The development of regional integration has expanded considerably within the span of the last 50 years and so, particularly with the acceleration of globalization and international competitiveness. National policies shifted from inward looking policies of import substitution to actively seeking open trade with their neighbors and participating in regional economic communities. Protectionist policies gave way to policies directed towards the reduction of barriers to trade and the pursuit of integration as the growth of economies participating in open trade became the yardstick by which the benefits of free trade were realized and measured.