In the present paper we aim to emphasize several aspects of the economic integration realized through the channel of trade, from a double perspective. The first point of view is given by the formal framework, de jure, composed by the multitude of preferential trade agreements, while the second...

Despite the fact that many modern preferential trade agreements include commitments to foreign investors in imperfectly competitive services sectors, the literature has not established conditions under which these agreements are beneficial or harmful. The authors fill that void by developing a...

This paper examines the effect of trade barriers on quality levels in a duopoly model for two countries where products are both vertically and horizontally differentiated. In the absence of quality regulation the producer in the large country produces a higher quality than the producer in the...

This paper aims to examine the changes in global value chains (GVCs) in the years 2020-2022 (times of the COVID-19 pandemic) compared to 2019 (last year before the pandemic). GVCs are illustrated by diagrams based on the statistics on international trade measured by value-added exports and...

Highly dynamic and large scale structural changes are currently reshaping the world economy and international trade. When compared to other similar experiences in the past, astonishing is not only the fast pace of global transformations, but also their wide scope affecting virtually the entire...

This paper analyses the ongoing plurilateral negotiations for a new Agreement on Trade in Services. Its aim is to answer to the following set of questions: (1) What are the motivations behind these negotiations as well as the objectives of the new plurilateral trade in services agreement? How...

Over the past four decades merchandise trade of developing Asian economies (DAEs) has grown at a much faster rate than growth in world trade, with a distinct intra-regional bias. Global production sharing has become a unique feature of the region's economic landscape, with China playing a...

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we review the mechanisms and determinants of vertical specialization (VS), as this has gradually become the dominant characteristic of international trade. Second, we underline that there is a rich literature regarding VS in EU trade, at aggregate...

We consider the impact of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on horizontal foreign direct investment (FDI) coming from parent countries outside the PTA. While easier access to a larger market due to a PTA may justify new FDI, preexisting investments may be rationalized as firms concentrate...

Stephen Hymer (1960, 1976) argues that a desire to increase market power is a strong motive for foreign takeovers. Yet the market-power motive for FDI flows has been largely unexplored in the modern theory of heterogeneous firms. This paper shows that foreign direct investment can increase...