This paper examines whether or not the Northeast Asian economies, namely, China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, can form a currency union, where a single currency and a uniform monetary policy are adopted, or an exchange rate union where all the currencies are pegged to an internal or external...

With free trade areas (FTAs) under negotiation between Japan and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) members and between the Republic of Korea and AFTA members, preferential market access will become more important in Asian regionalism. Protectionist pressures will likely increase through rules of...

The paper reviews recent evidence from a wide range of studies, recognizing that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to learn what works and what does not. The review concludes that there is some support for the emphasis on reducing trade costs through investments in hard infrastructure (like...

With preferential trade agreements on the rise worldwide rules of origin--which are necessary to prevent trade deflection--are attracting increasing attention. At the same time, preference erosion for Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) recipients is increasing resistance to further...

The present paper analyses how the design of EU preferences, in particular of their rules of origin, impacts the integration of West Africa into world trade. We show that West Africa?s trade has not yet undergone the structural change typical of countries having successfully established...

The effective market access granted to textiles and apparel under the North American Free Trade Agreement (<EM t="s">nafta</EM>) is estimated, taking into account the presence of rules of origin. First, estimates are provided of the effect of tariff preferences combined with rules of origin on the border...</em>

This paper explores how the elimination of Madagascar's Vanilla Marketing Board (VMB) in 1993 affected prices paid to farmers, incentives and indicators of poverty and inequality using household survey data and simulation analysis. Following the reforms, margins between FOB and farmgate prices...

This paper analyzes the likely impact of European preferences, in particular of its Rules of Origin (RoO), on the prospects for integration of West Africa in world trade. We show that West African trade has not yet achieved the structural transformation of countries having successfully...