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Producers of speed-intensive goods, e.g. clothing or electronics, face markets that are in constant flux due to changing fashion or technology. Throughout the twentieth century, Chinese business networks have had a comparative advantage in producing speed-intensive goods due to their quick reaction time. This comparative advantage was of relatively little value prior to the Second World War, but since the war, international telephone and air services have made international trade in speed-intensive goods practical. This has caused the demand for speed-intensive goods on the international market to grow at an extremely rapid pace. This growth in demand can explain the post-Second World War economic booms experienced by Hong Kong, Taiwan and finally China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The segmentation of global manufacturing and services provided China and subsequently India with a golden opportunity to make full use of their absolute advantage – low-cost, yet educated labour – to integrate into the world economy within a comparatively shorter period of time than some earlier industrialisers. Though international trade functioned as a vent of surplus in view of the narrowness of their domestic markets at the beginning of their economic catch-up, the label of export-led model may not reflect the real picture as imports underwent dramatic increases during their respective growth periods, in particular for China. Foreign direct investment has played a pivotal role in their economic growth and has major presence in international trade and investment in leading sectors of both countries, giving rise to certain special features and weak links for their economic expansion and sustainability of fast economic growth. To maintain more broad-based, fast and balanced growth, it seems that both countries have to redress sectoral imbalances, encourage technology upgrading and cope with future changes in demographic profiles which constituted a trigger to fast economic growth at the time of their respective economic reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Lumsdaine and Prasad's (2003 ) methodology to construct a measure of the common component of industrial output fluctuations with time-varying weights, this study finds that there is a significant regional factor that explains the movement in industrial production output across countries in East Asia (ASEAN 5 + 3). The cumulated common component for East Asia has very distinct peaks and troughs, with turning points occurring about every three years. Shocks in 2000–2001, coinciding with the bursting of the IT bubble, appear to be very important as there is a very large decline in the common component of industrial production output, larger than that experienced during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Similar to McKinnon and Schnabl's (2003 ) findings, the Japanese economy is important for the region as its industrial production output cycle has the largest weight in the construction of the cumulated common component for the region and appears to be the most similar to it. Nevertheless, China's asymmetry with the cumulated component for the region appears to have been beneficial for the region, especially in the most recent period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence on the respective contributions of institutions and trade to income levels across countries has demonstrated that – once endogeneity is considered – institutional quality clearly dominates the effect of trade. We argue that overall trade is not the most appropriate measure for technology diffusion as a source of productivity growth and propose to focus on imports of research and development (R&D)-intensive goods instead. Overall, we confirm previous findings that institutions matter most and that overall trade is not positively associated with per-capita income levels. Yet this does not hold for technology trade, as there is a positive and significant linkage between technology imports and income levels. This outcome is robust to various model specifications, including an instrumental variables approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption is understood as an act in which the power of public office is used for personal gain in a manner that contravenes the rules established by the governing structures of a society. This study attempts to offer an extension to the empirical model employed by Balasubramanyam et al. (1996 ) by analysing how FDI determines economic growth within the new growth theory framework when the degree of corruption is considered. Thus, the study seeks to examine the way in which corruption can have an impact on the economic growth of developing countries whose trade strategies differ (either IS and EP). It suggests that further insight can be gained by considering how corruption might interact with the trade policy in affecting economic growth. This is examined using a fixed-effects, simultaneous equation model for 17 countries over the period 1994–2004. The results show that the level of corruption strongly and negatively influences foreign direct investment in both IS and EP countries. However, when the corruption index is interacted with domestic investment, the influence on foreign direct investment is positive and significant for IS countries only. The most interesting outcome of the study is the effect of the interaction term between foreign direct investment and the corruption perception index on economic growth, which is found to be greater in magnitude for the EP countries than for the IS countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study looks at a possible relation between the withdrawals of anti-dumping (AD) complaints and the price increases and quantity decreases in the EU imports. Such a positive relationship is a sign of a tacit collusion. Terminated cases without withdrawals are taken as a benchmark in the second part of the analysis. The dataset covered the ordinary new investigations only to eliminate the impact of different AD protection measures and different types of investigations. The coefficients were estimated with cross-case time-series feasible GLS regressions with heteroscedastic case time series and case-specific autocorrelation AR(1). Current and lagged nominal exchange rates were used as control variables. The collusive impact both on prices (proxied by unit values) and quantities (volumes) was detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First, this article introduces unit value box in addition to Azhar, Elliott and Milner's industry trade box in identifying the post-crisis trade structure of Korea. Dynamic movements of total trade, net trade, intra-industry trade and export-import unit values complete the systematic analysis of trade patterns at both the aggregate and disaggregate levels. Second, macroeconomic caveats are conveyed for a small open economy to recover after the crisis, including likely but unforeseen trade disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NAMA liberalisation alone will not be sufficient to make the Doha Round a pro-development Round. It is important to enlarge the vision to include, for example, services and certain aspects of intellectual property rights. Further the ‘policy space’ notion often mentioned when discussing trade-development relations should not be defined as limited to trade policy. It should include the many non-trade instruments (e.g. subsidies or taxes on goods and factors of production) that a government could use for development purposes. Infant industry protection is the oldest, but most risky, use of trade policy as a development policy. As a policy it could be successful only in a very limited number of sectors and it has little chance of providing the broad impetus needed for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the Granger causal relationships between foreign direct investment (FDI) and GDP in a sample of 31 developing countries covering 31 years. Using estimators for heterogeneous panel data we find bi-directional causality between the FDI-to-GDP ratio and the level of GDP. FDI has a lasting impact on GDP, while GDP has no long-run impact on the FDI-to-GDP ratio. In that sense FDI causes growth. Furthermore, in a model for GDP and FDI as a fraction of gross capital formation (GCF) we also find long-run effects from FDI to GDP. This finding may be interpreted as evidence in favour of the hypotheses that FDI has an impact on GDP via knowledge transfers and adoption of new technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic reform, on an ongoing basis, is vital if economies are to achieve, and maintain, rapid and sustained economic growth. Yet governments face challenges when introducing economic reforms. Policymakers must judge what reforms are needed; when to introduce them; and how rapidly to pursue their reform programme. Failed reforms can discredit the reform process as a whole, and so make it more difficult, and more costly, to retry in the future. The reform process in emerging market economies provides many lessons that are widely applicable. Perseverance is critical: reforms must be followed through if they are to be successful. Reforms also need to be wide-ranging, encompassing not just monetary, fiscal and trade policy but reform of the financial sector and of public institutions. Reforms in many countries need to include the protection of property and individual rights; improved tax administration and greater efficiency of public spending; and commercial codes. Reforms can be most easily implemented at times of global expansion. Fiscal consolidation, for example, is more easily accomplished in a more favourable environment partly because it helps deliver future growth and partly because it gives governments scope for counter-cyclical policy during future downturns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of increasing openness on real output growth in China is examined. The framework of analysis is a regression model that uses time-series data for each province. For east coastal provinces, increasing openness is found to have positive effects on real output growth, and some of the effects are statistically significant. The results appear to be broadly consistent with the new growth theories that openness enhances long-run growth through its impact on technological improvement. However, inland provinces in China have been isolated from world trade for several decades and their economies devastated. An increased openness in these provinces is found to have, in most cases, negative effects on real output growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States maintains a broad spectrum of economic sanctions against China ranging from export controls to prohibitions on certain imports. Our study finds that, although from a macroeconomic perspective, US sanctions have had no significant adverse effect on China's overall economic growth and trade between the two countries, they do have a negative impact on producers and consumers in both countries. US economic sanctions have hindered technology transfer to China and US investment in China. US restrictions on imports from China have caused deadweight losses for the US due to higher domestic production costs for import substitutes and a reduction in consumption. US export controls have hindered US exports to China and contributed to large US trade deficits with China. The export controls have also caused losses of high-paid jobs in the United States and benefited competitors from other countries. In addition, US economic sanctions against China have had significant third-party effects. China's diversification of imports to sources other than the United States may have a long-term effect on US exports to China even after US economic sanctions against China are lifted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple dynamic theory of child labour, human capital formation, and economic growth that is consistent with some of the main features of child labour and economic development. The model supports a number of testable hypotheses, which we investigate econometrically in a systems approach. Using panel data from 64 countries in the period 1960–1980, the econometric results match the theory well. The incidence of child labour is negatively related to parental human capital and education quality, but is positively correlated with education cost. Further, countries with higher amounts of child labour tend to have lower stocks of human capital in the future. There is also a convergence phenomenon between the level and growth of human capital. The lower the current stock of human capital, the higher is current child-labour use and the faster is the growth rate of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used the Michigan Model of World Production and Trade to simulate the economic effects on the United States, Japan, and other major trading countries/regions of the Doha Round of WTO multilateral trade negotiations and a variety of regional/bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) involving the United States and Japan. We estimate that an assumed reduction of post-Uruguay Round tariffs and other barriers on agricultural and industrial products and services by 33 per cent in the Doha Round would increase world welfare by $686.4 billion, with gains of $164.0 billion for the United States, $132.6 billion for Japan, and significant gains for all other industrialised and developing countries/regions. If there were global free trade with all post-Uruguay Round trade barriers completely removed, world welfare would increase by $2.1 trillion, with gains of $497.0 billion (5.5 per cent of GNP) for the United States and $401.9 billion (6.2 per cent of GNP) for Japan. Regional agreements such as an APEC FTA, an ASEAN Plus 3 FTA, and a Western Hemisphere FTA would increase global and member country welfare but much less so than the Doha multilateral trade round would. Separate bilateral FTAs involving Japan with Singapore, Mexico, Chile and Korea, and the United States with Chile, Singapore and Korea would have positive, though generally small, welfare effects on the partner countries, but potentially disruptive sectoral employment shifts in some countries. There would be trade diversion and detrimental welfare effects on some non-member countries for both the regional and bilateral FTAs analysed. The welfare gains from multilateral trade liberalisation are therefore considerably greater than the gains from preferential trading arrangements and more uniformly positive for all countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the likely impact of metropolization and fiscal competition on economic issues being discussed at the international level. Role of urban centers in economic growth; Competition between regions in attracting investment; Globalization as major force in support of local development initiatives.

Focuses on the internationalization and economic development in Malaysia. Outline of the economic policies; Influence of global economy to economic policies; Economic growth trend from 1970-95; Effect of economic growth on employment, poverty, and income inequalities.

Reports the evolution of trading systems in developing countries from GATT 1947 to the World Trade Organisation meeting in 1999. Openness to international flow of goods, technology and capital; Sources of economic development; Contents and concerns of the Uruguay Agreement; Benefits of participating in a liberal world trading system.

Summarizes Indonesia's economic policies and growth performance since the 1960s and tries to find out if performance has varied systematically with policy. Outline of Indonesian economic development since the 1960s; Indonesia before the oil boom; Import substitution and the boom; Trade liberalization and deregulation since the mid-1980s; Crisis and collapse, 1997-98; Growth performance under different policy regimes.

Focuses on the role of international trade and investment in promoting economic growth in developing countries. Reference to studies on trade policy; Political implications of trade in goods and services; Examination of policies on foreign direct investments and associated trade-related investment measures (TRIM); Effects of TRIM on trade, investment and welfare.

Opinion. Focuses on the failure of economist Raul Prebisch's import substituting industrial (ISI) strategy on the economic growth of developing countries. Components of such a strategy; Criticism of Prebisch's strategy.