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on International Trade |
| By: | Deepankar Basu (Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst); Ramaa Vasudevan (Department of Economics, Colorado State University.) |
| Abstract: | We revisit the hypotheses of unequal exchange and deteriorating terms of trade in the specific context of import-intensive, export- led strategies of developing countries which rely on integration into GVCs for access to markets in developed countries using a stylized two-country two-commodity Classical- Marxian trade model. Two sources of asymmetry can be distinguished: market power arising from the competition between suppliers that depresses the prices at which the final good is supplied; and monopoly power arising from the lead firms control and ownership of intangible assets including brand and design. The model explores some implications of these two sources of asymmetry. |
| Keywords: | Unequal Exchange, Global Value Chains, Classical Trade Model |
| JEL: | F02 F23 O19 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ums:papers:2021-13&r= |
| By: | Robert Stehrer (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we provide a method to characterise global value chains and a related decomposition of bilateral gross exports by distinguishing three different stages of the value-added flows (i) the source of value added, (ii) the final assembly stage of a product, and (iii) the final absorption (sink) of this product. Methodologically this is embedded in a simple framework using matrix algebra allowing for intuitive interpretations of the individual decomposition terms and results. The approach leads to a novel decomposition of bilateral gross export flows and related value-added trade indicators. It is shown how these correspond to existing measures using the property of inverse matrices. Specifically, the paper sheds light on the nature of the double-counting terms discussed in the literature. Finally, the approach outlined is extended by incorporating insights from the hypothetical extraction method. We argue that this is a complementary approach which however can be used to flexibly define the value chains of interest and characterise the respective flows that are considered part of this defined value chain, again carefully differentiating the source, assembly, and sink dimensions. |
| Keywords: | global value chains, decomposition, gross exports, double-counting, hypothetical extraction |
| JEL: | F11 F14 F15 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:wpaper:209&r= |
| By: | Mahdi Ghodsi (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | In this modern digital world, goods from the information and communications technology (ICT) sector are the engine of the global economy. While tariffs levied on ICT goods have been eliminated or significantly reduced since the conclusion in December 1995 of the Information Technology Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), non-tariff measure (NTMs) have come to be used more frequently with regard to imports of these goods. Technical barriers to trade (TBTs), as the most important trade policy measure imposed on imports of ICT goods, form the focus of this study. This paper analyses how different types of TBTs imposed on imports of ICT goods globally affected the values and volumes of imported goods at the six-digit level of the Harmonised System (HS) during the period 1996-2018. Keywords cited in the TBTs notified to the WTO give an indication of the aims behind the imposition of TBTs. Therefore, this study digs deeper into the impact of 30 types of TBT, using the keywords cited. The methodology used in this paper controls for zero trade flows using the Pseudo Poisson Maximum Likelihood (PPML) technique; and it controls for endogeneity bias using the exogenous instrumental variable approach. Furthermore, the paper provides more detailed analysis of the impact of TBTs across five ICT product categories that are defined by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The results indicate that TBTs have a generally strong positive impact on the value of imports of ICT goods. While many keywords cited in TBTs notified to the WTO affect the values and volumes of imports in a positive way, certain other TBTs function as trade barriers that reduce their values and volumes. |
| Keywords: | Information and communications technology, non-tariff measures, technical barrier to trade, World Trade Organization, Pseudo Poisson Maximum Likelihood |
| JEL: | F13 F14 L15 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:wpaper:208&r= |
| By: | Längle, Katharina; Xu, Ankai; Tian, Ruijie |
| Abstract: | This paper uses Chinese firm level data to detect the international propagation of adverse shocks triggered by the US hurricane season in 2005. We provide evidence that Chinese processing manufacturers with tight trade linkages to the United States reduced their intermediate imports from the United States between July and October 2005. We further show that the direct exposure to US supply shocks led to a temporary decline of firm exports between September and November 2005, although we do not find consistent evidence of international propagation of supply shocks along global value chains. Moreover, the paper finds that firms with more diversified suppliers tend to be less affected by the US hurricane disaster, pointing to firm sourcing diversification as a way to increase resilience to adverse shocks. |
| Keywords: | production networks,resilience,diversification,shock transmission,supply chains,natural disasters |
| JEL: | F12 F14 F15 F61 L14 E23 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd202113&r= |
| By: | Muhammad, Andrew; Griffith, Andrew P.; Martinez, Charles C.; Thompson, Jada |
| Abstract: | For the last five years (2016-2020), beef and beef products have been a top-five U.S. agricultural export. In 2019, for instance, U.S. beef exports were valued at $8.1 billion, third behind soybeans ($18.7 billion) and tree nuts ($9.1 billion).1 Japan is the most important foreign market for U.S. beef (around $2 billion annually), accounting for around 25 percent of total U.S. exports (See Figure 1) (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021a). Thus, the U.S. beef sector is concerned when Japanese policies change in favor of competing countries, resulting in a disadvantage for U.S. beef exports. This was actually an issue when the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) entered into force in December 2018.2 The CPTPP countries that export beef to Japan (e.g., Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico) faced immediate tariff reductions and a tariff phase-down from about 40 percent to nine percent over a 15-year period (Muhammad and Griffith, 2018). Fortunately, the U.S. was able to negotiate similar tariff reductions for U.S. beef in the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA), which entered into force January 2020. However, unlike beef from CPTPP countries, U.S. beef products face more restrictive safeguard measures in Japan (Imaizumi, 2021). Safeguard measures are used to limit excessive import growth by allowing governments to increase tariffs on a product when imports exceed a certain level during a specified period. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and agreements like CPTPP and USJTA allow the Japanese government to increase tariffs on beef when imports exceed a certain volume during a specified period. This specified volume is often referred to as a safeguard trigger. For instance, if Japan’s annual beef imports from CPTPP countries exceeded 601,800 metric tons (MT) (around 1,327 million pounds) from April 2019–March 2020, the Japanese government could have enforced a higher tariff to limit beef imports from CPTPP countries (Imaizumi, 2018).3 Japan’s safeguard trigger for U.S. beef negotiated under USJTA is currently 242,000 MT (around 534 million pounds), which is significantly lower than the CPTPP safeguard trigger. While the relatively higher safeguard trigger could be due to CPTPP including multiple countries and USJTA only including the U.S., Japan essentially imports beef from two countries, the U.S. and Australia. Imports from other CPTPP countries are significantly smaller by comparison. Thus, the more generous CPTPP safeguard trigger is predominantly applied to Australian beef, whereas U.S. beef is facing a significantly more restrictive safeguard trigger. To put this in context, U.S. beef exports to Japan exceeded 242,000 MT the last five years (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021a). Given this fact, it was no surprise when the Japanese government announced in March 2021 that imports of U.S. beef from April 2020 to March 2021 reached 242,229 MT, exceeding the safeguard trigger, and that tariffs on U.S. beef would temporarily increase from their current level (25.8 percent) to 38.5 percent for a 30-day period (Imaizumi, 2021). The goal of this report is to examine how Japan’s beef safeguard measures could impact the competitiveness of U.S. beef, vis-à-vis beef from competing countries like Australia. While there is some evidence that Japanese consumers do not consider U.S. beef and Australian beef to be perfect substitutes and have different preferences based on product attributes (e.g., U.S. grain-fed beef versus Australian grass-fed beef), prior research suggests that price competition is still important and that tariffs could affect the competitiveness of U.S. beef in Japan, resulting in less imports of U.S. beef and increased imports of Australian beef (Muhammad et al., 2018). In this report, we provide background on the U.S. beef sector and Japanese beef imports, details on Japan’s beef tariffs and safeguard measures in the CPTPP and USJTA, and lastly, we present findings on how temporary tariff increases due to safeguard measures impacts U.S. beef exports relative to other exporting countries in the Japanese market. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2021–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:utaeer:313523&r= |
| By: | Sascha Keil (Chemnitz University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper sheds light on serious methodological difficulties of employing the empiric export equation in order to derive long-run trade elasticities. The unreliable estimated price coefficient (Kaldor Paradox) and the potential presence of cointegration are identified as the most relevant points. It can be shown that difficulties are in part due to methodological issues. New empirical evidence, encompassing eleven Euro area countries and the timespan 1995– 2019, has been obtained from different cointegration techniques. In seven out of eleven cases a robust long-run relationship can be detected and price elasticity was consistently found being significant and negative. |
| Keywords: | International trade, Competitiveness, Kaldor Paradox, Export equation, ARDL |
| JEL: | F14 C13 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0261&r= |
| By: | Christine Arriola; Przemyslaw Kowalski; Frank van Tongeren |
| Abstract: | 2020 marked some of the largest reductions in trade and output volumes since WWII. Focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic and using the latest monthly and quarterly data on international trade of selected countries and products, this paper documents key shifts in geographical direction and product composition of international trade in 2020. Trade in services declined by more than twice as much as trade in goods and its recovery has also been slower. While the size of the drop in global trade relative to the drop in output in 2020 was smaller than during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), this was not related to the overall size of the trade impacts in 2020, but rather reflects the significant heterogeneity of trade and production impacts across specific goods, services and trade partners from COVID-19. Trade in several types of goods plummeted, while that in others increased markedly. As a result, the variation in trade impacts across the different product categories in 2020 was not only larger than during the GFC, but also larger than in any other year during the past two decades. The product structure of countries’ goods trade also changed significantly in 2020, indicating large adjustments. While some international supply chains came under pressure in early months of the pandemic, the data also show that supply chains were instrumental in the resumption of economic activity. The distance travelled by imported products actually continued to increase in 2020, largely as a result of China and other Asian countries filling supply gaps resulting from lockdowns and demand changes in other regions. These shifts occurred in the context of significant perturbations in the international transport sector. While it is not known which of the changes in 2020 will be only short-lived, some seem to show signs of longer-term shifts or are likely to result in long-term adjustments. Above all, the unprecedented heterogeneity of changes in trade flows across products, sources and destinations seen in 2020 suggests high uncertainty and adjustment costs, and implies an increased need ‒ and incentives ‒ for consumers, firms and governments to adopt new or intensify existing risk mitigation strategies. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, Globalisation, International supply chains, International trade, Statistics |
| JEL: | F10 F14 F40 F61 |
| Date: | 2021–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:traaab:252-en&r= |
| By: | Juan Carlos Hallak (Universidad de Buenos Aires / CONICET); Andrea González (Universidad de Buenos Aires) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes two Argentine case studies of firm’s integration in global value chains (GVCs) that target non-mass market segments in developed countries. The cases involve a manufacturer of high-end footwear and a manufacturer of customized automotive parts. Based on the common findings in these two cases, we build a conceptual framework that emphasizes relational links as an opportunity of GVC insertion for middle-income countries that cannot buttress their international competitiveness on low wages. We call these modes of insertion manufacturing with co-design. |
| Keywords: | GVC; non-mass goods; design; relational links; middle-income countries |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:81&r= |
| By: | HEIKE Masahiro |
| Abstract: | This case is one of a series of WTO dispute settlement cases which relates to the political conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine claims that Russia's measures related to Conformity Assessment Procedures which restricted the acquisition of certifications required for sales in Russia and hindered the export of Ukrainian railway equipment to Russia are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement. The conformity assessment procedure is a procedure for demonstrating that a product conforms to technical regulations and standards. And, as confirmation through conformity assessment that products conform with technical regulations may be treated as a condition for importing and selling the product, the way the procedures are designed and conducted may have a significant impact on trade of goods. In fact, in some studies, about half of the "Specific Trade Concerns" (STCs) presented at the 2010-2014 TBT Committee were measures related to conformity assessment procedures. As Article 5 of the TBT Agreement, which regulates the conformity assessment procedure, has not been disputed in the WTO dispute resolution procedure, this case has important significance in that it shows the legal framework for applying this provision for the first time. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rpdpjp:21014&r= |
| By: | SASAHARA Akira; MORI Hiroaki |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of international trade in explaining the closing gender gaps in the U.S. We build a model with two countries, each of which consists of manufacturing and service sectors as well as female and male labor. A greater female labor intensity in the service sector and an increase in imports of manufacturing varieties generate our key results. The model demonstrates that decreasing trade costs and increasing foreign manufacturing productivity lead to a rise in the service sector at home. This change increases the relative demand for female labor and raises the relative wage for female workers. Our counterfactual analysis quantifies the contribution of trade-related causes in explaining the narrowed gender gaps during the 1968-2008 period. |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:21076&r= |
| By: | Italo Colantone; Gianmarco Ottaviano; Piero Stanig |
| Abstract: | We review the literature on the globalization backlash, seen as the political shift of voters and parties in a protectionist and isolationist direction, with substantive implications on governments’ leaning and enacted policies. Using newly assembled data for 23 advanced democracies, we document a protectionist and isolationist shift in electorates, legislatures, and executives from the mid-1990s onwards. This is associated with a noticeable protectionist shift in trade policy –although with some notable nuances– especially since the financial crisis of 2008. We discuss the economics of the backlash. From a theoretical perspective, we highlight how the backlash may arise within standard trade models when taking into account the ‘social footprint’ of globalization. Then, we review the empirical literature on the drivers of the backlash. Two main messages emerge from our analysis: (1) globalization is a significant driver of the backlash, by means of the distributional consequences entailed by rising trade exposure; yet (2) the backlash is only partly determined by trade. Technological change, crisis-driven fiscal austerity, immigration, and cultural concerns are found to play an important role in creating politically consequential cleavages. Looking ahead, we discuss possible future developments, with specific focus on the issue of social mobility |
| Keywords: | Globalization, Social Footprint, Backlash |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp20165&r= |
| By: | Maxime Delabarre (Sciences Po - Sciences Po) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to investigate the economic and institutional determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the world post-2000. To this end, I analyze the inwards stocks of FDIs using unilateral and bilateral data. Based on the UNCTAD database, I also study the impact of Bilateral Investment Treaties on the inflow of FDIs. Main results provide evidence supporting the idea that treaties increase the inflows of FDIs in the years following their signature. However, regulations aimed at increasing the protection of property rights have a larger effect on the attractiveness for investors. This paper does not find robust evidence demonstrating that political stability and corruption level have significant effects. More, I demonstrate that an increase of tariffs in the host country results in an increase of FDIs, supposedly due to relocation processes. |
| Keywords: | FDI,economics,law,investments,institutions,political,development |
| Date: | 2021–09–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03334549&r= |
| By: | Isabella M Weber (Department of Economics and Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst); Gregor Semieniuk (Political Economy Research Institute and Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst); Tom Westland (Department of History, University of Cambridge); Junshang Liang (Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst) |
| Abstract: | Does what you exported matter? We build a new global commodity-level export database for the previous era of globalization and find persistence in productive capabilities proxied by economic complexity, export diversification, and sophistication across a century. We also show that productive capabilities at the turn of the 20th century are a powerful predictor of today’s income levels. We demonstrate that our results are not driven by persistence in geography or institutions. The persistence mechanism is the complementarity between past and future productive capabilities with one important qualification, the persistent negative effect of European overseas colonization. We also study shocks that undermined persistence, confirm the resource curse hypothesis for the long run and find a positive but slow effect of democratization. |
| JEL: | F14 F63 N10 O10 O50 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ums:papers:2021-02&r= |
| By: | WATANABE Mariko; KAWASHIMA Fujio; KAMO Tomoki; KAWASE Tsuyoshi |
| Abstract: | This paper conducts an analysis on the policy documents issued by China regarding the entry to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP, hereafter). The Chinese governments expressed their interest toward entry in 2020. Analysis of the documents revealed their political purpose and expected actions towards achieving their goals. In 2020, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang respectively referred to their intention to start talks on the entry to CPTPP. This paper examines the following points: (1) their basic attitude toward the arena of international rule making, (2) China's general attitude towards the WTO, (3) their policy they called Legal Work on Foreign Issues, (4) individual rules in chapters on SOE, Labor and E-Commerce of the TPP framework and applicability of China, (5) impacts of the U.S. and UK actions towards CPTPP on China's stance. We found that China is taking actions toward achieving their policy of Legal Work on Foreign Issues which consist of (1) enhancing their "institutional discourse power" through international rule making, and (2) legislation against extraterritorial application by foreign entities from 2021 to 2025. It is highly likely that they regard the entry to CPTPP as an important step in building their institutional discourse power, whose concrete goal is the building of an FTAAP (Free Trade Agreement of Asia-Pacific), beginning with entry into CPTPP in addition to RCEP. |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rpdpjp:21016&r= |
| By: | Rosanna Grassi; Paolo Bartesaghi; Gian Paolo Clemente; Duc Thi Luu |
| Abstract: | We analyse the multilayer architecture of the global input-output network using sectoral trade data (WIOD, 2016 release). With a focus on the mesoscale structure and related properties, we find that the multilayer analysis that takes into consideration the splitting into industry-based layers is able to catch more peculiar relationships between countries that cannot be detected from the analysis of the single-layer aggregated network. We can identify several large international communities in which some countries trade more intensively in some specific layers. However, interestingly, our results show that these clusters can restructure and evolve over time. In general, not only their internal composition changes, but the centrality rankings of the members inside are also reordered, with the diminishing role of industries from some countries and the growing importance of those from some other countries. These changes in the large international clusters may reflect the outcomes and the dynamics of cooperation as well as competition among industries and among countries in the global input-output network. |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2109.02946&r= |
| By: | Christoph Albert; Albrecht Glitz; Joan Llull |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we show that the wage assimilation of immigrants is the result of the intricate interplay between individual skill accumulation and dynamic equilibrium effects in the labor market. When immigrants and natives are imperfect substitutes, increasing immigrant inflows widen the wage gap between them. Using a simple production function framework, we show that this labor market competition channel can explain about one quarter of the large increase in the average immigrant-native wage gap in the United States between the 1960s and 1990s arrival cohorts. Once competition effects and compositional changes in education and region of origin are accounted for, we find that the unobservable skills of newly arriving immigrants increased over time rather than decreased as traditionally argued in the literature. We corroborate this finding by documenting closely matching patterns for immigrants' English language proficiency. |
| Keywords: | Immigrant assimilation, labor market competition, cohort sizes, imperfect substitution, general and specific skills |
| JEL: | J21 J22 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1799&r= |
| By: | Maxime Delabarre (Sciences Po - Sciences Po) |
| Abstract: | Through a review of the different forms of interdependence between states and economies, this essay argues that an international response resulting from further global cooperation is the way forward. As interdependence is now weaponized to serve countries' interests, coordination is needed across global players. Specifically, trade and economic negotiations have to take place. However, one needs also to consider deep modifications to the current international framework, strongly unbalanced. International taxation, global public goods, climate change, and global value chain are among the subjects needed to be reconsidered. |
| Date: | 2021–09–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03334550&r= |
| By: | Rodrigo García Arancibia (Universidad Nacional del Litoral/CONICET/RedNIE); Mariano Coronel (Universidad Nacional del Litoral); Jimena Vicentin Masaro (Universidad Nacional del Litoral / RedNIE) |
| Abstract: | The Latin American beer sector has undergone important changes over the last 25 years. The growth in beer production, consumption, and trade has been accompanied by a greater demand for malt and barley produced and traded in the region, displacing other traditional export countries of these inputs. Based on these facts, we studied the long-term relationship between this increase in beer production and the prices of imported inputs. In addition, we estimated the elaticities of demand of imported inputs of the main Latin American brewing countries. This allow as to infer about Latin America’s competitive position as a supplier of its own beer inputs. |
| Keywords: | beer inputs; import demand; cointegration; demand elasticities; regional integration |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:85&r= |
| By: | Isaac K. Ofori (University of Insubria, Varese, Italy); Pamela E. Ofori (University of Insubria, Varese, Italy); Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | Motivated by the momentous rise in ICT diffusion, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, and the expected rebound of foreign direct investment inflow to Africa from 2022, this study examines the joint effects of industrialisation and ICT diffusion on resource mobilisation in Africa. To this end, we use data on 42 African countries for the period 1996 – 2020 for the analysis. First, we provide evidence robust to several specifications from the dynamic system GMM to show that although unconditionally both industrialisation and ICT diffusion enhance (i) goods and services tax (GST), and (ii) profits, corporate and income tax (PCIT) mobilisation efforts in Africa, the effects of the former are rather remarkable in the presence of the latter. Particularly, the results show that, while ICTs amplify the effect of industrialisation on GST, only ICT usage and ICT skills matter for PCIT. Second, the study unveils ICT thresholds for complementary policies. Accordingly, industrialisation and ICTs are necessary and sufficient conditions for tax revenue mobilisation only below some ICT thresholds. Above these ICT thresholds, complementary policies are needed to maintain the overall positive incidence on tax revenue mobilisation. Policy recommendations are provided in the end. |
| Keywords: | AfCFTA; Africa; ICT access; ICT diffusion; Industrialisation; Tax; Revenue |
| JEL: | C33 F6 H2 H71 O33 O55 |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exs:wpaper:21/058&r= |
| By: | Marette, Stéphan (Paris-Saclay); Disdier, Anne-Célia (PSE); Bodnar, Anastasia (USDA OCE); Beghin, John C (UNL) |
| Abstract: | New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs) may significantly improve both production and quality of foods. Consumers and regulators around the world might be reluctant to accept such products, which may cripple adoption and global market penetration of these products. We develop a parsimonious economic model for R&D investment in food innovations to identify conditions under which NPET technology emerges in a context of international trade. The framework integrates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the new food, the uncertainty of R&D processes, the associated regulatory cost of approval, and the competition between domestic and foreign products. With generic applicability, the model enables the quantitative analysis of new foods that could be introduced in markets and then traded across borders. We apply the framework to a hypothetical case of apples improved with NPETs. Simulation results suggest that import bans and high values of sunk costs can reduce R&D investment in NPETs to suboptimal levels. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Industrial Organization, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2021–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nbaesp:313493&r= |
| By: | Robert Ialenti |
| Abstract: | We assess how rising exports of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) affect the convergence of natural gas prices worldwide. Using standard principal component analysis and cointegrating techniques, we show that the degree of co-movement between global benchmark prices for natural gas has strengthened since the United States began the large-scale export of LNG in 2016. At the same time, we find that global natural gas prices do not yet adhere to the relative law of one price. Our results also suggest that issues related to storage access in Alberta between 2017 and 2019 have limited price co-movements between major benchmarks for natural gas in the United States and Canada. In addition, we use vector error correction models to show that natural gas prices in Europe and Asia respond negatively to increased exports of US LNG. These results may have implications for the development of future LNG export capacity in Canada. |
| Keywords: | International topics; Market structure and pricing |
| JEL: | C32 F15 K41 L95 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocadp:21-14&r= |
| By: | Cörvers, Frank (RS: GSBE Theme Learning and Work, RS: FdR Research Group ITEM, RS: SBE - MACIMIDE, ROA / Human capital in the region); Reinold, Julia (RS: GSBE MGSoG, Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, RS: FdR Research Group ITEM); Chakkar, Saena (RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, ROA / Human capital in the region); Bolzonella, Francesco; Ronda, Vera |
| Abstract: | Attracting and retaining migrants can have many benefits for the host country and its economy, for example to mitigate skills shortages. Regulating immigration may prevent several negative consequences of a shrinking and ageing population. However, research and policy often focus on the highly skilled or so-called knowledge migrants (kennismigranten) as a source of human capital, which can increase innovation and a country’s competitiveness. A group of labour migrants that receives significantly less attention from research and policy, are the medium-skilled migrant workers. Although it makes up a significant share of the migrant population, this group is rarely supported by specific migration policies. |
| Date: | 2021–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umarot:2021005&r= |
| By: | Bekaert, Els; Constant, Amelie F.; Foubert, Killian; Ruyssen, Ilse |
| Abstract: | Aspirations provide the underlying dynamics of the behavior of individuals whether they are realized or not. Knowledge about the characteristics and motives of those who aspire to leave the host country is key for both host and home countries to formulate appropriate and effective policies in order to keep their valued immigrants or citizens and foster their (re-)integration. Based on unique individual-level Gallup World Polls data, a random utility model, and a multinomial logit we model the aspirations or stated preferences of immigrants across 138 countries worldwide. Our analysis reveals selection in characteristics, a strong role for soft factors like social ties and sociocultural integration, and a faint role for economic factors. Changes in circumstances in the home and host countries are also important determinants of aspirations. Results differ by the host countries' level of economic development. |
| Keywords: | Economics of Immigrants,Geographic Labor Mobility,Public Policy,Micro-economic Behavior,Underlying Principles,International Migration,Large Data Sets,Modeling and Analysis |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J68 D01 F22 C55 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:930&r= |
| By: | Adam Levai (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)); Riccardo Turati (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Even though the existing literature investigating the labor market impact of immigration assumes, implicitly or explicitly, that labor market regulation is exogenous to immigration (in terms of both size and composition), this is not necessarily the case. This paper shows that labor market regulation responds to the composition of the immigrant population. We build a novel workers’ protection index based on 36 labor law variables over a sample of 70 developed and developing countries from 1970 to 2010. Exploiting a dynamic panel setting using both internal and external instruments, we find that workers’ protection in destination countries is influenced by the degree of workers’ protection that immigrants experience in their origin countries and is not affected by immigrant population size. The effects are particularly strong across two dimensions of workers’ protection: worker representation laws and employment forms laws. This paper provides suggestive evidence that immigrants’ participation in unions and its implications for political actors is one of the potential mechanisms. Finally, calculations based on the estimated coefficients suggest that immigration, on average, contributes to a reduction in workers’ protection, particularly in OECD high-income countries. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Labor Market Institutions, Labor Regulation, Workers’ Protection |
| JEL: | J61 K31 F22 |
| Date: | 2021–09–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2021021&r= |
| By: | Gale, Fred |
| Abstract: | This report examines lists of applicants for wheat tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for the years 2015 to 2021 to characterize the potential demand for imported wheat in China. More than 900 companies in China applied for quota from 2015 to 2021, and 171 applied 7 years in a row. Although most applicants are private companies in major flour-producing provinces, they account for few wheat imports; customs data indicate that Beijing-based companies—comprising fewer than 2 percent of TRQ applicants each year—are the predominant wheat importers. When China’s wheat imports doubled in 2020, Beijing-based companies accounted for 85 percent of the imports. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy |
| Date: | 2021–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:usdami:313487&r= |
| By: | Fays, Valentine (University of Mons); Mahy, Benoît (University of Mons); Rycx, Francois (Free University of Brussels) |
| Abstract: | This paper is the first to investigate the role of firm-level upstreamness (i.e. the number of steps before the production of a firm meets final demand) in explaining wage differences according to workers' origin. Using unique linked employer-employee data relative to the Belgian manufacturing industry for the period 2002-2010, our estimates show that firms that are further up in the value chain pay significantly higher wages. However, the wage premium associated with upstreamness is also found to vary substantially depending on the origin of the workers. Unconditional quantile estimates suggest that those who benefit the most from being employed in more upstream firms are high-wage workers born in developed countries. In contrast, workers born in developing countries, irrespective of their earnings, appear to be unfairly rewarded. Quantile decompositions further show that, while differences in average values of upstreamness according to workers' origin play a limited role, differences in wage premia associated with upstreamness account for a substantial part of the wage gap between workers born in developed and developing countries, especially at the top of the earnings distribution. These results are shown to be robust to a number of sensitivity tests, including broader or narrower definitions of workers' wages and different firm environments in terms of technological and knowledge intensity. |
| Keywords: | wage gaps, workers’ origin, global value chains, upstreamness, unconditional quantile estimates and decompositions |
| JEL: | J15 J31 F16 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14696&r= |
| By: | Miles M. Finney |
| Abstract: | The immigrant population has grown dramatically in the US in the last fifty years. This study estimates housing demand among immigrants and discusses how immigration may be altering the structure of US urban areas. Immigrants are found to consume less housing per capita than native born US residents. |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:21-23&r= |
| By: | Morando, Greta (University of Westminster) |
| Abstract: | It has been found that migrants and natives are affected differently by fluctuations in the business cycle. This paper analyses whether this is the case when considering the most recent economic downturn triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. By using UK data, it finds that unemployment has increased for both natives and migrants as has, consequently, the benefits which are aimed to support non-employed households. The rise in these outcomes is particularly important for EU migrants. EU migrants have also been more likely to experience a decrease in pay during the pandemic. Natives, EU workers, and non-EU workers have all suffered similar decreases in hours worked. Since migrants are likely to adjust to negative shocks by return or re-migration, these findings suggest that the recent increase in emigration from the UK can be partly explained by the negative effects of the pandemic on migrants labour market outcomes. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, migration, UK labour market |
| JEL: | F22 J01 J20 J61 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14699&r= |
| By: | Valentine Fays (Université de Mons (humanOrg)); Benoît Mahy (Université de Mons (humanOrg)); François Rycx (Université libre de Bruxelles, SBS-EM (CEBRIG & DULBEA)) |
| Abstract: | This paper is the first to investigate the role of firm-level upstreamness (i.e. the number of steps before the production of a firm meets final demand) in explaining wage differences according to workers’ origin. Using unique linked employer-employee data relative to the Belgian manufacturing industry for the period 2002-2010, our estimates show that firms that are further up in the value chain pay significantly higher wages. However, the wage premium associated with upstreamness is also found to vary substantially depending on the origin of the workers. Unconditional quantile estimates suggest that those who benefit the most from being employed in more upstream firms are high-wage workers born in developed countries. In contrast, workers born in developing countries, irrespective of their earnings, appear to be unfairly rewarded. Quantile decompositions further show that, while differences in average values of upstreamness according to workers’ origin play a limited role, differences in wage premia associated with upstreamness account for a substantial part of the wage gap between workers born in developed and developing countries, especially at the top of the earnings distribution. These results are shown to be robust to a number of sensitivity tests, including broader or narrower definitions of workers’ wages and different firm environments in terms of technological and knowledge intensity. |
| Keywords: | Wage Gaps, Workers’ Origin, Global Value Chains, Upstreamness, Unconditional Quantile Estimates and Decompositions |
| JEL: | J15 J31 F16 |
| Date: | 2021–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2021022&r= |
| By: | Arrighetti, Alessandro; Lasagni, Andrea; Gnarini, Daniela; Semenza, Renata |
| Abstract: | Multicultural enterprises can be considered as a subset of the complex phenomenon of migrant entrepreneurship Starting from a theoretical overview of the phenomenon, the study analyzes multicultural enterprise experiences. Various topics, ranging from perceived advantages to obstacles encountered in everyday business, are discussed. In its conclusion, the study presents recommendations on how to adjust support actions to the specific needs of multicultural enterprises. |
| Keywords: | Multicultural Firm,Migrant Firm |
| JEL: | L20 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:240904&r= |