bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Impact of Remittances on Schooling: the Mexican Experience
Authors: Borraz Fernando
Published: December 2005

This paper analyzes the impact of remittances on child human capital in Mexico. During the 90’s and in particular after the “tequila crisis” Mexican workers increased the remittances that were sent to their homes from the United States. I will analyze the effect of such increasing source of income on child human capital decisions. Contrary to Hanson and Woodruff (2003) the results obtained from Census data indicate a positive and small effect of remittances on schooling only for children living in cities with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants and with mothers with a very low level of education. However its magnitude is not substantial.
Transboundary Pollution From Consumption In A Reciprocal Dumping Model
Authors: Kayalica M. Ozgur , Kayalica Olgay
Published: December 2005

We analyse transboundary pollution externalities caused by consumption of goods. The model is of a reciprocal dumping type in which there are two countries and two firms. Each firm produces a homogeneous good to be consumed in both markets. There are two policies available to the governments of the two countries: consumption taxes and import tariffs. We characterise the Nash optimal levels of the instruments in the two countries. Our results suggest that the conditions satisfying higher consumption taxes in one country satisfy lower tariffs in that country. It is found that starting from non-cooperative solutions, an infinitesimal uniform reduction is unambiguously Pareto improving for each country and for the global welfare. This is because the gain from an increase in consumer surplus due to reform is larger than the loss in the tax revenues of the governments. Moreover, a revenue neutral reform which increases consumption taxes and reduce tariffs, is strictly Pareto improving.
A Transitional Analysis of the Polish Economy: After Fifteen Years, Still a "Work in Progress"
Authors: Hunter Richard J. , Ryan Leo V.
Published: December 2005

This article takes a critical view at the process of economic change and transformation in Poland since 1989. Its describes the creation and implementation of these changes, initially referred to as the Balcerowicz Plan, in the decidedly negative context of the system of central planning. The article takes a detailed look at growth, international trade, privatization, and foreign direct investment, as well as outlining some "persistent negatives" such as transition costs, technology and infrastructure lapses, and inflation. It concludes with possible suggestions for Poland's future as a full member of the EU, participating in the euro-- perhaps as early as 2008 or 2009.
Trade in Services: A Review
Authors: Banga Rashmi
Published: December 2005

Services sector has emerged as the largest and fastest-growing sector in the world economy in the last two decades, providing more than 60 per cent of global output and, in many countries, an even larger share of employment. Not only has the services sector grown in terms of its share in global output and employment, its share in total trade has also grown rapidly in this period. The growing importance of services sector and the corresponding rise in its role in integrating the world economy has led to a stream of literature that examines different aspects of trade in services.

This paper undertakes a selective review of both theoretical as well as empirical studies on trade in services. It identifies some of the conceptual issues in this area, e.g., whether theories of trade are relevant for services; what are the important barriers to trade in services; and how are these barriers measured. The main objective of the paper is to provide policy insights and future areas of research in trade in services.
Market-Driven Regionalization in Asia
Authors: Das Dilip K.
Published: December 2005

Progressively liberalizing trade and FDI regime underpinned market-led profit-motivated regionalization in the high-performing Asian economies. The market expansion and regional integration that took place in Asia was both vertical and horizontal. First the NIAEs and then the other emerging-market economies of Asia developed tiers of complex trade and manufacturing hierarchies. This occurred in association with the large flows of intra-regional investment into Southeast Asia and China. Over the preceding quarter century, Japan, Taiwan and Korea provided massive amounts of FDI to Southeast Asian economies and China, and in the process increased their commitments in these markets.

During the 1970s, a triangular production relationship had developed between Japan, the NIAEs and the US, bringing the former two sets of economies closer together. After the Plaza Accord in 1985, the currency value configuration changed. Changes in currency value configuration and economic complementaries buttressed regionalization. Gradually production locus shifted from the firms to networks of regional production. Asian firms skillfully sliced the value chain, consequently production networks soon became a significant force driving the process of economic integration further in the region. Private sector firms and TNCs played a proactive role in this endeavor.
Asian Reserves and the Dollar: Is Gradual Adjustment Possible?
Authors: Goyal Ashima
Published: December 2005

Large dollar reserves in Asian EMEs accompany large U.S. fiscal and current account deficits. Analysis of strategic sales by Asian EMEs suggests that an attack on the dollar is not certain but is possible. A unique equilibrium where Asian EMEs sell their reserves does not exist but there are multiple Nash equilibria. Therefore action, which includes adjustment, is required to coordinate to the better equilibrium. There is evidence that more flexibility in Asian exchange rates will reduce risk for Asian EMEs, but the flexibility will have to be limited, and it depends on more flexibility in the renminbi. Moreover, limits to adjustment in wages put limits on realignments between US and Asian exchange rates. Therefore while a gradual adjustment strategy is feasible it will require both expenditure switching and expenditure reduction with the latter moderated by the maintenance of robust global growth.
Trade Policies of the Former Centrally Planned Economies
Authors: Toole James , Lutz James
Published: December 2005

Since the end of Communist rule, the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have been forced to restructure their formerly centrally planned economies. Among the dilemmas they have faced is how open they should be to international trade. Using multiple regression, the openness of these economies to trade is empirically determined while controlling for the effects of both population and wealth. Residuals from the regression equations are then examined in order to identify how much more or less open to trade each country has been. Analysis of the residuals for six distinct regions of the former Communist world presents no definitive answers but does suggest some preliminary conclusions. A country’s degree of political openness is found to be most important in determining relative openness to trade; close behind that are its geographic proximity to important world markets and its prospects for future accession to the European Union.
African Apparel Exports, AGOA, and the Trade Preference Illusion
Authors: Rolfe Robert J. , Woodward Douglas P.
Published: December 2005

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a preferential trade agreement between the United States and approved African countries, allowing duty-free and quota-free access to the U.S. market. Following AGOA’s implementation in 2000, several African countries experienced a dramatic increase in exports to the United States. Nevertheless, AGOA exports, employment, and other benefits may prove to be short-term gains. As a form of temporary trade diversion from Asian countries, the increased exports may arise less from competitive advantages than from trade preferences that will erode over time.

This paper focuses on garment exports from the African countries most affected by the preferential access with the United States under AGOA. An analysis based on ten-digit HS trade categories shows that African apparel enters the United States at sharply lower unit prices than similar products from China and India. Given Africa’s higher costs, it is believed that this disparity results from specialized production in low-quality garments.

We argue that export value and growth, often used to gauge the success of preferential trade agreements like AGOA, can be misleading. To assess the local contribution to the African economy of AGOA benefits, our paper examines value added in Kenya. Given information for each investment in Kenyan EPZs, we calculate local inputs as a percentage of sales and other measures. The results suggest that the real benefits of AGOA in apparel may be smaller than commonly believed.
Is Europe Sick?
Authors: Shelburne Robert C
Published: December 2005

Europe's economic performance has deteriorated continuously over the last two decades both in terms of its unemployment and its labor force participation rate; more recently its productivity has declined relative to the United States. This is due to a complex interaction between the how these welfare states are designed, the institutions created by the European Union, idiosyncratic factors resulting from linguistic differences, population dynamics and other cultural factors, and an increasing emphasis on non-economic objectives. Although structural reforms can provide a solution, it will be a long, difficult and costly process. A more successful approach involves a redesign of the macroeconomic framework in Europe. Aggregate demand stimulation should be given priority since it will not only increase employment directly, but, by slightly raising inflation, will allow negative real interest rates and separate real wages movements from nominal wages. More generally, EU institutions appear to have been designed assuming a perfect world; instead these need to be designed around existing national institutions and cultural practices.
Agricultural Liberalization in the Doha Round
Authors: Messerlin Patrick
Published: December 2005

Agriculture is an urgent and vital problem for developing countries, and even more so for the poorest countries that are often dependent on a very small set of commodities, many of which are highly subsidized and protected in the OECD countries. The Uruguay Round brought agriculture into the WTO legal framework, but did not lower the effective level of OECD farm protection after 1995 and granted many exceptions to WTO rules that reinforced agricultural protection. While there are a number of diverging forces that are potential sources of change in the levels and patterns of agricultural protection, the recent farm policies adopted by the U.S. and EU reflect an absence of significant domestic reform and appear to be going in the wrong direction.

The analysis of agricultural liberalization reveals very large potential gains for both developed and developing countries that will come especially from own-country liberalization as well as from inter-country trade, significant benefits that may be realized by the poorest developing countries, and limited benefits from existing preferential agricultural arrangements. An ideal program for agricultural liberalization in the Doha Round would involve substantial reductions in the high tariffs that exist in both developed and developing countries using the Swiss formula approach and limiting exceptions and special and differential treatment, elimination of agricultural export subsidies, and making meaningful reductions in domestic supports. The negotiations should not get hung up on issues of food security and the effects of higher prices for low-income consumers, and a special safeguard for agriculture is not recommended. It is imperative that agricultural liberalization should be combined with appropriate domestic policies and actions and international assistance, if needed, to help finance emergency food inventories and aid to disadvantaged groups.

Patrick A. Messerlin is Professor of Economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and director of the Groupe d'Economie Mondiale de Sciences Po (GEM) which is an independent research center seeking to improve the performance of French and European public policies in a global world. In 2002-2005, he was co-chairman with Dr Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico, Director of the Yale Center for the Study on Globalization, of the Task Force on Trade in the UN Millenium Development Goals Project, which produced a Report on Trade for Development released in May 2005. In 2001-2002, he was special advisor to Mike Moore, WTO Director General. He has published a dozen books and a hundred papers on trade theory and policy. His most recent book is Measuring the Costs of Protection in Europe: European Commercial Policy in the 2000s, Institute for International Economics (Washington) 2001.
Commentary: A Canadian Perspective Toward a Level International Playing Field
Authors: Landreville Denis
Published: December 2005

Commentary on Patrick Messerlin's article, "Agricultural Trade Liberalization."

Denis Landreville is the Deputy Director for Regional and Bilateral Trade Negotiations in the International Trade Policy Directorate of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. He is a member of Canada’s negotiating team at the WTO agriculture negotiations, responsible for market access issues. He is also the lead agriculture negotiator in the Canada-Korea FTA negotiations and the Canada-CA4 (four Central America countries) FTA negotiations currently underway. He is a graduate of McGill University (B.Sc. Agr), the University of Guelph (M.Sc. Agr.Econ), and the University of Ottawa (MBA).
Commentary: The United States, Agriculture, and the Doha Round of Negotiations
Authors: Jabara Cathy
Published: December 2005

A commentary on Patrick Messerlin's article, "Agricultural Trade Liberalization."

Cathy Jabara is the Division Chief of the Agriculture and Fishery Products Division at the U.S. International Trade Commission. She has been at the Commission for about 12 years, and previously served in positions at the Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Treasury Department. She received her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. She is primarily involved in the research program at the Commission. Her responsibilities include analysis of the effects of trade agreements on the U.S. economy and industries.
Commentary: Developing Countries Perspective on Agricultural Liberalization
Authors: Mtesa Love
Published: December 2005

A commentary on Patrick Messerlin's article, "Agricultural Trade Liberalization."

Love Mtesa is Zambian Ambassador to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, including the WTO. He is the Coordinator for the Least Developed Countries at the Ambassadorial level. Ambassador Mtesa joined the Zambian Foreign Service in 1966 and later served [in]: Kinshasa, Congo; Addis Ababa, Ethiopa; as Director of the African and Middle East Department in the Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Harare, Zimbabwe; as Zambia’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations in New York; and as Zambian Ambassador to Great Britain and other European nations. He has also been active in opposition politics in Zambia for a number of years.
Overview: Perspectives on the WTO Doha Development Agenda Multilateral Trade Negotiations
Authors: Stern Robert M
Published: December 2005

Overview of the Special Issue prepared under the direction of Guest Editor Robert Stern.

Robert M. Stern, the Guest Editor of this special issue of the Global Economy Journal, is Professor of Economics and Public Policy (Emeritus) in the Department of Economics and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University in 1958. He was a Fulbright scholar in the Netherlands in 1958-59, taught at Columbia University for two years, and joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1961. He has been an active contributor to international economic research and policy for more than four decades. He has published numerous papers and books on a wide variety of topics, including international commodity problems, the determinants of comparative advantage, price behavior in international trade, balance-of-payments policies, the computer modeling of international trade and trade policies, trade and labor standards, and services liberalization. He has collaborated with Alan Deardorff (University of Michigan) since the early 1970s and with Drusilla Brown (Tufts University) since the mid-1980s in developing the Michigan Model of World Production and Trade. He is currently working with Drusilla Brown and Kozo Kiyota (Yokohama National University) on the computational modeling and analysis of preferential and multilateral trade negotiations, and issues relating to the scope of the WTO and concepts of fairness in the global trading system with Andrew Brown.
Commentary: A European Commission Perspective on Manufactures Liberalization
Authors: Zaimis Nikolaos
Published: December 2005

A commentary on Alan V. Deardorff and Robert M. Stern, “Issues of Manufactures Liberalization and Administered Protection.”

Nikolaos Zaimis heads the Trade Section of the European Commission Delegation in Washington and follows closely developments in EU-US relations. He previously held the position of Deputy Head of the WTO Dispute Settlement and Trade Barriers Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade. Before joining the European Commission, he worked for a number of years in private legal practice focusing on EC and international trade issues. He joined the Commission (DG Trade) in 1995 and initially worked in the area of anti-subsidy policy. He then became Head of the Section dealing with the investigation of trade barriers in third countries. Zaimis studied law in Greece and the UK and is a Member of the Athens Bar.
Commentary: A National Association of Manufacturers Perspective on Manufactures Liberalization
Authors: Wenk Christopher
Published: December 2005

A commentary on Alan V. Deardorff and Robert M. Stern, University of Michigan, "Issues of Manufactures Liberalization and Administered Protection."

Christopher Wenk is Director of International Trade Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), which is the U.S. largest industry trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Wenk advocates on behalf of the NAM's members on international trade issues with the Administration and U.S. Congress and works with NAM policy organizations to formulate positions on trade issues and manages industry group coalitions on behalf of the NAM, including the WTO Action Group and the Zero Tariff Coalition. Before joining the NAM, Wenk spent more than five years working on Capitol Hill with the House Small Business Committee, Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI), a member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee.
Commentary: A Canadian Perspective on Services Negotiations
Authors: Ready Robert
Published: December 2005

A commentary on J. Robert Vastine's article "Services Negotiations in the Doha Round: Promise and Reality."

Robert Ready is Director, Services Trade Policy Division in the Department of International Trade Canada. He manages the team responsible for the conduct of Canada’s international trade policy in the area of services (multilateral, regional and bilateral), including the coordination of consultations, analysis, and negotiations. Prior to his assignment with International Trade Canada, Ready held a number of other positions in the public sector, including with Industry Canada, Investment Canada, the Department of Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan and the Canadian House of Commons. He received a B.A. (Hons) in History and a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Commentary: A European Perspective on Services Negotiations
Authors: Braithwaite Julian
Published: December 2005

A commentary on J. Robert Vastine's article "Services Negotiations in the Doha Round: Promise and Reality."

Julian Braithwaite has been the Head of the Global Issues Group in the British Embassy in Washington, DC, since September 2004. The Global Issues Group focuses on transatlantic economic relations relating in particular to trade and agriculture policy, energy, and the environment. Braithwaite joined the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1994. He worked on British and EU policy in the former Yugoslavia from 1994 to 1998, serving for two years in the British Embassy in Belgrade. From 1998 to 2002, he was seconded to 10 Downing Street, where he worked on communication issues, including speechwriting for the Prime Minister and EU affairs. From 2002 to 2004 he was seconded to the executive office of High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lord Paddy Ashdown. He has also been seconded to the UN (Office of the UNSRSG to the former Yugoslavia) in 1995 and NATO (SACEUR’s Executive Office) in 1999. He was educated at Cambridge and Harvard Universities.
Commentary: An African Perspective Services Negotiations
Authors: Ntwaagae Charles
Published: December 2005

A commentary on J. Robert Vastine's article "Services Negotiations in the Doha Round: Promise and Reality."

Charles T. Ntwaagae is Ambassador-Permanent Representative to the UN and WTO in Geneva. He has served in the Botswana Public Service over the past 28 years, during which he held several senior policy level positions. These include Executive Director of the National Environment Secretariat, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Housing and Environment, and Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. As Ambassador-Permanent Representative, he has served in various capacities, including Chairman of the Africa Group, Co-ordinator of ACP Ambassadors in the WTO and Chairman of Commonwealth Developing countries in the WTO. As of January 2006, he will be serving as Permanent Secretary of Botswana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
WTO Governance and the Doha Round
Authors: Howse Robert
Published: December 2005

WTO jurisprudence and governance will not be explicit subjects of discussion or negotiation at the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting, with the partial exception of dispute settlement review. Nonetheless, governance questions are at the heart of debates about the WTO’s legitimacy and deserve serious consideration. With this mind, a checklist and a series of questions are provided that are deemed to be relevant to the immediate future of the WTO and the ultimate fate of the Doha Round negotiations. Several issues are raised, as follows. The architecture of the WTO as represented in the “Single Undertaking” requires all WTO Members to adhere to the WTO Agreement even when doing so may not always be in a country’s interest. Decision-making in the WTO is based on consensus, and there may be a need for the design of more effective procedures and for better representation of the different views of Members. The accountability of the WTO as an institution may be at issue insofar as it relates to the roles of different members and the relationships with civil society. There is a clear need for technical assistance, policy development, and policy surveillance to make the WTO a more open, transparent, efficient, equitable, and socially responsible institution.

Robert Howse is Alene and Allan F. Smith Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. His research and teaching interests are focused on international economic law (trade, investment and finance) and legal and political philosophy (theorizing law and governance beyond the state, and especially the thought of Alexandre Kojeve and Leo Strauss). His recent books include The Regulation of International Trade, Third Edition, co-authored with Michael J. Trebilcock, to be released this month in the US; The Federal Vision, co-edited with Kalypso Nicolaidis (2001); and Alexandre Kojeve Outline of a Phenomenology of Right (2000), co-translator with Bryan Frost and principal author of the interpretative commentary. Howse has also authored or co-authored opinion essays in general interest publications such as The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Policy Review, and Legal Affairs. He is series editor of the Oxford Commentaries on WTO Law and serves on the editorial advisory board of the European Journal of International Law. He has also been a reporter on WTO law for the American Law Institute. For part of the fall 2005 semester, Howse has been a visiting instructor at the University of Paris I (Pantheon-Sorbonne).
Commentary on the Doha Round: Institutional Issues
Authors: Steger Debra P
Published: December 2005

Commentary on Robert Howse's article "WTO Governance and the Doha Round."

Debra Steger is Executive in Residence at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law where she is working to establish a new institute for international law, economy and security in Canada. Previously, she was Senior Counsel with Thomas & Partners, a law firm specializing in international trade and investment matters. From 1995-2001, she served as the founding Director of the Appellate Body Secretariat of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, during which time she helped to establish the Appellate Body as the first appellate tribunal in international trade. She is Chair of the Trade and Customs Law Committee of the International Bar Association, and has been on the executive of the Trade Committee of the International Law Association for the past 10 years. She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal for International Economic Law. She participates on the Advisory Council of the UNCTAD Project on Building Capacity through Training in Dispute Settlement in International Trade Investment and Intellectual Property as well as the Governing Council of the World Trade Law Association. During the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, she was the Senior Negotiator for Canada on Dispute Settlement and the Establishment of the World Trade Organization as well as the Principal Legal Counsel to the Government of Canada for all of the Uruguay Round agreements. From 1991—1995, she was General Counsel of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal in Ottawa, the agency responsible for administering the antidumping, countervail, safeguards, and government procurement legislation in Canada. Her most recent book is entitled: “Peace Through Trade: Building the WTO” which was published by Cameron May International Legal Publishers in 2004. Steger holds an LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School, an LL.B. from the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, and a B.A. (Honours) in History from the University of British Columbia.
Bilateral and Regional Free Trade Agreements, and Their Relationship with the WTO and the Doha Development Agenda
Authors: Trejos Alberto
Published: December 2005

The Doha Round differs from previous multilateral rounds since a number of participating countries are negotiating and implementing bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) at the same time as they are negotiating multilaterally. The standard arguments against FTAs involve that they create trade diversion, are difficult to administrate, involve complex rules of origin that impost added costs on firms, and attract the attention and political capital of policy makers away from the multilateral negotiation. This paper poses other arguments about FTAs being beneficial to the multilateral process. For instance, they have allowed some countries to achieve zero tariffs with all their main trading partners, and therefore a large majority of their trade, and often involve reforms in sensitive issues that, once undertaken, allow governments to assume a more offensive position at the WTO. Most importantly, by creating trade diversion away from countries that act as laggards in all negotiation fronts, they generate the competitive pressure that can move those nations to assume a more constructive position in the multilateral negotiations; also, it may be easier to harmonize existing FTAs than to seek comprehensive plurilateral and multilateral agreements from scratch. Beyond the discussion of whether FTAs help or hinder multilateral progress, the paper discusses changes in the multilateral rules, and best practices in bilateral negotiations, that can help make both fronts better complements. The issues mentioned include guidelines among rules of origin, origin accumulation, harmonization of standing agreements, bilateral trade facilitation and solutions to preference erosion.

Alberto Trejos is a Professor at INCAE in Costa Rica. From 1994-1998, he was Dean of INCAE, and General Director of its Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development from 1999-2002. He was a professor in the Economics Department of Northwestern University from 1994-98. He has also been a visiting professor and researcher at the Institut d’Anàlisi Econòmica de Barcelona, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Fundaçao Getulio Vargas of Rio de Janeiro, and the University of Texas. As Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica in 2002-04, he was responsible for the negotiation of CAFTA and of the CARICOM-Costa Rica FTA. He was in charge of Costa Rica´s ratification of its FTA with Canada and its entry into the Central American Customs Union. Trejos is a consultant for several companies, governments, and international organizations, President of CINDE (Costa Rican Investment Board), and a board member of several corporations and organizations. He has published extensively in leading journals, and he has been a National Science Foundation grantee and a Fulbright scholar. He received a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.
Commentary: Bilateral Free Trade Agreements and Support for the Doha Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations
Authors: Novelli Catherine A
Published: December 2005

Commentary on Alberto Trejos's article "Bilateral and Regional Free Trade Agreements, and their Relationship with the WTO and the Doha Development Agenda."

Catherine A. Novelli is a partner in the Washington office of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP. Formerly Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe & the Mediterranean, Novelli coordinated U.S. trade and investment policy for more than 65 countries of Western Europe, Central Europe, Russia, the NIS, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. Previously, Novelli was the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia where she played a key role in the formation of U.S. trade policy for Russia and Central Europe. She joined USTR in 1991 after serving in the Office of General Counsel at the Department of Commerce.
Commentary: FTAS and the WTO Doha Development Round--Asian Response to EEU and FTAA
Authors: Chadha Rajesh
Published: December 2005

Commentary on FTAs and the Doha Development Round.

Rajesh Chadha is Chief Economist at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi, India. His Teaching and research experience of more than 29 years includes the University of Delhi and the NCAER. Chadha’s specialization is international trade with significant experience in applied economic research and economic modeling. His international experience includes Visiting Scholar in the Department of Economics, University of Michigan, and in the Department of Economics, University of Melbourne, Australia. He has also held visiting faculty positions at IIT, Delhi; IIT, Roorkee; IEG, Delhi; IIFT, New Delhi; IIPA, New Delhi; MDI Gurgaon and AIMA, New Delhi. Chadha was consultant to the World Bank in 1989, 1990, and 1999, and Consultant to the Australian Government in 2002. He was nominated as a GTAP Research Fellow for 2004-2007 by Purdue University. His research experience includes national as well as international research projects sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance, Government of India; Government of Australia, Ford Foundation, European Union, World Bank, USAID, and ESCAP. He earned a B.Sc. Honours in Physics and an M.A. in Business Economics at the University of Delhi and a Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.
An Assessment of the Economic Effects of the Menu of U.S. Trade Policies
Authors: Kiyota Kozo , Stern Robert M
Published: December 2005

The Michigan Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model of World Production and Trade is used to calculate the aggregate welfare and sectoral employment effects of the menu of U.S. trade policies. The menu of policies encompasses the various preferential U.S. bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) negotiated and in process, unilateral removal of existing trade barriers, and global (multilateral) free trade. The welfare impacts of the FTAs on the United States are shown to be rather small in absolute and relative terms. The sectoral employment effects are also generally small but vary across the individual sectors depending on the patterns of the bilateral liberalization. The welfare effects on the FTA partner countries are mostly positive though generally small, but there are some indications of potentially disruptive employment shifts in some partner countries. There are indications of trade diversion and detrimental welfare effects on nonmember countries for some of the FTAs analyzed. In comparison to the welfare gains from the U.S. FTAs, the gains from both unilateral trade liberalization by the United States and the FTA partners and from global (multilateral) free trade are shown to be rather substantial and more uniformly positive for all countries in the global trading system.

The U.S. FTAs are based on “hub” and “spoke” arrangements. It is shown that the spokes emanate out in different and often overlapping directions, suggesting that the complex of bilateral FTAs may create distortions of the global trading system, which could be avoided if multilateral liberalization in the context of the Doha Round were to be carried out.

Kozo Kiyota is Associate Professor of International Economics in the Faculty of Business Administration, Yokohama National University. He is also a Research Fellow at the Manufacturing Management Research Center (MMRC), the University of Tokyo and a Faculty Fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). He received his Ph.D. from Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. His research focuses on empirical microeconomics. He has published articles in the International Journal of Industrial Organization, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, and The World Economy.

Robert M. Stern is Professor of Economics and Public Policy (Emeritus) in the Department of Economics and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan.
Achieving Fairness in the Doha Development Round
Authors: Brown Andrew , Stern Robert M
Published: December 2005

The question addressed in this article is how the fairness of the global trading system as embodied in the GATT/WTO is to be assessed. Opinions about what constitutes fairness differ widely, and there is surely no incontrovertible yardstick. But it should be possible to be clearer about the criteria that are appropriate and what they mean in more operational terms. Why fairness is a condition of the agreements among governments that form the global trading system is first discussed. It is then suggested that fairness can best be considered within the framework of two concepts: equality of opportunity and distributive equity. It is argued that the criterion of maximum economic efficiency is not a primary yardstick of fairness, and though it is relevant in choosing among alternative ways of realizing fairness, it is not without its own limitations. There is a discussion of what equality of opportunity and distributive equity mean when applied to the commitments that governments make in the global trading system. For this purpose, these commitments are divided into four categories: those relating directly to market access; those concerning supporting rules designed to prevent cheating in market access commitments or to facilitate trade flows; those relating to procedures for the settlement of disputes or the use of trade remedy measures; and those relating to governance of the system. Finally, some comments are offered about fairness in the Doha Development Round, focusing in particular on the central issue of market access.

Andrew G. Brown was formerly Director in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations. He was responsible for analysis of international economic and social issues, and for staff support of UN committees and expert groups. He served earlier as chief economist or economic advisor in governments of developing countries. He is the author of History of Multilateral Trade Cooperation since 1850 and co-author of papers on the global trading system.

Robert M. Stern is Professor of Economics and Public Policy (Emeritus) in the Department of Economics and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan.
Commentary: An American BioIndustry Alliance Perspective on CBD/TRIPS Issues in the Doha Round
Authors: Finston Susan K
Published: December 2005

Commentary on the relationship between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

Susan Finston is Executive Director of the American BioIndustry Alliance (ABIA), a new advocacy organization that seeks enabling conditions for biotechnology through sustainable, mutually beneficial Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) policies. Previously, she worked for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where she was Associate Vice President for Intellectual Property, Middle East/Africa and South Asian Affairs. Prior to joining PhRMA in 1999, Finston served in the U.S. Foreign Service, specializing in intellectual property and international trade policy. She received two meritorious Honor Awards for work on bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. From 1986 -1988, Finston served as a Motions Clerk working with active judges at the Federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, Illinois. She was admitted to practice before the Illinois Bar, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1986 with a joint J.D./M.P.P. degree and with a B.S. in Philosophy in 1982. Her recent article, “The Relevance of Genetic Resources to the Pharmaceutical Industry—The Industry Viewpoint,” appeared in the March 2005 Journal of World Intellectual Property.
Commentary: A Merck Perspective on the Doha Round
Authors: Bombelles Thomas
Published: December 2005

Commentary on the Doha Development Round from a representative of Merck.

Thomas Bombelles is Director, International Government Relations, for Merck & Co., Inc. His responsibilities include definition and advocacy on important international business and policy issues for the company focusing on government agencies and other institutions in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Merck, Bombelles was the Assistant Vice President International at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the professional association representing the American research-based pharmaceutical industry globally. He has also worked as a private sector consultant, as a trade analyst in the Department of Commerce, and in the US Congress. He received an M.A. degree from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. degree from the honors program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Commentary: GM's Perspective on the WTO Doha Development Agenda Multilateral Trade Negotiations
Authors: Mohatarem G. Mustafa
Published: December 2005

Commentary on Doha Round by a representative of General Motors.

G. Mustafa Mohatarem was named chief economist of General Motors Corporation on March 1, 1995. He serves on the Coordination Committee of the corporation’s Public Policy Center and the Corporate Risk Management committee. Mohatarem is an expert on trade issues and heads the corporation’s Trade Team. He interacts regularly with officials from the United States and other countries on trade-related issues. He joined General Motors in 1982 as an economist on the Economics Staff in Detroit. In 1985, he became senior staff assistant on the Industry-Government Relations Staff and the following year he returned to the Economics Staff as senior staff economist. He was promoted to director of trade and competitive analysis in 1987, and general director of economic analysis in 1990. He received an undergraduate degree in economics and mathematics from Denison University and an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1979 and 1982, respectively.
Commentary: An African Perspective on the Doha Round Negotiations
Authors: Bawuah-Edusei Kwame
Published: December 2005

An African commentary on the Doha Development Round.

Kwame Bawuah-Edusei is Ambassador of Ghana to Switzerland and Austria and Permanent Representative of Ghana to the UN offices and international organizations in Geneva, including the WTO. He obtained his MD degree in 1982 at the University of Science and Technology, School of Medical Sciences, Kumasi Ghana, worked in Ghana for two years, and later studied in the United States. He specialized in Family Medicine at Howard University Hospital, Washington DC, and worked as a physician for the Dewitt Army Hospital in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He subsequently practiced at Educe Medical Center in Alexandria, Virginia. During this period he was active in promoting business in his native Ghana and extensively involved in humanitarian work in the deprived Northern part of his country. He became a community leader in North America and was instrumental in institutionalizing democracy in Ghana. He became a Director of the EO group, an energy Company, and President of Educe Incorporated in Ghana.
Commentary: Assessing the Benefits and Costs of the Doha Development Agenda Negotiations -- a Labor Perspective
Authors: Lee Thea
Published: December 2005

A commentary on the Doha Development Round by a representative of the AFL-CIO.

Thea Lee is Policy Director at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., where she oversees research and strategies on domestic and international economic policy. Previously, she worked as an international trade economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. and as an editor at Dollars & Sense magazine in Boston. Lee is co-author of A Field Guide to the Global Economy, published by the New Press. Her research projects include reports on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the impact of international trade on U.S. wage inequality, and the domestic steel and textile industries. She has testified before several committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate on various trade topics. She serves on several advisory committees, including the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and the Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Worker Rights Consortium and the National Bureau of Economic Research. She received a Bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a Master’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan.
Capital Accumulation in Private Information Economies
Authors: Bohacek Radim
Published: December 2005

This paper provides a general methodology for introducing capital accumulation into economies with private information and heterogeneous agents. The agents operate a stochastic neoclassical production technology with capital and labor input. I study a moral hazard economy with unobservable input (hidden action). I characterize the efficient allocation of capital, labor, and consumption in a stationary recursive competitive equilibrium. The economy is decentralized by the component planner approach developed by Atkeson and Lucas (1995). Accumulation of capital is facilitated by a "capital planner" who serves as a financial intermediary for the component planners. In the unique, feasible and non-degenerate stationary equilibrium, private information lowers the market-clearing interest rate below agents' discount rate.
Vertical Product Differentiation in Theory and Practice
Authors: Eales James , Binkley James K
Published: December 2005

This study examines the role of advertising on consumers' quality perception as a method to vertically differentiate in the baking mix market. Two companies, General Mills and Chelsea Mills have competed head to head since 1930s, using drastically different strategies. General Mills has consistently promoted Bisquick and provided recipes for its use. Chelsea Mills has never advertised its product, Jiffy, preferring instead to minimize cost and provide service to retailers. Both strategies have been successful, resulting in an equilibrium resembling theoretical vertical differentiation models.
Economics of Private Labels: A Survey of Literature
Authors: Bergès-Sennou Fabian , Bontems Philippe , Réquillart Vincent
Published: December 2005

This paper is a survey of the recent literature devoted to the economics of private labels. After providing some statistics about the development of private labels for different products in different OECD countries, the survey outlines what the literature says about the factors that favor the development of private labels, the reasons retailers introduce private labels, and the consequences of their development for the relationship between manufacturers and retailers. Issues that are less frequently addressed in the literature are also highlighted. The survey closes with discussing the impact of the development of private labels on welfare.
Strategic Public Policy Toward Agricultural Biotechnology with Externalities in Developing Countries
Authors: Chattopadhyay Anasuya , Horbulyk Theodore M.
Published: December 2005

Game theory and numerical simulation analyze the host governments role in strategically regulating intellectual property rights (IPRs) for agricultural biotechnology in a developing country. A foreign monopolist imports and sells a genetically modified crop variety that will offer the host country both selective productivity gains and a negative externality. In this small open economy, only some heterogeneous producers adopt the new variety. Public policy consists of IPR enforcement and a corrective tax. Effectiveness of the tax depends upon the foreign monopolists ability to alter the price of the new technology and upon whether or not there is full enforcement of the IPRs. Whereas some governments may see their key decisions as being whether or not to license and to enforce IPRs on a genetically modified crop variety, greater gain might be realized through strategic choice of the tax rate to influence the rate of adoption among diverse domestic producers.
Promotion Carryover as a Missing-Data Problem
Authors: Holloway Garth J. , Aydogus Osman
Published: December 2005

An important feature of agribusiness promotion programs is their lagged impact on consumption. Efficient investment in advertising requires reliable estimates of these lagged responses and it is desirable from both applied and theoretical standpoints to have a flexible method for estimating them. This note derives an alternative Bayesian methodology for estimating lagged responses when investments occur intermittently within a time series. The method exploits a latent-variable extension of the natural-conjugate, normal-linear model, Gibbs sampling and data augmentation. It is applied to a monthly time series on Turkish pasta consumption (1993:5-1998:3) and three, non-consecutive promotion campaigns (1996:3, 1997:3, 1997:10). The results suggest that responses were greatest to the second campaign, which allocated its entire budget to television media; that its impact peaked in the sixth month following expenditure; and that the rate of return (measured in metric tons additional consumption per thousand dollars expended) was around a factor of 20.