The current and potential benefits of the East-West gas trade are enormous for all participants. Realizing those benefits requires significant upfront investments. But the new, more complex structure of the gas transit system that has emerged following changes in Eastern Europe and the former...

As is evident from public finance principles, redistribution objectives do not influence environmental policies if there are other, costless means of redistribution. How does optimal environmental protection depend on redistribution objectives? The authors develop a framework that treats air...

Has the revival of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the early 1990s affected the industrial growth of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines? The author uses two mechanisms to capture this potential impact: scale effects, and intermediate imports variety. She performs the...

The recent revitalization of concern for environmental quality has generated many questions about the interaction between trade and the environment. Most of these questions have to do with the impact of environmental regulation on trade patterns and gains from trade. If a tradeoff is perceived,...

The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing will abolish all quota restrictions in trade in textiles and clothing by the year 2005. Dismantling the quota regime represents both an opportunity (for developing countries to expand exports) and a threat (because quotas will no longer guarantee markets...

Since the early 1990s numerous countries have adopted or strengthened competition legislation. Kee and Hoekman investigate the impact of competition law on industry markups over time and across a large number of countries. They find both domestic and foreign competition to be major sources of...

How effective are public interventions in addressing significant regional disparities in formal manufacturing concentration in a developing economy? The authors examine the aggregate and sectoral geographic concentration of manufacturing industries for Indonesia, and estimate the impact of...

The motor vehicle industry in the Philippines is regulated and protected by the provisions of development programs for cars, commercial vehicles, and motorcycles. Each program virtually prohibits the import of completely built-up vehicles, specifies minimum local content requirements for...

Vietnam's integration with the international economy has increased significantly over the past decade, aided by substantial liberalization of trade, and appears set to increase further as trade-expanding measures take full effect. This dramatic shift in Vietnam's trading patterns has important...

With a policy of free entry, individuals, firms, or community groups who wish to supply power, water, and sanitation services can do so with minimal legal restrictions. Free entry is the opposite of"exclusivity"or"legal monopoly". Free entry is allowed in most industries, but governments usually...