Trade Liberalization in T&C: An Overview of the Welfare Effects

This paper examines the effects of trade liberalization on cotton-yarn producer’s welfare in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. We perform a comparative analysis of the price-induced welfare effects using multi-market theory, a single-market approach and bootstrapping techniques. Results show that after the 1995 implementation of the plan for the gradual elimination of quotas (Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, ATC, 1995-2005) producers in all four countries suffered substantial welfare losses.