Richard Baldwin,
Graduate Inst. of International Studies, Geneva Charles Wyplosz,
Graduate Inst. of International Studies, Geneva
ISBN: 0077111192 Copyright year: 2006
Preface
European integration keeps amazing its supporters and
critics alike. No other region has displayed similar
willingness to jettison important components of
sovereignty in pursuit of shared, yet thoroughly
imprecise, goals. And, in its own peculiar way, European
integration keeps forging ahead at a pace that is too fast
for some and too slow for others. No one would deny,
though, that the transformation of the past half century
is spectacular – a clean break with centuries of intra-
European warfare. This integration is clearly important
for the 500 or so million Europeans it directly affects, but
since Europe accounts for one-quarter of the world
economy, half of world trade and one-third of world
capital markets, European integration also affects the
lives of most non-Europeans.
A subtle interplay of strictly economic and much
broader, high-minded goals has driven European
integration forward along political, cultural and economic
dimensions. The goal of this book is to provide an
accessible presentation of the facts, theories and
controversies that are necessary to understand this
process. Our approach is rooted deeply in economic
principles for the simple reason that economic
integration has been the vanguard since the Organization
for European Economic Cooperation was founded in
1948. Yet economics is not enough; historical, political
and cultural factors are brought into the picture when
necessary.
2006 McGraw-Hill Education Europe