This book analyzes how the EU referendum in the United Kingdom came to pass and what the
foreseeable consequences are for the UK Europe US and world economy. The Brexit decision
represents a momentous event for Europe which weakens the EU and shifts the global balance of
power. Welfens argues the EU has lost its appeal and is not in keeping with the twenty-first
century which is being shaped by Asia and digital innovations. The subject of immigration from
EU countries played a key role in the Brexit decision with an anti-EU campaign that was
profoundly biased. The estimated impact of the referendum was deeply distorted by the broadly
inadequate information produced by the Cameron government which omitted the expected 10
percent loss in income caused by leaving the EU. With this this information there could have
been a clear pro-EU majority. In the absence of a second referendum one cannot know what the
British electorate really wants. Both the Brexit decision and new President of the United
States Donald Trump's approach to European disintegration dynamics also raise serious questions
about the future of transatlantic relations.
