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Copyright of Medunarodni Problemi is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A list of research and studies on labor markets in North America is presented. It includes "Affirmative Action Effects on Application and Hiring Probabilities for Female and Black Male Workers," by Larry W. Taylor, "The Effect of Free Trade on the North American Labor Market," by Morley Gunderson and Daniel Hamermesh, "An Analysis of the Earnings of Canadian Immigrants," by Morley Gunderson and David Bloom, and "The Changing Structure of Demand for and Supply of Registered Nurses in Canada," by Noah M. Meltz.

Purpose – The twenty-first-century globalizing economy and free trade regimes in Europe and North America transform regions and their economies. This paper aims to question, in comparative perspective with European experiences, whether free trade, and particularly continental economic integration in North America, impacts the economies, and leads to forms of transboundary governance. It then seeks to complement this discussion by a review of the perceptions public managers have of those developments. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a review of the literature, public policy and individual interviews, and a survey of 700 private and public policy decision makers. Findings – The evidence presented in this paper suggests that increased economic interdependence has led to the emergence of trans-boundary governance. Public managers and policy-makers view those as mechanisms that ease trade and public policy relations. Originality/value – Contrary to broad assumption, North American trans-boundary policy networks are helping trade relations and facilitate policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most computable general-equilibrium (CGE) studies assessing the welfare impact of moving from a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to a deeper form of integration, for example a customs union (CU), typically proxy the integration as the adoption of a common external tariff toward the rest of the world. However, a CU is also an arrangement that allows for the elimination of FTAs' preferential rules of origin (ROO), which is typically not captured in CGE studies. This paper addresses the issue using a multicountry, multisector dynamic CGE model. Although the removal of distortionary ROO is likely to lower the unit costs of production within North America, it may also deteriorate North American terms of trade with the rest of the world. Thus, the net effect of the removal of NAFTA ROO on welfare is ambiguous and is an empirical issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labour market and social policies both affect and are affected by the process of trade liberalization and globalization. This two-way interaction and the feedback effects are the focus of this paper. The analysis is mainly conceptual—but examples are illustrated throughout, based mainly in the context of labour markets in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean basin. Attention is paid to outlining the mechanisms whereby globalization and trade liberalization affect labour market and social policy initiatives, and the extent to which these pressures will lead to a harmonization of legislative and policy initiatives, and if that harmonization will necessarily be downward to the lowest common denominator. The paper concludes that: (1) the pressures will lead towards policy harmonization; (2) the harmonization generally will be downwards; (3) such harmonization is not always negative as generally perceived; (4) efficient regulatory and social policy initiatives will survive and indeed expand, with the ‘rent-protecting’ ones under most pressure to dissipate; and (5) pure distributional or equity-oriented initiatives that have no positive feedback effect on efficiency, unfortunately, will also be under jeopardy to dissipate, and this is a serious policy concern. Alternatives for addressing this concern are discussed, as are their associated problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following on from the successful launch of the euro in the European Union, a vigorous debate has erupted in both Canada and Mexico as to whether NAFTA should also adopt a common currency. Several other types of exchange rate arrangements are also possible for the North American bloc, and the aim of this paper is to evaluate all of these alternatives. The paper evaluates the full range of possible exchange-rate arrangements for the NAFTA bloc of countries from economic, political and institutional perspectives. The paper identifies ten different exchange rate regimes and evaluates these regimes with regard to economic growth, international trade, economic integration, credibility of the arrangements, institution-building and political acceptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an assessment of the impact of increased economic integration within North America on industrial pollution intensities within the Great Lake states of the United States. It utilizes a three-country, applied general equilibrium model of the North American economy, data from the World Bank's Industrial Pollution Projection System, and employment data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis to simulate the industrial pollution impacts of North American trade liberalization within the Great Lakes region. The results reflect the liberalization of tariff and non-tariff barriers, their trade and production impacts, state-level shares in the production changes, and the resulting industrial effluent changes. Two trade liberalization experiments show that, in many cases, the Great Lake states account for a substantial portion of the total emission changes caused by North American economic integration. Of particular concern to the Great Lake states are the emissions of the base metals, transportation equipment, and petroleum sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines several articles in `The New York Times' newspaper from January 1 through November 18, 1993 that concern the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Description of the campaign to legitimize NAFTA; Discussion on the paper's treatment of the opposition; Implications of the NAFTA discourse for journalism and democracy.

This paper measures the impact of increasing trade openness between Mexico and the USA resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA) on the income of small versus large farmers in Mexico. Benefits resulting from higher prices of export goods as well as losses incurred from greater import competition are considered. First, relating NAFTA cuts in trade restrictions to border prices of Mexican exports and imports, it is found that NAFTA-induced tariff reductions decreased the border price of corn, Mexico's main agricultural import, and increased the border prices of tomatoes and melons, Mexico's main agricultural exports. Then, it is shown that the rise in fruit and vegetable prices benefited small farmers more than large farmers; while the drop in corn prices hurt large farmers more. Finally, the results from the regional-level analysis suggests that the effects are stronger in the central states than in the northern and southern states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the need for a new analytical framework to reach a thorough understanding of the outcomes of unequal trade integration, in North America and beyond. To achieve this goal, it was divided in four main sections: the deconstruction of the orthodox argument of free trade areas; the assessment of the contrasting outcomes of NAFTA; an overview of relevant literature; and the delineation of an interdisciplinary agenda. The hypothesis is that the lack of theoretical certainty is due, in parts, to the causal opening of the object of study and to the scarce interaction of specialties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers an assessment of the environmental impact of trade liberalization on the cross-border trucking sector in North America. Specific policies in the realm of transportation, environment and trade are investigated with data directly related to the time of implementation that varied across ports on each of the two international borders in North America subsequent to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The data on truck flows, wait times, air quality and trade value are analyzed using econometrics for quantitative analysis. Results show various policies do have a positive impact on reducing air emissions through changes in trucking characteristics (technology, patterns) in particular ports where they have been implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choosing an exchange-rate regime is largely a matter of choosing the variables that will bear the brunt of adjustment to shocks and disturbances. Floating rates, supported by inflation-targeting regimes of varying degrees of transparency, have dominated currency arrangements in North America, especially after the peso crisis of 1994. Although the member countries have pursued their policy goals without formal coordination, their objectives have been very similar. Meanwhile, de facto integration of the three economies has continued, especially in the realm of cross-border production sharing. The result has been reduction of asymmetries and convergence of business cycles, as well as changes in balance of payments behavior and in the sensitivity of trade to the exchange rate. This paper explores the implications for monetary union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the issue of regional and international trade flows has attracted increased attention. Papers by Helliwell and McCallum have stressed the importance of national borders in determining the nature of Canadian economic activity even when adjustments are made for distance and trade barriers. This article, using Provincial Economic Accounts data, estimates an almost ideal demand system to explain the interprovincial and international flow of goods, accounting for changes in relative prices and other factors that have arisen since the formation of NAFTA. The results allow conclusions to be drawn with respect to the importance of geographical proximity to the U.S. border, the influence of price and income elasticities, and the nature of the industrial/resource endowment mix of the province. The relevant elasticities allow for the examination changes to the internal and external trade patterns and to the differences which have developed in the various regions of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) is essentially an intergovernmental labor agreement that attempts to promote high labor standards among member states, in light of free trade, without transgressing their sovereignty. In effect since January 1994, the NAALC has experienced mixed fortunes. In this paper, we analyze the effectiveness of the agreement by focusing on its two main components, viz., the cooperative activities and the "complaint mechanism." We find that although the NAALC's accomplishments are modest, the agreement does have the capacity to advance the struggle for labor rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that conflicting assessments of the impacts of free trade in North America are incomplete because they do not analyse these effects in light of the key long term U.S. goal: the reconstruction of U.S. hegemony that was under siege by Japan and Europe. The declining competitiveness of U.S. raw materials supply systems badly damaged U.S. hegemony during the 1970s and 1980s. The original U S. strategy was to create a continental energy market to reduce overseas oil imports, guarantee access to oil and natural gas from Canada and Mexico, and reduce price instability. The evolution into broader agreements reflected the interests of other U.S. industries and the efforts of Canadian and Mexican states and firms to capture benefits from restructuring. This paper analyses the role continental integration of raw materials industries played in strategic efforts to reconstruct U S. hegemony and the consequences of these efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To anticipate the likely effects of recent trade agreements with Mexico on the environment and food safety, this paper examines changes in agricultural chemical use. Econometric estimation and simulation suggest that the combined effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), economic growth, research investment, and farm policy are expected to increase chemical usage substantially in the United States and undoubtedly lead to greater groundwater contamination. In Mexico, the expected effects are a substantial increase in fertilizer use but a decrease in pesticide use. Increases in private research investment are expected to increase the use of both types of chemicals, but increases in public research investment in the United States are not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

States that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is expected to have few negative aspects and many positive ones for the recycling industry in the United States. Exports of recycled products from the United States to Canada and Mexico; Tariff considerations.

Presents a paper that begins from a US perspective, examining the costs to both the US and other countries from US protectionism. Costs of US import protection; Effect of an import quota on the US market; US deadweight loss; Quota rents; Foreign investment; When US protectionism affects world prices; Annual costs of US import protection; Trading regions; Trade shares and costs of trade war;Bilateralism or multilateralism; Details.

Applies the specific factors model of production to manufacturing industries in Alabama to examine the pending adjustment due to the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trends in industrial prices, import competition, and export demand.

Discusses the impact of the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) implemented in 1989. Changing spatial structure of U.S.-Canadian trade; Use of commodity-specific analyses of tariffs and non-tariff barriers; Elasticities of demand; Estimate of sectoral and spatial changes among U.S. states in total, land, water and air commodity flows since 1988.

Discusses the effects of liberalized trade on environment quality. Level of analytical disaggregate; Integration of agricultural and environmental policies; Impact of North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) and associated tariff reductions.

Abstract: This paper, using a dynamic, multi-sector and multi-country Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, analyses the combined economic impact of China''s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers on textiles and apparel by the industrialized countries in China and North America and other major economies. The combined impacts of these two policy initiatives are studied in detail on trade flows, real output, employment and investment both at the aggregate and industry levels in China, the U.S., Canada and other countries/regions. The simulation results suggest that China''s real gross domestic product (GDP) would increase by over 2 percent, mainly due to a large increase in the output of textiles and apparel industries. India too would gain considerably in these two industries from the removal of the trade barriers. Textiles and apparel industries will face considerable adjustment challenges in North America particularly in the U.S. and Canada, implying output and employment losses ranging between 20 and 30 percent. However, the output and employment gains in other North American industries will be more than offset the losses in textiles and apparel industries. Bilateral trade between China and North American economies would increase between 15 and 20 percent, but over all economic gain would be modest. Asian economies will also experience significant increase in trade with China and the output impacts are positive but modest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses whether borderless North America would destroy Canadian culture. Discussions are going on in Canada to limit imitation of American institutions regardless of whether they are political, social, or cultural. According to the article, the economists tend to neglect economic liberalization and its link with culture. The economists concluded that the fear of Canada, of being overpowered by the U.S. is unreasonable.

This article surveys and reconsiders the major predictions of economic models regarding the effects of North American trade liberalization. It compares those predictions to some of the aggregate dimensions of economic performance since liberalization, with a focus on the Canadian experience. It notes that the decisions by Canada and Mexico to enter a free trade relationship with the U.S. constituted turning points in their respective economic histories. A more balanced modeling approach would recognize that integration can have negative as well as positive economic impacts, depending on the interplay of demand, supply, and structural factors.

Comments on the paper entitled 'NAFTA as a Means of Raising Rival Costs.' Complexity of complying with the rules of the North American Free Trade Agreement; Impact on competition on the domestic market; Rules of origin in international trade.

Reports on the North American Free Trade Agreement's `North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation.' Environmental consequences of increased trade liberalization; Environmental issues in the North American region.

In this paper we investigate the effect of news about the advent of the U.S.- Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on the exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar. We find evidence that information flows related to the likelihood of the FTA influenced the volatility of the daily spot rate. In particular, information that increased the likelihood of the FTA subsequently diminished exchange rate volatility. In contrast, information that decreased the likelihood of the FTA subsequently increased exchange rate volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews theory and research on the expected impact and observed effect to date of the liberalization of international trade in the Americas on industrial relations. The effect of the movement toward freer trade both on the parties of interest and on research and teaching in the field are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prospect of bilateral trade liberalization requires an understanding of contemporary work on the adjustment process. This survey of recent models by principally Canadian economists examines the methodological foundations of this research. It is found that the new trade adjustment models are just beginning to incorporate key elements of industrial organization effects such as intra-firm trade and non-tariff barriers to trade. More progress in these areas is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the determinants of the voting behavior of the United States (US) Senate on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Description of the main issues surrounding the NAFTA and GATT votes; Analytical framework and data; Constituent economic interests.

Examines the environmental effects associated with Mexico's participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Provision of quantitative estimates of carbon dioxide emissions from changes in the level and structure of production and consumption activity following a liberalization of trade; Data sources and conversion.

Since the publication of Harris (1984), applied general equilibrium models with imperfect competition and economies of scale have been extensively used for analyzing international trade and development policy issues. Their attractiveness comes from their offering a natural framework for testing the empirical relevance of numerous propositions from the industrial organization and new trade theoretical literature. Their role in the recent debates on the North American Free Trade Agreement demonstrates their potential importance in policy analysis. This paper warns model builders and users that considerable caution is however needed in interpreting the results and in deriving strong policy conclusion from these models: it is shown that in this generation of applied general equilibrium models, nonuniqueness of equilibria is not a theoretical curiosum, but a potentially serious problem. Disregarding this may lead to dramatically wrong policy appraisals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the different effects that trade policy have on distinctive regions within a country by modeling the subnational impact of the Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada using an applied general equilibrium model. This study incorporates interregional labor mobility into the model and, by comparing the new results to those measured in the absence of labor migration, shows the importance of allowing for interregional labor mobility when modeling at the subnational level the effects of nationality of internationally designed policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and looks at the trade relationship between the United States (U.S.) and Mexico. Impact of trade agreement on jobs in the U.S.; Description of the trade relationship between the U.S. and Mexico; What year NAFTA was implemented.

Despite evidence that the North America Free Trade Association (NAFTA) accord has promoted significant increases in inward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Mexico, the impact of these investments has not served to fuel balanced economic growth and development. FDI has been concentrated in Mexican border regions producing significant negative, as well as positive, spillover effects. New policy initiatives are needed by the Mexican government in the areas of environmental, energy, macroeconomic, and investment promotion policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifteen years after its implementation, the North American Free Trade Agreement has been subject to evaluations from different perspectives, including environmental assessments. According to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), results of these evaluations show that at the aggregate level, the environmental impacts of free trade are marginal. This article presents relationships between corn trade and environment through an ex post evaluation. I show a quantification of the land-use change and connections with deforestation and biodiversity loss in Mexico, as poor farmers expanded their agricultural activity into marginal forest and jungle areas to compensate for lost income. I also analyze the impact on land-use change in the United States resulting from increased corn exports to Mexico. Related Articles: Ibarrarán. 2007. 'Climate Change Research and Policy in Mexico: Implications for North American Security.' VanNijnatten. 2007. 'The Security and Prosperity Agreement as an 'Indicator Species' for the Emerging North American Environmental Regime.' Related Media: Annan. 2005. 'Message of Kofi Annan.' Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005b. 'Ecosystems and Human Well-being.' Quince años después de su implementación, el TLCAN ha sido sujeto a muchos estudios desde diferentes perspectivas, incluyendo evaluaciones ambientales. De acuerdo con la Comisión para la Cooperación Ambiental (CCA), los resultados de estas evaluaciones muestran que a un nivel agregado los impactos ambientales del libre comercio son marginales. Este artículo presenta la relación entre el comercio de maíz y el medio ambiente a través de una evaluación ex post. Se muestra una cuantificación del cambio de uso de suelo y su conexión con la deforestación y la pérdida de biodiversidad en México; a medida que agricultores de escasos recursos expandieron sus actividades agrícolas hacia los márgenes de áreas con bosques y selvas para compensar pérdidas en su ingreso. También se analiza el impacto de un cambio en el uso de suelo en los Estados Unidos como resultado de un aumento en las exportaciones de maíz a México. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive fluctuations in exchange rates often influence trade flows. Theoretically, increased uncertainty may increase or decrease the volume of trade, or leave it unchanged. Using annual export and import data for 102 industries from 1962 to 2004, we analyze both the short- and long-term effects of volatility in the peso/dollar real exchange rate on Mexican trade with the United States. We also investigate the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on this relationship. We find that increased volatility has short-term effects on the trade flows of most industries but that the long-term effects are significant (positive or negative) for only one-third of industries. Most of the significant effects are negative rather than positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). An analysis of the aggregate impact of NAFTA on the North American region is given, with a detailed examination provided of NAFTA's impact on the three member countries which include the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. A description of the regional and global trends that are impacting NAFTA's relevance and effectiveness is provided. Other topics include the political debates that occur in North America about NAFTA and NAFTA's symbolic staying power in public discourse.

How effective has the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation been in strengthening the environmental laws and regulations of the NAFTA countries? The agreement was designed to address concerns that trade and investment liberalisation would contribute to a race to the bottom in environmental standards, regulatory chill, and inadequate enforcement of environmental laws. It is argued here that the reformist approach adopted in this regional agreement has been insufficient to offset the continuing pressure on environmental regulations and their enforcement exerted by regional economic integration and neoliberal globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American agricultural markets have become much more integrated; but the level of integration varies across sectors and over time. Differential tariff phasing-out periods and remaining trade disputes are two of many factors contributing to this. This article applies panel data unit root tests to study price convergence and market integration in the North American onion markets. Commodity and variety monthly base price data for the period of 1998 to 2006 are used. Empirical results decisively suggest the existence of price convergence across markets as well as onion varieties. A two-sample period analysis shows an increase in the speed of price convergence over time, suggesting deeper market integration as NAFTA was fully implemented. Further analysis based on a two-country-market basis found that U.S.–Canadian markets have experienced deeper market integration compared with U.S.–Mexican markets as well as Canadian–Mexican markets. [EconLit citations: F150, Q170]. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has intensified the debate on their merits. This study contributes to this debate by analyzing trade creation and diversion effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on trade in six important agrifood products. An extended gravity model is estimated using pooled data and generalized least squares methods. The result shows that the share of intraregional trade is growing within NAFTA and that NAFTA has displaced trade with the rest of the world. While NAFTA has served to boost trade among its members, it reduced the degree of openness to trade with nonmembers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the impact of continuing the existing U.S. sugar program, replacing it with a standard program, and implementing the standard program with multilateral trade liberalization. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), duty-free sugar imports from Mexico could undermine the program's ability to operate on a “no-cost” basis to taxpayers as large public stocks of sugar could accumulate. The replacement of the current sugar program by one similar to other major U.S. crop programs would solve the problem of potential stock accumulation, accommodate further trade liberalization under a new WTO and future bilateral trade agreements, but would induce significant fiscal outlays through direct payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the condition of the North American economies after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect on January 1, 1994. It notes that NAFTA was only one of the factors that affected North American economies in the past decade, however, and it was not necessarily the most important. The difficulties in disentangling how much the North American economies have been affected by NAFTA's specific provisions as compared with other causes are the motive for the word "after" in the title of this article. That is, the discussion is concerned with identifying what has happened since NAFTA went into effect, without necessarily attributing causality to NAFTA.

Discusses the opposition of the trade unions in the Western Hemisphere and Eastern and Central Europe to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. Efforts of the unions to influence votes regarding the integration projects of their respective regions; Contribution of the European Union to international economic reforms; Similarity of the FTAA with the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Discusses the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement on the geographic pattern of North American trade. Reasons for the effects of preferential trading areas on geographic trade patterns; Expression for the gravity equation; Details of trade between North American regions.

This article provides a detailed examination of changes in indicators of intra-industry specialization in manufactured goods in trade between the United States and Mexico over the first five years of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The analysis is conducted at the three-digit SITC level of industry aggregation. Many industries experienced large increases in intraindustry trade (IIT). Only nine industries experience declines in IIT. Changes in various indicators of intra-industry specialization suggest few U.S. industries are candidates for significant adjustment problems. Industries facing potential adjustment pressures account for less than one-fourth of total U.S. imports from Mexico. These findings should lessen opposition to greater regional economic integration in the Western Hemisphere by easing fears that entire industries and jobs will disappear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether lauded or deplored, transnational organizing among non-governmental organizations (NGOs) generally, and women's NGOs specifically, is recognized as an active player in debates about international economic policy. In this article, I turn attention toward one consequence of women's transnational NGO organizing that has been under-analyzed: the impact that transnational activism has on domestic political organizations and opportunities. The recent increase in activism on gender and policies of free trade in the USA is the product of women's transnational political organizingover the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In the case of NAFTA, theoretical insights about the ways that gendered categories undergird the economy were made visible by and through the transnational advocacy in which feminists engaged.And, this article indicates, these transnational advocacy efforts have helped to shift the domestic political terrain of women's organizing in the United States. I argue that as women's rights advocates in the United States were confronted with the realization that the nexus between gender and trade policy was important to many women's rights and feminist activists around the world, they began to question why the gendered implication of trade policy did not hold a comparable place in the US feminist arena. Thus, changes in the domestic political landscape of non-governmentalactivismmay be one of the longest lasting (and most overlooked) consequences of transnational political engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the responses of women's movements in Canada, the United States and Mexico to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) from a comparative perspective. It argues that while some women's groups have raised important critiques of trade agreements from a feminist perspective, they have largely failed to make the gendered dimension of regionalization visible in public debate on NAFTA and have had virtually no impact on public policy. The nature of the women's movements in the three countries limited the possibilities of greater contestation of the form of economic liberalization at both the national and transnational levels. Drawing upon the literature on social movements, the article suggests that the ability of women's movements to respond to NAFTA was conditioned by: (1) the shifting universe of political discourse in each country – whether it permits the identification of macroeconomic policy as a gender issue – which is conditioned in part by the diverse forms of engagement with liberalism as a political philosophy in each country, and (2) the organizational structure of women's movements in each country, their relationships with their respective states, and their role within broader coalitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By estimating long-run relationships in bilateral import functions, the effects of the Canada–US Free Trade Agreement is analysed. We also incorporate the gradual switching model into the import function to capture the phased tariff reductions. The result shows that the free trade agreement made both countries sensitive to domestic and foreign prices and insensitive to the domestic income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]