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Methodologicalframeworkfortheassessmentandcomparisonofvariousmodels...
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economicintegration(freetradearea),intheabsenceofanyambitiontodeepenitfurther,
thefunctionalmethodwillsumcefortheparticipantsinthisprocess,butfulleconomic
integrationbringsthenecessityforpoliticalunion,i.e.deepinstitutionalintegration,
expressedinaunifedapproachofallintegratingcountriestowardspolicyinitsstrictest
meaning-bothinternalandforeign.
Forexample,J.Pelkmansbelievesthatatthestagesofafreetradezone,customs
unionandacommonmarket,efectiveeconomicintegrationcantakeplacewithout
usingthepositivemethod(Pelkmans2006).Anotherscholar,P.Bożykanalysedthe
issueandconcludesthatthecreationofafreetradezoneandcustomsuniondoesnot
requiretransnationalformsofintegration,butwithouttheseformstheproperfunctioning
ofacommonmarket,monetaryunion,politicalunion,economicunionandfulleconomic
unionisdimcult,andisoftennotpossible(Bożyk2002:p.27).
Ingeneral,theattempttocombinethestagesofintegrationwiththemethodofinte-
grationisquiteasignifcantshift,indicatingthatthepoliticalandinstitutionalfactorisan
essentialcomponentoftheeconomicintegrationprocess,whichatsomestagesbegins
toplayavitalrole.
4.Mechanismofintegration.Inthiscontext,oneshouldperusethemethodological
assumptionsofP.Bożyk,J.Rosiek,K.ŻołądkiewiczandR.Orłowska.Bymechanismof
integration,Bożykunderstandstheprinciplesofmarketfunctioninginanintegrationpro-
cessdeterminedbythefunctionsofitsparameters,i.e.domesticandinternationalprices,
exchangerates,interestrates,etc.(Bożyk2002:p.25-26).Therearetwobasicintegration
mechanisms:themechanismofafreemarketandfreetradeandthemechanismof
aregulatedmarket(protectionism).The‘invisiblehandofthemarket’playsakeyrole
inafreemarketandfreetrademechanism.Nationalintegrationcentresarefrstand
foremosttheguardiansoforderinindividualcountries.Theymaintaintheruleoflawand
publicorder,andcounteractdisruptionstothemechanismofperfectcompetition.
Inthemechanismofaregulatedmarket,theimportanceofnationalandsupranational
(possiblyinternational)centresincreasescomparedtothemechanismofafreemarket
andfreetrade.Theirtaskisnotonlytosupporttheliberalisationoffowsofgoods,services
andproductionfactors,butalsotocoordinateandunifythegoals,meansandtoolsofthe
internalandexternaleconomicpolicyoftheintegratingcountries(Rosiek2003:p.35).
P.Bożykattemptstofndtheoptimalapplicationofindividualmechanismsofintegra-
tioninvarioustypesofregionaleconomicgroupings.Basedontheassumptionsofthe
schoolofclassicaleconomics,heprovesthatthefreemarketandfreetrademechanism
arethebestsolutionsforanintegrationgroupingwherebymemberstatesrepresent
similarlevelsofeconomicdevelopment,complementaryeconomicstructures,and
competitiveeconomicentities.
Nevertheless,inBożyk’sview,themechanismofaregulatedmarketisinefective
whensomememberstatesofanintegrationgroupingdonotmeetcertainconditions
foreconomicintegration.Thisisespeciallytruewhencountrieswithlowerlevelsofeco-
nomicdevelopment,uncompetitiveeconomicstructures,andweakerentitiespartici-
patingintheintegrationprocessareadmittedtothegrouping.
