Tovias, Alfred and Ugur, Mehmet ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3891-3641 (2004) Can the EU anchor policy reform? The case of the Euro-Med Partnership. European Union Politics, 5 (4). pp. 395-418. ISSN 1465-1165 (Print), 1741-2757 (Online) (doi:10.1177/1465116504047310)

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Abstract

The emerging literature on ‘anchoring’ draws attention to
non-conventional benefits of regional integration arrangements, which include increased policy credibility. Nevertheless, this literature tends to view the anchoring of policy reform as an exogenously given option for a reforming country. We demonstrate that anchoring is an endogenously determined choice, which may guarantee neither optimal levels of policy reform nor effective anchoring unless the relevant contracts are both complete and incentive compatible. We examine the economic pillar of the Euro-Med Partnership (EMP) to ascertain the extent to which its contractual provisions satisfy these conditions. Our findings suggest that the EMP leaves too much room for discretion and does not internalize the positive externalities associated with policy reform. These findings enable us to elaborate on why the EU cannot be expected to function as an effective anchor for policy reform for its trading partners.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in European Union Politics, Vol. 5/ No. 4, December/2004 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved. Article published on SAGE Journals Online at http://online.sagepub.com.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	aid, anchoring, bargaining, conditionality, European Union, Euro-Med Partnership, free trade areas, policy reform, Mediterranean Partnership
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business > Department of International Business & Economics Faculty of Business > Institute of Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (IPEGFA) > Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre (GPERC)
Related URLs:	Publisher Organisation
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2021 16:32
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/3980

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