Globalization, Regionalization, and Technological Change

Abstract

National economies have become, over the past half century, radically more integrated. The process of international economic integration is viewed by many as being global (hence the term globalization). This chapter argues that regional economic integration – regions here in the sense of sub‐continental mega‐regions, such as Europe and China – is likely to eclipse global integration in coming decades. Global integration tends to be institutionally minimalist, such as we see reflected in simple WTO‐style market liberalization. Economic processes integrated at a sub‐global level can be associated with deeper regulation. Following a shock which leads to a restructuring of the institutions governing economic integration, the institutional simplicity of global integration allows for relatively rapid adoption, but global integration will be rolled back as sub‐global integration progresses. Global integration is the hare, regional integration the tortoise.