ABSTRACT
The European Union has for much of its existence been popularly referred to as the "Common Market" it was in fact never one in the true meaning of the term. In parallel with the process of European economic integration since 1957 has been the development of a field of study—customs union theory--which specifically addresses such phenomena. The key concepts of trade creation and trade diversion as the two main outcomes of integration were identified by J. Viner. In support of the objectives of the Single Europe Act, the European Commission sponsored a series of research programs enquiring into the economic impacts of the proposed integrated market. The shift-share model may be utilized as a forecasting tool to examine the impacts of European Community-92 on individual state and regional economies. Much of the controversy surrounding the shift-share method is directed towards its use in estimating future regional economic trends.
