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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]

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]

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.

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.

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 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.

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]

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.

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]

There has been considerable interest in whether stock market volatility is predictable and the extent to which cross-market relationships exist. This article examines the transmission of conditional stock price return volatility across the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican markets. Using daily data over the period 6/2/92-10/28/99 we provide empirical evidence on the extent to which cross-market relationships exist in the pre- and post-NAFTA periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which examined the strategic/trade alliances between Canada and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Background on NAFTA; Influence of the United States upon Mexican trade; Trade obstacles faced by Mexico and Canada under NAFTA; Differences in economic and population demographics of the two countries; Rates of Mexican and Canadian exports and imports.

SILVERS A. L. (2000) Limited linkage, demand shifts and the transboundary transmission of regional growth, Reg. Studies 34, 239–251. The Maquiladora Program and NAFTA were expected to open previously protected markets to transboundary investment and trade, thereby transmitting development across the US–Mexico border. But the effectiveness of neo-liberal policies depends upon the magnitude of intersectoral linkages that connect the economies on both sides of the border, and upon market disruptions such as exchange rate shifts. The economic linkages between the adjacent states of Arizona in the US and Sonora in Mexico, and their sensitivity to exchange rate changes, are estimated and used to analyse the effects of these policies and of the peso devaluation on the incomes of both regions. The growth of the maquiladora sector during the first year of NAFTA, together with multiplier impacts, yielded greater income growth for Arizona than for Sonora. The pattern of exchange rate elasticities served to dampen the impact of the peso crash by reducing Sonoran demand propensities for Arizona goods and increasing the maquiladora employment of Sonoran labour, although at lower real wages. SILVERS A. L. (2000) Maillons limités, déplacements de la demande, et transmission transfrontalière de la croissance régionale, Reg. Studies 34, 239–251. A partir du programme maquiladora (usine de montage) et de l'Association nordaméricaine de libre échange, on s'attendait à l'ouverture des marchés, jusqu'ici protégés, à l'investissement et aux échanges transfrontaliers, transmettant ainsi le développement au-delà de la frontière entre les Etats-Unis et le Mexique. Cependant, l'efficacité des politiques néo-libérales dépend de l'importance des maillons intersectoriels qui relient les économies des deux côtés de la frontière, et des perturbations dans les marchés tels les glissements des taux de change. Les maillons économiques qui relient deux états limitrophes, tels Arizona aux Etats-Unis et Sonora au Mexique, et leur sensibilité aux variations des taux de change, se voient estimer et employer afin d'analyser l'impact de ces politiques et de la dévaluation du peso sur les revenus des deux régions. Conjointement avec les effets multiplicateurs, la croissance du secteur maquiladora a rapporté une croissance du revenu plus soutenue pour Arizona que pour Sonora pendant la première année depuis l'établissement de l'Association nord-américaine de libre échange. La structure des élasticités des taux de change a servi à atténuer l'impact du krach du peso en réduisant les propensions de Sonora à demander des biens en provenance d'Arizona et en augmentant l'emploi dans le secteur maquiladora à Sonora, quoique les salaires réels soient moins élevés. SILVERS A. L. (2000) Begrenzte Verknüpfung, Verschiebungen in Nachfrage und die grenzüberschreitende Übertragung regionalen Wachstums, Reg. Studies 34, 239–251. Man hatte erwartet, das maquiladora Programm und NAFTA würden grenzüberschreitende Investierungen und Handel zuvor geschützter Märkte erschließen, und dadurch Entwicklung über die mexikanisch-amerikanische Grenze tragen, doch die Wirksamkeit der neo-liberalen Bestrebungen hängt vom Umfang intersektoraler Verknüpfungen ab, welche die Wirtschaften beiderseits der Grenze verbinden, und vom Störungen am Markt, wie z.B. Verschiebungen im Wechselkurs. Die wirtschaftlichen Verknüpfungen zwischen den Nachbarstaaten Arizonas in den USA und Sonora in Mexiko sowie ihre empfindliche Reaktion auf Veränderungen im Wechselkurs werden geschätzt und dazu benutzt, die Auswirkungen dieser Bestrebungen und der Entwertung des Peso auf die Einkommen beider Regionen zu analysieren. Das Wachstum des maquiladora Sektors während des ersten NAFTA Jahres, gekoppelt mit den Auswirkungen der Multiplikatoren ergab in Arizona einen höheren Einkommenszuwachs als in Sonora. Das Muster der Elastizität der Wechselkursraten diente dazu, die Auswirkung der Entwertung des Peso zu dämpfen, indem die Nachfrage aus Sonora nach Waren aus Arizona herabsetzte, und trotz niedrigeren Reallöhnen die maqiladora Erwerbstätigkeit der Arbeitskräfte Sonoras anzuheben. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sketches the outlines of a model for predicting the impact of continental economic integration, following the North American Free Trade Agreement, on shifts within nations in economic activity and political power. Arguments and assumptions underlying the model; Schematic application of the model to Europe; Application to North America; Potential econometric specification and simulation.

Demonstrates that the different levels of support for North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the United States House and Senate came primarily from an unexpected source. Consequences of Senate apportionment; Factors that shaped House and Senate action on NAFTA; Representational effects of equal representation.

Examines the effects of public opinion on congressional actions in foreign agreements, with focus on the Panama Canal treaties in 1977 and the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1993. Description of the hypothesis used; Information on data collected.

Stresses the need for the establishment of free trade in North America in September 1980. Economic relationship of the U.S. with Canada and Mexico; Incident that occurred in August 1971 which put a strain on the trade relations between the three countries; Major argument in favor of free trade.

States that environmental considerations played a critical role in the formulation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its related agreements and activities. The question of whether green trade in possible in the wake of NAFTA; Trade-related provisions in international environmental agreements.

Details the negotiations that have been reached over a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would further integrate the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada. Why the negotiations present major risks and opportunities for the international environment; Prospects for a green trade agreement; The negotiations' influence on broader trade reform throughout Latin America; Mexico's environmental problems; The need for environmental safeguards; More.

This article focuses on a planned European monetary union in 1996 and its benefits to North America. As the capstone of economic integration under the New Zealand and Australia Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or in the European Union, monetary union would create a single capital market free of currency risk and financial systems that are compatible among member countries. If the Euro ultimately succeeds, it will pose a threat to the continued preeminence of the U.S. dollar and to its use for denomination in global trade and finance. U.S. citizens have reaped great benefits from this market-directed dominance. To take the challenge seriously requires a restructuring of the U.S. monetary authority and of monetary policy. Under these circumstances, the case for a North American Monetary Union (NAMU) will be made in the field by millions of economic operators. The lure of lower financing costs for private businesses, caught up in the dynamics of NAFTA-inspired economic integration, and the disruptive effects of real exchange rate swings on competitiveness, will cause monetary union to be given a second look in the Americas. For these reasons, the idea of monetary union is likely someday to become part of the public agenda in North America. Indeed, NAMU (or AMU) will crop up sooner rather than later if Europe succeeds in creating a mighty competitor to the U.S. dollar in global trade and finance.

Discusses the initiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by Canada, Mexico and the United States in January 1994. Impact of the inception of NAFTA; Review of the status and future of NAFTA: Examination of Mexico's business culture and economy; Recommendations for changes and additions to business programs to prepare students and executives for doing business in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Discusses the North American Development Bank's (NADBANK) financing of environmental infrastructure and economic development projects on the United States-Mexico border and other affected communities. Impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on affected countries; Alternative scenarios of the impact of NAFTA; NADBANK approach to regional integration policy.

Ponders whether the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) makes reasonable progress toward turning trade agreements into engines for sustainable development. Discussion of ways in which environmental goals and trade goals conflict under NAFTA; Views of the Sierra Club; Other considerations.