Borders have a sizable negative impact on trade flows. Given the vast number of individual goods potentially traded, this "border effect" could have two possible explanations: (1) less international than domestic trade in the goods that are actually traded between countries ("flow"), or (2)...

We provide evidence indicating that countries with well-developed social security systems do not necessarily face a trade-off between social spending and competitiveness. On average, countries that spend a lot on social needs score well in the competitiveness league. We investigate the...

This paper uses computational techniques to assess whether or not various propositions that have been advanced as plausible in the literature on regional trade agreements may actually hold. The idea is to make probabilistic statements as to whether propositions of interest might hold, rather...

At the end of June 1999 the intra-EU duty free shopping was abolished among the 15 member nations. The opponents of this resolution argued that such a tax-free sales sector created jobs EU-wide and hardly reduced the value added and excise tax revenue of individual countries. In their opinion,...

In the light of opposing views in the literature on the nature and dynamics of trade within the East Asian region, this study seeks to clarify the extent to which East Asian business activity is regionally oriented through an analysis of trade flows over the 1994-2007 period. It concludes that...

Inclusivity is perhaps the single most important human need to facilitate and demonstrate fairness for all members in an open and free society. When this principle need is compromised by appearances of unscrupulous self-interested privileged elites to perpetuate a systemic widening disparity...

Given the current state of multilateral trade negotiations, it appears that preferential trade agreements (PTAs) will serve as the main vehicle for increased liberalization in the short term. The question arises, whether the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should and could include...

This study seeks to investigate empirically the directional impacts of NTMs on intra-ASEAN exports given that not all NTMs pose constraints to trade. Though NTMs are found to be diverse and intense for specific bilateral pairs, there is no empirical evidence of adverse impacts of NTMs on...

Increased international commerce between the United States and faster growing economies such as The People’s Republic of China (PRC), as well as third world economies rich in natural resources but poor in infrastructure like Nigeria, have created the potential for significant exposure to...

As the major players in globalization, firms often operate in states where human rights may not be respected. Without direct intent, firms may be complicit in human rights violations. In 2008, John Ruggie, the UN Special Representative on business and human rights, developed a framework for...