{"title":"Aiding Higher Education with Export Expansion in the Developing World","authors":"Motoshi Suzuki","doi":"10.1017/s1474745623000290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745623000290","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The recent change towards advanced technologies favors skill-intensive labor, motivating workers to upgrade their educational achievements to the tertiary level. However, workers in many developing countries cannot exploit the opportunity for premium wages in skill-intensive sectors owing to insufficient education facilities and resources. In such contexts, aid to education provides a capacity-building tool to eliminate the insufficiency but is often unsuccessful. Using theories of trade and human capital, this study argues that complementarity between education aid and skill-intensive manufactured exports creates a synergistic effect in upgrading educational achievements by rectifying both structural and incentive constraints. Through extensive data analysis, the result demonstrates that skill-intensive exports enhance aid's effectiveness in increasing tertiary school enrollment, whereas neither exports nor aid alone significantly affect enrollment. It further shows that the aid–export complementarity is less relevant in low-income countries, whereas skill-intensive exports alone promote education upgrading in developed countries via the Stolper–Samuelson effect.","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42417747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tariff Flexibility Amid Formation of Preferential Trade Agreements: WTO Law vs. PTA Law","authors":"Jong Bum Kim, Li Yoo","doi":"10.1017/s1474745623000277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745623000277","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper examines the legal ramifications of using tariff flexibility arising from GATT unbound tariff lines or tariff overhangs under both WTO and preferential trade agreement (PTA) law when flexibility is exercised preferentially for PTA partners. Under WTO law, a WTO member that is a party to a PTA under GATT Article XXIV is required to use tariff flexibility on a non-discriminatory basis. However, PTA obligations including tariff elimination commitments and a standstill clause prohibit the WTO member from raising applied tariffs on imports from the PTA parties, thereby preventing the use of tariff flexibility on a non-discriminatory manner. In contrast, a WTO member entering into a PTA under the Enabling Clause may use tariff flexibility discriminatorily without violating WTO law. A WTO member has greater legal latitude in utilizing tariff flexibility if it forms a PTA under the Enabling Clause rather than under GATT Article XXIV. The discriminatory exercise of tariff flexibility by some WTO members in conformity with PTA obligations, but in violation of WTO law, is further evidence of the fragmentation of the world trading system, where WTO law is facing its limits.","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136355433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Towards an Effective Appellate Mechanism for ISDS Tribunals","authors":"Jeffrey Kucik, Sergio Puig","doi":"10.1017/s1474745623000253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745623000253","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This Article identifies the problems of an Appellate Mechanism for ISDS Tribunals in relation with its possible benefits. We propose the inclusion of certain design features to improve the working of an eventual Appellate Mechanism and help mitigate problems related to procedural, conflict resolution, and substantive concerns. We finish by identifying the most central problems with a possible Appellate Mechanism, which helps to narrow down options within the ongoing reform process at UNCITRAL. Overall, we illustrate how institutional choice is always contextual and that all institutional options are imperfect and subject to important trade-offs.","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136355710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predicting Exporters with Machine Learning","authors":"Francesca Micocci, Armando Rungi","doi":"10.1017/s1474745623000265","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745623000265","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this contribution, we exploit machine learning techniques to evaluate whether and how close firms are to become successful exporters. First, we train various algorithms using financial information on both exporters and non-exporters in France in 2010–2018. Thus, we show that it is possible to predict the distance non-exporters are from export status. In particular, we find that a Bayesian Additive Regression Tree with Missingness In Attributes (BART-MIA) performs better than other techniques with an accuracy of up to 0.90. Predictions are robust to changes in definitions of exporters and in the presence of discontinuous exporting activity. Eventually, we discuss how our exporting scores can be helpful for trade promotion, trade credit, and assessing aggregate trade potential. For example, back-of-the-envelope estimates show that a representative firm with just below-average exporting scores needs up to 44% more cash resources and up to 2.5 times more capital to get to foreign markets.","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136296390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
X. Cirera, D. Comín, M. Cruz, Kyung Min Lee, A. Martins-Neto
{"title":"Exporting and Technology Adoption in Brazil","authors":"X. Cirera, D. Comín, M. Cruz, Kyung Min Lee, A. Martins-Neto","doi":"10.1017/S1474745623000186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474745623000186","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract There is limited evidence about the role that participating in international trade has on the diffusion of technologies. This paper analyzes the impact of exporting on firms’ adoption of technologies that are more sophisticated, using a novel dataset, the Firm-level Adoption of Technology (FAT) survey, that includes more than 1,500 firms from Brazil. The survey provides detailed information about the use of more than 300 technologies, combined with data from Brazil's census of formal workers (RAIS) and Brazil’s exports data from the Ministry of Trade. To address some critical endogeneity concerns, we apply a difference-in-differences estimation with multiple periods to examine the effects of entering export markets on technology adoption. We find that exporting has positive effects on firms’ likelihood of adopting advanced technologies in business functions related with business administration, production planning, supply chain management, and quality control, which are important to manage tasks associated to export activities.","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"334 - 347"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47778669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The WTO's Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA): What's New?","authors":"Joost Pauwelyn","doi":"10.1017/s1474745623000204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745623000204","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 To preserve the functioning of WTO dispute settlement following the blockage of the Appellate Body, a sub-set of WTO Members created the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). In the wake of the first appeal award rendered under the MPIA, this contribution describes how the MPIA process works and lists some of the innovations that can be found in the first MPIA procedure. More innovations can be expected as arbitration under Article 25 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) (be it ad hoc or under the MPIA) can be adjusted and molded case-by-case by the disputing parties in their appeal arbitration agreements. In this sense, the MPIA can serve not only as an interim stop-gap to preserve WTO dispute settlement. It can also function as a laboratory to explore and test new ways of making WTO dispute settlement more efficient and in line with WTO Members' goals and interests: experimental reform by doing, rather than one-off, formal DSU review.","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46231128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of Investment Arbitration and State-Driven Reform: New Treaties, Old Outcomes by Wolfgang Alschner Oxford: Oxford University Press","authors":"Tarald Gulseth Berge","doi":"10.1017/s1474745623000216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745623000216","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44393491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preferential Trade Agreements, Geopolitics, and the Fragmentation of World Trade","authors":"U. Dadush, Enzo Dominguez Prost","doi":"10.1017/S1474745623000022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474745623000022","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Failure to reestablish an effective World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement procedure, stop the erosion of multilateral rules and end the China–US trade war causes capitals to rethink trade policy. One response is to redouble efforts to strike trade agreements with major trading partners. Already countries accounting for about 78% of world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are members of mega-regional agreements, and based on our computations, preferential trade agreements (PTAs) will soon cover about two-thirds of world trade. Can PTAs replace a fading WTO or mitigate its effects? Amid deepening geopolitical rifts, how will trade relations among China, the EU, and the US, each a hegemon in their respective regions, evolve, and what will be the impact on smaller economies? In short, how will a trading system based increasingly on PTAs and weak multilateral rules look, and how will nations adapt? Absent reforms, the trading system is likely to fragment progressively into regional blocks organized around the hegemons. Trade within the regional blocks, mainly conducted under a mega-regional agreement, will likely remain quite open and predictable, but without strict multilateral rules and where PTAs are absent (as they are among the hegemons), interregional trade relations will become increasingly uncertain and unstable.","PeriodicalId":46109,"journal":{"name":"World Trade Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"278 - 294"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48220085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}