This paper develops a model of a trade agreement that puts at centre stage the competing interests between ?rms within a sector: Larger ?rms tend to be pro-trade liberalization whereas smaller ?rms favor protection. This set-up contrasts with the prior literature in economics that has tended to...

This paper shows how the institutional rules imposed on its signatories by the GATT created a strategic incentive for countries to liberalize gradually. Trade liberalization must be gradual, and free trade can never be achieved, if punishment for deviation from an agreement is limited to a...

This paper shows how the institutional rules imposed on its signatories by the GATT created a strategic incentive for countries to liberalize gradually. Free trade can never be achieved if punishment for deviation from a trade agreement is limited to a 'withdrawal of equivalent concessions.'...

This working paper presents a set of indicators to measure regional trade integration, with a special focus on the case of the European Union. We propose measures of openness, connectedness and integration which are tuned to evaluate not only how these components contribute to the advance of...

While the WTO and Doha Development Round do not deal with labour issues – they leave this to the ILO – the main countries that conclude free trade agreements incorporate labour provisions, which vary in terms of stringency. Sanctions are rarely used, and fears that “social clauses” would...

The Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States was released on January 27th, 2011. The strong political differences within the commission prevented the draft of a shared report. In addition to the majority report, two...