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Begin New Search Topic International Trade and Finance Publication Year within 25 Years

1361. Policy Liberalization and FDI Growth, 1982 to 2006

Author:
Matthew Adler and Gary Clyde Hufbauer
Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Over the last three decades the global economy has expanded in a remarkable fashion. While nominal world GDP has increased four times, world bilateral trade flows have grown more than six-fold, and the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) has grown by roughly 20 times since 1980. The sources of global trade and investment growth are well known—general economic expansion, policy liberalization, and better communications and technology—but the impact of each source is unclear. In this paper we attempt to uncover the contribution of policy liberalization to the rising ratios of US inward and outward FDI stocks to GDP over the last three decades.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States

1362. Technology Clubs, Technology Gaps and Growth Trajectories

Author:
Fulvio Castellacci
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This paper looks at the convergence clubs literature from a Schumpeterian perspective, and it follows the idea that cross-country differences in the ability to innovate and to imitate foreign technologies determine the existence of clustering, polarization and convergence clubs. The study investigates the characteristics of different technology clubs and the growth trajectories that they have followed over time. The cross-country empirical analysis first explores the existence of multiple regimes in the data by means of cluster analysis techniques. It then estimates a technology-gap growth equation in a dynamic panel model specification. The empirical results identify three distinct technology clubs, and show that these are characterized by remarkably different technological characteristics and growth behavior.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology

1363. So what? Matching policy to Australian interests in West Asia

Author:
Anthony Bubalo
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
Before 2001, Australian policy in the region defined here as West Asia – that stretching from India's western borders across to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, encompassing Southwest Asia, the Persian Gulf and the Levant – focused on two broad objectives: supporting American-led efforts to promote regional stability, and securing opportunities for Australian exports.
Topic:
International Relations, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Asia and Australia

1364. Sovereign Wealth and Sovereign Power: The Strategic Consequences of American Indebtedness

Author:
Brad W. Setser
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
In the 1870s, the scope of Great Britain's financial empire exceeded the scope of its political empire. Dependence on British investors sometimes was a precursor, though, to informal—or even formal— political control. When Egypt's khedive needed to raise cash to cover his personal debt to private British banks, he sold his large personal stake in the Suez Canal to the British state. Egypt's ruler did little better managing Egypt's public debt: difficulties making payments led Britain and France to assume control over Egypt's treasury and, by 1882, to full British political control.
Topic:
Economics, Government, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Britain, United States, America, and Egypt

1365. Canada and the European Union: Prospects for a Free Trade Agreement

Author:
Selen Sarisoy Guerin and Chris Napoli
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper argues that there are significant potential economic gains to be obtained from an EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement. The evolution of trade between the US and Canada following the signing of CUSFTA in 1989 offers a good illustration of how trade might increase after an EU-Canada FTA, as the patterns and levels of protection between the EU and Canada today are very similar to the protection that existed between the US and Canada in 1989. Although many empirical studies fail to find support for 'trade diversion' created by NAFTA (or CUSFTA) at the expense of the EU and to the benefit of the US, there is some evidence of trade diversion when detailed regional trade is examined. If indeed trade diversion has occurred due to NAFTA, then an EU-Canada FTA is welfare-enhancing for Canada. For the EU, a potential FTA can level the playing field with the US and increase the competitiveness of European firms in the Canadian market.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance and Markets
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Canada

1366. Central banks and capital flows

Author:
Stephen Grenville
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
Sudden capital outflows were at the heart of the 1997-8 Asian Crisis. Ten years later, capital flows are back on the policy agenda, but in a very different context. The countries of East Asia are now getting more inflows than they can effectively absorb and the upward pressure on exchange rates is unwelcome.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
Israel and Asia

1367. Currency Undervaluation and Sovereign Wealth Funds: A New Role for the World Trade Organization

Author:
Arvind Subramanian and Aaditya Mattoo
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Two aspects of global imbalances—undervalued exchange rates and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs)—require a multilateral response. For reasons of inadequate leverage and eroding legitimacy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not been effective in dealing with undervalued exchange rates. We propose new rules in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to discipline cases of significant undervaluation that are clearly attributable to government action. The rationale for WTO involvement is that there are large trade consequences of undervalued exchange rates, which act as both import tariffs and export subsidies, and that the WTO's enforcement mechanism is credible and effective. The WTO would not be involved in exchange rate management, and our proposals do not entail the WTO displacing the IMF: Rather, they would harness the comparative advantage of the two institutions, with the IMF providing the essential technical expertise in the WTO enforcement process. On SWFs, there is a bargain to be struck between countries with SWFs, which want secure and liberal access for their capital, and capital-importing countries that have concerns about the objectives and operations of SWFs. The WTO is the natural place to strike this bargain. Its services agreement, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), already covers investments by SWFs, and other agreements offer a precedent for designing disciplines for SWFs. Placing exchange rates and SWFs on the trade negotiating agenda may help revive the Doha Round by rekindling the interest of a wide variety of groups, many of whom are currently disengaged from the round.
Topic:
Foreign Exchange, International Organization, International Trade and Finance, and Markets

1368. Organised labour and the social regulation of global value chains

Author:
Lone Riisgaard and Nikolaus Hammer
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Since the 1980s, various processes of economic globalisation have eroded established foundations of organised labour. The increased mobility of goods and capital, compared to labour's relative immobility, has made it more difficult for labour to advance its objectives through traditional local industrial action or tripartite social contracts. In this paper, we are concerned with the social regulation of global value chains (GVCs) and more specifically the room for manoeuvre that organised labour has for advancing social regulation in different GVCs via Private Social Standards and/ or International Framework Agreements. We argue, that the governance structure (and restructuring) of GVCs frame key elements of the terrain that enables and constrains labour's strategic opportunities for advancing the social regulation of GVCs.
Topic:
Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Non-Governmental Organization

1369. Sustainability standards and coffee exports from Tanzania

Author:
Freedy T. M. Kilima, Jeremiah Makindara, and Evelyne Lazaro
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
One of the key trends characterizing agro-food trade in the last two decades has been the increas-ing complexity of public and private standards that are applied to imports into developed countries. This paper aims to identify critical areas to facilitate compliance with sustainability standards in coffee, which is the major traditional export crop for Tanzania. Coffee experienced a dramatic downward trend in world market prices that led to a decreased contribution to foreign exchange earnings in producing countries in the early 2000s. Although prices have improved over the past few years, economies that are dependent on traditional agricultural exports such as coffee need strategies to ensure stability in export earnings. One of the possible venues for increased agricultural export value is through exports to niche markets, such as coffee that is certified against one or more sustainability certifications (e.g. Fair Trade, Utz Certified, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance).
Topic:
Agriculture, Environment, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

1370. The Evolving US-Japan Relationship

Author:
J. Thomas Schieffer
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
In the first years of the 21st century a profound change has occurred in the US-Japan relationship. We have moved beyond the security and economic paradigm of the Cold War to understand the global opportunities presented by our strategic partnership. The US-Japan alliance has long been the cornerstone of American foreign policy in the Pacific and remains so today. Both the United States and Japan recognize that the positioning of US forces on Japanese soil reassures the region and deters potential aggressors so that peace and security can be maintained. More and more, the United States and Japan also recognize that their strong and active partnership can meet other global challenges as well.
Topic:
International Relations, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States and Japan