The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is the centrepiece of the global system of rules, institutions, and practices governing the ownership and flow of knowledge, technology, and other intellectual assets. During the TRIPS...

The paper explores the role of the gravity variables in explaining the FTA-s formation. We develop a new theoretical benchmark for the use of the gravity equation modeling them as fixed resources in the budget constraint of the Nash equilibrium definition of an FTA. We show the existence of an...

The debate on the institutional reform and governance of the WTO has now been underway for over fifteen years. In the context of a Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations stumbling forward in fits and starts, the most prominent focus of discussions of WTO reform has been options for...

The approach taken by developing countries to intellectual property (IP) decision-making varies widely. This variation raises several questions: How do politics at the national level impact the prospects for development-oriented IP reforms? What kind of institutional frameworks would best ensure...

The success of the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Development Agenda will depend upon reforms to the agency's governance. At the 2007 WIPO General Assemblies, several of the recommendations on the Development Agenda adopted by member states specifically alluded to the need for...

An important source of political opposition to measures aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) arises from concerns over their negative effects on the competitiveness of domestic firms, especially those that are energy-intensive and exposed to competition from foreign producers....

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is broader in policy coverage than conventional trade agreements for goods and, at the same time, offers governments more flexibility, in various dimensions, to tailor their obligations to sector- or country-specific needs. An overview of...

An important source of political opposition to measures aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) arises from concerns over their negative effects on the competitiveness of domestic firms, especially those that are energy-intensive and exposed to competition from foreign producers....

We summarise salient developments in the interaction of the multilateral trading system and multilateral trading agreements (MTAs) on the one hand and regional trading agreements (RTAs) on the other. We then consider the economic effects of RTAs, comparing customs unions with free trade...