to the East. One of the crucial determinants taken into account in terms of the European Union policy towards its Kazakh partner derives from the more advanced processes of Eurasian integration created by the Russian Federation. The question is whether the EU will be able to compete or complement the consistent steps of the Russian integration project and whether the EU should move beyond a trade and investment approach and place emphasis on the other strategic areas? The main research objective concentrates on the identification and examination of the relationship between political decisions and the economic ties of Kazakhstan and its main strategic partners. Considering the current geopolitical situation in Ukraine and Central Asia, the new ‘EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement’ will develop more areas targeted at security and stabilization issues. However, the top-down initiatives are only the legal basis of sectorial cooperation, and the intensification of bilateral relations comes from bottom-up cooperation and people-to-people contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the early potential of the Framework for Pacific regionalism, a new political process that Pacific nations are using to establish regional development priorities. The emergence of this process is positioned within a context of a desire for a new era of Pacific-led regional development collaboration. The early outcomes of the Framework are outlined and examined. Specifically, the article questions whether it is meeting aspirations for ‘game-changing’ development goals that enjoy greater levels of ‘ownership’ amongst Pacific leaders. It also explores whether the new process canbe seen as evidence of a new era of ‘post-hegemonic’ regionalism in Oceania, characterised by a revitalisation of regional political debate; a rejection of ‘economism’; and the reassertion of indigenous and civil society concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Iceland is a small resource rich country in Europe that is highly dependent of foreign trade. According World Bank classifications Iceland is a high income economy, but with a population of little more than 300 thousand inhabitants, it is the smallest economy within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Iceland is highly dependent of foreign trade, especially to and from the European Union, where economic and political integration is evolving and the question about the most feasible level of participation is a future challenge for the country. Iceland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Schengen and European Union (EU) candidate country until recently, when its government decided to withdrew its EU membership application. The EEA agreement currently ensures Iceland's access to the EU's common market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a definition of the term "world economy," which refers to an integral world economic system. Topics discussed include the properties of world economy that do not pertain to the constituent national economies, the new characteristics acquired by the world economy in the age of globalization, and information on various regional economic blocs.