The paper characterizes trade exposure and regional integration in six ASEAN economies during 1997-2008. For this, the paper uses the 2000 Asian Input Output Tables which are extrapolated using National Income Accounts and COMTRADE data. On the demand side, the paper shows that the level and...

Firm size follows Zipf's Law, a very fat-tailed distribution that implies a few large firms account for a disproportionate share of overall economic activity. This distribution of firm size is crucial for evaluating the welfare impact of macroeconomic policies such as barriers to entry or trade...

Why are trade barriers often used to protect home producers, even at the cost of introducing deadweight losses from higher commodity prices? We add an informational friction to the standard textbook argument in favor of free trade, and show that trade restrictions may be a more effcient policy...

"This paper accomplishes two objectives. First, it provides simulation results from a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that have helped focus the debate about the potential effects of agricultural trade liberalization on developing countries. The aggregate numbers show modest net...

"In this brief, we evaluate the effects of a possible Doha agreement based on proposals currently on the table from the United States, the European Union, and the Group of Twenty (G20)....[The brief presents] two development-oriented alternatives...which demonstrate that more can be accomplished...

"In recent years, trade in Africa has assumed greater importance as a means of alleviating poverty, especially since the initiation of the Doha Round for development. At the same time, skepticism regarding the effectiveness of foreign aid has grown (Easterly 2006). Trade and aid have often been...

"What is at stake in the standoff between the United States and Europe over agriculture in the Doha Round of trade talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO)? What impact would an agreement based on greater or lesser levels of ambition have on developing countries, whose economies depend...

This paper assesses the challenges confronting developing countries in APEC in their reform and modernisation of standards systems and related infrastructure. Vietnam and Thailand are examined as case studies. In both cases the move to internationalise standards and the quality of services...

Using a long dataset on openness and productivity this paper tests the influence of openness on TFP growth and per capita growth since 1870 for 16 industrialized countries. It is shown, in simple regressions, that growth is by and large independent of openness. However, once the interaction...