An economic union is a type of
trade bloc which is composed of a
common market with a
customs union. The participant countries have both common policies on product regulation,
freedom of movement
Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights' ...
of
goods,
services and the
factors of production (
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and
labour) and a common
external trade policy. When an economic union involves unifying currency it becomes an
economic and monetary union.
Purposes for establishing an economic union normally include increasing
economic efficiency
In microeconomics, economic efficiency, depending on the context, is usually one of the following two related concepts:
* Allocative or Pareto efficiency: any changes made to assist one person would harm another.
* Productive efficiency: no addit ...
and establishing closer political and cultural ties between the member countries.
Economic union is established through
trade pact.
List of economic unions
*
CARICOM Single Market and Economy
*
Central American Common Market - Common market since 1960, customs union since 2004.
*
Eurasian Economic Union - Customs union since 2010, common market since 2012.
*
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and ec