We discuss thje role of the dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the context of a complex characterization of globalization.The dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is at present a controversial exercise at the...

This paper studies the export performance of the Euro Area and the majority of the Euro Area countries through a Constant Market Share Analysis. We keep a special focus on the three largest countries: Germany, France and Italy. The Constant Market Share Analysis provides a breakdown of an...

The paper describes the evolution of export shares and quantifies the contribution of the geographical and sectoral specialization for some industrial and emerging market economies between 1985 and 2003. While the strong growth of emerging countries as world competitors has lowered the market...

Our assessment of the competitiveness of the Hong Kong economy from various perspectives indicates that the overall competitiveness of Hong Kong economy has been improving during the past several years. However, from a longer term historical perspective, there are still a number of areas in...

Does distance matter for the volatility of international real and financial transactions? We show that it does, in addition to its well-established relevance for the level of trade. A simple model of trade with endogenous markups shows that demand shocks have a larger impact on trade between...

Purpose – Is globalization instrumental in fighting corruption? Do wealth effects matter in this fight? Are findings valid when linearity assumptions are dropped? This paper assesses the Lalountas et al.(2011) hypotheses in the African context. Design/methodology/approach – Though not form,...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of trade and financial globalization on human development in 52 African countries using updated data(1996-2010) and a new indicator of human development(adjusted for inequality). Design/methodology/approach – The estimation...

This paper presents the new competitiveness indicators of the Bank of Italy. While the old ones were calculated with reference to 25 industrial or OECD countries, the new indicators are available for 62 countries, including the main emerging and developing economies. In order to extend the...

Kletzer and Bardhan (1987) argue that countries with a relatively well-developed financial sector have a comparative advantage in industries that rely on external finance. Beck (2002), and Fanelli and Medhora (2002) find that well-developed financial sector translates into a comparative...

On the cusp of the millennium and as the century that was supposed to belong to Canada draws to a close, we find ourselves as a medium-sized nation exercising an influence out of all proportion to our size. This special issue on Canada in the Global Economy gives us a chance to sum up where we...