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• Deep vs. Shallow Integration. The Case of NAFTA and Mercosur

  68-82

  Diana Balkay

  Laszlo Erdey

  Views:

  169

  Integration processes began in the 1960s and have become increasingly intense, bringing with them a growing share of intra-industry trade flows in international trade. According to the Smooth Adjustment Hypothesis (SAH), trade between similar industries or products results in lower adjustment costs in the factor markets. Due to the liberalizing effect of trade integrations trade flows intensify, causing an increase in intra-industry trade flows and consequently a decrease in adjustment costs at the same time. The alteration of trade patterns can be caused by changes both in quantity and in quality. Analyzing these effects separately allows us to better understand the trade policy practices of the chosen countries and to provide the decision makers with information.
  In this paper we analyze NAFTA and Mercosur, two integrations which differ both in factor endowments and in depth of integration (deep vs. shallow). We used SITC Rev. 1 AG3 (industrial level) and HS92 AG6 (product level) bilateral trade data from the UN COMTRADE database to analyze the evolution of intra-industry trade flows.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: F13, F14, F15

• Analysis of Fiscal Policy in the Countries of the PaCifiCa

  109-126

  Andrea Postenyi

  Views:

  132

  Volatility has been a main factor in Latin America for decades, but these countries have managed to eliminate it more or less successfully by a series of reforms over the last few decades. Regional integrations have emerged in response to the challenges of globalisation. The most recently created integration is the PaCifiCa, and it is worth analyzing the current fiscal situation of its member states, which largely determines the success of future cooperation. Although the four countries observed managed to survive the 2007-2009 crisis with stable fundamentals, the downturn drew attention to the differences between these countries: while Chile and Peru are able to react easily to cyclical swings by applying countercyclical policy, the economies of Colombia and Mexico are much more vulnerable. The assessment of the welfare systems shows that although Chile has an extensive welfare system, the countries in the region still significantly lag behind the traditional concept of welfare state.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: H50, H60