The recent theoretical literature on the determinants of trade agreements has stressed the importance of political gains, such as credibility, as a rationale for trade agreements. The empirical literature, however, has lagged behind in the estimation of the economic gains or losses associated...

Most countries are members of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). The effect of these agreements has attracted much interest and raised the question of whether PTAs promote or slow down multilateral trade liberalization, i.e. whether they are a ‘building block’ or a ‘stumbling block’...

‘Regulatory protection’ or technical barriers to trade (TBT) are two names for the myriad of cost-raising, behind-the-border measures that substantially inhibit trade. This paper argues that TBTs are important and their liberalization will continue. This liberalization will involve...

The paper applies a gravity model to 1980-1996 annual non-fuel imports data for 58 countries to quantify the effects of recently created or revamped PTAs on trade. We modify the usual gravity equation to identify separate effects of PTAs on intra-bloc trade, members' total imports and their...

This paper uses a schematic computable model of the iron and steel sectors in the European Community (EC) and Eastern Europe to explore the effects of trade policies on those sectors. In particular it explores the partial opening of EC markets to Eastern producers. Following a discussion of...

The paper analyses the degree of structural change that has occurred within the EC since the launch of the internal market programme. It is divided into three parts: the first examines inter-sectoral shifts in the pattern of specialization within EC manufacturing, and finds relatively little...

This Paper estimates the effect on international trade of three multilateral organizations intended to increase trade: 1) the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor the Generalized Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); 2) the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and 3) the...

Regional integration is on the rise again, despite its apparent failure among developing countries in the past. The paper first surveys the ambiguous economics of customs unions. We emphasize that the traditional dichotomy between `trade creation' and `trade diversion' is not particularly...

We present a simple computable model of EC footwear production and trade coupled with a rudimentary production model for Eastern Europe. We simulate the liberalization of EC footwear imports from Eastern Europe as planned under the so-called Europe Agreements. We find that if Eastern Europe can...

We set up a simple trade model with two countries hosting one firm each. The firms invest in cost-reducing R&D, and each government may grant R&D subsidies to the domestic firm. We show that it is optimal for a government to provide higher R&D subsidies the lower the level of trade costs, even...