We develop an equilibrium theory of trade agreements in which both the degree and the nature (bilateral or multilateral) of trade liberalization are endogenously determined. To determine whether and how bilateralism matters, we also analyze a scenario where countries pursue trade liberalization...

In a three country model with endogenous tariffs, this paper evaluates and contrasts the welfare effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) and customs unions (CUs) — the two most commonly occurring preferential trade agreements (PTAs). We show that if the external tariff of a PTA is not too...

Developing countries now account for a significant fraction of world trade and two thirds of the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, many are still individually small and thus have a limited ability to bilaterally extract and enforce trade concessions from larger developed...

We analyze how a price control and the threat of compulsory licensing (CL) affect consumer access in a developing country (South) to a patented foreign product. In the model, the Southern government sets the level of the price control on a Northern patent-holder who chooses between entry and...

We evaluate the case for non-discrimination in the international protection of intellectual property. If trade is not subject to any frictions then requiring national treatment (NT) in patent protection does not have any consequences for innovation (and welfare) since unfavorable discrimination...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and contrast the welfare effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) and customs unions (CUs) on member and non‐member countries when tariffs of both members and non‐members are endogenously determined. It also aims to provide sufficient...

"This volume collects 26 papers covering channels of international technology transfer; multinational firms, market structure, and welfare; intellectual property rights, foreign direct investment, and innovation; flexibilities contained in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual...

The authors find that the role foreign direct investment (FDI) plays in international technology transfer (ITT) hinges on whether substitute channels of ITT--such as imitation--exist for the host country. If FDI is the sole channel of ITT, a faster flow of FDI to the South increases the rates of...

We conduct a welfare comparison of MFN and tariff discrimination in an oligopoly model of trade between two exporting countries and one importing country. While MFN dominates tariff discrimination from a world welfare perspective when exporting countries are asymmetric with respect to either...

We examine the preferences of a foreign firm and a local government over two modes of foreign direct investment: de novo entry and acquisition of the domestic incumbent. Two crucial features of the model are network externalities and partial incompatibility between the domestic and the foreign...