The paper reviews exchange rate options for Mercosur countries. We start from the observation that most of the countries in the region have a longstanding tendency to adopt fixed exchange rates, and ask how such a system could best be designed. The Argentine crisis has demonstrated that...

We study the impact of changing relative market access in an enlarged EU on the economies of incumbent Objective 1 regions. First, we track the impact of external opening on internal spatial configurations in a three-region economic geography model. External opening gives rise to potentially...

The European Union is currently negotiating free trade agreements, called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), with African countries as part of the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The paper empirically assesses the impact of the EPAs...

The paper empirically explores the international linkages between gender inequality and trade flows of a sample of 92 developed and developing countries. The focus is on comparative advantage in labour-intensive manufactured goods. The results indicate that gender wage inequality is positively...

The paper addresses the linkage between certain aspects of the increasing economic integration of world markets and the level of child labour. We empirically examine, first, the often-cited conventional wisdom that multinational enterprises invest in countries where the extent of child labour is...

The paper evaluates the economic necessity and political incentives of a transitional fund for the East African Community (EAC). The fund has been proposed to encounter trade imbalances which may arise due to the intended customs union in East Africa. Using a disaggregated approach at the...

This paper explores the international economic effects of forced labour, namely the linkages of forced labour with comparative advantage (trade) and foreign direct investment flows. It discusses several forms and the prevalence of forced labour and presents the results of empirical tests of...

Die Frage nach dem Stand und der Entwicklung des Handelsprotektionismus wird vielfach vereinfachend beantwortet: Danach haben die GATT-Runden einen kontinuierlichen Abbau bewirkt. Diese Aussage wird überprüft. Dabei wird von vier Thesen ausgegangen: (1) Protektionismus ist ein integraler...

The globalisation of the world economy increases international competition among companies. However, not all industries will be affected by the same extent. The degree of globalisation of an industry will be particularly influenced by the level of transaction costs. Low transaction costs will...

This paper explores the relationship between foreign direct investment, or the activities of transnational corporations, and core labour standards. It discusses the channels through which labour standards may influence foreign direct investment and presents the results of an empirical test of...