This working paper draws on historical and contemporary data on tariffs, nontariff barriers, and transportation costs (for the United States and its major trading partners) to estimate the role of policy liberalization in US merchandise trade growth over the period 1980 to 2006. Both partial...

Consumer price inflation in the euro area declined steadily during most of the 1990s. However, in the last two years, both headline and core inflation have risen throughout the area, and sizable cross-country differences in inflation have re-emerged. This is illustrated by Figure 1, which shows...

It is not in the US interest to adopt tax and regulatory policies that would discourage global engagement by US multinational corporations (MNCs). Research presented in this book shows that the expansion of foreign affiliates of US MNCs is positively associated with more production, greater...

In the wake of the Great Recession of 2008–09, economists feared that protectionist policies might sweep the world economy, echoing the wave of tariff escalations during the Great Depression of the 1930s. To some surprise, officials were more restrained and largely avoided traditional forms of...

The US budget outlook has the makings of a fiscal disaster, but it is the beginning of economic challenges, not the end. Among other challenges, a tax system that discourages business and erodes American competitiveness ranks high. The United States lags well behind other advanced countries, not...

Sharp reductions in tariffs and quotas have propelled dramatic growth in global trade over the past several decades. Often overlooked, however, are the costs associated with trade logistics. In many countries logistics costs are greater deterrents to trade than remaining tariffs. Studies show...

This study covers the history of Sino-US trade relations with a particular focus on the past decade, during which time each has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Providing a brief history of 19th and 20th century economic relations, this paper examines in detail the trade...

This paper compares the current foreign direct investment (FDI) recession with FDI responses to past economic crises. The authors find that although developed country outflows have taken an equally big hit as major developed countries have after past crises, outflows seem to be bouncing back...

The severe economic damage done by the global crisis of 2007-09 has reenergized calls to protect domestic products and producers in the United States. One example is a proposal to discriminate against foreign-owned insurance companies, using the tax code. The Neal bill (HR 3424), named after...

Despite high drama, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Copenhagen ended as a flop. During chaotic negotiations and fundamental disagreements surrounding the formation of a post-Kyoto deal, five heads of state got together on the last day of...