Poverty reduction is deemed to be a centrepiece of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) currently being negotiated under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet there is considerable debate about the poverty impacts of such an agreement. Some are convinced it will increase poverty,...

In this paper we discuss the relationship between labour market regulation and regional trade agreements from both a legal and an economic angle. We examine empirically whether regional trade liberalisation is associated with deterioration (“race to the bottom”) of domestic labour standards...

The WTO has increased international disciplines on export policy, but there is still scope for the use of export subsidies and other measures to promote exports. Under macroeconomic and trade reforms of the last decade, many countries have reduced or eliminated import measures which operate as...

The aim of this paper is to analyse developing countries' participation so far in the current round of services negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda. The paper analyses developing countries' negotiating positions, as evidenced by their multilateral negotiating proposals; their initial...

Two issues stand out in this conversation. The first concerns the unfinished business of the global fight against the scourge of poverty, which impacts one region more than most: Africa. At the same time, a key pre-requisite for economic performance - affordable and efficient public...

To date, government procurement has been effectively carved out of the main multilateral rules of the WTO system. This paper examines the systemic and other ramifications of this exclusion, from both an economic and a legal point of view. In addition to relevant elements of the WTO Agreements,...