Jean-Jacques Hallaert, Ricardo H. Cavazos-Cepeda, Gimin Kang
{"title":"Estimating the Constraints to Trade of Developing Countries","authors":"Jean-Jacques Hallaert, Ricardo H. Cavazos-Cepeda, Gimin Kang","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1874738","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1874738","url":null,"abstract":"The severity of binding constraints to trade expansion in developing countries and the importance of the complementary policies that will maximize the impact of trade reforms on trade and economic growth are identified and quantified in this report. As trade-related needs of developing countries are numerous, such quantification is needed to identify the most binding constraints to guide the sequencing of reforms and aid-for-trade interventions. The constraints to trade expansion are largely country specific. However, countries which share important characteristics may face similar binding constraints. An econometric analysis is undertaken for as many partner countries as possible to produce an �unrestricted sample. that can be used as a benchmark against which special country groupings can be assessed. The econometric work relies on experimentation to identify and rank (based on their relative severity) the most binding constraints for each country grouping. Two case studies, on Azerbaijan and Uganda, illustrate the mechanisms of the econometric work and the importance of several variables not captured because of data limitations","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122522143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Saudi Aramco and the Oil Market","authors":"Anton A. Nakov, Galo Nũno","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1857398","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1857398","url":null,"abstract":"We present a general equilibrium model of the global oil market, in which the oil price, oil production, and consumption, are jointly determined as outcomes of the optimizing decisions of oil importers and oil exporters. On the supply side the oil market is modelled as a dominant firm – Saudi Aramco – with competitive fringe. We establish that a dominant firm may exist as long as it enjoys a cost advantage over the fringe. We provide an expression for the optimal markup and compute the spare capacity maintained by such a firm. The model produces plausible dynamic in response to oil supply and oil demand shocks. In particular, it reproduces successfully the jump in oil output of Saudi Aramco following the output collapse of Iraq and Kuwait during the first Gulf War, explaining it as the profit-maximizing response of the dominant firm. Oil taxes and subsidies affect the oil price and welfare through their effect on the trade-off between oil production efficiency and oil market competition. JEL Classification: E32, Q43","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"05 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130197219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Manoeuvring at the Margins: Constraints Faced by Small States in Trade Negotiations","authors":"Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Emily Jones","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2195750","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2195750","url":null,"abstract":"Small states live with a paradox when it comes to trade negotiations. They depend on international trade to a greater extent than any other group of countries, yet they have the weakest voice when it comes to influencing the rules that govern trade. By dint of their small market size, small states have little to offer negotiating partners by way of market access concessions, the major currency of trade negotiations; institutional capacity is often limited so they have few trade negotiators and limited budgets; and they may be subjected to coercive threats by more powerful states to comply with their interests.These manifold challenges often produce pessimism about small states’ prospects for success in trade negotiations. Taken to the extreme such assessments can lead to the view that ‘no amount of negotiating will make a difference.’ However our research suggests a more optimistic view. Building on existing scholarly and policy literature, Manoeuvring the Margins is the first attempt to systematically analyse the perceptions of small state negotiators on the constraints they face in international trade negotiations. Based on the views of more than eighty trade negotiators from thirty small states, it shows that small developing countries can exert a decisive influence over the outcomes of trade negotiations. This briefing paper highlights some of the key findings.","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130214721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"International Voice Tariffs: Disparities and Recommendations for Convergence in South Asia","authors":"Shazna Zuhyle, Ranmalee Gamage","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1980522","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1980522","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of international roaming in South Asia and make recommendations on how transparency and consistency in tariffs may be achieved; two elements that are important if the objective of SAARC is to provide its citizens a single-market environment. International roaming is a service that allows ease of communication for travelers and facilitates cross-border communication. It is a service that is only used by those who can afford foreign travel and high roaming charges; however, it is these communication links that connect the region. Affordability aside, research shows significant price variations within the SAARC region. Such disparities in roaming tariffs have long been the cause of concern for many and efforts have been made to regulate tariffs at a regional level within other organizations; the most successful being that of the European Union (EU). This paper also draws upon such examples.","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122677944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Navigating New Landscapes: The Contribution of Socio-Legal Scholarship in Mapping the Plurality of International Economic Law and Locating Power in International Economic Relations","authors":"C. Tan","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1814082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1814082","url":null,"abstract":"The evolution of international economic law in the past two decades has been characterised by the growth and diversification of international economic actors, the expansion in the substantive areas governed by international law, and, crucially, the proliferation of multiple sites of international economic governance. This web of multi-layered international economic governance is, in turn, underpinned by complex dynamics of power which structure the legal and economic relations between the subjects of international economic law and other actors impacted by international legal rules and regulation. \u0000 \u0000The challenge for international legal scholarship lay not only in mapping the multiple sites of international economic governance but also in unmasking the power dynamics inherent in international economic relations. Locating and analysing power relations underlying international economic law is to crucial to understanding the cause and effect of international economic rules and institutions for rulemaking. \u0000 \u0000Conventional legal scholarship with its doctrinal focus, while useful in providing the foundational basis for analysis, cannot adequately capture the complexity of contemporary international economic law. Socio-legal approaches may be able to overcome these epistemological limitations by supplying: a) the methodologies to study international economic law beyond a focus on rules and institutions; and b) the critical theoretical lens to understand the power dynamics inherent in international legal relations. \u0000 \u0000The objective of this paper is twofold: firstly, it will seek to identify the contributions of socio-legal approaches to the study of international economic law; and secondly, it will explore how socio-legal scholarship can provide a methodological and theoretical framework to construct an understanding of the pluralistic nature of international economic regulatory regimes and their underlying dynamics of power. In doing so, the paper will also consider the value of juxtaposing an empirical methodology for mapping legal regimes with a critical normative approach for analysing power relations in international economic law.","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"72 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130895867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Effects of the U.S. Price Control Policies on OPEC: Lessons from the Past","authors":"Khalid M. Kisswani","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1722273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1722273","url":null,"abstract":"In 1973-1974, the U.S. faced the so-called “Energy Crisis” due to the Arab oil embargo and a quadrupling of world crude oil prices by OPEC. This led the U.S. to use a” Price Control” policy in the domestic energy market. The effects of such policy are explored and well documented. However, the responses of OPEC producers to such a policy need further attention. This paper examines the effects of these price controls on OPEC‟s extraction path. It also examines the relation between the harm function and the change in OPEC production. The results show some evidence that OPEC did respond differently to price controls applied by the U.S. For some periods it cut production, while in other periods production levels increased. The results also show some evidence regarding Wirl (2008) that OPEC includes political support as part of its objective function when it comes to oil extraction.","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"75 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127290940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Implications of Ethiopia’s International Trade Negotiations and the Private Sector – An Overarching View","authors":"D. Bienen","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1541210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1541210","url":null,"abstract":"Ethiopia is currently involved in a number of international trade negotiations which will have a far-reaching impact on the Ethiopian economy. Negotiations take place both at the multilateral level (Ethiopia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation) and inter-regionally (Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union). Regionally, studies are under way on the establishment of economic integration among members of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development and the Sana’a Forum for Co-operation. Finally, a decision will have to be taken regarding Ethiopia’s potential joining the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa’s (COMESA) Free Trade Area – which might be superseded by a Tripartite FTA combining the 26 members of COMESA, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC).Against this background, the paper pursues a number of objectives. First, it assesses the likely implications for the Ethiopian economy of the ongoing and planned international trade negotiations in which Ethiopia is involved. Second, the paper aims at helping develop a coherent strategy for all of Ethiopia’s current and international trade negotiations. Third, it raises awareness among the Ethiopian business community about the various international trade negotiations in which Ethiopia is involved and thus contributes to devising a positive and proactive agenda by forging consensus and commitment among private sector representatives and building a strategic partnership between public and private sector leaders in order to leverage regional and multilateral negotiations.","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"154 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114822043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea: What are We Waiting for?","authors":"R. Gomes","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1675606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1675606","url":null,"abstract":"American businesses pay billions of dollars in tariffs each year on exports to countries that are willing to eliminate those tariffs. Why? Because Congress has failed to ratify three key trade agreements already negotiated and signed by the United States.","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"62 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131502335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"US International Trade and the Global Economic Crisis","authors":"William E. James","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1617147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1617147","url":null,"abstract":"The decline in world trade volume in 2009 was the worst since the Great Depression. The United States (US) spread the global recession as a major source of external demand. US import and export data are examined to understand the repercussions, particularly for developing economies divided into preferential and non-preferential trading partners. A key finding is that US trade with preferential partners contracted faster than with non-preferential partners. Case studies of autos and textiles provide insights. A new global trade deal may be the way forward as the US will have to expand net exports to restore growth.","PeriodicalId":285675,"journal":{"name":"PSN: International Trade Policy (Topic)","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134009920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}