Regional Cooperation and Economic Governance: The Case of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)

• Author: Norman Girvan
• Pages: 535-554

Regional Cooperation and Economic Governance 535

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Regional cooperation is being promoted as a form of economic governance

for developing countries to assist them in coping with the challenges of

globalisation (UNDP, 1999).The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) was

launched in 1994 as one response to globalisation by the countries of the Greater

Caribbean region. Within this perspective, this paper discusses the ACS

experience as a case of regional economic governance and the prospects for the

organisation.

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Economic regionalism as a response to globalisation

Regional organisations come in a wide variety of shapes and forms: the

1999/2000 Yearbook of International Organisations lists a total of 4,427 including

180 governmental bodies (U I A, 2000). We propose a differentiation of regional

organisations according to the range of subject areas covered, the scope of intra-

regional cooperation and extra-regional coordination, and the intensity of market

integration as well as of extra-market functional cooperation and institutional

integration. Figure 1 depicts this method of differentiation, locating particular

types of regional organisations within a three-dimensional framework.

RegIOnAl CO-OpeRATIOn And

eCOnOMIC gOveRnAnCe:

The CASe OF The ASSOCIATIOn

OF CARIbbeAn STATeS (ACS)

NORMAN GIRVAN

CHAPTER TWENTY - NINE

536 REGIONAL GOVERNANCE

Figure 1Figure 1

Figure 1Figure 1

Figure 1

Character and Strength of RegionalismCharacter and Strength of Regionalism

Character and Strength of RegionalismCharacter and Strength of Regionalism

Character and Strength of Regionalism

Notes: PTA = Preferential Trading Area FTA = Free Trade Area CU = Customs Union

CM = Common Market EC = Economic Community EU = Economic Union

CZ = Cooperation Zone

Source: author

In the context of globalisation greatest interest has fallen on institutional

expressions of economic regionalism particularly preferential trading areas,

free trade areas such as the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and

economic unions such as the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean

Community (Caricom). Lawrence (1999:30) argues that “The current moves

toward regionalisation are, by and large…efforts to fill the functional needs of

international trade and investment and the requirements of international

governance and cooperation to which globalisation gives rise.” Economic

regionalism is considered to be consistent with globalisation insofar as they

provide for accelerated intra-regional trade and investment liberalisation along

the lines of “open regionalism” (ECLAC, 1994). However they may also be a

means by which groups of countries seek to shape the direction and content of

globalisation by strengthening their bargaining power and negotiating capacities

in extra-regional relations.

Both the intra-regional and the extra-regional aspects of regionalism are

relevant to developing countries. Intra-regional economic integration, it is

argued, will widen the market space for trade, investment and labour flows,

stimulate improvements in static and dynamic allocative efficiency, and increase

the competitiveness of domestic enterprises and their preparedness for global

trade and investment liberalisation. In external relations, regional functional

INTENSITY

Institutional

Integration RANGE

EU

Functional

Cooperation

EC

CZ

Multi-functional

CM

CU

Market

FTA

Integration U ni-functional

PTA

SCOPE

Intra-regional Extra-regional