ABSTRACT
Regional institutions have been slow to develop in North America, compared to some other parts of the world, because formalized regional economic integration in North America is relatively new. Several reasons can be given for this fact. In the past the size disparities that exist among the economies of North America have inhibited institutionalized regional economic integration. The continent is dominated in many ways by the United States, which has an economy ten times larger than that of Canada and twenty-five times larger than Mexico's. This disparity, combined with an early history of U.S. incursions into Canada and Mexico's loss of much territory to the United States, have made both Canada and Mexico particularly sensitive to any arrangements that might weaken or threaten their national sovereignty. At the same time, the size and importance ofthe United States on the world stage have decreased its perceived need to develop, or to participate in, regional institutions.
