The value of world exports of commercial services rose by 11% in 2011 to $4,170 billion, exceeding pre-crisis levels of $3,850 billion in 2008. Half of world exports of commercial services in 2011 consisted of travel receipts and other business services. Asia-Pacific as a region increased its...

This book analyzes existing trade agrements in the region and their product coverage, particularly agricultural products, as well as associated tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Can Africa's current state of under-development be partially attributed to the large trade in slaves that occurred during the Atlantic, Saharan, Red Sea and Indian Ocean slave trades? To answer this question, I combine shipping data with historical records that report slave ethnicities and...

Voting behavior and constituent attitudes are central to many models of trade policy determination. Examining the demographic and economic variables that are associated with attitudes toward various trade policies can provide some insight into the public perception of globalization, and the...

Unfulfilled expectations about economic growth in Brazil has led many observers to question the ability of the new, open trade regime to put the economy back on an path of sustainable growth. Whereas the country’s growth record has been really poor, the evidence suggests that the underlying...

This research expands upon the current theoretical literature on the political economy of trade policy by empirically estimating the degree of rent-seeking in the presence of free riding. The results provide strong evidence that the level of trade protection awarded to industries is...

Small economies rarely embrace free trade, a fact that is commonly explained as a consequence of the government's use of trade policy to redistribute income. But why is this redistribution typically biased in favor of import-competing sectors and is consequently trade restricting rather than...