In previous papers the authors have argued that aid is likely to mitigate the negative effects of external shocks on economic growth (i.e. that aid is more effective in countries which are more vulnerable to external shocks). Recently an important debate has emerged about the possible negative...

During the last decade, the Chinese government has frequently changed the value added tax (VAT) refund levels offered to exporters. Indeed, China’s VAT system is not neutral, in particular because the exporters may not receive complete refund of the domestic VAT paid on their inputs. This...

This paper studies the impact of trade liberalization and international trade on household income inequality and poverty using detailed micro-data across Brazilian states, from 1987 to 2005. Results suggest that Brazilian states that were more exposed to tariff cuts experienced smaller...

This paper estimates the degree of trade integration between Brazilian states and the magnitude of barriers faced by their exporters in the 1990s. Using the border effects methodology, we show that the Brazilian market remains highly fragmented, although integration is increasing. In 1991 an...

We exploit French customs’ firm-level data to study how exporters pass a change in the VAT rate of one importing country through their prices. Looking at this reaction is of interest beyond a mere fiscal incidence analysis: VAT shocks provide instruments to identifying the extent of mark-up...

We estimate the degree of trade integration among Brazilian states and calculate the magnitude of the Brazilian states' engagement in international trade in the years 1991, 1997, 1998 and 1999 using the methodology of border effects. We show that the Brazilian market is rather highly fragmented...

The United States spearheaded the movement for the globalization of patent protection. Over the past years, it has been pushing for the protection of strong intellectual property rights in multilateral and bilateral agreements, treaties and negotiations. The pharmaceutical industry insists that...

This paper studies the impact of trade liberalization and international trade on household income inequality and poverty using detailed micro-data across Brazilian states, from 1987 to 2005. Results suggest that Brazilian states that were more exposed to tariff cuts experienced smaller...