Policy Review Section
本期政策评论包含三篇文章：第一篇讨论马斯特里赫特条约中的凝聚与趋同政策对欧洲经济一体化的影响；第二篇分析柏林统一后的经济发展矛盾；第三篇探讨公用事业私有化对区域发展和基础设施投资协调的公共政策影响。
In this issue of the Policy Review Section, Iain Begg of the Department of Applied Economics, University of Cambridge, and David Mayes of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research examine some of the policy issues surrounding the issue of cohesion and convergence as enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty. They argue that if insufficient priority is assigned to cohesion then inevitably political pressures will slow the pace of economic integration. It is their view that present plans to strengthen the Structural Funds and establish a Cohesion Fund will be insufficient to offset market pressures on backward uncompetitive regions. The issue will present a major challenge to the EC later in the decade with the moves to a full EMU and further enlargement of the Community. In the second article Irene Bruegel of the South Bank University, London, examines some of the contradictions and ambiguities evident in the economic development of Berlin following German reunification. The city, given its history, geographical position and capital status is in a pivotal position in relation to the new East European economy, yet Bruegel argues that there remain a number of unanticipated difficulties in its transition to a successful and prosperous international city. In the third article, James Cornford of the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies and Simon Marvin of the Department of Town and Country Planning, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, examine the implications of the privatization of the distributive network utilities for public policy, focusing in particular on issues surrounding regional development and the coordination of infrastructure investment.