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on International Trade |
By: | Ana Luiza Cortez; Mehmet Arda |
Abstract: | Multilateral trade rules have maintained stable and predictable trade flows. Developing countries increased their participation in world markets but marked asymmetries persist; not all countries are benefitting from trade. Successive trade rounds and numerous regional trade and bilateral investment agreements led to significant loss of policy space and fragmentation. Special and differential treatment has not provided necessary flexibility for implementation of development policies while the principle of less than full reciprocity is eroded. Stronger multilateralism, effective overseeing and enforcing role by WTO and greater focus by developing countries in negotiating flexible rules (instead of exceptions to the rules) are suggested |
Keywords: | Brazil, multilateralism, free trade agreements, WTO, special and differential treatment, global value chains, trade rules, policy space |
JEL: | F13 F15 F55 O24 |
Date: | 2014–07 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:cpaper:019&r=int |
By: | Onder, Ali Sina (University of Bayreuth); Yilmazkuday, Hakan (Florida International University) |
Abstract: | We use network centrality measures to capture the trade partner diversification (TPD) of countries as revealed by their position in the international trade network. These measures are shown to enter long-run growth regressions positively and significantly, on top of trade openness and other control variables. Historical evidence based on threshold analyses shows that countries can use their trade networks to compensate for their low levels of financial depth, high levels of inflation, and low levels of human capital. This result is important especially for developing economies where, on average, financial depth is low, inflation is high, and human capital is low. Therefore, globalization of international trade is important as far as gaining access into better trade networks through multilateral free trade agreements is rather essential for developing countries. |
JEL: | F13 G20 O19 |
Date: | 2014–09–01 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddgw:192&r=int |
By: | KAWASAKI Kenichi |
Abstract: | This paper discusses the relative significance of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at the macro and sectoral levels. The impacts of trade liberalization and facilitation measures in an FTAAP are studied using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model of global trade. The dynamic aspects of capital formation and productivity improvements are incorporated into a standard static model based on the most updated version of a global trade database. Real GDP of the APEC economies will be boosted on average by 1.9 percent by trade liberalization measures and 0.4 percent by trade facilitation measures, respectively. However, because of differences in the trade structure of the economies, the relative macroeconomic benefits of the economies from several regional trade agreements are shown to differ largely. Moreover, the relative significance of negative impacts in sensitive sectors such as agriculture may also vary according to several scenarios of trade liberalization. |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esj:esridp:244&r=int |
By: | de Melo, Jaime; Vijil, Mariana |
Abstract: | At the Davos forum of January 2014, a group of 14 countries pledged to launch negotiations on liberalizing trade in"green goods"(also known as"environmental"goods), focusing on the elimination of tariffs for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation list of 54 products. The paper shows that the Davos group, with an average tariff of 1.8 percent, has little to offer as countries have avoided submitting products with tariff peaks for tariff reductions. Even if the list were extended to the 411 products on the World Trade Organization list, taking into account tariff dispersion, the tariff structure on environmental goods would be equivalent to a uniform tariff of 3.4 percent, about half the uniform tariff-equivalent for non-environmental goods. Enlarging the number of participants to low-income countries might be possible as, on average, their imports would not increase by more than 8 percent. However, because of the strong complementarities between trade in environmental goods and trade in environmental services, these should also be brought to the negotiation table, although difficulties in reaching agreement on their scope are likely to be great. |
Keywords: | Environmental Economics&Policies,Free Trade,Trade Policy,Economic Theory&Research,International Trade and Trade Rules |
Date: | 2014–10–01 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7061&r=int |
By: | Raphael A Auer (Swiss National Bank); Aaron Mehrotra (Bank for International Settlements) |
Abstract: | Some observers argue that increased real integration has led to greater co-movement of prices internationally. We examine the evidence for cross-border price spillovers among economies participating in the pan-Asian cross-border production networks. Starting with country-level data, we find that both producer price and consumer price inflation rates move more closely together between those Asian economies that trade more with one another, ie that share a higher degree of trade intensity. Next, using a novel data set based on the World Input-Output Database (WIOD), we examine the importance of the supply chain for cross-border price spillovers at the sectoral level. We document the increasing importance of imported intermediate inputs for economies in the Asia-Pacific region and examine the impact on domestic producer prices of changes in costs of imported intermediate inputs. Our results suggest that real integration through the supply chain matters for domestic price dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region. |
Date: | 2014–10 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:szg:worpap:1405&r=int |
By: | Davide Gandolfi (Macalester College); Timothy Halliday (University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics; UHERO, University of Hawaii at Manoa; IZA) |
Abstract: | Neoclassical trade theory suggests that factor price convergence should follow increased commercial integration. Rising commercial integration and foreign direct investment followed the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Mexico. This paper evaluates the degree of wage convergence between Mexico and the United States between 1988 and 2011. We apply a synthetic panel approach to employment survey data and a more descriptive approach to Census data from Mexico and the US. First, we find no evidence of long-run wage convergence among cohorts characterized by low migration propensities although this was, in part, due to large macroeconomic shocks. On the other hand, we do find some evidence of convergence for workers with high migration propensities. Finally, we find evidence of convergence in the border of Mexico vis-à-vis its interior in the 1990s but this was reversed in the 2000s. |
Keywords: | Migration, Labor-market Integration, Factor Price Equalization |
JEL: | F15 F16 J31 F22 |
Date: | 2014–03 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hae:wpaper:2014-4&r=int |
By: | Clive George |
Abstract: | This report provides an update on recent developments in the field of Regional Trade Agreements and the environment. Issues arising in the implementation of RTAs with environmental considerations are examined as well as experience in assessing their environmental impacts. This is the seventh update prepared under the aegis of the Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment (JWPTE) since the series began with the 2007 publication Environment and Regional Trade Agreements. The document covers developments from late 2012 to October 2013. It is based on publicly available information. |
Keywords: | trade policy, trade and environment, free trade agreements, environmental provisions, regional trade agreements |
JEL: | F13 F18 N50 Q56 |
Date: | 2014–07–25 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:traaaa:2014/1-en&r=int |
By: | Peter Drysdale and Shiro Armstrong (East Asian Bureau of Economic Research) |
Abstract: | The economic rise of Japan in the 1980s was underpinned by commitment to catching up through domestic reform and accommodated externally within the framework of the postwar multilateral institutions like the GATT/WTO. Regional cooperative processes like APEC later complemented that framework, encouraging unilateral reform across the region. Following the bursting of the asset bubble in the early 1990s and the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis, Japan turned from reliance on the multilateral system to policies based on preferential bilateralism in trade policy to secure its regional trading interests. Japan’s bilateral trade agreements have been largely ineffective in supporting the kind of deep-seated reform to regulatory institutions and competition policies needed to sustain long-term productivity growth. The evidence suggests that Japanese productivity has underperformed against its peers in the industrial world and Asia. Instead of using foreign economic policy as an instrument of domestic reform and productivity enhancement Japan has used bilateral deals largely as political and strategic tools. Re-establishing a link between Japan’s domestic reform agenda and its economic diplomacy is important for structural reform and national economic success, as is a more sure-footed engagement with China. |
JEL: | F14 F15 F55 |
Date: | 2014–10 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:wpaper:24449&r=int |
By: | Capuano, Stella (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Hauptmann, Andreas (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Schmerer, Hans-Jörg (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
Abstract: | "Unions are often stigmatized as being a source of inefficiency due to higher collective bargaining outcomes. This is in stark contrast with the descriptive evidence presented in this paper. Larger firms choose to export and are also more likely to adopt collective bargaining. We rationalize those stylized facts using a partial equilibrium model that allows us to evaluate firms' value functions under individual or collective bargaining. Exporting further decreases average production costs for large firms in the collective bargaining regime, allowing them to benefit from additional external economies of scale due to lower bargaining costs. Our findings suggest that the positive correlation between export status and collective bargaining can be explained through size. Including controls for firm-size destroys the estimated positive relationship between export status and collective bargaining. Using interaction terms between size and the export status, we find that larger exporters tend to do collective bargaining, whereas smaller exporters tend to refrain from collective agreements." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
Keywords: | Export, Tarifverhandlungen, Lohnfindung, Gewerkschaft, Unternehmensgröße, IAB-Betriebspanel |
JEL: | F16 J51 E24 J3 |
Date: | 2014–10–17 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201424&r=int |
By: | Beestermöller, Matthias; Rauch, Ferdinand |
Abstract: | We show that the countries of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy trade significantly more with one another in the aftermath of the collapse of the Iron Curtain than predicted by a standard gravity model. This trade surplus declines linearly and monotonically over time. We argue that these findings suggest that decaying cultural forces explain a significant part of trading capital. We document the rate of decay of these cultural forces. |
Keywords: | Trade; Gravity; Culture; Borders; Habsburg Empire; Persistence |
JEL: | F14 F15 N33 N34 N94 |
Date: | 2014–09–11 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:muenec:21688&r=int |
By: | Tokunaga, Masahiro; Iwasaki, Ichiro |
Abstract: | In this paper, we conduct a meta-analysis of studies that empirically examine the relationship between economic transformation and foreign direct investment (FDI) performance in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union over the past two decades. More specifically, we synthesize the empirical evidence reported in previous studies that deal with the determinants of FDI in transition economies, focusing on the impacts of transition-factors. We also perform meta-regression analysis to specify the determinant factors of the heterogeneity among the relevant studies and the presence of publication selection bias. We find that the existing literature reports a statistically significant non-zero effect as a whole, and a genuine effect is confirmed in the study area of the determinants of FDI beyond the publication selection bias. |
Keywords: | foreign direct investment (FDI), FDI determinants, transition economies, meta-analysis, publication selection bias |
JEL: | E22 F21 P33 |
Date: | 2014–10 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:rrcwps:47&r=int |
By: | Basnett, Yurendra (Overseas Development Institute); Pandey, Posh Raj (South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment) |
Abstract: | The world’s trade landscape is being shaped by global value chains, which present new opportunities as well as challenges to developing countries. While large developing countries are leveraging the benefits of global value chains, smaller economies have been less successful. In this paper we examine the constraints faced by Nepal, a land-locked least developed country, in participating in global value chains. We find that weak and ineffective industrial policy has led to de-industrialization, which in turn has reduced productive capacity. The high cost of transport and energy, inadequate provision of public goods and low levels of investment reduce the country’s ability to participate in global value chains. As a land-locked country, Nepal is dependent on regional neighbors for access to global markets. Shallow regional integration, the prevalence of non-tariff barriers, and inefficient transit trade further disadvantage Nepal. |
Keywords: | industrial policy; global value chain; Nepal |
JEL: | O53 |
Date: | 2014–10–01 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0410&r=int |
By: | Francesca Checchinato; Lala Hu; Tiziano Vescovi |
Abstract: | Exports represent an entry mode into international markets that is less risky than more direct strategies, therefore it particularly fits SMEs (small-medium enterprises) that generally have a few resources to invest. In the case of emerging markets because of the high psychic distance, SMEs tend to rely on their distributors for the business operations in the new market. However, although this type of intermediary allows the access to the foreign distribution channel that is particularly complex in countries such as China, it can limit the market control and in some cases, the product expansion. Based on a qualitative research consisting of interviews and secondary data, we present two original case studies of Italian firms operating in the Chinese market. It is shown that in emerging markets, since distributors do not really analyze and know consumer expectations and behaviors, they may represent a barrier in the knowledge accumulation of foreign products in the new market. Managerial implications are discussed on the extent to which SMEs are not able to replicate marketing strategies used in other countries, but they should define a clear strategy that involves their distributors in the process of knowledge accumulation and brand value creation in the foreign market. |
Keywords: | internationalization, export, SME, distributor, emerging markets. |
JEL: | F23 M16 M31 D22 |
Date: | 2014–10 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:90&r=int |
By: | Chanegriha, Melisa (Middlesex University, London, UK); Stewart, Chris (Kingston University London); Tsoukis, Chris (London Metropolitan University, UK) |
Abstract: | Understanding what determines Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows remains a primary concern of economists and policy makers; yet, the uncertainty surrounding FDI theories and empirical approaches has created much ambiguity regarding the determinants of FDI. This paper undertakes an exhaustive search for robust determinants of FDI. We apply Extreme Bound Analysis to deal with model uncertainty, using a large panel data set that covers 168 countries from 1970 to 2006. We consider 58 potential determinants of FDI that include economic, geographic and political variables. We show that more than half of the previously suggested FDI determinants are not robust. Our findings reaffirm the view that, in order to become attractive destinations for foreign investors, countries need to reinforce their infrastructure facilities, liberalise their local and global investment policies, improve the quality of governance institutions and reduce internal conflict and political risk. |
Keywords: | Foreign direct investment; Extreme Bounds Analysis; panel data; economic geographic and political determinants. |
JEL: | C40 F21 |
Date: | 2014–09–28 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kngedp:2014_004&r=int |
By: | Desbordes, Rodolphe; Wei, Shang-Jin |
Abstract: | This paper examines how financial development influences foreign direct investment. The direct and indirect sector-specific effects that source countries'financial development and destination countries'financial development can have on foreign direct investment are first identified in a conceptual framework. The presence and relative strength of these various channels of influence at the different margins of foreign direct investment are then empirically investigated using unique and underexploited sector-specific bilateral panel data on greenfield foreign direct investment over the period 2003-2006. Causality is established by applying a difference-in-differences approach that exploits the variation in financial vulnerability across manufacturing sectors. The overall effects of higher source countries'financial development and destination countries'financial development on the relative volume of bilateral foreign direct investment in financially vulnerable sectors are large, positive, and complementary. These effects appear to operate mainly at the intensive margin rather than at the extensive margin of foreign direct investment. There is also evidence of direct and indirect effects of financial development. The key findings are robust to the use of data on the number of bilateral Mergers\&Acquisitions transactions. Overall, the empirical results unambiguously indicate that a sophisticated and well-functioning financial system in source and destination countries greatly facilitates the international expansion of firms through foreign direct investment, especially in financially vulnerable sectors. |
Keywords: | Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Foreign Direct Investment,Emerging Markets |
Date: | 2014–10–01 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7065&r=int |
By: | Emanuele Forlani (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia) |
Abstract: | This paper assesses the importance of firms' financial resources that are necessary to overcome sunk entry costs associated with export. We propose a new methodology to identify \textit{a priori} constrained firms, exploiting a rich data-set on Italian firms' assets and liabilities. We provide evidence that the entry probability is affected by the level of cash stock for the constrained firms: an increase of 10\% in the cash stock of constrained firms raises by an additional 0.17\% the entry probability of rationed firms, compared to unconstrained ones. Additionally, we find evidence that the liquidity is mainly used for investments in the development of new products for foreign markets. We do not find evidence that entry in the export market improves the firm's financial health, while \textit{ex-ante} new entrants are relatively more leveraged. |
Keywords: | Credit constraints, Financial reliability, export |
JEL: | F10 F12 F13 L25 M20 |
Date: | 2014–10 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pav:demwpp:demwp0093&r=int |
By: | Marek Dabrowski |
Abstract: | The European Union (EU) represents a large and highly integrated bloc which contributed 19.4% of global GDP and over 30% of global exports in 2012. As of July 1, 2013 it consists of 28 member states. All of them belong to the customs union and the Single European Market (SEM) in which most formal and informal barriers to the free movement of goods, services, people and capital have been removed. In addition, most members share a common currency (Euro) and form a free-travel Schengen zone. The important policy areas such as external trade, customs, competition, other regulations related to SEM, monetary policy (in the case of the Eurozone), certain iscal and other macroeconomic policies, part of indirect taxation, research, energy policy, etc. have been transferred to the competence of supranational EU bodies. Several other questions such as immigration and asylum, visas, common border management, justice and home affairs, and foreign and security policy remain subject to coordination and common decisions. Since the beginning of its existence, the EU has been involved in building close economic and political relations with non-member countries, involving a variety of legal forms. The EU has always been lexible in offering or accepting the exact cooperation model, trying to adjust itself to the speciic needs, constraints and sovereignty concerns of individual partners. The EU has never pushed any country to join the EU or sign association/free trade agreements. EU membership is considered a scarce good, membership in the elite club of developed and rich nations, a prize for good policies and institutions of the potential candidate. The same principle works in the case of association and free trade agreements with countries which are not going to join the EU: it is an offer and a prize for good performance rather than an instrument of economic or political pressure. It is the choice of a potential partner to accept, postpone or reject such a cooperation offer. The EU’s experience in building a complex and lexible net of economic and political relations with non-member countries can serve as a good lesson and example to follow by other regional integration blocs which also face the problem of shaping their external relations with countries which are interested in close cooperation but not membership in a given bloc. On the other hand, the EU’s institutional lexibility creates room for negotiating cross-regional trade and economic integration deals not only with individual countries but also with other blocs such as NAFTA, MERCOSUR, ASEAN or the Eurasian Economic Community. |
Keywords: | integration, European Union, association agreement, free trade agreement, EU enlargement, European Neighborhood Policy |
JEL: | F13 F15 F55 N74 |
Date: | 2014 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sec:cnrepo:0119&r=int |
By: | Pelkmans, Jacques; Lejour, Arjan; Schrefler, Lorna; Mustilli, Federica; Timini, Jacopo |
Abstract: | What are the economic and other impacts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership? At the request of the European Parliament, CEPS has provided an appraisal of the TTIP Impact Assessment carried out by the European Commission, with special elaboration of the underlying economic model. The methodology applied by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) for this economic modelling is analysed in depth, together with the assumptions used to make TTIP amenable to an economic appraisal. The research paper also compares the IA on TTIP with selected previous empirical economic assessments of EU trade agreements and with a set of alternative studies on TTIP itself. In reading our findings, two central caveats should be kept in mind that affect any analysis of the CGE model included in the European Commission’s Impact Assessment. First, TTIP is a rather unusual bilateral trade agreement; and second, TTIP is so wide-ranging that an alternative approach, such as the so-called ‘partial’ (equilibrium) approach – already a second-best solution – would be totally inappropriate to the case under examination. |
Date: | 2014–10 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:cepswp:9710&r=int |
By: | NU. CEPAL. Unidad de Inversiones y Estrategias Empresariales |
Date: | 2013 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col007:1149&r=int |
By: | Mustafizur Rahman |
Abstract: | Global evidence suggests that trade-related performance is becoming increasingly important for the socio-economic development of many developing countries. The paper finds that trade preferences accorded to Bangladesh as an LDC have played a crucial role in recent accelerated development of her economy and her significant achievements in trade and social sectors. The paper highlights the concerns that emanate from the trade preferences and proposes ways to make these more effective and beneficial for the LDCs. It concludes that Bangladesh will need to build the needed supply-side capacities and undertake necessary reforms to realize the potential opportunities provided by preferential market access. |
Keywords: | Preferential Schemes, Market Access, Aid for Trade, LDCs, Multilateral Trading System |
JEL: | F1 F4 |
Date: | 2014–07 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:cpaper:018&r=int |
By: | NU. CEPAL. División de Desarrollo Productivo y Empresarial |
Date: | 2014–07 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col007:36861&r=int |
By: | Larson, Donald F.; Martin, Will; Sahin, Sebnem; Tsigas, Marino |
Abstract: | In 1959, shortly after the European Economic Community was founded under the 1957 Treaty of Rome, Turkey applied for Associate Membership in the then six-member common market. By 1963, a path for integrating the economies of Turkey and the eventual European Union had been mapped. As with many trade agreements, agriculture posed difficult political hurdles, which were never fully cleared, even as trade barriers to other sectors were eventually removed and a Customs Union formed. This essay traces the influences the Turkey-European Union economic institutions have had on agricultural policies and the agriculture sector. An applied general equilibrium framework is used to provide estimates of what including agriculture under the Customs Union would mean for the sector and the economy. The paper also discusses the implications of fully aligning Turkey's agricultural policies with the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, as would be required under full membership. |
Keywords: | Food&Beverage Industry,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Trade Policy,Economic Theory&Research,Trade Law |
Date: | 2014–10–01 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7059&r=int |
By: | Joachim Wagner (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany) |
Abstract: | This paper uses an approach recently suggested by Gabaix (Eonometrica 2011) to investigate for the first time the role of idiosyncratic shocks to the largest firms in the dynamics of imports by firms from manufacturing industries. For Germany we find evidence that imports are power-law distributed and that the distribution of imports in the industries can be characterised as fat-tailed. Results show that idiosyncratic shocks to very large firms are important for the import dynamics in 2010/2011 but not in 2009/2010. |
Keywords: | EImports, power law, granular residual, Germany |
JEL: | F14 E32 L60 |
Date: | 2014–10 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:312&r=int |
By: | Mehdi Abbas (PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Grenoble - CNRS : UMR5194 - Université Pierre-Mendès-France - Grenoble II - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I) |
Abstract: | Cette contribution analyse le paradoxe des processus d'intégration régionale économiques dans le monde arabe. Ce paradoxe réside dans l'écart existant entre, d'une part, le nombre d'organisations (bureaucraties, agences, organisations, programmes, accords commerciaux, partenariats et coopérations économiques) dédiées à l'intégration régionale et la préférence affichée par les dirigeants politiques et la société civile en faveur de cette politique et d'autre part, la faiblesse structurelle ainsi que relationnelle de cette intégration. L'analyse emprunte une grille de lecture d'économie politique internationale et s'intéressera à la façon dont la double articulation entre l'économique et le politique ; la national et l'international conditionne la construction du rapport au marché mondial des économies du monde arabe, enjeu sous-jacent aux dispositifs d'intégration régionale. L'article avance trois arguments pour expliquer la faiblesse structurelle de l'intégration régionale dans la MENA : le jeu des grandes puissances, les spécialisations héritées du rapport historique au marché mondial, les conflits distributifs (nationaux et régionaux) contingents de l'intégration régionale. |
Keywords: | INTEGRATION ECONOMIQUE ; INTEGRATION REGIONALE ; MONDE ARABE |
Date: | 2014 |
URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01006462&r=int |