Series:

Policy Issues in International Trade & Commodities Study S.

18 primary works • 19 total works

Book 1

Cover of Is There Effectively a Level Playing Field for Developing Country Exports?
This publication investigates the extent to which progress in reducing impediments and distortions to trade has leveled the playing field for developing country exports. It also looks into whether, and how, critical measures and disparities in post- Uruguay Round practice are actually dealt with by the international trading framework.

Book 2

Cover of E-commerce, WTO and Developing Countries

Book 3

Cover of Assessing the Results of General Equilibrium Studies of Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Book 4

Cover of What Can the Developing Countries Infer from the Uruguay Round Models for Future Negotaitions

Book 5

Cover of Tariffs, Taxes and Electronic Commerce

Book 6

Cover of Industrial Policy and the WTO

Book 7

Cover of Is the Export-led Growth Hypothesis Valid for Developing Countries?

Book 9

Cover of Services Sector Reform and Development Strategies
The purpose of this paper is to review some of the empirical work, which can provide relevant inputs to the implementation of strategies for use in the General Agreement on Trade Services (GATS) negotiations and for domestic policy reform. It makes the case for a more coherent approach to the design of reform policy in the services sector. It also stresses the importance of considering the interaction between services activities, between modes of supply and in some cases between goods and services. Finally, it outlines some issues for decision-makers to consider and a series of related research projects to initiate, as they respond to shifts in the market place and as they plan their approach to the services negotiations.

Book 11

Cover of An Integrated Approach to Agricultural Trade and Development Issues
Computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis has become a well-established methodology for the estimation of trade and welfare effects resulting from trade liberalization. This paper reviews CGE studies of trade liberalization within the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), including studies of the effects of agricultural trade liberalization. Using a proposal known as the APEC Food System as a case study, the paper outlines and illustrates an extension of CGE liberalization, and of how welfare and distribution outcomes can be modified by various types of policies designed to improve labour productivity in the agricultural sector. In the process it shows how this extended CGE methodology can throw light on the potential of appropriately designed policies of this kind to simultaneously improve both welfare and distribution outcomes of trade liberalization.

Book 12

Cover of Post-Uruguay Round Market Access Barriers for Industrial Products
Both the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) secretariats have a long history of research on the pattern and effects of border protection. The purpose of this study is to combine the efforts of the two secretariats and examine the landscape of market access barriers in the multilateral trade system with the best available data. The study highlights a number of key issues with respect to border protection and emphasizes the need to improve both the quality and the availability of protection data.

Book 13

Cover of Tariffs and the East Asian Financial Crisis
This study examines the role of tariffs during the East Asian financial crisis and finds that there is a role of tariffs when it comes to fighting the negative impact of a financial downturn. The first section reviews the pre-crisis trade environment, examining economic performance and main policy developments. Next, this paper examines the management and adjustment measures taken in the wake of the financial downturn. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the Affected-5's response in terms of their tariff policy. Finally, the study concludes with an identification of lessons about the role of tariffs.

Book 14

Cover of Duty and Quota-free Access for LDCs
This study is an extension of the work entitled Duty and Quota Free Market Access for LDCs: An Analysis of Quad Initiatives. Its purpose is to assess the effects of trade policy initiatives aimed at improving market access for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Quad countries (Canada, European Union, Japan and the United States). Different scenarios are simulated and the consequences of these scenarios on the different actors of the market are exposed.

Book 15

Cover of Assessing Regional Trading Arrangements in the Asia-Pacific
Using both a gravity model to consider the natural trading bloc hypothesis and simulation using a computer generated equilibrium (CGE) model to make welfare estimates, this publication examines the potential effect of a subset of the new regional trading arrangement (RTA) proposal in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation region. The objective of this paper is to see to what extent the predictions from these two disparate techniques can be correlated in the context of the new Asia-Pacific proposals.

Book 16

Cover of Assessing Regional Trade Arrangements
It has generally been argued that regional trade agreements among developing countries may induce potential adverse effects on trade patterns among RTA members and between them and third countries. Using an expanded gravity model this paper estimates for a number of RTAs among developing countries the gross trade creation and diversion effects resulting from RTA formation. This paper brings evidence in favor of the idea that South-South RTAs, and African RTAs in particular, are not made trade diverting than other RTAs. This evidence suggests that increased trade with both regional partners and third countries in the case of South-South RTAs might be explained by the removal of 'invisible' trade barriers as a result of trade facilitation measures favored by RTA formation.

Book 18

Cover of Quantification of Non-tariff Measures
The increase in the relative importance of non-tariff measures has increased awareness of the various deficiencies in existing non-tariff measures (NTM) data collections. This paper is concerned with the measurement of non-tariff measures (NTMs) for use in the formulation of trade policy. First, NTMS are defined and classified. Second, the effects of NTMs and how to compute those effects are reviewed. Third, there is a brief discussion on sources of data on NTMs, which is followed by some results on the landscape of NTMs in the Asia-Pacific region. Finally, this paper concludes with a discussion on how to proceed with the issue of enhancing the collection and measurement of NTM data.

Book 19

Cover of Trade in Services
The service sector is the most important sector for most developed economies being the largest contributor to gross domestic product, production, and employment. Developing economies on the other hand have a comparative advantage in labor services, however, the export of many of these services is limited by many restrictions on the temporary movement of labor imposed through domestic regulation. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the international trade in services focusing on market access in foreign markets. It also explains how developing economies are dealing with the issue of trade restrictions so as to spur development of the service sector.

Book 20

Cover of International Trade and Labour Market Performance
This paper summarizes the results of recent research into the effects of international trade on labor demand highlighting three areas which may require further investigation. These areas being: the relationship between labor market variables and trade policy measures, the issue of trade and labor market outcomes from a consistent cross-country perspective, and finally, the role of labor market institutions and production internalization.

Book 21

Cover of Assessing South-south Regional Integration
The number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) has increased over time. So have the complexity of issues surrounding their formation and the metrics used to assess them. Despite sustained research efforts, and irrespective of the approach adopted, the economic merits or demerits of regional integration arrangements remain essentially an empirical matter. Given the importance of this issue and the ambiguity that persists with regard to the economic impact of RTAs among developing countries, this paper uses a gravity model to analyze the trade effects of seven south-south RTAs (NAFTA, Andean Community, CARICOM, COMESA, ECOWAS, MERCOSUR and SADC). It reveals the results of the tests and puts forward conclusions and recommendations.

Cover of Regional Trade Agreements and Developing Countries
Fourteen of the world's smallest and most vulnerable economies - the Forum Island Countries (FICs) of the Pacific island region - are in the process of forming themselves into a free trade area (FTA). This paper reviews the characteristics of the Forum Island Countries (FICs) and their external trade and assesses the benefits and costs of the proposed FTA.