Integration is the combination of previously sovereign areas into a larger sovereign area. Its opposite is disintegration or secession. Throughout history a large number of both has occurred, but the integration process has been stronger and the net result is a considerable degree of integration. Two main measures may be used to characterize the phenomenon: the reduction per annum r of the number of sovereign areas and the growth per annum g of the number of areas which become member of the larger area into which they have been integrated. Both r and g are fractions; in r the numerator is the new number of areas and the denominator the previous number. In g the numerator and denominator are, respectively, the denominator and the numerator of r. If the process takes more than one year, say five years, the fifth root of the fraction must be taken; likewise for other figures.


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1991Economist2.pdf Final Version , 444kb
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