This paper analyses the impact of various configurations of regional economic integration on member countries as well as on outside countries under realistic assumptions. That is, we consider constant external tariffs as required by Article XXIV of the GATT and the asymmetric formation of the...

The latest, and internationally controversial, issue relating to trade and human rights is that of labor standards. It has surfaced in international fora including the World Trade Organization (WTO). I will focus exclusively on this issue in the rest of this paper since an analysis of it...

I first describe how concerns about development of less developed countries were reflected in the evolution of the multilateral trading system, from GATT 1947 to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negociation and the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In...

This paper introduces habit formation into an otherwise standard model of international trade. Household tastes evolve over time to favor foods consumed as a child. The opening of trade causes preferred goods to rise in price, as these were relatively inexpensive in autarky. Neglecting the...

This paper considers the economic sanctions that were applied in the mid-1980s to pressure the South African government to end apartheid. It asks what role those sanctions played in the eventual demise of the apartheid regime and concludes that the role was probably very small. An alternative...

This paper accepts the premise that positive sum games exist in all dimensions of North-South economic contacts but that the management of conflicts concerning the distribution of the gains requires careful attention. It then proceeds to analyse the current state of play and the character of...

This paper provides a rough test of a broad and prominent class of political economy of trade models and finds them wanting. The class features governments with weighted social welfare functions, including the prominent model of Grossman and Helpman. Whether the government is the single domestic...

The consequences of liberalization on structural changes are examined using data from manufacturing industry in Nepal which is classified as a least developed country. This is important because doubts that liberalization may not solve the problems of low-income developing countries remain strong...

Export growth in India has been much faster than GDP growth over the past few decades. Several factors appear to have contributed to this phenomenon including foreign direct investment (FDI). However, despite increasing inflows of FDI especially in recent years there has not been any attempt to...