In this paper it is argued that there is an important protectionist bias inherent in free trade agreements which is not present in custom unions. In any customs union or free trade agreement, one of the critical issues concerns "rules of origin." In a free trade agreement rules of origin have an...

This paper analyzes the equilibrium degree of protection as the outcome of the interaction of demands for protection and the demand for a liberal international trading order. It then assesses the current balance. On one hand, the nature of technical progress, the institution of the Uruguay...

This paper takes as a given the proposition that, in many developing countries, governmental policies have been highly distortive and harmful to economic growth. These policies have included omissions, such as neglect of infrastructure, and commission such as highly restrictive trade regimes and...

This paper assesses the empirical relevance of "dynamic" factors in industrialization in developing countries. Using data from a sample of 91 firms, rates of growth of output per unit of input are calculated. It is shown that there is little basis, at least with regard to Turkish experience, to...

This paper reexamines current understanding of the political economy of protection. To date, work has centered on determinants of the height of protection and its form - tariffs, quantitative restrictions, and voluntary export restraints. It is argued that examining the structure of protection...

Aggregate and more micro data on trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are used to attempt to assess the early effects of Mexican entry into NAFTA. Although the fraction of Mexican trade with the U.S. and Canada has risen sharply, a number of factors have contributed to this result. Mexican...

This paper examines the relationship between macroeconomic objectives of controlling inflation and trade-regime objectives in stabilization programs of developing countries. It is seen that there need be, in principle, no close relationship between the two, as a crawling peg exchange-rate policy...

On their fiftieth anniversary, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were" extensively reviewed, both to mark the occasion and to consider, often critically roles and performance. This paper reviews the functions of the two institutions in light of their" evolution over the past...

This paper assesses the theoretical and empirical basis for American labor union leaders' contention that imports have been a big source of job loss in the United States. It is shown, first, that identification of job losses "due to imports" is exceptionally difficult because economic growth...

This paper focuses on the effects of rules of origin in Free Trade Areas. We first point out that even rules of origin which are not restrictive, namely those which do not raise costs of production, have very pronounced effects on trade and investment flows. We then look at some different ways...