Les tensions dans le système commercial international grandissent, non seulement à cause des pressions protectionnistes suite à la grande récession de 2008, dont les séquelles sont encore bien présentes, mais également en raison d’une tendance à plus long terme, à savoir la mise à...

The outcome of the 15th conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Copenhagen showed a shift from a top-down approach with a collective target favoring environmental objectives to a bottom-up accord favoring political feasibility. There is no meaningful binding agreement in sight, also because...

In spite of improved performance during the last decade, the MENA region has had a disappointing performance compared to other middle income countries. The paper surveys underlying causes by constructing micro and macro indicators and comparing performance with other countries. Lower growth and...

The birth of a middle class across the continent gives room for expanding regional trade in ECOWAS. However, as a first step, commitments under the Ecowas Trade Liberalization Strategy (ETLS) should be carried out. Implementation of the ETLS is a prerequisite for raising the low levels of...

This paper revisits the celebrated conflict that lasted close to two decades and pitted the EU against the US and against MFN suppliers of bananas. It starts by recalling the major turning points in the dispute and argues that the EU-US conflict could largely be explained by the changing...

The paper surveys the state of knowledge about the trade-related environmental consequences of a country’s development strategy along three channels: (i) direct trade-environment linkages (overexploitation of natural resources and trade-related transport costs);(ii) ’virtual trade’ in...

Globalization has failed to relax barriers to the movement of labor, especially unskilled workers. So have North-South Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), while South-South RTAs have failed to implement good intentions. A literature review of the labor effects of RTAs underscores context...

Least developing countries (LDC) rely on preferential market access which is mechanically eroded by the tariff reductions by grantor countries to other countries. Effective market access depends on the severity of the Rules of Origin that have to be met to qualify for these preferences. These...

This paper tackles the “pollution haven” argument by estimating the pollution content of imports (PCI). The PCI is then decomposed into three components:(i) a “deep” component (i.e. traditional variables unrelated to the environmental debate); (ii) a factor endowment component and (iii)...

Least developing countries (LDC) rely on preferential market access which is mechanically eroded by the tariff reductions by grantor countries to other countries. Effective market access depends on the severity of the Rules of Origin that have to be met to qualify for these preferences. These...