The effect of regional integrations on the development of borderlands – The American–Mexican and the German–Polish examples

Abstract

With the all-pervasive globalisation of the world economy, a large number of factors contribute to the total or partial disappearance of national borders. Among them, regional integration must be mentioned as it plays a vital role in eliminating customs duties and non-tariffs trade barriers. As regional integration is often described as being one of the most effective means of integrating borderlands into the world economy and trade, expectations are high. This increased interest is also perceptible in the European Union (EU) where the economic landscape is highly punctuated by less integrated border regions. Many researchers have therefore directed their attention to the spatial impact of regional integration efforts, not just in the EU but all over the world.

Within the framework of the new economic geography (NEG) several models have been created and they all deal with the consequences of spatial reallocation when trade is liberalised. Therefore the initial aim of this contribution is to collect and synthesize these models, arriving at a clear conclusion. After summarising the relevant NEG framework for borderlands, two case studies are presented in an attempt to answer the original research questions. First of all it tests the exactness of the models and later, with the help of a brief economic history discourse takes into consideration the exact direction of integration tendencies.

In the case studies, two far-apart borderlands appear in the regional integration of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the EU. With the comparison of the American–Mexican and the German–Polish borderlands this study aims to contradict the wellknown search method by which scholars turn to the nearest solution and, in the case of a satisfactory and suitable answer, do not continue their research. As a consequence of the massive spatial transformation spurred by trade liberalisation and regional integration these border regions have transformed significantly, but nevertheless they show different spatial features and cross-border interaction levels.

Based on the case studies this contribution sheds new light on two things. First of all it confirms previous empirical findings according to which no clear-cut and comprehensive path for development of borderlands in global space can be outlined. Secondly, it calls attention to the fact that answering questions by just using pure models can be misleading and overly simplistic. In order to understand the exact borderland processes in European integration or in any kind of regional integration in the world, a strong empirical approach is needed with which we can avoid overstating the spatial impact of trade liberalisation and globalisation.