Introduction

Abstract

Globalization and regionalization are the two major developments of the post-war world economy. Globalization refers to trade liberalization (e.g. through the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT)) and increasing capital mobility on a worldwide scale. Regionalization characterizes the formation of regional groups of countries with liberalized internal trade and factor mobility, i.e., regional integration. The past three decades have seen a growing number of regional integration blocs¹ including more and more countries with an increasing degree of integration. The most prominent examples are the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA). There are a large number of regional integration blocs in the developing world with a wide variety of integration levels, including the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Carribean Community (CARICOM) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to name just a few.