This compelling two-volume collection presents the major literary contributions to the economic analysis of the consequences of trade liberalization on growth, productivity, labor market outcomes and economic inequality. Examining the classical theories that stress gains from trade stemming from comparative advantage, the selection also comprises more recent theories of imperfect competition, where any potential gains from trade can stem from competitive effects or the international transmission of knowledge. Empirical contributions provide evidence regarding the explanatory power of these various theories, including work on the effects of trade openness on economic growth, wages, and income inequality, as well as evidence on the effects of trade on firm productivity, entry and exit. Prefaced by an original introduction from the editor, the collection will to be an invaluable research resource for academics, practitioners and those drawn to this fascinating topic.
The period of transition from socialism to capitalism in parts of Europe and Asia over the past 25 years has attracted considerable interest in academia and beyond. From the Editors of Palgrave's iconic series 'Studies in Economic Transition' comes the Palgrave Dictionary of Emerging Markets and Transition Economics. This dictionary addresses the needs of students, lecturers and the interested general public to quickly find definitions and explanations of topics, institutions, personalities and processes in this historical phase of changing societies, which as such is not concluded. Today newly emerging market economies try to learn from the experiences of transition economies. Those who love The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics will enjoy the format of this Dictionary, which uses an encyclopaedia-based approach, where articles not only define the terms but provide an overview of the evolution of the term or theory and also touch on the current debates.
This is the first study to distinguish a possible link between trade liberalisation and regional disparities under dissimilar political regimes, such as autocracy and democracy. It uses Pakistan as a case study to draw broader lessons for other developing countries.
This book deals with the impact that international trade is likely to have on the skilled-unskilled wage gap in a typical developing economy. This is the first theoretical monograph on this particular issue which has already generated substantial debate and voluminous work for the developed countries. A unique feature of this work is that it tries to explain the possibility of rising inequality across trading nations and looks at the segmented labour markets of the poor economies. It makes convincing arguments that the standard general equilibrium models, the main workhorse of trade theory, can be given a creative facelift to address a number of critical and emerging issues in the area of trade and development.
Over the past two decades, the percentage of the world’s population living on less than a dollar a day has been cut in half. How much of that improvement is because of—or in spite of—globalization? While anti-globalization activists mount loud critiques and the media report breathlessly on globalization’s perils and promises, economists have largely remained silent, in part because of an entrenched institutional divide between those who study poverty and those who study trade and finance. Globalization and Poverty bridges that gap, bringing together experts on both international trade and poverty to provide a detailed view of the effects of globalization on the poor in developing nations, answering such questions as: Do lower import tariffs improve the lives of the poor? Has increased financial integration led to more or less poverty? How have the poor fared during various currency crises? Does food aid hurt or help the poor? Poverty, the contributors show here, has been used as a popular and convenient catchphrase by parties on both sides of the globalization debate to further their respective arguments. Globalization and Poverty provides the more nuanced understanding necessary to move that debate beyond the slogans.
This book provides a much needed quantitative response to the classic question of whogains and who loses in trade liberalization and shows how important the process is for the globaleconomy. It contributes significantly to the debate concerning trade between developed anddeveloping countries.John Whalley describes and uses a numerical general equilibrium model of worldtrade to explore issues in the area of trade liberalization among major world trading areas - theEuropean Economic Community, the United States, Japan, and developing countries. His book is uniqueboth in using this framework to analyze world trading patterns, and in considering a number oftrading areas simultaneously within the same model. It is able to quantify the merits of alternativeactions in international trade policy, the ways that the interests of the EEC, the United States,and Japan are similar and ways in which they differ, and show how the interests of less developedcountries are affected by various trade liberalization initiatives.Part I provides a description ofthe model, data sources and adjustments to basic data, and methods for specification and solution ofthe model. Part II presents results from model applications along with policy conclusions.Applications include analysis of tariff cutting formulae in the Toyko Round, an evaluation of theTokyo Round trade agreement, examination of incentives for a retaliatory trade protection 'war'between world trade blocs, and analysis of the impact of protectionist policies on North-Southtrade.John Whalley is Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario.