Constructing a European Market

Standards, Regulation, and Governance
Erscheinungsjahr 2001
ISBN: 978-0-19-924405-8
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 380 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 734 g

Efforts to tackle the trade impeding effects of divergent standards and regulations are at the core of European economic relations. This volume draws on literature from several disciplines to develop a comprehensive account of the regulatory strategies and institutional arrangements adopted by the EU in promoting the single market in goods. It provides a historical overview and detailed cases studies of the various policy initiatives that have altered the boundaries between the public and private sector in fostering market integration. Tackling interstate barriers to trade has relied heavily on European law to shape the framework of relations between states, and trade liberalization has been facilitated by legal rulings resolving territorial conflicts over regulatory jurisdiction and authority. The European Court of Justice has actively shaped markets, acting as a 'free trade umpire' in balancing the goals of market liberalization and market regulation while fostering market compliance.

Although markets are absolutely dependent on public authority, the institutional innovation of the EU has been to use the private sector in an ancillary role to the state. By delegating responsibility to set standards for market access, the EU has chosen to draw on the resources of private actors, resulting in a system of governance that is a distinctive, hybrid model of regulation composed of state and non-state actors. Though the "outsourcing" of public sector regulatory activity was expected to be more effective than the process of regulatory harmonization, progress has been difficult. The current deficit in setting standards for European-wide market access raises concerns about the efficiency and effectiveness of such a regulatory regime. Egan provides a detailed evaluation of that process, highlighting regulatory gaps in the single market and the need to focus not only on the process of market integration, but also its outcome and impact on European business.

Comparisons with American efforts to create a national market are made throughout to demonstrate the difficulties of constructing and maintaining a single market. American and European efforts to devise a uniform market for commerce and trade have involved both public and private authorities, though with different degrees of coordination and centralization, as many of the strategies undertaken by the EU echo earlier American market-building efforts.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Egan, Michelle P.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Europäische Union, Europapolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Wirtschaftspolitik, politische Ökonomie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Methodenlehre

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- 1: Introduction

- 2: Setting European Standards: The Political Economy of Market-Building

- 3: Removing Barriers to Trade: Empirical Evidence

- 4: Harmonization: the slow strategy forward

- 5: The Intersection of Law and Markets

- 6: Regulatory reform strategies and the Single Market Program

- 7: Private Actors and Market Integration: Politics, Rules and Norms in European Standardization

- 8: Transferring the Arena of Conflict: Case Studies in Standards Negotiations

- 9: Corporate Perspectives Towards Market Integration

- 10: Conclusion