The main challenges the European Single Market is facing in the 21st century result from the enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe, the EMU, and the globalization of trade and investment that has aided the rise of competitive emerging markets. This state-of-the-art book provides fresh theoretical and empirical evidence on the challenges presented by integration and globalization for both developed and developing countries. The authors demonstrate how the European Single Market remains a work in progress with many critical issues still to be addressed. These include the rigidities in...

Regional Economic Policy in Europe presents a tightly focused selection of policy, empirical and theoretical perspectives on contemporary dimensions of regional economic policy in the EU. It concentrates on three areas; the dissimilarities and resulting convergence of disparate regions within the EU; the localisation of economic activities and how regions can understand and manage them and, finally, the experiences and lessons that can be drawn from European regional policy. While exploring EU cohesion and regional development more widely, the book also examines Spanish, Belgian and Eastern...

This book contributes to the current debates on the shadow economy and related issues of tax evasion and corruption. The approach taken here is one that will develop a better understanding of these related issues, which are increasingly seen as impediments to country competitiveness and economic growth. Economists and policymakers are increasingly focused on how the shadow economy operates. The contributors discuss how effective corporate governance may help to reduce both the occurrence and effects of illegal activities. The book begins by considering institutional governance and how issues...