The paper discusses the experience to date with the implementation and application of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), some ten years after its entry into force. One striking observation is the smooth functioning of the Agreement, which has created far less tensions and...

Non-transparency is a term given in this paper to a set of government policies that increase the risk and uncertainty faced by economic actors foreign investors. This increase in risk and uncertainty stems from the presence of bribery and corruption, unstable economic policies, weak and poorly...

Much has been recently written about the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) that has been negotiated by OECD countries. Perhaps even more has been said by the critics of those who would like to see an agreement of this kind extended among other countries. There has indeed been a great...

In the last ten years, there has been a sea change in trade and related policies in emerging markets. This results from autonomous reforms undertaken in conjunction with macroeconomic stabilization programmes. Many non-tariff measures have been eliminated and tariffs, now the principal trade...

The relationship between product quality (as indicated by unit value) and export performance, both measured in absolute (per capita) and relative terms, is investigated. Five EU countries (DE, UK, FR, ES, IT), three product categories (cheese, meat preparations and wine), three export...

The implementation of eco-labelling schemes for agricultural and food products may represent an opportunity to enhance production technologies compatible with the sustainable economic approach. The paper presents an attempt to design a comprehensive methodological framework in which the consumer...

In order to respond to the current pressures on agriculture in the EU, the industry will have to go through fundamental structural change. Economic modelling provides the framework for understanding such changes. Mathematical programming is probably the most robust of all the modelling...

This paper explores the effect of exchange rate volatility and of the institutional quality on international trade flows of transition economies in Central European Countries by applying a gravity model of balance panel between 1999 and 2008. The results show that nominal exchange rate...

The EU has undertaken considerable efforts of establishing Deep and Comprehensive Trade Agreements (DCFTAs). The EU DCFTAs go beyond tariff liberalisation, specifically targeting “behind the border” measures, commonly referred to non-tariff measures (NTMs). While offering benefits, the...