The global economic growth remains uneven, but regional integration is still a path to economic development, an expert of the World Bank (WB) said on Thursday.

"Through integration with neighbors, countries can achieve an economy of scale that could make them competitive in the global market place," Truman Packard, a WB senior economist, said during the launch of the Report on World Development 2009: The Economic Geography in Transformation.

He singled out the significance of regional integration to Latin America. "As Latin America has several sub-regions, the economic integration is the way to combine the benefits of growth uneven in space and to achieve a common development."

Packard said the integration process in Latin America is not easy and may not complete in a decade, as much supporting work as infrastructure building has to be done first.

"For South America, where there is a large market place like what Brazil is, governments have to focus on systems of infrastructure to assist in the movement of people, goods and resources between members of the region."

In the new report, the World Bank painted a bleak picture of the world, with people living in slums in the developing world or in some isolated areas in the developed world, all without access to basic services.

The World Bank said the geographical spread of economic activity alone does not contribute to economic development and poverty alleviation.

"The challenge for governments is to permit, even encourage, the growth 'unbalanced' and still ensure the inclusive development. They can do this through economic integration," the World Bank said.

(Xinhua News agency December 5, 2008)