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WTO Issues
Regional Economic
Cooperation
Developmental
Issues
CUTS CITEE in Action
Call for Publications
WTO Issues
Another
achievement for small states at WTO
It should also be recognised that small, vulnerable economies
account for a very small and insignificant share of total world trade. The
first came on 10 October 2006 when the WTO General Council agreed for the
Pacific Islands Countries to use regional bodies to help them meet their
obligations in three WTO Agreements. These are the Sanitary &
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Trade
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). And to put icing
on the cake, the council also agreed to provide technical and financial
assistance to such regional bodies.
http://www.islandsbusiness.com/
China, India, and the Law of the World Trade
Organization
This article seeks to assess the respective contributions of China
and India to the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to gain
from a comparative perspective a better understanding on the potential
impact of China on the WTO system. It observes that, although China's
share in world trade is more than four times as large as that of India,
China has played a much less significant role than India in both WTO
rulemaking and adjudicatory processes. To date the major impact of China
on WTO law stems from the special terms of its accession, many of which
depart from the basic norms and principles of the WTO.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1016208
A New Approach
to Audiovisual Products in the WTO: Rebalancing GATT and GATS
The UNESCO Convention on the Protection
of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions, which
recently entered into force, highlights the lingering tensions among WTO
Members about trade and culture, most often reflected in disputes and
debates concerning audiovisual products. The current treatment of
audiovisual products under WTO law (and particularly GATT 1994 and GATS)
is far from satisfactory. Problems include the distinction between goods
and services, the uncertainty of existing exceptions, and the limitations
on liberalization under GATS with respect to audiovisual products.
http://www.worldtradelaw.net/articles/voonav.pdf
Can the Trading System Be Governed? Institutional Implications of the
WTO’s Suspended Animation
This paper assesses the need for institutional reform of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) against the background of the difficulties in
reaching an agreement in the Doha round. The author examines the
importance of power and participation in WTO negotiations focusing on the
critical mass in the WTO and agency in negotiations. Furthermore, he
analyzes WTO decision-making principles and the importance of modalities.
He then discusses the relevance of internal transparency in the
negotiation process to finally address the question whether the trading
system can be governed without institutional reform.
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/pubs/ph/details.cfm?lng=en&id=39556
Indisputably Essential: The Economics of Dispute
Settlement Institutions in Trade Agreements
This paper is a step towards the formulation of a coherent economic
theory of dispute settlement. It challenges traditional models of
enforcement (primarily concerned with acts of punishment) for being
insufficient in explaining the existence of dispute settlement
institutions. We perform a comprehensive analysis of the economics of
dispute settlement institutions and demonstrate to what extent the
literatures of trade cooperation and dispute institutions are (and should
be) interlinked. On the basis of these theories, we show that dispute
settlement institutions in trade agreements may assume ………
http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd200702_e.htm
World Trade
Organisation at the Crossroads: The Legitimacy Dimension
The World Trade Organisation, created for the specific purpose of trade
liberalisation, is faced with multiple problems that undermine its
legitimacy. The article addresses this specific issue and delves into the
policy initiatives undertaken by the organisation to counter criticism
about its lack of legitimacy. There are doubts whether the organisation,
with the meaningful participation of stakeholders, will effectively
discharge its functions while ensuring that the rules of international
trade lead to equitable outcomes.
http://www.epw.org.in/uploads/articles/11112.pdf
Regional Economic
Cooperation
Harnessing
regional co-operation to foster global trade financial scene
The focus of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development’s (UNCTAD) Trade and Development Report 2007 is seen in
its subtitle ‘Regional co-operation for Development’. Developing
countries such as India would do well to foster regional
co-operation with other countries but should be wary of bilateral
agreements with the developed countries and regional preferential
trade agreements (PTAs). The PTAs might help in attracting foreign
capital and improve market access but they could limit the space
available to domestic policy makers in promoting competitive
industries at home.
http://www.hindu.com/biz/2007/10/01/stories/2007100150071800.htm
Examining aspects of free trade pacts
A free trade agreement (FTA) is an agreement between
designated groups of countries that have agreed to eliminate
tariffs, quotas and preferences on most (if not all) goods traded
between themselves. It is considered the second stage of economic
integration. FTAs help strengthen business climates by eliminating
or reducing tariff rates, improving intellectual property
regulations, opening government procurement opportunities, easing
investment rules and much more. Typically, FTAs can be: bilateral;
i.e., an agreement between two countries; or multilateral; i.e., an
agreement between several countries.
http://www.business-standard.com/
Trade and Development Report 2007: Regional Cooperation for
Development
The 2007 Trade and Development Report focuses on regional
cooperation. The report highlights that developing countries should
strengthen regional cooperation with other developing countries. The
report notes that North-South bilateral or regional preferential
trade agreements should not be limited to trade liberalization but
extend to policy, monetary and financial arrangements and industrial
policies. The report concludes that regional cooperation provides a
sound basis for meeting the MDGs.
http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/tdr2007_en.pdf
ASEAN+3 or ASEAN+6: Which Way Forward?
The surge in free trade agreements (FTAs) in East Asia
since the Asian financial crisis has prompted a lively debate on the
characteristics, impact, and future path of FTAs in the region. This
paper maps the salient characteristics of East Asian FTAs using a
new FTA database, identifies several key issues to be addressed, and
explores economic effects using computable general equilibrium
analysis. The paper argues that WTO-plus elements need to be further
expanded and the negative aspects of FTAs be minimized. The paper
suggests that consolidation of multiple and overlapping FTAs ………..
http://www.adbi.org/files/dp77.asean.3.asean.6.pdf
Towards Greater Economic Connectivity in
South Asia
To strengthen economic connectivity in south Asia, members of the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation should not depend solely
on the SAARC framework, and the agreement on the South Asia Free Trade
Area. The natural market integration process that started in south Asia
with the high growth in India in particular, can give an impetus to
strengthening economic connectivity. The private sector in south Asia,
through the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has to play a key role
as a pressure group to remove impediments for economic integration.
http://www.epw.org.in/uploads/articles/11075.pdf
Prospects of India–Bangladesh Economic
Cooperation: Implications for South Asian Regional Cooperation
In recent years, South Asia has received growing attention as a region
that is integrating successfully into the global economy. To maximize the
benefits in terms of faster growth and poverty reduction, the region will
need to strengthen regional and bilateral cooperation in several areas. In
this context, closer bilateral cooperation and integration between major
South Asian countries, such as between India and Bangladesh, will
strengthen the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
and help ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of their activities.
http://www.adbi.org/files/dp78.india.bangladesh.economic.cooperation.pdf
Developmental
Issues
Sri Lanka's Sources of Growth
This paper uses the growth accounting framework to assess Sri Lanka’s
sources of growth. It finds that while labor was the dominant factor
contributing to growth in the 1980s, labor’s contribution declined over
time and was overtaken, to a large extent, by total factor productivity (TFP)
and, to a lower extent, by physical and human capital accumulation. A
higher growth path over the medium term will depend on securing a stable
political and macroeconomic environment; implementing structural reforms
necessary to improve productivity and efficiency of investment; attaining
fiscal consolidation; and creating space for the private sector.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2007/wp07225.pdf
Commons as insurance: safety nets or poverty traps?
Common property resources are often used by households of developing
countries as insurance in case of economic stress. The aim of this paper is to
consider the potential poverty-trap implications of this use. If the capacity of
the resource is small, or if the population in need of insurance is too large,
the households are trapped in CPR extraction activity and cannot get more than
their subsistence requirement. In this context, cooperation between households
and the introduction of a cooperative insurance mechanism may sustain
equilibrium outside the poverty trap and relax pressure on the resource.
http://www.eui.eu/
Gender Equality, Poverty and Economic Growth
This paper reviews empirical findings from economic analyses of the role
of gender equality and women's empowerment in reducing poverty and stimulating
growth. Going beyond the large literature documenting the impact of female
education on a range of development outcomes, the paper presents evidence on the
impact of women's access to markets (labor, land, and credit) and women's
decision-making power within households on poverty reduction and productivity at
the individual and household level. The paper also summarizes evidence from
studies examining the relationship between gender equality and poverty reduction
and growth at the macro level.
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/
Diversification of
Rural Workforce: Indian Context
It is projected that the proportion of India's rural population in the
working age group of 15-64 years would increase from 62.9 per cent in 2006 to
68.4 percent by 2026 (Economic Survey 2006-2007 p. 215). A diversification of
employment opportunities in rural India in conjunction with a larger working age
population could offer India the opportunity to benefit from the demographic
dividend. However, the employment numbers do not suggest that India might not be
on course to reap the demographic dividend. The inability of agricultural sector
to absorb workforce …………
http://research.kauffman.org/
The Economic Impact
of Climate Change on Agriculture in Cameroon
This study examines the impact of climate change on crop farming in
Cameroon. The country's economy is predominantly agrarian and agriculture and
the exploitation of natural resources remain the driving force for the country's
economic development. Fluctuations in national income are due not merely to the
decline in world demand for Cameroon's traditional agricultural exports or to
mistakes in economic policy making, but also to the vagaries of the weather.
Based on a farm-level survey of more than 800 farms, the study employs a
Ricardian cross-sectional approach …………
http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wbkwbrwps/4364.htm
Modernizing Unemployment
Insurance
In looking toward the future of a modern system, we must have clear
goals. In 1936, the federal government powerfully articulated what I believe to
be the key goal of unemployment insurance: "to lighten the burden which now so
often falls with crushing force upon the unemployed worker and his family."
Seventy years later, the nature of this crushing force has changed. Maintaining
living standards immediately after job loss, the original focus of UI, is no
longer the major difficulty associated with unemployment. In the twenty-first
century economy, the situation has changed in at least three key ways.
http://www.brookings.edu/views/testimony/kling20070919.htm
Call for
Publications
For
experts publishing articles in South Asian newspapers/publications,
civil society
organisations, research
institutes and academics, if you
would like your publication’s abstract and weblink to distributed to CUTS
International network (above 5,000
recipients all over the world) and added to the Economiquity
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Disclaimer
Views expressed in these articles and papers are those of the respective
authors and in no way reflect the official positions of CUTS and the
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