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WTO Issues
Regional Economic
Cooperation
Developmental
Issues
Call for Publications
WTO Issues
Too near, yet too
far!
The collapse of multilateral trade negotiations, held in Geneva in the
last week of July, has hardly come as a surprise. What is surprisingly,
however, is the cause of the breakdown: disagreement over special
safeguard mechanisms that allow WTO member countries to impose additional
duties on agricultural imports for preventing their farmers against the
effects of falling prices in the international market. The negotiations
were held with a view to sorting out modalities for further liberalisation
of trade in agriculture and non-agricultural products under the Doha round
launched in November 2001.
http://worldtradereview.com/news.asp?pType=N&iType=C&iID=189&siD=14&nID=43327
Access to justice in the World Trade Organization: a case for a small
claims procedure?
The current dispute settlement system of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) creates a particular challenge for WTO Members with
limited exports since litigation costs are more or less independent of the
commercial stakes involved in a dispute. Small Members with small trade
stakes may therefore find it too costly to pursue legitimate claims.
Reviewing the aims and practices of small claims procedures at the
national and supranational level, we analyse whether a similar institution
could be introduced at the WTO.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2439428&fulltextTy
pe=RV&fileId=S1474745608003996
The Development
Promise: Can the Doha Development Agenda Deliver for Least-Developed
Countries?
The benefits least-developed countries
(LDCs) can draw from a multilateral trade reform as designed by the
modalities made public in May 2008 are negligible, and some countries will
even face adverse effects. World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiators
should make a supplementary effort in favor of the poorest countries. The
Duty-Free Quota-Free (DFQF) Initiative moves in the right direction, but
it should be extended not only from a product point of view—with a 100,
not 97, percent application—but also in terms of geographic coverage.
http://ifpri.org/pubs/ib/in14.asp
Multilateralism beyond Doha
There is a fundamental shift taking place in the world economy to which
the multilateral trading system has failed to adapt. The Doha process
focused on issues of limited significance while the burning issues of the
day were not even on the negotiating agenda. The paper advances five
propositions: (i) the traditional negotiating dynamic, driven by private
sector interests largely in the rich countries, is running out of steam;
(ii) the world economy is moving broadly from conditions of relative
abundance to relative scarcity, and so economic security ………
www.cgdev.org/files/360104_file_Multilateralism_beyond_Doha.pdf
The WIPO Development Agenda: Factoring in the
'Technologically Proficient' Developing Countries
The WIPO Development Agenda is in many ways, a reaction to the "one
size fits all" mantra that has plagued international intellectual property
(IP) law making for many years now. In an effort to counter this
disturbing trend that does not pay heed to either the relative economic
status of the member countries (particularly the developing ones) or of
technological specificity, the Development Agenda clearly spells out that
future "norm setting activities shall take into account different levels
of development".
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1286831
Regional Economic
Cooperation
People-Centric Partnership: The Way Forward for SAARC?
The theme of the Colombo Summit of the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation held in August 2008 was “partnership of our
people”. Until now, however, the body has remained an
intergovernmental mechanism with the people hovering at the margins
and its economic and political initiatives proving to be mere
procedural exercises. Only a people-centric agenda and action plan
will help address this fundamental lacuna.
http://epw.in/epw/user/viewAbstract.jsp
Effects of Hub-and-Spoke Free Trade Agreements on Trade: Panel Data
Analysis
Overlapping free trade agreements (FTAs) have given rise to
hub-and-spoke FTAs that may promote trade by giving an export
advantage to the FTA hub country. We empirically investigate the
effect of hub-and-spoke FTAs on trade using panel data consisting of
99 countries and covering the period 1960–1999. Our empirical
analysis of the panel data yields three notable findings. First,
FTAs have a significant and positive impact on trade. Second,
hub-and-spoke FTAs increase trade above and beyond FTAs, and thus
reinforce the trade-boosting effects of FTAs. Third, our results
imply an annual growth rate of 4.9% in bilateral trade ………
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Working-Papers/2008/Economics-WP127.pdf
Stepping Stones and Stumbling Blocks: Vietnam's Regional Trade
Arrangements and WTO Accession
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam's accession on 11 January 2007
to the World Trade Organization was not an isolated foray into the
global trading system, but rather the culmination of nearly twenty
years of incremental integration and adjustment to WTO standards
through preferential trade agreements. Vietnam is a fascinating
looking glass through which to examine the dynamics, benefits, and
drawbacks of preferential trade agreements. As this chapter will
illustrate, PTAs, and in particular the bilateral agreement between
Vietnam and the United States, provided a critical stepping stone
towards Vietnam's WTO accession.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1284209
South-South Regionalism and Trade Cooperation In The Asia-Pacific
Region
This study of regional South-South (S-S) trade and cooperation in
East, South and South-East Asian countries (ESSEA) aims to provide
an economic rationale for S-S trade; shed some light on the extent
and pattern of S-S trade in the ESSEA region; examine the dynamic
forces behind the expansion of such trade, and its shortcomings and
vulnerabilities; propose policies for enhancing and strengthening
regional cooperation; and identify areas for further research. The
main conclusion of the study is that ………
http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/10886/
The Sensitivity of Agricultural Trade in the Proposed
FTA between Australia and Japan: A Quantitative Assessment
The Australia-Japan Free Trade Agreement (AUJA-FTA) is already in the
process of negotiation by the two governments. The success of this FTA
will depend on the manner in which it deals with the problem of
agricultural trade between the two countries. This paper analyzes the
economic effects of the proposed FTA between Australia and Japan on both
economies and on their trading partners. The Global Trade Analysis Project
(GTAP) model and its version 6 database is used to simulate the effects of
AUJA-FTA. The paper offers ………
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1276125
Developmental
Issues
Food and Energy Crisis: Time to Rethink Development Policy
Global food prices have been rising steadily since 2002 and during 2007
and 2008 only, food prices rose by 52 per cent. Spiralling food prices
have led, in the past few months, to global hot spots of unrest in many
developing countries. With every crisis, there is an opportunity. This is
why the causes of the current crisis must be properly analysed and
understood. The South must seize this opportunity to rethink concepts such
as self-reliance, self-sufficiency and food sovereignty and to reflect on
aspects of the global environment which have led countries ………
http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=849&Itemid=1
Are the MGDs Priority in Development Strategies and Aid
Programmes? Only Few Are!
The gap between strong political commitment to the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) and slow progress towards meeting them is often attributed to weak
“ownership” by developing country governments. This Working Paper addresses the
issue of ownership by analysing the substance of 22 developing countries’
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and the policy frameworks of 21
bilateral programmes. Two major findings of the analysis are as follows. First,
economic growth for income poverty reduction and social sector investments
(education, health and water) are important priorities in most of the PRSPs;
decent work, hunger
………
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCWorkingPaper48.pdf
Causes of High Food Prices
Since mid-2007 basic food prices have rocketed with disastrous consequences for
poor consumers. The spike in international market prices through the first half
of 2008 has now subsided. Still prices of rice, wheat, corn (maize), and edible
oils remain well above the levels of just a year ago and are likely to remain
elevated and volatile for years to come. Two separate dynamics need to be
understood in order for countries to make necessary adjustments. A gradual rise
in food prices has been under way since at least 2004 with three general and
fundamental factors at work ………
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Working-Papers/2008/Economics-WP128.pdf
Annual Review of
Development Effectiveness 2008 – Shared Global Challenges
This report focuses on assessing the World Bank’s development effectiveness,
with attention to the provision of global public goods – including the global
trading system, biodiversity conservation – and the issue of combating global
public ‘bads’ – such as climate change and transborder contagion. The report
notes that project performance has improved over the medium term and that
country programmes that house a majority of the world’s poor have achieved some
results, but there is a need to do more on areas where national interest is not
clear.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXT2008ANNREVDEVEFFE/Resources/arde_08.pdf
Refugees, Recent Migrants
and Employment - Challenging Barriers and Exploring Pathways
Upheavals in vast areas of the world have led to a growing number of
international refugees, a significant proportion of which have made their way to
the West. At the same time, economic and social pressures, together with skills
and labour shortages, have encouraged the migration for work of millions of
workers worldwide. Although there has been a constant media focus on these two
groups, little is known about their labour market experiences. This collection
examines the problems faced by refugees and recent migrants in accessing
employment …………
http://www.routledgeeconomics.com/books/Refugees-Recent-Migrants-and-Employment-isbn9780415988773
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