Italian Abstract: La significativa crescita registrata nella produzione di idrocarburi estratti dalle formazioni di scisto (di seguito “shale gas” o “gas non convenzionale”) costituisce uno degli sviluppi più rilevanti nel settore energetico mondiale, resa possibile dall’abbattimento...

Energy security is a burning issue in a world where 1.4 billion people still have no access to electricity. This pioneering book is about finding solutions for energy security through the international trading system. Focusing mainly on the European Union (EU) as a case study, this holistic and...

I examine the change in prices of foreign sovereign dollar bonds over a two-week period in June 1930 that corresponds to the enacting of the Smoot-Hawley tariffs. I argue that if the market anticipated debt-repayment problems arising from the tariffs, this should be visible in bond prices. I...

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is making moves to get into the world of Internet governance. Many haven't heard of the ITU, and this essay provides some historical background by first looking at the events that took place 100 years ago at the time of the sinking of the Titanic....

A hypothetical interruption of energy commodity imports from Russia could significantly affect the Spanish economy. The difficulty of replacing these products in the short term would reduce the energy supply and compound the current inflationary episode, both of which would weigh on economic...

The discussions on trade and environment began as early as 1971 under the GATT. The formation of WTO in 1995 reignited and furthered the focus on rulemaking and optimal use of the world’s resources towards sustainable development. After two decades in 2015 with the signing of sustainable...

Does democracy encourage free trade? It depends. Broadening the franchise involves transferring power from non-elected elites to the wider population, most of whom will be workers. The Hecksher-Ohlin-Stolper-Samuelson logic says that democratization should lead to more liberal trade policies in...

Many papers have explored the relationship between average tariff rates and economic growth, when theory suggests that the structure of protection is what should matter. We therefore explore the relationship between economic growth and agricultural tariffs, industrial tariffs, and revenue...

During the 19th century, European countries not only industrialised heavily but they also traded with each other and with overseas areas in an until hitherto unkown degree. By 1913, a globalised economy has emerged, which -after the draw-back of the two world wars and the disentagration of the...