Search

The Internet of Things (IoT) has significantly impacted international trade, benefiting national and international economies. It has increased trade and financial liberalization in many countries. Ecological and environmental protection have become critical issues due to the fast mobility of money and commodities. The purpose of this paper is to find a way to balance foreign trade growth with environmental protection. We aim to achieve this by using IoT to establish a co-integration model that takes into account the comprehensive environmental index, imports and exports, and the capital-labor ratio. We have collected data from Quanzhou City between 2011 and 2019, based on various environmental pollution indicators, import and export trade volume, capital-labor ratio, and other factors. Our analysis includes an examination of the empirical model of foreign trade and the ecological environment, as well as the impulse response. Additionally, we used prediction variance decomposition and the Granger causality test to understand the coordinated relationship between foreign trade and the ecological environment. Our results demonstrate that when the volume of exports (EX) increases by 1 percent, the ecological environment in Quanzhou City is negatively impacted by about 0.06%. On the other hand, when the volume of imports (IM) increases by 1 percent, there is a 0.26% positive effect on the ecological environment of the city. Finally, when the capital-to-labor ratio (K) increases by 1 percent, there is a 0.40% deterioration of the city's ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motive for writing this paper is to answer the question of how digital technology moved and how it affected the digital financial markets in conditions of great turbulence caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. But, also to answer how much the possibilities for the advancement of digital technology and digital financing affected the markets in those conditions. Several motives are the cause of the international tendencies, changes and effects of the movements of the global digitalization of the international financial markets. This paper connects the issues of the relationship between financial globalization, financial liberalization to financial integration by analyzing the movements of digitalization of financial markets and their transformation in pandemic conditions. The work is divided into two parts, the theoretical structural-methodological studies, the role, the problems and the conditions of global processes and it is indicating how digitalization reshaped financial markets and monetary systems. The basic research question is what dynamics, tendencies and movements the digitalization of the financial markets faced and what impact did the digitalization have after the major market turbulences caused by the pandemic. In the paper, the advantages and disadvantages of the digitalization era of the financial markets are emphasized. The paper also aims to emphasize the reasons for the ascertained turbulences. Of essential importance was the need to adapt various elements in the domestic policies of the countries to international movements and developments, which affected the overall conditions for the development of digital international trade. The following results are expected from the research: greater correct conceptualization of underdeveloped digital economies that will be able to create new high-quality institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the driving factors for foreign direct investment liberalization in formerly communist countries? Previous research explains foreign direct investment liberalization as a function of the intensification of international commerce and democratization; however, the likes of China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam hardly fit into this narrative. The following contribution makes a theoretical argument about the causes of foreign direct investment liberalization in communist authoritarian regimes with highly centralized and closed economies. We argue that foreign direct investment liberalization is caused by external shocks materializing in policy adaptations. The degree of foreign direct investment liberalization depends on the balance of power between actors who favor liberalization and actors who stand to profit from rent-seeking economies. The relative power of both factions determines the magnitude and type of foreign direct investment liberalization. We test this theoretical argument using case studies, which include China and Vietnam as representatives of gradual transitions and Cuba and North Korea as representatives of traditional rent-seeking economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the imperfections and current trends in global trade, namely: the widening of the gap between developed and developing countries due to the new financial capabilities of countries that issue reserve currencies; certain changes in geopolitical rivalry and protectionism; the transformation of biotechnologies into the main driver of economic growth, processes of strengthening the liberalization of global trade, which is connected, on the one hand, with an increase in the number of WTO members, and on the other - with the expansion of regional integration associations, which strengthen their economic influence through the creation of free trade zones with individual countries and integration associations, which will also leave a certain mark on the development of global trade in the future. The article also examines the volume of export and import of goods and services, as well as its changes after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nowadays, global trade is developing under the influence of such factors as the scientific and technological revolution, the international division of labor, internationalization, the activities of transnational companies, etc. As a result of its development, such trends as: increasing the value and importance of information appeared. Also, under the influence of the 4.0 revolution, issues of the quality of goods and services become very relevant, because there is fierce competition between countries, industries and firms at the global level, which is caused by the main trends, namely: technology transfer, cooperation between countries, liberalization of cross-border movement, increased dynamism of global processes, strengthening the role of online trade. One of the factors of modern international economic relations is the integration between the economies of different countries, which in crisis situations leads to the strengthening of the consequences of trade. The modern trend of global trade is the existence of bilateral relations, that is, a large number of countries that export goods to any country can import goods from the same country. The sale of goods and services on the global market is actively influenced not only by economic and political factors, but also by unforeseen circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International negotiations are founded on secrecy. Yet, unauthorized leaks of negotiating documents have grown common. What are the incentives behind leaks, and what are their effects on bargaining between states? Specifically, are leaks offensive or defensive: are they intended to spur parties to make more ambitious commitments, or are they more often intended to claw back commitments made? We examine these questions in the context of trade negotiations, the recurring form of which affords us rare empirical traction on an otherwise elusive issue. We assemble the first dataset of its kind, covering 120 discrete leaks from 2006 to 2015. We find that leaks are indeed rising in number. Leaks are clustered around novel legal provisions and appear to be disproportionately defensive: they serve those actors intent on limiting commitments made. The European Union (EU) appears responsible for the majority of leaks occurring worldwide. Using party manifesto data to track changing ideological positions within the EU, we find that the occurrence of leaks correlates with opposition to economic liberalization within the average EU political party. Moreover, leaks appear effective in shifting public debate. We examine trade officials' internal communications and media coverage in the wake of a specific leak of negotiations between Canada and the EU. A given negotiating text attracts more negative coverage when it is leaked than when the same text is officially released. In sum, political actors leak information strategically to mobilize domestic audiences toward their preferred negotiating outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the gap between the expected and real effects of Colombian trade liberalization policy. First, we stress the influence of international integration on Colombia's growth and development, and explains why moving toward more free trade has not contributed to the consolidation of high value-added industries in that country. Ultimately, we apply the theory of political cycles and suggest that political power in Colombia has contributed to get the country trapped into an international dependency on primary commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If governments wish to maintain support for freer trade, they need to help those who are left jobless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa - has called into question the future of Western dominance in world markets and geopolitics. However, the developmental trajectories of the BRICS countries are shot through with socio-economic fault lines that relegate large numbers of people to the margins of current growth processes, where life is characterized by multiple and overlapping vulnerabilities. These socio-economic fault lines have, in turn, given rise to political convulsions across the BRICS countries, ranging from single-issue protests to sustained social movements oriented towards structural transformation. This article presents an innovative theoretical framework for theorizing the emerging political economy of development in the BRICS countries centred on neo-liberalization, precarity, and popular struggles. It discusses the contributions to this special issue in terms of how they illuminate the intersection between neo-liberalization, precarity, and popular struggle in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent reform of Mexico's energy sector, underway since 2013, is the culmination of several decades of liberalization policies that aimed, in large part, to denationalize Mexico's petroleum industry and open the sector to investment from private foreign firms. In reversing the nationalization of Mexico's oil industry in 1938, this reform has significant implications for the triumph of neoliberal globalization in the Global South, even in a period of rising protectionism in the Global North. Both the United States and Canada played a significant role in promoting the reform of Mexico's energy sector and in structuring the legislative changes that reopened Mexico's hydrocarbon resources to foreign control. Over the past two years, Canadian firms have benefited significantly from new pipeline and oil and gas contracts in Mexico. Taking a legal-geographical approach, this paper examines Canadian involvement in the restructuring of Mexico's oil and gas sector, both spatially (through proximity, interests, and influence in the North American energy market) and legally. The legal component operates through a form of juridical pluralism, in which the institutions of contemporary economic globalization, including the Canadian state, participate in legislative and regulatory changes in the Mexican oil industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been continuously implementing the open-door policy for past 15 years ever since it joined the World Trade Organization, which escalated international trade and demand for shipping. Compared with the other major importing countries in the world, China’s importing tariff is relatively low. Under the Belt and Road initiatives, more Free Trade Agreements to be concluded and more Free Trade Zones to be established, it is expected that the effective import tariff rate may continue to decrease in the future. This study analyses the impact of further reduction in Chinese import tariff rate on major economic indicators using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and based on the Chinese macro-economic data of 2012. The model results show that, with a balanced international payment, such a reduction can increase GDP, resident consumption, both imports and exports, and reduce GDP price, trade surplus, and government revenue. The results ease the concern that further import tariff reduction may harm the domestic production. Rather, it points out that there are still rooms to improve national economy and increase the consumer utility by trade liberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the background of the abolition of restrictions on foreign film imports and the influence of this action in Korea and Japan. In order to develop this argument, the paper focuses on policy tendencies, the structure of the film industry, and the reactions of the film industry players in each country. In Korea, the decision provoked an outcry and street demonstrations from both civil society as well as the film industry players. By contrast, in Japan, not only was opposition to liberalization rarely expressed, but some people actually demanded liberalization. The author analyzes the reasons why the players in each country reacted in different ways to similar policy decisions, through two types of models, the ‘market-led model’ of Japan and the ‘government-led model’ of Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

El artículo presenta un editorial en el que el autor comenta sobre el rol de varias organizaciones internacionales, como la Organización Mundial del Comercio, el Foro de Cooperación Económica Asia-Pacífico y el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, en la promoción de proteccionismo y multilateralismo. Se examinan sus esfuerzos acerca de la liberalización y la desregulación de las economías.

Under what conditions do states uphold their formal trade commitments? While recent work focuses on the formation and design of trade agreements, we know comparatively little about the durability of agreements over time. We argue that government turnover undermines states’ commitments to liberalization, even if they have already signed an international agreement meant to constrain their behavior. We test this argument using data on realized trade in the presence of around 300 preferential trade agreements (PTAs) since 1970. Even in the presence of an international agreement, ideological turnover is associated with increased political barriers to trade, especially when the shift is toward left-wing leaders. These findings have important implications for our understanding of international cooperation: If new leaders do not adhere to their predecessors’ commitments, international agreements may not have lasting economic consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies usually analyse the relationship between an economy’s trade sector and tax revenue in developing countries through the effect of trade liberalization on tax revenue. This paper takes a different angle by examining the impact of export upgrading strategies (export diversification and improvement in export quality) on non-resource tax revenue. The panel data-set covers a sample of 172 countries, including both developed and developing countries, spanning the period 1980–2010. The analysis is conducted both on the entire sample and sub-samples. The findings indicate that export product upgrading exerts a positive and significant effect on non-resource tax revenue, including for the sub-samples considered, with the exception of low-income countries for which we observe mixed results. Moreover, countries which upgrade their export products in a context of trade openness consistently experience higher non-resource tax revenue, both in the short and long term. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper sheds light on the international spillovers of China's reforms in upgrading industrial capabilities, liberalizing capital account, internationalizing the renminbi, and transition to flexible exchange rates. Drawing on two-country New Keynesian model of endogenous entry and portfolio adjustment, we find that China's industrial upgrading that peddles on yuan appreciation lifts all boats through global production network irrespective of capital account convertibility, degree of renminbi internationalization, and exchange rate reform. Feasibility of appreciation-driven upgrading is called into question, however, when renminbi reform and capital account liberalization go in parallel. We also show that international spillovers disappear once renminbi internationalization is associated with liberalized capital account and flexible renminbi exchange rates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite the importance of services in international trade and in the support of global production activities, studies of the political economy of trade liberalization tend to focus on goods trade and the preferences of manufacturing firms and their employees. This article advocates greater consideration of service firms and services trade in political economy models of trade policy. I build my argument around a number of stylized facts about US trade in services. The data suggest that the United States maintains a comparative advantage in services trade, which for standard accounts of trade politics would suggest more homogenous support for trade liberalization within the services sector compared with manufacturing. However, the politics of services liberalization are complicated by the distinct and complex features of international trade in services. Tradable services are delivered internationally through cross-border trade (often electronically), but also through temporary travel and-most importantly for US firms-by a commercial presence, that is, foreign direct investment. These features of services trade imply that governments have an array of policy tools at their disposal with which to protect domestic firms from foreign competition. This article documents the relative importance of various modes of US trade in services, assesses the relationship between policy restrictions and services trade, and discusses how growth in services trade may impact firms' trade policy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of the recent transformations in the political economy of the Asia-Pacific, one of the most dramatic has been to the region's trade architecture. For many years, Asian government were committed trade multilateralists: pursuing liberalisation either globally through the GATT, or regionally via APEC's model of open regionalism. Underpinned by US and Japanese leadership, this system provided the foundation for the export-driven Asian economic miracle. But since the early twenty-first century, the system has been rapidly transformed. The proliferation of preferential trade agreements has threatened to undermine the cohesiveness of regional trade arrangements. The emergence of WTO-Plus style liberalisation, emphasising services, investment and intellectual property, marks the maturation of a system previously focussed on tariff reduction and manufacturing exports. Since 2011, competition between two ‘mega-regional’ proposals – the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – is also indicative of new splits which cut across traditional developmental divides. Growing geopolitical rivalry between the US and China has also raised question of who will lead the next round of liberalisation in the region. Exploring these new trends, this paper argues the trade architecture of the Asia-Pacific is entering is becoming more contested and fragmented, with major implications for economic regionalism in coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Both classical (Ricardo) and neo-classical (Heckscher-Ohlin) theories of international trade assume that free trade results in welfare gains for all involved. A more recent literature dedicated to liberalization of trade in renewable resources finds that welfare effects depend on certain factors, such as the country's status as importer or exporter, the state of the renewable resource stocks and the size of the country on the world market (Chichilnisky, 1993; Brander and Taylor, 1997a; Emami and Johnston, 2000 , Hannesson, 2000), or remain theoretically indeterminate and require empirical analysis (Nielsen, 2009). Fish trade liberalization is provided in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) concluded by the Canadian Government in 2013 with the European Union (EU). This new type of “21st century” trade agreement challenges both the conventional theory of international trade and renewable resource-based sectors of economic activity such as fish and seafood by opening them up to industrial-type international competition and integration. The paper uses the theoretical framework of ecological economics (Costanza et al., 2015) to demonstrate that the declining Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) fish and seafood industry is not ready to participate gainfully in implementation of the CETA. It also uses the concept of “policy space” (Rodrik 2007, Pauwelyn 2008) to recommend some policy changes that can prepare the NL fish and seafood sector for competitive and beneficial participation in the CETA. Restructuring the fish and seafood sector with a focus on small scale, elimination of harmful subsidies and redirecting them to achieve lower costs of operation, better trained labor force, and more just and sustainable supply/marketing networks, will make it fit to benefit from the gains from trade and to contribute to a more equitable distribution of the benefits of the fishery to the fishers and local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing multilateral rules to govern trade in agricultural goods has been notoriously difficult. What success there has been relied on linking liberalization in agriculture to broader deals involving multiple sectors through the principle of the single undertaking, but the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Nairobi ministerial conference of 2015 has abandoned that principle, shifting the multilateral trade system onto a new trajectory. Using the broad body of political economy theory, this article argues that there is now very little prospect that the WTO will be able to liberalize agricultural trade, with the consequence that the WTO will be unable to expand the trade opportunities of those countries thatspecialize in producing agricultural commodities. For this reason, the multilateral trade system looks increasingly ill-suited to the commercial needs of those low-income countries that are reliant on exporting agricultural goods and the promise of development through expanding trade based on comparative advantage is being tacitly pushed aside. This article argues that the abandonment of the single undertaking demands a deep reflection by WTO member states and other stakeholders on the underlying principles of the WTO, its future direction and how trade opportunities will be created for all within a system that has effectively abandoned further liberalization within agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After World War II, as economic liberalization spread across the globe through international negotiations like the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, so too did used clothing. Though many proponents of the trade laud its capacity to create employment opportunities in less developed countries, critics suggest it has a more insidious deleterious effect on local industry. To this day, however, little research has been done regarding the symbiotic relationship between trade liberalization and the secondhand clothing industry. Some economic scholars suggest that current approaches to liberal trade--unilateral trade preferences particularly--stymy, instead of stimulate sustainable and just economic growth in less developed countries. The secondhand clothing industry, though a relatively minor component of global trade in apparel, may play a crucial role in justifying inequitable trade programs and allowing well-intentioned donors to unwittingly foist unmanageable burdens onto the very people they intend to help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the environmental industries of Mexico and the United States Within the framework of the North American Free Trade NAFTA where Mexican industry lags behind lack of funds due to recurring economic crises. Should this situation not be overcome, the benefits of foreign trade for the Mexican environmental industry will remain low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of domestic veto players has become a popular explanation for foreign policy rigidity. We argue that veto players can be amenable to new policy initiatives – in our case preferential trade agreements (PTAs) – but then choose to exert a strong influence on their contents. Drawing upon more than a dozen PTA-design variables for an expanded collection of postwar trade agreements, our quantitative tests reveal that veto players systematically shape what is included in, and excluded from, PTAs. Most notably, agreements concluded under greater veto-player constraints contain fewer liberalization commitments, weaker dispute settlement, and more opt-outs in the form of trade remedies. Our findings highlight domestic political actors as important determinants of international institutional design and show that veto players exert additional, and perhaps stronger, influence on what is proscribed in agreements, not just whether they are enacted in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that federal systems in Canada and the United States allow for the successful pursuit of sub-federal offensive and defensive priorities in the negotiation of international trade agreements. It is also clear, however, that the coercive American intrastate system limits the relevance of American states in this process, especially when compared to Canada's relatively cooperative interstate model. Canadian provinces and territories also benefit from ideational considerations, including policy expertise and trust-ties with federal negotiators, which further strengthens sub- federal legitimacy and influence in this policy area. This study evaluates the incremental and significant impact of Canadian and American sub-federal governments across a number of sectors on the negotiations and final legal texts of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why are industries highly active in some battles over international trade policies, but in other instances, individual firms are highly active and industry groups are subdued? I argue that rising intra-industry trade in the postwar period has undermined traditional trade coalitions and created new opportunities for individual firms to become politically active. Drawing on new trade theories from economics, as well as work on firm heterogeneity and lobbying, I argue that industry associations become less active as intra-industry trade increases due to competing trade preferences among member firms. At the same time, individual firms become more politically active. My results suggest that firms lobby not only for protection, but liberalization. Using data on lobbying expenditures in the USA, my work takes recent analyses of intra-industry trade and lobbying a step further. I show how intra-industry trade redraws domestic political alignments and changes the composition of societal coalitions organized to influence trade policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

East Asian countries have implemented around 60 free trade agreements (FTAs), mostly bilateral, to become one of the most active sites of regionalism. The dominant analyses portray these FTAs as driven primarily by foreign policy motivations and promoted by political leaders with businesses marginally involved or interested. It is contended here that, compared to other forms of liberalization, bilateral FTA negotiations promote new institutional arrangements within government agencies and business associations and unique configurations of government–business relations. Formulation of FTAs imposes greater information demands on government officials, which should compel them to consult business associations. In turn, clearer identification of FTAs' impacts and greater chances to affect their formulation should increase business incentives to lobby for or against FTA liberalization domestically and across borders. Demands on officials and business associations upon successive FTAs should foster institutional change/creation to reduce information and coordination costs. These hypotheses were tested on the bilateral FTAs of Thailand and Malaysia. FTAs in these countries stimulated government–business consultations and lobbying by businesses that, for some key FTAs, took the initiative. Successive negotiations strengthened the technical capacities of officials and business associations and stimulated the emergence of new institutions, which may endure to provide similar functions for multilateral rounds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the clashes between national policies promoting green energy and international trade liberalisation commitments, using the Brazilian biofuels programmes, in particular the measures of mandatory blending and the Social Fuel Seal, as a case example. Drawing on past and present Brazilian legislation, this study initially analyses the driving forces behind the development of the biofuels agenda in Brazil and is followed by a discussion of the general principles of the law of the World Trade Organization concerning subsidies, national treatment and non-discriminatory rules, and the applicability of environmental, social inclusion and energy security exceptions to domestic policies supporting green energy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As just a county level city in China, Yiwu's rise to global renown is a compelling story. Despite its antiquity, its rise dates largely from market liberalization in 1978. Leveraging its traditional role as a petty market center, it relied on an early start and subsequent agglomeration economies to grow these markets. The demand for goods in these markets begot manufacturing of these goods, creating backward linkages. The growth of these markets led to its unique version of internationalization — “shopping tourism” and as a venue for conventions. This pattern of growth, dubbed the “Yiwu model” is distinctive in that it relied on home-grown small trading enterprises, as opposed to the better-known model of large firms — foreign investment nexus found in export zones. Also distinctive is the strong role played by the Yiwu government working hand-in-glove with private entrepreneurs to seize opportunities and overcome challenges. This partnership will need to overcome challenges that come with this model of growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to dissect the distributional impact of preferential and multilateral trade liberalisation on household well-being using individual level data for Paraguay never exploited so far. For this purpose, the intrazone and applied most favored nation (MFN) tariff pass-through rate on the prices of traded goods is estimated, and the impacts of trade induced price changes on households as consumers and as income earners are calculated. The results indicate that trade liberalisation has benefited households along the entire income distribution and, most importantly, show that these benefits differ according to the type of liberalisation policies implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how authoritarian leaders employ trade openness as a response to rising inequality. Based on the Heckscher-Ohlin model of international trade and models of democratic transition, I argue that unskilled laborers in authoritarian regimes can benefit from engaging in international trade, thus becoming more compliant to the authoritarian rules as their countries integrate into the world economy. Therefore, dictators in labor-abundant countries expand trade to neutralize democratization threats initiated by rising inequality. My argument uses supporting data from around eighty authoritarian regimes during the period from 1963 to 2003. I address endogeneity problems with dynamic panel data and instrumental variable regression models in this paper. My analyses suggest that economic globalization helps strengthen authoritarian regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008 Bolivia ceased to benefit from US trade preferences, which resulted in thousands of jobs lost thoroughout the country. Without the political will to initiate a trade agreement with the United States, the Morales administration has the opportunity to initiate a trade agreement with the European Union. This study evaluates macro- and microeconomic impacts emerging from a hypothetical trade agreement between Bolivia and the European Union. Our methodology consisted of using a computable general equilibrium model as price generator, and a micro-simulation approach as a bridge to transmit those price changes to the household level under two liberalization scenarios. We conclude that Bolivia could benefit if a trade agreement with the European Union (the second largest importer of goods in the ivorld) is accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customs duties are budgetary revenues, but also important instruments in streamlining international trade. There are several types of customs duties, but their contribution in terms of value to the establishment of public funds is rather negligible. The attributions of the customs authorities are the customs control of goods and people, the establishment and collection of taxes due, fighting crime or, to put it differently, the enforcement of customs duties. Romania has joined the movement to liberalize world trade by ratifying numerous international conventions and harmonizing its legislation with the one of the European Union, whose member it is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the high times of the globalization and liberalization of the economies worldwide has been seen as a result of the multilateral trade relations and the advent of the World Trade Organisation. The signing of the GATT and membership of the multilateral institutions such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund has brought the international trade at an open business platform wherein anybody can do business in any country without any hassle. All this is possible due to the emergence of the national policies towards the international adaptable policy regime. This policy coherence which has enabled the economies to design the policy framework acceptable to the international business economies and units, has contributed to the growth of the multilateral trade and developmental activities. The paper studies the emergence and role of policy coherence in the national policies as adaptable to the international trade policy framework and regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Over last few decades, there has been a growing interest among researchers in understanding the link between trade liberalization and regional disparities within the context of an individual country. In this study, we develop the first ever single-country multiregional Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model for the Indian economy to investigate this linkage. Overall our results suggest that, in the short run, trade liberalization has a beneficial impact on the rich and fast-growing middle-income states and a marginal or negative impact on the poor states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A water footprint is a concept that measures the total volume of freshwater used to produce a product, measured over the full supply chain. This article discusses one idea that has been mooted to ameliorate impending freshwater shortages - namely to encourage consumers to purchase products with a low water footprint by using a water footprint label. A label may provide sufficient incentive for consumers, and governments may impose measures such as taxes or import restrictions based on the water footprint. The article explores the international trade law implications of such measures and finds that, as with other areas of environmental regulation, international trade liberalization and the protection of sustainable freshwater resources are not incompatible goals. However, water footprint labelling, and other associated measures, could have inadvertent trade law implications, meaning that it will be important for governments to give careful thought to their design and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the economics literature, there is a consensus on existence of a positive correlation between increasing openness in trade and economic growth. The reduction of barriers to foreign trade will have a positive effect on the specialization, efficiency, distribution of resources, costs, level of competition, technology transfer, and welfare of consumers. On the other hand, free foreign trade may not make the same impact in the economy of each country. Initiatives and approaches on trade liberalization can be divided into two groups as global and regional. While the World Trade Organization has the leading role in the liberalization of trade in global respect, regional trade agreements stand in the forefront in regional respect. With the collapse of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Central Asian countries have moved toward regional and global new alternatives. Only two (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) of the six regional countries considered in this study, are members of the World Trade Organization. While the majority of countries in the region are hesitant on global trade liberalization due to idiosyncratic economic, political and social structures of them, almost all countries in the region willing to regional trade agreements, integration and cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing extensively with the effects of globalization, we intend to prove that this process greatly influences the development of foreign trade. It's obvious that all the efforts directed towards the development and promotion of the state's, society's or firm's trade must contribute to the development of foreign trade worldwide. The current context of globalization requires radical changes both in the way of its involvement in the world trade and in the export sector, at the company or firm group level as well as in the way the institutions support companies in implementing the best solutions to create and maintain certain competitive sustainable advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of liberalization on small coffee producers in sub- Saharan Africa. The author argues that coffee farmers do not directly benefited from liberalization of coffee-producing economies. Particular focus is given to liberal economic theory, as well as the effect of international financial institutions on coffee-exporting states. Also discussed are the International Coffee Agreement and the use of fair trade as an alternative for smallholder producers.

The aim of this study is to examine the economic policies of certain developing country groups followed about the economic growth which is the ultimate goal of economies and to analysis the results by comparing them. The reason why the Southeast Asian and Latin American countries were taken as the model in the study is the diverse ways that they followed to provide the economic growth. Especially, in the development process of the Southeast Asian countries which is widely called "miracle", it is stated that the actual difference than the Latin American countries comes from the liberal foreign trade policies. To measure the effects of liberalization on the economic growth in both country groups, econometric analysis was conducted and the results, by means of certain variables, were compared with similar studies indicated and finally evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1950 Mexico entered an economic takeoff and grew rapidly for more than 30 years. Growth stopped during the crises of 1982-1995, despite major reforms, including liberalization of foreign trade and investment. Since then growth has been modest. We analyze the economic history of Mexico 1877-2010. We conclude that the growth 1950-1981 was driven by urbanization, industrialization, and education and that Mexico would have grown even more rapidly if trade and investment had been liberalized sooner. If Mexico is to resume rapid growth -- so that it can approach U.S. levels of income -- it needs further reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a gravity approach, this study primarily explores Bangladesh's trade pattern. It is found that Bangladesh's trade patterns are basically consistent with the prediction of the gravity model across decades. Additionally, the comparison between actual and predicted trade volumes indicates that Bangladesh's exports are heavily dependent on the US market. Policy implications follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberalization of trade and investment in services through trade agreements has progressed less than trade in goods. We review the limited progress achieved to date in the WTO and major regional agreements on services and possible explanations why trade agreements have not been more effective at integrating the services markets of participating countries. We argue that the prospects for both services liberalization and welfare-enhancing regulatory reform in the context of trade agreements can be enhanced through mechanisms that enhance transparency, dialogue and cooperation between regulators, trade officials and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to disseminate how liberalisation processes were conducted around the globe and especially in Europe since the XIXth century up to date. The research objective is to review the liberalisation of trade dynamics and create an image of the architecture of the most important trading blocs. Analysis will be conducted considering the three major regional blocs: Europe, North America and East Asia. The main findings will show that, despite the few mutations that occurred in international trade as a result of the emergence of developing nations as major trade partners, the European Union and the United States remain the economic and trade hegemons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the restructuring of electricity policy and systems in British Columbia since 2002, examining the Liberal provincial government's investigation "Review of BC Hydro" of 2011. It explores the British Columbia electric utility BC Hydro and comments on electricity price spikes impacting consumers. The author also reflects on the growth of natural gas production, the development of mines, and the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The expansion of the role of the private sector and economic liberalization are also discussed.

The article offers information on the trade and investment relation between the European Union and Australia. It states that many Member States of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are questioning the effectiveness of the multilateral system for achieving further reductions in barriers to trade. It mentions that international trade law and international trade policy have experienced paradigm shift from non-discriminatory trade liberalization to discriminatory trade liberalization.