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Begin New Search Topic International Trade and Finance Political Geography Global Focus

61. How do Corporate Taxes affect International Trade?

Author:
Mario Holzner, Branimir Jovanovic, and Goran Vukšić
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW)
Abstract:
This paper investigates how corporate income taxes affect international trade, and identifies the underlying channel. Using data on 33 NACE sectors, for 34 EU and OECD economies, over the period 2005-2014, we find that corporate income taxes reduce exports and imports only when the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) is high. The effect is present primarily in the service sector and in countries with low corporate taxes. We interpret these findings as evidence that multinational enterprises reduce their operations in countries that raise their corporate taxes. The effect has been found to be small on aggregate, implying that the expected increase in corporate taxes in the future, arising from the global minimum tax, is unlikely to hurt international trade.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Tax Systems, Exports, Profit, Imports, and Corporations
Political Geography:
Global Focus

62. El comercio internacional de armamento y las ventajas comparativas

Author:
Victoria Alonso
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:
International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:
En este artículo se pretende explicar la adecuación de los modelos que explican el comercio internacional en términos generales al ámbito del comercio internacional de material de defensa. Estudiaremos la evolución de los modelos explicativos del comercio para ver en quémedida servirán o no para explicar el comercio en seguridad y defensa, particularmente en el modelo Heckscher-Ohlin. Con el objeto a entender el comercio de material de uso militar recurrimos a un análisis de la composición de la industria,estudiando casos de los principales exportadores e importadores, así como los motivos que llevan adar el salto de la mera producción de bienes al comercio internacional teniendo en cuenta las distintas maneras de exportar y las regulaciones a las que se puede enfrentar la industria cuando decide lanzarse al comercio internacional.
Topic:
Defense Policy, International Trade and Finance, Trade, and Industry
Political Geography:
Global Focus

63. The World Trade Organization: An Optimistic Pre-Mortem in Hopes of Resurrection

Author:
Dmitry Grozoubinski
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
In the midst of a pandemic and escalating global protectionism, the WTO's paralysed dispute settlement system, largely immobilised negotiations, and chronically underutilised monitoring and compliance function, are groaning under the weight of trade tensions, unilateralism, and neglect. Technical work in Geneva is part of the solution, but is insufficient on its own to resolve the Organization’s short- and long-term problems. Political leaders who still believe in the wisdom of predictable, rules-based trade must build coalitions to expand that structure, while forcing the difficult conversations about what a WTO acceptable to the major powers looks like, and investing in the painstaking rebuilding of business and civil society engagement with trade policy.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, World Trade Organization, COVID-19, and Financial Stability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

64. Financial Innovation For Energy Innovation

Author:
Ashby Monk and Soh Young In
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
The move toward a global energy transition is underpinned by the collective need to limit the most severe impacts of climate change as well as to foster more sustainable economic growth. Floating photovoltaic power stations on Chinese lakes, integrated carbon capture technology on large-scale power plants in Canada, and decentralized urban wind turbines on Singaporean rooftops are just a few examples of how radical innovations in clean energy technology are fueling the global energy transition.1 Bringing cutting-edge technology from the lab to the global energy market requires a supportive ecosystem. Innovation must be matched by market readiness to adopt disruptive technologies, local capacities to scale up new energy projects, energy policies with climate objectives, technological development, and sufficient and “aligned” investment capital.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Finance, Innovation, and Renewable Energy
Political Geography:
China, Canada, and Global Focus

65. The Future Of Microfinance

Author:
Muhammad Yunus
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Muhammad Yunus is an economist and the founder of Grameen Bank, which provides microcredit to the impoverished without requiring collateral. Yunus and Grameen were awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2006.
Topic:
Development, International Trade and Finance, Capitalism, Finance, and Microcredit
Political Geography:
Global Focus

66. Central Bank Digital Currencies: Tools for an Inclusive Future?

Author:
Eve Lee
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have rapidly evolved from a sci-fi concept to a plausible alternative to cash that is being studied by central banks all over the world. According to a Belfer Center tracker, over 50 central banks have pursued or are engaging in CBDC work as of August 2020. However, while 10 central banks have already piloted or announced plans to pilot a CBDC in the near term, most are in the early stages of research and experimentation. In this brief, we outline the common motivations driving central bank work on CBDCs. We then explore CBDCs’ potential impacts on financial inclusion, a primary motivation in developing and emerging markets that has also gained significant traction in developed economies during the COVID-19 related global recession. We conclude that for CBDCs to achieve its financial inclusion goals, more technical advancement in offline adaptability and policy deliberations around issues of identity and traceability are needed.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, International Affairs, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

67. The Geopolitics of Food Security: Barriers to the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger

Author:
Jiayi Zhou, Lisa Marie Dellmuth, Kevin M. Adams, Tina-Simone Neset, and Nina von Uexkull
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract:
Assessing the prospects for Zero Hunger—Sustainable Development Goal 2—requires an understanding of food security that goes beyond developmental or humanitarian issues, to include linkages with geopolitics. Geopolitical challenges cut across areas such as natural resources, trade, armed conflict and climate change where unilateralism and zero-sum approaches to security directly hamper efforts to eradicate hunger and undermine the frameworks that govern those efforts. The report provides an overview of how geopolitics interacts with these areas. Competition for agricultural resources can be both a cause and a consequence of geopolitical rivalry. International trade, while essential for food security, also creates vulnerabilities through supply disruptions—sometimes politically motivated. Armed conflict is a driver of food insecurity, which can itself feed into social unrest and violence. Climate change interacts with all three phenomena, reshaping both the physical landscape and political calculus. These overlapping linkages require further integrated policy engagement and analysis.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, International Trade and Finance, Governance, Food Security, Geopolitics, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

68. The Components of Free Trade Agreements and Their Effects on International Trade

Author:
Moonhee Cho, Young Gui Kim, Kyong Hyun Koo, Hyeri Park, and Hyeyoon Keum
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
We analyzes the effects that the components of FTA have on international trade. According to the empirical results, the more free trade agreements contain WTO+ and WTO-X provisions and the more legally enforceable these provisions are, the more bilateral trade increases. We also find that the effects of FTA's provisions on trade depend on the economic level of FTA partner countries.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, Free Trade, and WTO
Political Geography:
Global Focus

69. Globalization Isn’t in Decline: It’s Changing

Author:
Erik van der Marel
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
Abstract:
Globalization isn’t in decline; it is simply changing. Although the COVID-19 crisis has seen a dramatic decline in goods trade, investments and the movement of people, a new type of globalization is emerging. This “new globalization” is based on digital services, research and development, data, ideas, and other intangibles. This development has been going on for a while and has evolved more rapidly after the previous global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008-9. For instance, the GFC caused digital services trade to significantly “de-link” from goods-related services trade. This pattern illustrates that the COVID-19 crisis will likely mark another break in trade patterns and that future growth in globalization will depend crucially on digital trade and cross-border exchange in intangibles.
Topic:
Globalization, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Digital Economy, R&D, Data, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

70. Shifting into Digital Services: Does a Crisis Matter and for Who?

Author:
Erik van der Marel
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
Abstract:
How do trade patterns change after an external shock such as an economic crisis, and is this shift structural? This paper uses a Difference-in-Difference (DID) approach to investigate whether services trade became more digital after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008. It finds that the GFC formed an independent break from the previous period that turned services trade to become more digital – although there are signs that this somewhat already happened before 2008. Software-intense services such as R&D services, information services, computer services and charges for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) saw on average a 6 percent higher increase in global exports compared to other non-digital sectors post-2008. Countries with higher internet usage and with already comparative advantage in these sectors saw this higher increase in digital trade. More striking is that in particular upper-middle income countries and countries with high manufacturing activity saw the sharpest shift into digital services trade after the GFC. These significant outcomes forecast a direction into which patterns of services trade are likely to turn after the current economic crisis resulting from COVID-19.
Topic:
International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Digital Economy, Global Financial Crisis, Exports, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus