All preferential trading agreements (PTAs) short of a customs union use rules of origin (ROO) to prevent trade deflection. ROO raise production costs and create administrative costs. This paper argues that in the case of the recent wave of North-South PTAs, the presence of ROO virtually limits...

This paper analyzes the effects of trade liberalization on the level and volatility of factor returns, in a model with identical technologies across industries and industry-specific uncertainty. The results show an increase in the return to capital and, under certain conditions, a decline in the...

Capturing the notion of kaleidoscopic comparative advantage ( <link rid="b7">Bhagwati, 1998</link>), we show that international trade increases the volatility of profitability. In this framework, we address the labor market implications of an increase in openness, when insurance and credit markets are imperfect. With...

The paper explores the relationship between industry shares in production and their determinants including factor endowments, technology, and government policies, in a GDP-function framework. We use a new international panel dataset on production and trade compiled by the World Bank. As an...