Over the last decade there has been increasing international pressure on countries to raise "social standards" (i.e., production standards based on environmental and labor conditions). Currently, the World Trade Organization does not allow countries to impose minimum standards on imports based...

The tendency for countries to cheat on international environmental agreements has been well-documented. One reason is that less developed countries suffer technological disadvantages. While a number of authors have shown that technological transfers can solve the stability problem, real-world...