This paper shows how a nation's elite maintain ownership of their wealth by creating a `pampered bureaucracy.' The elite thus divert part of an otherwise entrepreneurial middle class from more productive manufacturing activities, reducing economic efficiency. Trade liberalization is potentially...

This paper analyses the impact of various configurations of regional economic integration on member countries as well as on outside countries under realistic assumptions. That is, we consider constant external tariffs as required by Article XXIV of the GATT and the asymmetric formation of the...

The slow pace of progress of the South Asian regional trade integration process under SAARC has prompted many countries to seek bilateral agreements. Sri Lanka is a casein point with bilateral agreements with both India and Pakistan. While the former is acknowledged to have yielded positive...

New developments and dramatic changes are under way in the world trading system. This paper aims to take stock of the latest and most relevant developments and highlight the prospects for global trade governance. The focus is on three major issues, i.e. : (1) the outcome of the Ninth WTO...