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on International Trade |
| By: | Andrea Linarello (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | I examine the effect of reducing export tariffs on the productivity of domestic suppliers of exporting firms. Using a panel of Chilean firms during a period of trade liberalization with the European Union, the United States, and the Republic of Korea, I show that the average reduction in the export tariff of downstream industries (1.1 percentage points) increases the productivity of intermediate input suppliers by 1.5 percent. The increase in productivity among domestic suppliers accounts for 22.5 percent of aggregate productivity gains. I find that tariff cuts induce firms to acquire new machinery and pay higher wages to skilled workers. These findings are consistent with a simple model in which lower export tariffs increase the sales of exporting firms and increase the derived demand for intermediates through input-output linkages. |
| Keywords: | productivity, trade liberalization, exports; input-output linkages |
| JEL: | D21 F12 L60 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_994_14&r=int |
| By: | Decramer, Stefaan; Fuss, Catherine; Konings, Jozef |
| Abstract: | Policy-making institutions such as the European Commission, the ECB and the OECD often use unit labor costs as a measure of international competitiveness. The goal of this paper is to examine how well this measure is related to international export performance at the firm level. To this end, we use Belgian firm-level data for the period 1999-2010 to analyze the impact of unit labor costs on exports. We use exports adjusted for their import content. We find a statistically significant negative effect of unit labor costs on export performance of firms with an estimated elasticity of the intensive margin of exports ranging between -0.2 and -0.4. This result is robust to various specifications, including firm, time and sector fixed effects and estimation approaches. We find that this elasticity varies between sectors and between firms, with firms that are more labor-intensive having a higher elasticity of exports with respect to unit labor costs. The micro data also enable us to analyze the impact of unit labor costs on the extensive margin. Our results show that higher unit labor costs reduce the probability of starting to export for non-exporters and increase the probability of exporters stopping. While our results show that unit labor costs have an impact on the intensive margin and extensive margin of firm-level exports, the effect is rather low, suggesting that passthrough of costs into prices is limited or that demand for exported products is not elastic. The latter is consistent with recent trade models emphasizing that not only relative costs, but also demand factors such as quality and taste matter for explaining firm-level exports. JEL Classification: F1, F4, F16 |
| Keywords: | competitiveness, exports, heterogeneity, unit labor costs |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20141752&r=int |
| By: | Christoph Moser (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Robert Grundke (LMU Munich, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Are product standards protectionism in disguise? This paper estimates the costs of non-compliance with U.S. product standards, using a new database on U.S. import refusals from 2002 to 2012. We find that import refusals significantly decrease exports to the United States. This trade reducing effect is driven by developing countries and by refusals without any product sample analysis, in particular during the Subprime Crisis and its aftermath. This empirical result is consistent with (but does not prove) the existence of counter-cyclical, hidden protectionism due to non-tariff barriers to trade in the United States. |
| Keywords: | Hidden protectionism, international trade, developing countries, import refusals, regulatory costs, disaggregated, United States |
| JEL: | F13 F14 O24 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:14-369&r=int |
| By: | Shevtsova Yevgeniya |
| Abstract: | The paper empirically explores the microeconomic exporting-productivity links using data from Ukrainian manufacturing and service sectors for the years 2000-2005 distinguishing between various industries and export destinations. Overall, the findings confirm self-selection of more productive firms into exporting showing that firms with higher total factor productivity (TFP) in the year prior to exporting are significantly more likely to engage in international trade. Also, age, and, to some extent, intangible assets positively affect the probability of becoming an exporter. The results also suggest significant positive post-entry productivity effect for the firms that enter export markets and negative productivity effect for the firms that exit. At the industry level the presence of learning-by-exporting effect is not universal and varies between industries and export destinations. Firms in capital-intensive industries that export to the countries of the European Union and other OECD countries experience stronger export-related productivity shocks than firms exporting to other CIS countries. The magnitude of the effect is also positively correlated with the capital intensity of the industries. These findings have important implications for industrial policies, suggesting that programs designed to upgrade firms’ productivity and innovative capabilities should be industry specific. Such policies, should they be implemented, will increase benefits arising from exporting, which should further enhance international competitiveness of Ukrainian firms. |
| JEL: | D24 F14 L25 R38 |
| Date: | 2014–11–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eer:wpalle:14/07e&r=int |
| By: | Lord, Montague J. |
| Abstract: | The WTO’s new Agreement on Trade Facilitation (ATF) will help to reverse the region’s deceleration of overall export growth and, when implemented, could add as much as 3 percent to regional GDP and lift employment across the region by 1.2 percent. In the region’s developing economies, inefficient border and behind-the-border procedures are well above those of the NIEs and far exceed those of the developed economies. Persistent and often growing protectionism has broadly continued as countries have added further measures to their stock of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), which now account for as much as 90% of trade costs other than transportation. As such, it defines a new reform agenda for the East Asian economies that could have far-reaching effects on private sector development, especially for small businesses that need greater transparency and simplification of procedures to enable them to more readily access regional and global value chains. |
| Keywords: | WTO, Agreement on Trade Facilitation, ATF, East Asia, Southeast Asia, trade facilitation, non-tariff measures, NTMs, trade costs, trading costs, value chains, regional value chains, global value chains, global supply chains |
| JEL: | F13 F14 F53 |
| Date: | 2014–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:61080&r=int |
| By: | Sandra PONCET (Université de Paris I); Julien GOURDON (FERDI); Laura HERING (FERDI); Stéphanie MONJON (FERDI) |
| Abstract: | Compared to most countries, China’s value-added tax (VAT) system is not neutral and makes it less advantageous to export a product than to sell it domestically, as exporters may not receive a complete refund on the domestic VAT they have paid on their inputs. However, the large and frequent changes to the VAT refunds which are offered to exporters have been led China to be accused of providing its firms with an unfair advantage in global trade. We use city-specific export-quantity data at the HS6-product level over the 2003-12 period to assess how changes in these VAT rebates have affected Chinese export performance. Our identification strategy relies on triple difference estimates that exploit an eligibility rule which disqualifies processing trade with supplied materials from these rebates. We find that changes in VAT rebates have significant export repercussions: eligible export quantity for a given city-HS6 pair rises by 6.5% following a one percentage-point increase in the VAT rebate. This magnitude yields a better understanding of the strong resistance of Chinese exports during the global recession, in which export rebates increased substantially. |
| JEL: | F10 F14 O14 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fdi:wpaper:1953&r=int |
| By: | Lord, Montague J.; Clarke, Julian; Record, Richard; Artuso, Fabio |
| Abstract: | The World Trade Organization’s new Agreement on Trade Facilitation has the potential to significantly reduce East Asia’s trade costs along the entire supply chain, increasing regional gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.7 percent and employment by 1.2 percent. At present, the region’s developing economies suffer from trade costs well above those of the newly industrialized countries and of developed economies, owing to the large number of inefficient border and behind-the-border procedures. Countries have been adding to their stock of nontariff measures, which now account for as much as 90 percent of (non-transportation) trade costs. The ATF defines a new reform agenda for East Asia with potentially far-reaching effects on private sector development, especially for small businesses that need greater transparency and simplification of procedures to enable them to readily access regional and global value chains. |
| Keywords: | trade costs, tariff and non-tariff barrier, trading costs, value chains, WTO, Agreement on Trade Facilitation, nontariff measures, East Asia, trade facilitation |
| JEL: | F1 F13 O53 |
| Date: | 2014–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:61061&r=int |
| By: | Olayinka Idowu Kareem |
| Abstract: | Changes in tastes and preferences in importing countries as well as the need to keep the environment safe, especially in developed markets, has contributed to a rising trend in the demand for sanitary and phytosanitary measures for quality products. However, the stringency and the preponderance of these measures have effects on trade, particularly for the developing and least developed countries in Africa. The effects often influence the attainment of the development aspirations of these Africa countries, especially employment, poverty reduction and sustainable growth. To this end, this study investigates the export effects of the EU standards for Africa. It uses the two-step Helpman et al. (2008) extensive and intensive trade margins model for two high-value foods and two traditional products. The EU standard requirements for each product are called the ‘hurdle to pass’ before the product can gain access to the EU market. In all, 52 African countries are considered in an empirical analysis covering the period 1995 to 2012. The study finds that product standards for fish and cocoa are trade-enhancing at the extensive margins, but this is not the case at the intensive margins. However, the standards are trade-inhibiting at both the extensive and intensive margins of exports for vegetables, while the standards are trade-restrictive at the extensive margins and trade-enhancing at the intensive margins for coffee. Thus, the findings suggest that the impacts of standards on exports are commodity-specific due to the significant differences in the costs of compliance, the size of the exporting firms or countries, access to development assistance and the commodity-specific interests of countries. The study recommends development partnerships and alliance policies on the part of Africa, with the development of institutions that can improve the level of standard-compliance in all African exporting markets. |
| Keywords: | Technical Regulations, Food Exports, Africa, EU, Gravity Model |
| JEL: | C33 C87 F13 F42 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2014/98&r=int |
| By: | Hakan Yilmazkuday (Department of Economics, Florida International University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the elasticity of demand systematically changes from one importer country to another in an international trade context. Evidence from U.S. exports supports this view by suggesting that the elasticity of demand in an importer country among the products purchased from the U.S. signi?cantly decreases in GDP per capita and distance to the U.S. of the importer country. In terms of policy implications, using a common elasticity measure would overestimate the gains from reducing trade costs with developed or distant countries and underestimate them with developing or remote countries. |
| Keywords: | Elasticity of Demand, the United States |
| JEL: | F12 F13 F14 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fiu:wpaper:1411&r=int |
| By: | Cheung, Yin-Wong (BOFIT); Chinn , Menzie D. (BOFIT); Qian, Xingwang (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | We examine Chinese-US trade flows over the 1994-2012 period, and find that, in line with the conventional wisdom, the value of China’s exports to the US responds negatively to real renminbi (RMB) appreciation, while import responds positively. Further, the combined empirical price effects on exports and imports imply an increase in the real value of the RMB will reduce China’s trade balance. The use of alternative exchange rate measures and data on different trade classifications yields additional insights. Firms more subject to market forces exhibit greater price sensitivity. The price elasticity is larger for ordinary exports than for processing exports. Finally, accounting for endogeneity and measurement error matters. Hence, the purging the real exchange rate of the portion responding to policy, or using the deviation of the real exchange rate from the equilibrium level yields a stronger measured effect than when using the unadjusted bilateral exchange rate. |
| Keywords: | import; export; elasticity; real exchange rate; processing trade |
| JEL: | F12 F41 |
| Date: | 2014–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2014_023&r=int |
| By: | Marc Badia-Miró; Anna Carreras-Marín; Christopher M. Meissner |
| Abstract: | Regional trade in South America since independence has long been much smaller than would be expected if geography were the only constraint on trade. Several potential explanations exist: low technological and demand complementarities; low productivity; high barriers to trade. We first argue that none of these are mutually exclusive and different explanations may be valid at different times. Whatever the causes of low trade, such limits to market access likely hampered economic growth in the region. To address this issue, policy makers have long advocated a South American/Southern Cone Free Trade Area--proposed as early as 1889. Would reductions in trade costs have been sufficient to significantly raise trade? We study bilateral trade between 1910 and 1950, when large external shocks altered global supply and demand. These shocks help us identify the determinants of low intra-regional trade. We find evidence that both low productivity and high trade barriers decreased trade. South American regional trade might have expanded with less restrictive trade policy or improved productivity. Regional trade in textiles, which took off from the 1930s, supports our argument that trade improved when relative productivity and quality improved and when trade costs fell. |
| JEL: | F02 F15 N16 N76 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20790&r=int |
| By: | Lord, Montague J. |
| Abstract: | Laos benefits from the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA). The Agreement has eliminated tariffs on 90% of Australia’s and New Zealand’s imports, with the remaining tariff lines to be removed by 2020. For Laos, it provides for a much longer transition period for eliminating tariffs in recognition of the country’s status as a newer ASEAN member having as least developed country status. The Agreement also eliminates non-tariff barriers like licensing requirements; offers procedures on standards and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures; facilitates communications and shipping services; and guarantees equal treatment to foreign investments. These preferential arrangements offer Laos significant opportunities for accessing the Australian and New Zealand markets in a wide range of products. Although tariff rates are, on average, relatively low for non-AANZFTA countries, they still raise costs. Lao producers and exporters therefore have a competitive cost advantage because Australian and New Zealand importers can buy Lao products without having to pay customs duties on those imports. Australia and New Zealand have conducive environments for doing business. Both rank within the top 10 best countries in general, and they both have above-average rankings for ease of trading across borders. In addition, Australia’s and New Zealand’s logistics environments are highly favorable to trading. Both countries rely heavily on trade with ASEAN countries. The ASEAN region is the largest trading partner of Australia and the fourth largest one for New Zealand. This study covers the operation of the Agreement and its parts related to rules of origin, opportunities of Lao businesses, how to gain access to the market, and useful contacts and resources. |
| Keywords: | ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, AANZFTA, ASEAN, FTA, free trade area, Laos, Lao PDR, ASEAN Dialogue Partners |
| JEL: | F13 F53 F55 |
| Date: | 2013–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:61073&r=int |
| By: | Vincent FRIGANT; Martin ZUMPE |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the structure and the evolution of international exchanges of auto parts over the 2000-2012 period for four European countries. The first part of our study reviews the literature and points out four stylized facts about the geography of automotive supply networks. In section 2 we propose an analysis of the organisation of automotive supply chains based on the global production networks framework. We give details about this approach by stating the nature of trade flows that occur in these networks, and by highlighting the importance of intra-firms flows. In the third part, we compare the structure of external GPNs of German, Spanish, British and French automotive firms located in these countries. On the basis of Chelem data about auto parts exchanges, we examine in a comparative way the evolution of intra-continental and intercontinental flows. Our results highlight the heterogeneity of situations and of trajectories in the different countries. |
| Keywords: | Global Production Networks; Automotive industry; International Comparison; Auto-parts industry; Regional integration; Globalisation. |
| JEL: | F14 F15 F23 R12 L62 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2014-24&r=int |
| By: | Marjit, Sugata |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to propose a model where trade has a direct and positive impact on growth rate of two trading nations beyond the level effect. We use the idea of virtual trade in intermediates induced by non- overlapping time zones and show how trade can increase the equilibrium optimal rate of growth. In this structure the trade impact goes beyond the level effect and directly causes growth. Typically standard models of trade cannot generate an automatic growth impact. Virtual trade may allow production to continue for 24x7 in separated time zones such as between US and India and that can lead to higher growth for both countries. Later we extend the model to incorporate accumulation of skill which becomes necessary for sustaining steady state growth. |
| Keywords: | International Trade, Time Zone, Growth |
| JEL: | F10 F43 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:60831&r=int |
| By: | Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw; Kuma, Tadesse; Nyarko, Yaw |
| Abstract: | We study the structure and performance of the coffee export sector in Ethiopia, Africa’s most important coffee producer, over the period 2003 to 2013. We find an evolving policy environment leading to structural changes in the export sector, including an elimination of vertical integration for most exporters. Ethiopia’s coffee export earn-ings improved dramatically over this period, i.e. a four-fold real increase. This has mostly been due to increases in international market prices. Quality improved only slightly over time, but the quantity exported increased by 50 percent, seemingly explained by increased domestic supplies as well as reduced local consumption. To further improve export performance, investments to increase the quantities produced and to improve quality are needed, including an increase in washing, certification, and traceability, as these characteristics are shown to be associ-ated with significant quality premiums in international markets. |
| Keywords: | trade, exports, coffee, Quality, Markets, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:66&r=int |
| By: | Dalila Nicet-Chenaf (Larefi, Université de Bordeaux); Eric Rougier (Gretha, Université de Bordeaux) |
| Abstract: | Macroeconomic determinants of FDI are seldom analyzed from the perspective of source countries, priority being generally given to host country characteristics. In a gravity set-up, we analyze FDI flows from European Union to MENA economies. We find that European investment to our MENA host countries is higher, the lower the source country output volatility, thereby supporting the existence of an income effect for European Transnational corporations. In the case of MENA economies, source country output volatility's adverse impact on FDI is counterbalanced by the positive attraction effect of domestic swings of activity. We also find that 1995's Barcelona agreement has reinforced MENA countries' vulnerability to European short- and medium-term macroeconomic cycles. The emergence of non-traditional sources of European FDI is, however, a positive evolution since Eastern and Central European investment to MENA countries is less sensitive to host and source country macroeconomic volatility that traditional Western and southern European sources tend to be. Our results are robust to various changes in estimator, sample composition or measurement of instability. |
| Keywords: | Output volatility, Inflation, FDI, gravity model, source countries, European Union, MENA |
| JEL: | F21 F43 F44 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laf:wpaper:cr1405&r=int |
| By: | Matteo Bugamelli (Bank of Italy); Eugenio Gaiotti (Bank of Italy); Eliana Viviano (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | How are the dynamics of foreign and domestic sales correlated at the firm level? The question is relevant in that the sign of the correlation shapes the international transmission of shocks and the effects of policy measures. From a theoretical perspective, the correlation could be either zero, as assumed by standard international trade models, or negative if firms are capacity constrained, or positive if liquidity constraints dominate. The empirical evidence, however, is rather mixed. Using a sample of Italian manufacturing firms in the period 2001-12, we show that: i) the sign of the correlation changes over the business cycle, being negative in the first part of the past decade and positive after the 2008 crisis; ii) all the channels suggested by the literature are involved and they may explain the time-varying correlation; iii) the drop in domestic sales by Italian firms in 2012, contributed negatively to firms' exports, and together with liquidity constraints, the fall reduced the growth rate of exports by an average of 0.6 percentage points. |
| Keywords: | domestic sales, export, credit, liquidity and capacity constraints |
| JEL: | F10 F12 F14 L11 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_248_14&r=int |
| By: | Treb Allen; Costas Arkolakis; Yuta Takahashi |
| Abstract: | What is the best way to reduce trade frictions when resources are scarce? To answer this question, we develop a framework that nests previous general equilibrium gravity models and show that the macro-economic implications of these various models depend crucially on two key model parameters, which we term the “gravity constants.” Based only on the value of the gravity constants, we derive sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the trade equilibrium and, given observed trade flows, completely characterize all comparative statics for any change in bilateral trade frictions. We then develop a methodology for estimating these gravity constants without needing to assume a particular micro-foundation of the gravity trade model. Finally, we use these results to derive the set of trade friction reductions that (to a first-order) maximize welfare gains given an arbitrary constraint. |
| JEL: | F1 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20787&r=int |
| By: | Arshad Hayat (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Smetanovo nábreží 6, 111 01 Prague 1, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | In the paper, I explored links between inflow of FDI, natural resource abundance and economic growth. The paper is an attempt to analyze a lager sample of 106 countries and investigate the impact of FDI inflow on the economic growth of the host country. Further, natural resource abundance is considered to slow down the economic growth. The paper explores if the natural resource abundance affect the FDI-growth relationship. Using panel data for a sample the period 1993-2012, the paper uses fixed effects model and conclude that FDI inflow accelerates economic growth of the host country. However, the presence of natural resources slows down the FDI induced growth. The same results hold after controlling for endogeneity. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth, Natural Resources, Resource Curse, Hausman Test |
| JEL: | F23 F43 O4 Q0 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2014_36&r=int |
| By: | Junianto James LOSARI (National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | The members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and its six dialogue partners--Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand--decided in November 2012 to launch the negotiation of a free trade agreement (FTA) among them, also known as the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP). The scope of the agreement includes investment despite the fact that the negotiating states already have various international investment agreements (IIAs) with each other. This article analyzes how RCEP can better improve and add more value to the current regime of international investment protection within the region by suggesting standards that should be considered by negotiators. |
| Keywords: | Investment, ASEAN, RCEP, ASEAN Free Trade Agreement |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:dp-2014-25&r=int |
| By: | Donald H. Regan |
| Abstract: | The EC-Seals case stemmed from complaints by Canada and Norway against European Union regulations that effectively banned the importation and marketing of seal products from those countries. The EU said it had responded to European moral outrage at the killing of seals. Canada and Norway challenged the regime under various provisions of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and the GATT. This analysis looks primarily at the WTO panel decision and considers issues such as whether there is any bright line to be drawn between legitimate and illegitimate purposes in regulation and the proper legal meaning of a technical regulation. |
| Date: | 2014–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0409&r=int |
| By: | Lionel Fontagne; Angelo Secchi; Chiara Tomasi |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes how multi-product firms adjust their exported product-mix across desti- nations. Using cross sections of Italian and French data, we show that firms do not follow a rigid ordering in their product mix exported in different markets but rather they adapt their choices to better match with country characteristics. By using metrics based on export shares and on sequences of product names we provide new insights on the extent a firm's products portfolio changes across destinations that go beyond simple rank correlations. Demand asymmetries, mar- ket structure heterogeneity and differential abilities to match unit values of products supplied by competitors emerge as three significant factors in explaining the variety-country variability observed in firms' export patterns. Our results resist when we control for a firm's choice of not exporting an available product to a given destination, an explicit choice likely to contain relevant information. |
| Keywords: | multi-product, multi-country firms, product vectors, demand and concentration |
| Date: | 2014–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2014/26&r=int |
| By: | ITO Banri; MUKUNOKI Hiroshi; TOMIURA Eiichi; WAKASUGI Ryuhei |
| Abstract: | This study examines the determinants of individuals' preferences for trade policies, using micro data of 10,000 individuals selected from Japan's general population. In particular, we focus on the role of regional factors that influence trade policy preferences, considering the fact that there is a significant difference in preferences among regions. The results of the binary choice model reveal that local characteristics affect people's views on trade policy even after controlling for labor market and non-economic attributes. Specifically, people residing in a region with a high share of agricultural workers are likely to support import restrictions even if they do not engage in agriculture, which is the most protected sector in Japan. Moreover, there is a strong correlation between the probability of supporting the protectionist trade policy and the share of local agricultural workers for people not considering migration, suggesting that inter-regional immobility of workers affects their trade policy preferences. |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:15003&r=int |
| By: | Isabelle Mejean (Ecole Polytechnique); Julien Martin (UQAM) |
| Abstract: | We study the extent to which the structure of an exporter's portfolio of buyers affects the volatility of its sales, volatility of bilateral exports. In our model, diversifying sales across a larger number of partners reduces the firm's exposure to idiosyncratic demand shocks, thus the volatility of its sales. Being connected with importers that also interact with other sellers creates comovements in sales across sellers. We show that both elements can generate "granular" fluctuations in aggregate exports. Based on highly detailed export data, we show that exporters are little diversified in sales and that trade networks are highly connected across exporters. This participates to explaining the high volatility of bilateral exports in our data. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed014:663&r=int |
| By: | Beladi, Hamid; Chakrabarti, Avik; Marjit, Sugata |
| Abstract: | We build up a Ricardian trade model for a small open economy with imperfection in the market for credit which eventually affects the pattern of production and trade. Workers/entrepreneurs are endowed with different levels “capital” and need to borrow to produce the credit intensive good. Firms with strong internal cash flow will enter the credit intensive sector. Among those the weaker ones will like to deal in fragments and the richer ones will vertically integrate. Thus distribution of capital ownership determines the nature of production and trade. Those producing fragments may engage in external as well as internal trade. Two credit constrained nations may trade in fragments. The unconstrained richer firms will follow the standard Ricardian incentive to trade. Even if trade does not require credit, shortage of production credit will affect production and trade. Later we generalize our framework to determine prices and interest rate simultaneously. Even there is no role for trade credit, financial stringency will reduce volume of production and trade. |
| Keywords: | Trade, Credit Market, Gains from Trade. |
| JEL: | F1 G1 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:60830&r=int |
| By: | Amendolagine , Vito (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche Sociali – Università di Pavia); Cozza , Claudio (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Aziendali, Matematiche e Statistiche- Università di Trieste); Rabellotti , Roberta (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche Sociali – Università di Pavia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we aim to contribute to the literature on Chinese and Indian multinationals investing in Europe, through an empirical investigation of their identity and characteristics and the association between these features and their international business strategies. The investigation exploits a dataset at the level of the investing firms. In relation to mode of entry, we find that the greenfield is a more likely option for large-sized companies, and that weak propensity for innovation is associated with a low probability to enter through a merger or acquisition. A high propensity for innovation is related to asset-seeking FDI, while high profitability is needed to invest in the core EU countries. Finally, very large size characterizes companies that invest in more than country. |
| Keywords: | China; India; FDI; firm-level data; MNEs |
| JEL: | F21 F23 |
| Date: | 2014–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_027&r=int |
| By: | Laurence A. Green (Harvard Business School); James K Sebenius (Harvard Business School, Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit) |
| Abstract: | Complex, multiparty negotiations are often analyzed as principals negotiating through agents, as two-level games (Putnam 1988), or in coalitional terms. The relatively new concept of a "multi-front negotiation campaign" (Sebenius 2010, Lax and Sebenius, 2012) offers an analytic approach that may enjoy descriptive and prescriptive advantages over more traditional approaches that focus on a specific negotiation as the unit of analysis. The efforts of Singapore Ambassador-At-Large Tommy Koh to negotiate the United States-Singapore Free Trade agreement serve as an extended case study of a complex, multiparty negotiation that illustrates and further elaborates the concept of a negotiation campaign. |
| Keywords: | Tommy Koh, negotiation campaign, fronts, negotiation, diplomacy, multiparty negotiations, free trade, Singapore, international relations, United States, Special Trade Representative |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:15-053&r=int |
| By: | Unnevehr, Laurian J.; Ronchi, Loraine |
| Abstract: | To better inform donor support for public food safety interventions, this paper reviews the literature on the impact of more stringent food safety standards on developing-country markets. This literature has primarily focused on the market access and economic implications of higher standards in export markets rather than on the extensive debate around market failure and public health benefits that dominates the literature in developed countries. We find that the market access benefits from compliance with public and private food safety standards are clear, as is the market exclusion that results from noncompliance. These benefits are now well documented, with more recent evidence pointing to added benefits of poverty reduction and spillovers for health and productivity. |
| Keywords: | Food safety, Compliance, Regulations, Developing countries, Markets, Agricultural policies, trade, trade policies, supply chain, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1376&r=int |
| By: | Solveig Delabroye |
| Abstract: | The eco-industry is a key sector for our future, both economically (the industry accounts for 3% of GDP in most developed countries) and as a tool to tackle ecological challenges. For the past decade, international organizations such as the WTO and OECD have pledged for a swift liberalization targeting Environmental Goods and Services (EGS), which are still characterized by high tariffs and non-tariffs barriers and a low level of competition. In spite of many political declarations, no international trade agreements directed specifically at this industry has been reached except from the one adopted by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2012. This report examines the reasons for the apparent failure of international negotiations on this issue, specifically focusing on the idiosyncrasies of the eco-industry regarding custom regulations and on what are stakes for each party. Indeed, strategic trade analysis of the respective interests of developing and developed countries reveals asymmetric incentives, which sheds some light on the discrepancies between enthusiastic political statements and the lack of actual agreements. Finally, some past bilateral and regional trade and environmental agreements and the solutions they propose in relation to the current situation in international trade of EGS are considered, and the relevance of global trade agreements as a tool of EGS policy is discussed. <P>L’industrie environnementale est un secteur-clé pour notre futur, à la fois sur le plan économique (le secteur représente environ 3% du PIB dans les pays développés) et comme instrument pour répondre aux défis écologiques croissants. Durant la dernière décennie, les organisations internationales (OCDE, OMC) ont appelé à une libéralisation rapide des Biens et Services Environnementaux, qui se distinguent aujourd’hui par des barrières douanières et règlementaires importantes et une concurrence relativement faible. Malgré de nombreuses déclarations politiques, aucun accord de commerce international spécifique à ce secteur n’a été conclu à l’exception de celui ratifié au sein de la Coopération Economique pour l’Asie-Pacifique (APEC) en 2012. Ce rapport se penche sur les raisons de ce qui semble pour l’instant être un échec des négociations internationales, en s’attachant aux spécificités de l’éco-industrie en terme de régulations douanières, mais aussi aux enjeux de ces négociations pour les différentes parties prenantes. Une analyse stratégique des intérêts commerciaux respectifs des pays développés et en développement révèlera des incitations asymétriques et expliquera en partie l’écart entre les déclarations d’intentions et l’absence d’accords effectifs. Enfin, nous examinerons quelques exemples d’accords bilatéraux ou régionaux concernant le commerce ou l’environnement pour voir quelles solutions peuvent être apportées, et interrogerons la pertinence d’accords de commerce en tant qu’outil de facilitation du commerce international des biens et services environnementaux. |
| Keywords: | Eco-industry, internatioal market, trade agreements, Industrie environnementale, marché international, accord de commerce international |
| Date: | 2014–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2014s-45&r=int |
| By: | Jean-Marc Fournier; Aurore Domps; Yaëlle Gorin; Xavier Guillet; Délia Morchoisne |
| Abstract: | Gravity models are used to explore the determinants of trade, making use of fixed effect linear estimators and a Poisson estimator (as in Santos Silva and Tenreyro, 2006) with fixed effects. Beyond usual determinants of trade such as GDP, distance, contiguity, free trade areas and language, this analysis mainly focuses on the role of product market regulation stringency and heterogeneity, and on the role of employment protection. The Single Market has a large positive impact on trade. A broad reform package that would align Product Market Regulation (PMR) indicators to the average of the top half of the best performers and would cut regulatory heterogeneity by one fifth could increase trade intensity within the EU by more than 10%. This analysis also makes use of subcomponents of the PMR indicator (by field of regulation) and the OECD Energy, Transport and Communications Regulation (ETCR) indicator (by sector) to focus on elements on the regulatory issues that matter most for trade. In particular, the stringency of airline and telecom regulations has an adverse effect on trade intensity. Empirical findings on the impact of employment protection legislation on trade intensity are somewhat mixed. This Working Paper relates to the 2014 OECD Economic Survey of the European Union (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-european-union.htm).<P>Barrières réglementaires implicites dans le marché unique de l'UE : Nouveaux résultats de modèles de gravité<BR>Les modèles de gravité sont utilisés pour explorer les déterminants du commerce, avec des estimateurs linéaires avec effets fixes et un estimateur de Poisson (comme dans Santos Silva et Tenreyro, 2006) avec des effets fixes. Au-delà des déterminants habituels du commerce tels que le PIB, la distance, la contiguïté, les zones de libre-échange et la langue, cette analyse se concentre principalement sur le rôle de la réglementation des marchés de produits et de son hétérogénéité, et sur le rôle de la protection de l'emploi. Le marché unique a un impact positif important sur le commerce. Un ensemble large de réformes qui alignerait les indicateurs de réglementation des marchés de produits (RMP) à la moyenne de la moitié des pays les plus performants et qui réduirait l'hétérogénéité des réglementations par un cinquième pourrait augmenter l'intensité des échanges au sein de l'UE de plus de 10%. Cette analyse utilise également des sous-composantes de l’indicateur RMP (par domaines de réglementation) et de l’indicateur OCDE de la réglementation dans les secteurs de l'énergie, des transports et des communications (ETCR) (par secteur) pour se concentrer sur les éléments de réglementation qui comptent le plus pour le commerce. En particulier, la rigueur de la réglementation aérienne et des télécommunications a un effet négatif sur l'intensité des échanges. Les résultats empiriques sur l'impact de la législation de protection de l'emploi sur l'intensité des échanges sont quelque peu mitigés. Ce Document de travail a trait à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de l’Union européenne, 2014 (www.oecd.org/fr/eco/etudes/etude-econom ique-union-europeenne.htm). |
| Keywords: | product market regulation, trade, gravity model, EU single market, marché unique de l’UE, réglementation des marchés de produits, commerce, modèle de gravité |
| JEL: | F10 F14 F15 K20 |
| Date: | 2015–01–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1181-en&r=int |
| By: | John S. Odell |
| Abstract: | If WTO members wish to launch a new round to follow Doha, setting the agenda will require a complex negotiation as in the past, however Doha ends. To reduce the serious information problems they face and prepare the way, advocates should commission an independent research team to produce a comprehensive negotiation analysis before they decide to move further. Reaching an agreement on an agenda will depend on the procedural rules that apply in the agenda negotiation and the subsequent Round. They should consider four rules that seem legitimate today and most likely to help members find a joint-gain agenda. Reaching an agenda agreement could also depend in part on decisions by WTO chairs during this negotiation. Experience illustrates the potentials and possible pitfalls for them to avoid. |
| Keywords: | WTO, trade, negotiation, plurilateral agreement |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2014/110&r=int |
| By: | Ronald B Davies (University College Dublin); Julien Martin (Université du Québec à Montréal); Mathieu Parenti (Université Catholique de Louvain); Farid Touba (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the transfer pricing of multinational firms. We propose a simple framework in which intra-firm prices may systematically deviate from arm’s length prices for two motives: i) pricing to market, and ii) tax avoidance. Multinational firms may decide not to avoid taxes if the risk to be sanctioned is high compared to the tax gap. Using detailed French firm-level data on arm’s length and intra-firm export prices, we find that both mechanisms are at work. The sensitivity of intra-firm prices to foreign taxes is reinforced once we control for pricing-to-market determinants. Most importantly, we find almost no evidence of tax avoidance if we disregard exports to tax havens. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that tax avoidance through transfer pricing amounts to about 1% of the total corporate taxes collected by tax authorities in France. The lion’s share of this loss is driven by the exports of 450 firms to ten tax havens. As such, it may be possible to achieve significant revenue increases with minimal cost by targeting enforcement. |
| Keywords: | Transfer pricing; Tax haven; Pricing to market |
| JEL: | F23 H25 H25 H32 |
| Date: | 2014–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201421&r=int |
| By: | Anastasia B. Likhacheva (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Igor A. Makarov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Though Siberia and the Russian Far East are often considered oil and gas reservoirs, the southern areas of these regions have significant potential for water-intensive production, such as agricultural goods, chemicals, pulp and paper, metals, hydro energy. This potential is strengthening due to the proximity of the most dynamic and water demanding region of the world—the Asian-Pacific region (APR), where the challenge of water and food security is recognized as strategic. Russian political discourse has always been determined by a Eurocentric focus which has seriously constrained intensive cooperation with Asia. This paper investigates the opportunities and challenges to Siberia and the Russian Far East from the perspective of interdependence theory and its water specification—the virtual water concept. The most significant outcomes of the research refer to both theory and strategy. We show that in some cases the virtual water trade may help the water economy on a global scale but worsen the long-term regional water security status and increase the level of water stress in particular areas. The implication for Russia and APR is that Russia’s integration into the APR virtual water market would provide considerable benefits for Russia which include economic gains. More importantly, according to the interdependence theory, as well as a defensive realism, Russia, acting as a guarantor of Asia’s food and water security, would provide long-term positive effects for the whole APR through reduced water stress, and the desecuritization of the food trade and water allocation in the region |
| Keywords: | virtual water, water scarcity; Asia-Pacific, Russian Far East, international trade, food security |
| JEL: | F50 F18 Q25 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:10/ir/2014&r=int |
| By: | Wignall, David (Asian Development Bank Institute); Wignall, Mark (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the seaports responsible for handling the majority of trade around the Bay of Bengal and identifies the projects that will enable trade and contribute to improving maritime infrastructure. It reviews the nature, potential evolution, and primary types of maritime trade around the bay, and analyzes the ships carrying that trade. It also reviews the potential changes that would have a significant impact on trade patterns, with special consideration of the Indian East Coast Corridor study. The paper likewise examines the main ports on the Bay of Bengal to understand their history, regulatory regimes, purpose, capabilities, primary specifications, constraints, productivity, fitness for purpose when compared to other ports in comparable situations, and their opportunities to improve and develop. Finally, the paper develops strategic options through which the seaports around the bay can adjust and develop to support the evolution of trade. The paper provides policy recommendations on how constraints can be addressed. |
| Keywords: | bay of bengal; maritime trade and transport; port infrastructure and development; container ports |
| JEL: | F14 L91 |
| Date: | 2014–12–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0508&r=int |
| By: | Patrick Messerlin |
| Abstract: | One of the stated objectives of recent ‘mega’ preferential trade agreements (PTAs) being negotiated by large trading powers is to address the trade-impeding effects of differences in national regulation. Past experience demonstrates there are serious limitations in what can be achieved in PTAs even in instances where there is a high level of trust among the countries involved. The disappointing results of the European Union’s “Internal Market” illustrate the challenge of using PTAs to integrate markets. This paper argues that some systemic errors were made in the way the EU Internal Market was negotiated. The two main instruments used to build the EU Internal Market—harmonization and mutual recognition—are of limited usefulness for integrating modern economies. An alternative instrument—mutual equivalence—is a much more promising instrument not only for the EU but also for the mega-PTAs currently under negotiation. |
| Keywords: | regulation, trade agreements, EU, TTIP |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2014/112&r=int |
| By: | Fries, Jan |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the 2004 Eastern Enlargement to the European Union to obtain evidence on the employment effects of an increase in trade liberalisation. The Enlargement is thought to generate a trade-induced demand shock with no (or only limited) supply effects. Besides the variation over time induced by the Enlargement, identification of the effects is based on a Melitz (2003) type productivity term to differentiate firms by the extent of exposure to the demand shock. The idea is that the effects of the demand shock should be driven by differences in firm-level productivity from the period before the new member countries actually entered the EU. German linked employer-employee data allow to observe the relation of initial establishment productivity with employment changes over a long panel from 1995 to 2009. The estimates show that the Enlargement had a negative effect on establishment-level employment growth, which is driven by increased worker separations and increased job destruction. Besides the overall employment effect, the study focuses on effect heterogeneity across age and skill groups of the workforce. These estimates point to a skill bias in the effect of the Enlargement that disadvantages low- and medium-skilled workers in terms of higher worker separation and job destruction. In addition, lowskilled workers suffer fewer accessions by firms, where against medium-skilled workers enjoy increased accessions and creation of new jobs. Besides this indication for a skill bias, there are no clear indications that point to an age bias in the employment effect of the Eastern Enlargement. |
| Keywords: | market integration,productivity,worker flows,job flows,skills,age |
| JEL: | J21 J63 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14113&r=int |
| By: | Steve Charnovitz; Carolyn Fischer |
| Abstract: | In the first dispute on renewable energy to come to WTO dispute settlement, the domestic content requirement of Ontario’s feed-in tariff was challenged as a discriminatory investment-related measure and as a prohibited import substitution subsidy. The panel and Appellate Body agreed that Canada was violating the GATT and the TRIMS Agreement. But the SCM Article 3 claim by Japan and the European Union remains unadjudicated, because neither tribunal made a finding that the price guaranteed for electricity from renewable sources constitutes a ‘benefit’ pursuant to the SCM Agreement. Although the Appellate Body provides useful guidance to future panels on how the existence of a benefit could be calculated, the most noteworthy aspect of the new jurisprudence is the Appellate Body’s reasoning that delineating the proper market for ‘benefit’ analysis entails respect for the policy choices made by a government. Thus, in this dispute, the proper market is electricity produced only from wind and solar energy. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy, subsidies, environment, WTO, dispute settlement |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2014/109&r=int |
| By: | Maria Ravlik (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the determinants of migration between countries. Special emphasis is placed on which factors attract immigrants. This paper is the first to analyse this question in an integrated framework that takes into account the characteristics of both the origin and destination countries of migration. The findings confirm previous findings, however, in a broader and more compelling frame given the study’s unique dyadic approach to the analysis of migration patterns. Migrants are more attracted to countries with a common colonial history but, then, among these, prefer countries that offer the better living conditions and rule of law. |
| Keywords: | international migration, push and pull factors, origin and destination countries, country dyads |
| JEL: | F22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:52/soc/2014&r=int |
| By: | Alessandra Arcuri |
| Abstract: | Several socio-legal scholars have studied how the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) was empowered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and how, under this transition, its standards became quasi-binding. What has gone less studied is how the WTO has transformed the very modus operandi of Codex. In particular, it has been argued that the WTO has infused Codex with a technocratic ethos. Building on this scholarship, this article investigates the dynamic relationship between the WTO and Codex and the evolving role of expert knowledge in the global regime for food safety standards. The article’s main thesis is that technocracy (as the rule of the knowers) is an unsustainable regulatory paradigm in the field of global food safety standards, as evidenced by the controversial ractopamine case, discussed in the article. The article concludes by arguing that the global food safety regime is turning towards a paradigm that marries science with democratic values. |
| Date: | 2014–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0406&r=int |
| By: | World Bank Group |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy and Planning Industry - Common Carriers Industry Transport - Airports and Air Services Roads and Highways Transport and Trade Logistics |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:20763&r=int |
| By: | Ozden, Caglar (World Bank); Parsons, Christopher (University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | We exploit the bilateral and skill dimensions from recent data sets of international migration to test for the existence of Zipf's and Gibrat's Laws in the context of aggregate and high-skilled international immigration and emigration using graphical, parametric and non-parametric analysis. The top tails of the distributions of aggregate and high-skilled immigrants and emigrants adhere to a Pareto distribution with an exponent of unity i.e. Zipf's Law holds. We find some evidence in favour of Gibrat's Law holding for immigration stocks, i.e. that the growth in stocks is independent of their initial values and stronger evidence that immigration densities are diverging over time. Conversely, emigrant stocks are converging in the sense that countries with smaller emigrant stocks are growing faster than their larger sovereign counterparts. Lastly, high skilled immigration and emigration stocks expressed in levels or as densities all exhibit signs of convergence. We conclude by discussing some competing mechanisms that could be driving the observed patterns including: differing fertility rates, reductions in emigration restrictions, migrant sorting and selective immigration policies, immigrant networks and persisting wage differentials. |
| Keywords: | Zipf's Law, Gibrat's Law, international migration |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8747&r=int |
| By: | Lord, Montague J.; Tangtrongjita, Pawat |
| Abstract: | This study provides a review and analysis of the findings from the scoping study on the proposed Malaysian–Thailand Special Border Economic Zone (SBEZ). The study is part of a broader project that intends to support the establishment of an SBEZ that will help to attract investors in productive activities that promote subregional value chains in order to stimulate cross-border trade and investment, serve as a catalyst to commerce along the IMT-GT corridors and help to substantially improve the social and economic welfare of the population along the border provinces. Each border crossing has been assessed on the basis of the following components, details of which are presented in the main body of this report: (a) special economic zone (SEZ) potential; (b) cross-border value chains; (c) transport and logistics; (d) socio-economic development strategy for the area; (e) SME development and business development services: (f) linkages to Indonesia. The proposed SBEZ is best viewed as incremental levels of collaborative of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Level 1 would cover the establishment of SBEZ facilities and supporting activities on either or both sides of the border; Level 2 would involve development of cross-border value chains and hard and soft infrastructure supporting the SBEZ; and Level 3 would consist of collaboration in joint SBEZ facilities and supporting activities. This stepwise approach reflects international best practices for the development of cross-border SEZs in Europe, North America and Asia. It ensures that actions on either side of the border move from an informal to formal mechanisms of collaboration, thereby providing an effective mechanisms for achieving long-term goals for the operation of a joint SBEZ. |
| Keywords: | special border economic zones, SBEZ, border economic zones, BEZ, border development, Thailand, Malaysia, industrial zones, value chains, SMEs, cross-border investment, border trade, business development services, BDS, cross-border value chains, cross-border supply chains, border development programs, poverty alleviation, |
| JEL: | F21 L6 O1 |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:61060&r=int |
| By: | Pía Riggirozzi |
| Abstract: | Since the creation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), health became a strategic driver in regional politics in South America in two ways: by redefining trans-border practices through health policies and institutions within the region; and by projecting (regional) health policies through global interventions. The paper explores these dynamics in relation to UNASUR’s policies towards access to medicine, inclusion, and demands for better governance at the World Health Organisation. It argues that regional organisations like UANSUR are significant actors in on-going attempts to address and mitigate trans-border social harms, contributing with innovative regulatory frameworks and different mechanisms of socialisation and engagement that can significant impact national policy making and management in health. But it is also argued that the significance of regional health governance as promoted by UNASUR has to be seen not only as a framework for the promotion of ‘regulatory regionalism’ (Hameiri and Jayasuriya 2009) in public health, but also for ‘regional health diplomacy’ brokering new norms and revising the terms of global health governance. This analysis hopes to contribute directly to the literature in IPE and regionalism by offering a more nuanced discussion about the links between regionalism and social policy, and new forms of regional diplomacy beyond traditional goals of trade and financial markets expansion. |
| Keywords: | Regionalism , regional health diplomacy, right to health, advocacy, UNASUR |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2014/83&r=int |