There has been increasing use of technical regulations as instruments of commercial policy in the context of multilateral, regional, and global trade. These nontariff barriers are of special concern to developing countries, which may bear additional costs in meeting mandatory standards. Many...

Tariffs on imports protect domestic producers and raise public revenue. The World Development Report 1987 finds that effective rates of protection to manufacturing in developing countries typically exceed 40 percent; while the World Development Report 1988 estimates that the importance of import...

The Uruguay Round involved a grand North-South bargain: The North reduced import barriers, particularly in textiles and agriculture. The South adopted new domestic regulations in such areas as services and intellectual property-changes that would lead to increased purchases from the North. In...

This study reviews trends in the process of India's integration into the world economy in the context of the experience of developing countries as a whole, and evaluates the main factors which may hamper the pace at which integration occurs in the future. Based on a consideration of prospects...

The authors examine the determinants of entry by foreign firms using information on 515 Chinese industries at the provincial level during 1998-2001. The analysis, rooted in the new economic geography, focuses on market and supplier access within and outside the province of entry, as well as...

The authors discuss how regional investment agreements may affect the inward and outward flows of foreign direct investments in the integrating region. After describing the multidimensional character of the issue, they provide a conceptual framework for analysis as well as three case studies...

Duty drawback (or rebate) systems, reduce or eliminate the duties paid on imported intermediate goods, or raw materials used in the production of exports. When a firm imports an intermediate product for use in the production of an export good, tariff payments on the imported intermediate good...

How firms react to a given shock may depend on the degree to which rivals are present and on whether potentially viable entrants to that market exist. The authors try to measure these effects internationally by examining the price behavior of the United States in Brazil's market when MERCOSUR...

The Uruguay Round will generally have a limited impact on Egyptian policies affecting goods, investment, and services. It will have a more significant impact on intellectual property, although this will take up to a decade to materialize fully. Insofar as this reflects a continuing defensiveness...

This report proposes an action plan for the rationalization of tax structures for Central America. To harmonize tax policies among Central American nations, the report recommends the following: (a) continuing trade liberalization, by reducing thelevel and dispersion of effective trade...