The cotton sector in different countries of sub-Saharan Africa shows different organisational models, ranging from atomistic competition to monopolistic structures. Each model differs in its type of service provision and purchase agreements offered to smallholder farmers, who are the main...

Is China joining this trend towards preferential trade and investment agreements (PTIAs) that go beyond the investment rules found in Chinese bilateral investment treaties (BITs)? In this paper I empirically analyse investment rules incorporated in Chinese PTIAs using China’s BIT practice and...

Le coton est l’une des cultures de rente les plus importantes en Afrique subsaharienne où il est presque exclusivement cultivé par de petits exploitants agricoles. On y dénombre environ 1,7 million de cotonculteurs, qui plantent du coton en rotation avec des cultures vivrières. La plupart...

This paper evaluates the role of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in the context of global value chains. Given the interconnectedness of trade and investment, preferential trade agreements not only contribute to participation and value capture by eliminating traditional trade barriers, they...

The mushrooming of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) has represented a puzzle in international economics and international relations since the mid-1990s. A possible explanation is that PTAs are not so much about trade per se, but that PTAs are a strategic instrument in the international...

Developed countries face the risk of a sustained lack of aggregate demand, i.e. secular stagnation. Demand-oriented growth models emphasizing the balance-of-payments constraint raise concerns about attendant adverse growth impacts on developing countries from reduced export growth. These...

The availability of trade finance can be an important driver for international trade. This paper analyses the effect of trade finance on the trade flows of industrialized, emerging and developing economies and focuses in particular on the role of trade openness. We use Berne Union data on export...

The number of preferential trade agreements has increased sharply over the past decade as a response to stagnant multilateral trade negotiations. Political economy features centrally in these negotiations, for instance in the context of the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), which resulted...

In this paper, we present a novel set of facts on procurement openness to foreign goods and services across a large number of countries and years. In particular, we show that there is a U-shaped relationship between development levels and procurement openness, and argue that deviations in...

This literature review discusses links between the presence of minorities and economic outcomes at the individual, economy and cross-country levels. Drawing on a large number of related studies, we highlight consistent facts and arguments that can guide integration policies and unleash the...