Search

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

1541. Multi-Level Judicial Trade Governance without Justice? On the Role of Domestic Courts in the WTO Legal and Dispute Settlement System

Author:
Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:
The fragmented nature of national and international legal and dispute settlement regimes, and the formalistic nature of the customary international law rules on treaty interpretation and conflicts of laws, offer little guidance on how national and international judges should respond to the proliferation of competing jurisdictions and the resultant incentives for forum shopping and rule shopping by governments and non-governmental actors in international economic law. Due to their different jurisdictions, procedures and different rules of applicable laws, national and international judges often interpret international trade law from different (inter)national, (inter)governmental, constitutional and judicial perspectives. This paper explores the judicial functions of national and international judges to reach justified decisions based on positive law, on the basis of transparent, predictable and fair procedures, and to interpret international treaties “in conformity with principles of justice.” Chapters I to III explain some of the “principles of justice” underlying international trade law and argue that international rules for a mutually beneficial division of labour among private citizens should be construed with due regard to the human rights obligations of governments. Chapters III and IV propose to strengthen international cooperation among national and international courts, for instance by negotiating additional WTO commitments to interpret domestic trade laws in conformity with the WTO obligations of the countries concerned and to settle WTO disputes over private rights primarily in domestic courts, without transforming essentially private disputes into disputes among governments.
Topic:
Development, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Europe

1542. Ten years of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership - accomplishments and prospects

Author:
Agata Kołakowska
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Ever since the European Economic Community came into being in the late 1950s, the member countries have always shared a belief that development of economic cooperation, especially through trade, is crucial to fostering good relations with Arab world nations. It was, however, essential to define the kind of cooperation that was to be pursued with countries which were then French colonies and enjoyed trade privileges. The first association agreements were concluded with the three Maghreb states in 1969. As time went by the EEC hammered out a more integrated approach to the non-member countries of the Mediterranean Basin with cooperation focussed on economic and development-related matters—a policy that chimed with the expectations of all the partners. The idea of framing a long-range plan to establish a free-trade area was grounded in a belief in the necessity of enhancing mutual relations in fields that were likely to yield the biggest benefits.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

1543. Recent US Free Trade Initiatives in the Middle East: Opportunities but no Guarantees

Author:
Robert Z. Lawrence
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
This paper evaluates the US initiative to establish a Free Trade Agreement with countries in the Middle East by signing bilateral agreements with the countries individually and then combining them into a single arrangement. These agreements present new opportunities for Arab countries, but to take full advantage, they will have to complement the agreements with additional policy measures, both individually, and together. The promise comes from the ability to use the agreements as a catalyst for improving regulatory rules and systems at home and facilitating integration with the rest of the region and the world. But the agreements also present problems for Arab countries, first in relating these US agreements to agreements with other trading partners – most importantly the EU; second in creating political difficulties associated with closer relations with the USA given problems in the region, and third, in undertaking the necessary economic and political policies that are necessary to realize the benefits.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, and Arabia

1544. A New Compensation Mechanism for Preference Erosion in the Doha Round

Author:
Robert Z. Lawrence and Tatiana Rosito
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The Doha Round is intended to advance the interests of developing countries but it has run into problems because additional liberalization in sectors of interest to some developing countries could erode the preferences of others. None of the current proposals to deal with the issue, either through delaying liberalization or providing compensation have found widespread support. In this paper we explore a proposal to backload the phase-in of MFN tariff reductions in sensitive sectors and use the revenues generated to provide compensation for preference erosion. We argue that the approach would be both equitable and effective.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance

1545. China and the Multilateral Trading System

Author:
Robert Z. Lawrence
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
This paper reviews China's multilateral and preferential trade policies. It reviews the demanding terms of China's WTO accession, its current tariff and trade regime and its participation in the Doha Round negotiations and the institution's regular activities. The analysis concludes that China's trade policies are broadly supportive of a rules based multilateral trading order and its behavior at the WTO is that of a status quo power rather than one seeking major systemic changes. The discussion then turns to China's regional trade initiatives. China has been extremely active in negotiating these and their implications remain uncertain. Concerns about an East Asian fortress, though, appear misplaced. Directly, and through their impact in inducing others to respond, these FTAs could provide a powerful impetus to the process of competitive global liberalization. Countries that do implement agreements with China will find it relatively easy to open their markets to other developing countries. There is also a risk however that the proliferation of FTAs will lead to web of overlapping agreements that could make the trading system unnecessarily complex.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1546. Automating Public Financial Management in Developing Countries

Author:
Stephen Peterson
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The principal recommendation to developing countries for automating their financial systems is to adopt off ‐ the ‐ shelf integrated financial information system s (IFMISs). The recommendation to adopt an IFMIS goes beyond a strategy of automation. IFMISs are often viewed as the driver of financial reform in developing countries. Experience shows that these systems usually fail or under perform yet research to date has not adequately explained their poor performance. This paper presents two frameworks and a case study from Ethiopia which illustrates an approach to automating financial systems that has worked. The first framework distinguishes between business process innovation (reengineering) and process change. Process innovation is a comprehensive change of procedures and organization driven by information technology. Process change is an incremental strategy driven by procedural reform and supported by information technology. Process change is far less risky than process innovation and is a more appropriate approach because the financial systems in most developing countries are relatively sound and thus provide a basis for improvement. The conventional off ‐ the ‐ shelf IFMIS reform is principally process innovation which exceeds the capacity of most public bureaucracies in developing countries. The second framework concerns the three factors of risk to an automation project: scope, schedule and budget. The availability of concessionary aid to many developing countries means there is not a hard budget constraint to automation projects and there is little discipline with schedule and scope. The virtual absence of a financial and social cost ‐ benefit analysis of these large and questionable investments is a serious failing in the use of development assistance and loans. The custom IFMIS developed to support the Ethiopian reform is presented as an example of a successful low risk strategy of automation in a difficult environment. The case illustrates the two frameworks as the reform focused on process change and the automation component was delivered on budget, ahead of schedule and beyond specification. The Ethiopian case demonstrates several lessons about automation in developing countries: the virtue of process change, the role of automation to support not drive financial reform, the virtue of 'optimal obscurity' of automation projects given that high level commitment cannot be assumed, and the value of an incremental development strategy of frequent operational upgrades of information systems.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, International Trade and Finance, and Third World
Political Geography:
Ethiopia

1547. Understanding South Africa's Economic Puzzles

Author:
Dani Rodrik
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
South Africa has undergone a remarkable transformation since its democratic transition in 1994, but economic growth and employment generation have been disappointing. Most worryingly, unemployment is currently among the highest in the world. While the proximate cause of high unemployment is that prevailing wages levels are too high, the deeper cause lies elsewhere, and is intimately connected to the inability of the South African to generate much growth momentum in the past decade. High unemployment and low growth are both ultimately the result of the shrinkage of the non-mineral tradable sector since the early 1990s. The weakness in particular of export-oriented manufacturing has deprived South Africa from growth opportunities as well as from job creation at the relatively low end of the skill distribution. Econometric analysis identifies the decline in the relative profitability of manufacturing in the 1990s as the most important contributor to the lack of vitality in that sector.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

1548. South Africa's Export Predicament

Author:
Bailey Klinger and Ricardo Hausmann
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
This paper explores export performance in South Africa over the past 50 years, and concludes that a lagging process of structural transformation is part of the explanation for stagnant exports per capita. Slow structural transformation in South Africa is found to be a consequence of the peripheral nature of South Africa's productive capabilities. We apply new tools to evaluate South Africa's future prospects for structural transformation, as well as to explore the sector al priorities of the DTI's draft industrial strategy. We then discuss policy conclusions, advocating an 'open-architecture' industrial policy where the methods applied herein are but one tool to screen private sector requests for sector-specific coordination and public goods.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

1549. Remittances: Latin America's Faulty Lifeline

Author:
Catherine Elton
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
In recent years, the money that migrants send back to their native countries has become a hot topic in international development circles. Multilateral banks, the governments of migrant-sending nations, the U.S. Government, and international development organizations laud the potential that remittances have to reduce poverty and promote development. Remittances are being exalted as “the new development finance,” and a ticket to “high human development,” while the migrants who send them are hailed as heroes back home. But the current remittance euphoria is both overblown and troubling when considered in a larger context of international development.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States and South America

1550. New Actors in Health Financing: Implications for a donor darling

Author:
Felix Zimmermann and Denis Drechsler
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
With concern about how to finance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) widespread, recent donor pledges to raise aid volumes are welcome. However, aid alone will not suffice – bringing in new actors and sources of development finance will be essential. In many developing countries, this is already happening, creating new opportunities and challenges for their governments and donors.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Health, and International Trade and Finance