Global value chains are formed through value-added trade, and some regions promote economic integration by concluding regional trade agreements to promote these chains. However, it has not been ...established to quantitatively assess the scope and extent of economic integration involving various sectors in multiple countries. In this study, we used the World Input-Output Database to create a cross-border sector-wise network of trade in value-added (international value-added network) covering the period of 2000-2014 and evaluated them using network science methods. By applying Infomap to the international value-added network, we confirmed two regional communities: Europe and the Pacific Rim. We applied Helmholtz-Hodge decomposition to the value-added flows within the region into potential and circular flows, and clarified the annual evolution of the potential and circular relationships between countries and sectors. The circular flow component of the decomposition was used to define an economic integration index. Findings confirmed that the degree of economic integration in Europe declined sharply after the economic crisis in 2009 to a level lower than that in the Pacific Rim. The European economic integration index recovered in 2011 but again fell below that of the Pacific Rim in 2013. Moreover, sectoral economic integration indices suggest what Europe depends on Russia in natural resources makes the European economic integration index unstable. On the other hand, the indices of the Pacific Rim suggest the steady economic integration index of the Pacific Rim captures the stable global value chains from natural resources to construction and manufactures of motor vehicles and high-tech products.
Increasing economic integration and global synchronization can be key for countries aiming to catch up in GDP per capita terms. Little attention has hitherto been placed in synchronization as ...determinant of convergence. In this paper we estimate the effect of economic globalization and synchronization on income convergence for a sample of 89 developed and developing countries in the period 1970–2015. We use a dynamic factor model and panel data techniques to undertake the objectives of the paper. We show that synchronized countries (those correlated with the factor) exhibit a higher response on GDP per capita growth with variations on the global business cycle. This implies that synchronization improves growth for that group in global expansionary phases, but also implies risks during global recessions. On the contrary, the effect on growth of an economic globalization index is less relevant for synchronized countries than for asynchronized countries. The latter result implies that asynchronized countries can benefit more increasing their levels of economic globalization.
This article shows that economic integration acts as a viable instrument of protection for individual countries, when benefits of discriminatory protectionist policies like the multifiber arrangement ...are withdrawn. Using United Nations Conference on Trade and Development statistics for 1995-2013 and applying an extended version of the augmented gravity model, we show that the formation of a trade bloc like the South Asian Free Trade Area unambiguously promotes member countries' exports of textile and clothing at both intra-bloc and extra-bloc levels. The expansion of south-south trade is facilitated by the growing intraregional trade in intermediate goods. The creation of a regional value chain can shield the smaller countries in the context of enhanced global competition. (JEL F14, F15, F13)
Global supply chains engage in economic exchanges and flows of capital across borders. The free flow of economic goods opens opportunities for organizations to optimize supply chains across global ...networks and develop socially embedded interdependent relationships. This study explores issues related to multi-echelon supply chains and the effect of economic integration on a major beverage company’s distribution in the emerging Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC). Case-based modeling is conducted to resolve discrepancies in perceptions of supply chain network formation between academic research and industry. This paper determines the network configuration involving minimum gross cost while considering the impacts of barriers to resource accessibility and external economic decisions on infrastructure in a real-world supply chain network where end products of in-house manufacturing are acquired from external sources and incorporated in warehouses. A mixed-integer linear programming model was developed to design a multi-stage supply chain network using ILOG LOGIC NET. The model explores location and capacity selection for plants and warehouses in parallel with capacity selection for suppliers and transportation in the AEC, and we determine the optimal flow of products and product families through the network medium. Three different scenarios were evaluated to obtain differing resolutions that can empower decision-makers to understand influences on overall supply chain networks based on futuristic development preferences and regional economic integration.
Presenting a new historical narrative on European integration and identity this title examines how the concept of Europe has been entangled in a dynamic and dramatic tension between calls for unity ...and arguments for borders and division. Through an in-depth intellectual history of the idea of Europe, Mats Andren interrogates the concept of integration and more recent debates surrounding European identity across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the post-war period. Applying a broad range of original sources this unique work will be key reading for students and researchers studying European History, European Studies, Political History and related fields.
The dominant paradigm of the estimation of causal partial effects of preferential economic integration agreements (PEIAs) on trade costs and trade flows is to rely on a selection on observables, with ...propensity‐score matching being the leading example. Conditional on some score of joint determinants of PEIAs and trade flows, causal partial effects of PEIAs on trade are obtained from a simple conditional mean comparison of trade between members and non‐members. Key for this approach to obtain consistent estimates is that the score used to form comparison groups is balanced: similarity of country pairs in the PEIA propensity core means similarity in all the observables. Otherwise, the effects may be biased, misascribing effects of differences in individual observables to PEIA membership. We employ a remedy for this bias through entropy balancing, demonstrate that there is an upward bias of PEIA effects on trade flows from lack of covariate balancing, and quantify the bias of the effects.
Culture is becoming increasingly important in relation to end of life (EoL) care in a context of globalization, migration and European integration. We explore and compare socio-cultural issues that ...shape EoL care in seven European countries and critically appraise the existing research evidence on cultural issues in EoL care generated in the different countries.
We scoped the literature for Germany, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Portugal, carrying out electronic searches in 16 international and country-specific databases and handsearches in 17 journals, bibliographies of relevant papers and webpages. We analysed the literature which was unearthed, in its entirety and by type (reviews, original studies, opinion pieces) and conducted quantitative analyses for each country and across countries. Qualitative techniques generated themes and sub-themes.
A total of 868 papers were reviewed. The following themes facilitated cross-country comparison: setting, caregivers, communication, medical EoL decisions, minority ethnic groups, and knowledge, attitudes and values of death and care. The frequencies of themes varied considerably between countries. Sub-themes reflected issues characteristic for specific countries (e.g. culture-specific disclosure in the southern European countries). The work from the seven European countries concentrates on cultural traditions and identities, and there was almost no evidence on ethnic minorities.
This scoping review is the first comparative exploration of the cultural differences in the understanding of EoL care in these countries. The diverse body of evidence that was identified on socio-cultural issues in EoL care, reflects clearly distinguishable national cultures of EoL care, with differences in meaning, priorities, and expertise in each country. The diverse ways that EoL care is understood and practised forms a necessary part of what constitutes best evidence for the improvement of EoL care in the future.
The integration of renewable generation presents a promising venue for displacing fossil fuels, yet integration remains a challenge. This paper investigates Demand Response (DR) as a means of ...economically integrating Renewable Energy Resources (RERs). We propose Incentive-Based DR (IBDR) programs, particularly suitable for small customers. The uncertainties in the electricity market price pose a challenge to IBDR programs, which is addressed in this paper through a novel and robust IBDR approach that considers both the electricity market price uncertainties and customer responses to incentives. In this paper, scenarios are simulated premised on the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) 240-bus system in which coal-fired power plants become inactivated, while the RER contribution increases in the span of one year. The simulation results indicate that the proposed IBDR program mitigates the issues associated with renewable expansion, such as utility benefit loss and market price volatility. In addition, the proposed IBDR effectively manages up to 30% of errors in day-ahead wind forecasts that significantly reduce financial risks linked to IBDR programs.
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