ABSTRACT
Polanyi’s central insight is that markets are “always embedded” (Block, 2003a). Markets are also everywhere embedded. With this as a point of departure, and in the context of the economic crisis that began in 2008, the central questions for positive and normative analysis become how and where markets are embedded. In this essay we consider what lessons might be drawn for the “re-” embedding of markets through the lens of regional integration. We begin by offering a con- ceptualization of regional integration as a particular form of embeddedness. We then present evidence on the regionalization of markets, using data on interna- tional trade for 1948–2008. Next, we review some consequences of regional integration for income inequality and the welfare state in Europe, with the aim of demonstrating that some of the recent “dis-embedding” of markets is due to regional actions. Finally, we offer three scenarios for the future of market re- embedding in Europe. Our most general thesis is that regional integration presents particular opportunities for, and challenges to, the visions for market re- embedding that are discussed in this volume and elsewhere.
