Over the past 40 years, the European Union has been a great force of attraction for new members. At the same time it has entered a host of bilateral and multilateral regional agreements with non-member countries. The result of these developments is a rather unique form of regionalism in Europe, consisting of deep integration within the European Union and a network of sometimes overlapping arrangements involving the Union.
Regionalism in Europe: Geometries and Strategies After 2000 brings together a collection of studies of the nature and the implications of this unique...

Rolf R. Strauch and Jiirgen von Hagen Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI), University of Bonn; ZEI, University of Bonn, Indiana University, and CEPR The large and persistent deficits, rising levels of debt and growing levels of public spending observed in many DECO economies during the past 25 years have stimulated much theoretical and empirical research on the political economy of public finance. Although a number of issues have been studied extensively, certain areas are still at an exploratory stage and need further theorizing and thorough empirical research. During the last two...