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Mode 4:
Issues and Concerns for Developing Countries
Amongst the four modes of supply to
carry out trade in services, Mode 4 under GATS is the most
politicised one. At the outset it was envisaged to deal with service
trade and not migration. Due to the latter (Read: Migration) it is
therefore the focal point for both national and international
debate. Moreover, Mode 4 is comprehended poorly, especially its
economic and social implications.
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WTO Issues
Regional Economic
Cooperation
Developmental
Issues
Mode 4: Issues and
Concerns for Developing Countries
Amongst the four modes of
supply to carry out trade in services, Mode 4 under GATS is the most
politicised one. At the outset it was envisaged to deal with service trade
and not migration. Due to the latter (Read: Migration) it is therefore the
focal point for both national and international debate. Moreover, Mode 4
is comprehended poorly, especially its economic and social implications.
For instance, a recent study by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states:
"If the economic impact of Mode 4 is
difficult to assess, it is essentially because the definition of this mode
and the instruments used to measure it are very imprecise. In fact, Mode 4
is a fear of the unknown."
Some of the related myths/misunderstandings
to which developed economies are prone include: temporary migration for
employment becoming a stepping stone to permanent migration; job
insecurity in the country of destination due to greater competition for a
limited number of jobs; security threats blown out of proportion by recent
episodes of terrorism and fuelled by xenophobia sentiments; etc. Mode 4
provisions also seem to attract labour disproportionately from the lower
end of the skill spectrum – an outcome which is often perceived as
unattractive. In such a scenario it is the developing countries that are
unfortunately at the receiving end.
Looking at different research findings, one
commonality you come across is about gains made by developing countries on
account of higher remittances (transfer of funds). According to World Bank
estimates, in 2001 – 2006 remittances have increased by 10% per annum. At
the same time one can observe that economic freedom under Mode 4 has
increased for developed countries but not for developing countries.
Movement of labour is much smoother within the former set whereas movement
from developing to developed countries is strewn with paper work and/or
lack of clarity about procedures. For instance, economic needs tests,
payment of social security without corresponding benefits, and strict visa
procedures are some of the hurdles that have to be crossed. Clearly,
misperceptions and policy rigidities are preventing the full leveraging of
benefits from Mode 4.
Given the limitations and inability to
negotiate, it is essential that developing countries adopt a slow and
cautious approach by building a comprehensive database cataloging
availability of skilled/unskilled labour. Once such a database is created,
capacity building exercises can be set in motion. These can be used not
only to meet the demand for labour domestically but to also make labour
transfers from developing counties more attractive from the point of view
of the developed world.
WTO Issues
A Service to the
Economy: Removing Barriers to "Invisible Trade"
Although they are part of a large and growing segment of world trade and a
prominent feature in healthy, vibrant economies—services are often
overlooked in trade negotiations in favor of higher-profile trade in
agriculture and manufactured goods. Yet countries with more open services
markets benefit from higher growth rates and living standards. Because
services are an input to most other sectors of the economy, the benefits
from open and competitive markets are pervasive. Indeed, the gains from
lowering remaining trade barriers in services …………
http://freetrade.org/
Power, Governance
and the WTO: A Comparative Institutional Approach
This paper makes three central points. First, it charts the myriad
ways in which the United States, the European Community, and influential
constituencies within them advance their interests through the World Trade
Organization (WTO). They predominate because they wield considerable
material and ideational resources that provide them with advantages in
economic relations in any institutional context. Second, the paper shows
how WTO judicial bodies, as any court, exercise power when they decide
legal cases.
http://ilreports.blogspot.com/
WIPO-WTO Relations and the Future of Global Intellectual Property Norms
The intense scholarly debate about the effects of harmonized global
intellectual property (IP) rules under the TRIPS Agreement has yet to
consider what role an appropriate organizational framework should play in
facilitating development of IP norms to address new global challenges. The
prevailing assumption has been that the norm-setting role of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will remain unchanged despite
the primacy of the TRIPS Agreement and the explicit mandate of the WTO for
global IP regulation.
http://papers.ssrn.com/
Foreign investment and WTO: Measures against
expropriation
Foreign investment has become a
burning issue today. World economy is going through a transition phase.
Companies all over the world are in search of markets in third world
countries. Foreign investment is beneficial for everyone. This increases
turnover, there is less dependence on the home conditions of trade and the
third world countries also gain profits with out having debt obligations.
Foreign investment not only profits countries, but it also strengthens
their ties. Thus, there is a need to protect such foreign investment
inflow, which is the topic of this paper.
http://worldtradereview.com/
Challenges, opportunities and options for
Pakistan under WTO regime
It is the era of competition and
technological advancements. Globalization has become a reality in the
world. Agricultural commodities and industrial products are being traded
in a state of stiff competition. World Trade Organization (WTO) is
regulating the world markets through a platform of trade negotiations.
Only those products are now acceptable in the international markets, which
are good in quality and available at competitive prices. Pakistan is
encountering numerous difficulties in complying with the WTO rules and
carrying out structural reforms
Regional Economic
Cooperation
Multilateralizing Regionalism: Challenges for the Global Trading
System
Besides tariffs and rules of origin regulating trade in goods, many
RTAs now include provisions on services, investments, technical
barriers to trade and competition rules, as well as a host of issues
not directly related to trade. The geographic reach of RTAs is
expanding, with transcontinental agreements spreading forcefully
alongside intra-regional agreements. 'Multilateralizing Regionalism'
was the title of a major conference held from 10-12 September 2007
at the WTO in Geneva.
http://www.wto.org/
EU EPAs: Economic and Social Development
Implications: The Case of the CARIFORUM-EC Economic Partnership
Agreement
This paper analyses the various chapters in EPAs. It begins with
general comment and analysis of that particular issue, including in
USFTAs and its possible consequences. (On some issues, USFTAs may
have worse consequences for development than European ones. It is
often a matter of degree as the principles are commonly similar). It
then goes on to analyse specific provisions of the interim EPAs. For
areas other than goods, the analysis is of the CARIFORUM- EU EPA as
that is the only ACP-EU EPA which goes beyond goods.
http://www.twnside.org.sg/
Hindi-Chini
Buy-Buy
Are Chinese growth figures (or even foreign investment data)
under-estimates or over-estimates? The over-estimate argument is an
old one, going back even to the Great Leap Forward. For the 1980s
and 1990s, several China scholars argue that growth figures need to
be scaled down by a factor of around one-third. Two-thirds of 10 per
cent is still almost 7 per cent and sustained over more than two
decades, is still a fantastic rate of real GDP growth. The
under-estimate argument is of more recent vintage and one doesn’t
mean the impact of SARS alone.
http://www.financialexpress.com/
Cooperation and investment in poor regions are
key to recovery
The world has yet to achieve the macroeconomic policy coordination
that will be needed to restore economic growth following the Great
Crash of 2008. In much of the world, consumers are now cutting their
spending in response to a fall in their wealth and a fear of
unemployment. The overwhelming force behind the current collapse of
jobs, output and trade flows is even more important than the
financial panic that followed Lehman Brothers’ default last
September. There is, of course, no return to the situation that
preceded the Great Crash.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/
The European Union and New Leading Powers: Towards
Partnership in Strategic Trade Policy Areas
This article analyzes the potential of partnerships of the European Union
(EU) with the so-called BRIC countries. The scope of analysis will be the
EU vis-a-vis these countries, using three types of trade liberalization:
unilateralism, bilateralism/regionalism, and multilateralism. The article
argues that the EU's objective of engaging with the BRIC countries on
trade matters is to establish peace, security, and prosperity in the XXI
century. Trade creates economic ties and generates more wealth; thus it
contributes to peace and security.
http://law.fordham.edu/
Developmental
Issues
Are we missing a Trick on Employment, Development,
Policy and Poverty Reduction?
With job losses and the financial crisis in rich countries dominating the
media, this Opinion asks why employment issues are not high on the agenda
when it comes to development policy debate. It suggests that there are key
reasons for this: ideological, political, and analytical. The Opinion also
gives three reasons why employment and labour markets should be more
prominent on the agenda. First, labour is the main source of income and
wellbeing for the world's poor. Second, because jobs protect people from
sudden shocks, such as rising prices.
http://www.odi.org.uk/
Growth Without Development: Looking Beyond Inequality
This Briefing Paper argues for a stronger focus on the measurement of
polarisation, rather than inequality, to get a more nuanced picture of poverty,
and generate effective policies for poverty reduction. It suggests that
polarisation may explain why economic growth does not always translate into
lasting human development. Inequality is often blamed for the poor links between
economic growth and human development, but data show that links between economic
growth ………
http://www.odi.org.uk/
Implementing Physical and Virtual Food Reserves to Protect the
Poor and Prevent Market Failure
The 2007–08 international food price crisis caused hardship on a number of
fronts. The steep rise in food prices led to economic difficulties for the poor
and generated political turmoil in many countries. The crisis could also result
in long-term, irreversible nutritional damage, especially among children. There
is a global interest in preventing such events from recurring. The price crisis
was triggered by a complex set of long-term and short-term factors, including
policy failures and market overreactions. One important factor in the crisis was
the entry of ………….
http://www.ifpri.org/
When Speculation Matters
The food price crisis of 2007–08 had several causes—rising demand for food, the
change in the food equation through biofuels, climate change, high oil
prices—but there is substantial evidence that the crisis was made worse by the
malfunctioning of world grain markets. Dozens of countries imposed restrictions
on grain exports that resulted in significant price increases, given the
thinness of markets for major cereals. A number of countries adopted retail
price controls, creating perverse incentives for producers. Speculative price
spikes built up, and the gap ……….
http://www.ifpri.org/
Multidimensional
deprivation: poverty and Medical and Health care
With the healthcare reform of the year 2004 in mind and coming from a
multidimensional conception of poverty the article asks for the contribution of
the welfare state institutions to the prevention of poverty. To answer the
question the inter-relation between income poverty and health care is analyzed.
The analysis undertaken show that the intersection did increase in relation the
years subsequent to the healthcare reform of the year 2004.
http://www.diw.de/
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