Overview

The three chapters in this part of the book have the aim of contributing to the evaluation of the regional integration processes underway in various parts of the world. Within this broad mandate, they differ substantially along three main dimensions: (1) the integration schemes they cover, (2) the methodology used for evaluation, and (3) the substantive conclusions at which they arrive. Given this heterogeneity, this introductory section will be organized according to the three elements just mentioned in order to compare and contrast the chapters and provide the reader with an idea of their contributions. The three chapters include Ippei Yamazawa’s “How Can APEC Help Asia to Get Over the Economic Crisis?,” Fernando González-Vigil’s “Andean Community Trade Flows and Policies in the Nineties,” and Francisco Zapata’s “Nation-State, Free Trade, and Economic Integration in Latin America.”