Paper details:
Answer each of the following questions on the promise and peril of economic integration. Your answer to each item should be an essay of 350 to 800 words in length. (With a typical font and spacing, this comes to between 1½ and 3 pages.) It is recommended that you refer to outside sources as you consider these issues. Be sure to document your sources correctly.
1. What will a potential shift of the economic center of gravity from the traditional G-6 countries—United States, Japan, Germany, UK, France, and Italy—to the BRIC countries mean? Does it signal hope for a new wave of economic growth and new engines of regional prosperity to drive the global economy, or does it signal the fading importance of Europe and the United States? Will the rise of the BRIC countries signal the rise of middle classes within those countries or a further expansion of inequity in income distribution? How can governance challenges in each of the BRIC countries derail their economic growth? Resource challenges? Demography and population? The threat of conflict?
2. As the EU continues to grow, it will encounter higher levels of competitiveness from other regions of the world. For the EU to continue to prosper, a reduction of trade barriers, a more liberal and competitive industry sector, and a more integrated internal market are key for stronger growth. How do you propose this change will take place? What sort of competition will the EU face with other trading blocs like the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) and the South African Development Community (SADC)?
