With the stagnation of services negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) is currently the only framework that possesses the potential to advance direct global liberalisation and rulemaking. The plurilateral format, used as the next-best...

This paper discusses the participation of African countries in global intellectual property (IP) regimes centred on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the implications of the expansion of the scope of IP regimes through bilateral trade...

One of the key goals of trade policy, which includes FTAs, should be the enhancement of productivity in the overall economy through the improved productivity of the tradable sector. This can be achieved by enhancing the productivity of existing firms, and eliminating lowproductivity firms to...

The crisis has contributed to a slowdown in global trade volumes, with trade virtually stagnant in the twelve months to July 2013. In this context, fruitful negotiations in the World Trade Organisation's 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali are crucial to sustain the institution's credibility and...

Ziel dieser Studie ist es zu evaluieren ob und in welchem Ausmaß vergangene Handelsliberalisierungen zu einer Steigerung von Handel, zu einer Erhöhung der Beschäftigung und zu höheren Löhnen in Deutschland beigetragen haben. Dabei wird besonders auf die Bedeutung des Außenhandels auf den...

It is heavily discussed whether trade liberalization is good or bad for the poor in a given (developing) country. The answer depends on a wide variety of factors, such as the type of trade barrier removed, the economic and institutional environment in the country, and the characteristics of the...

Ensuring the involvement of private sector creditors in the resolution of sovereign debt crises is crucial to ensure an effective management and orderly resolution of those crises. A review of experience gained in past financial crises suggests that crisis management practices have been largely...