Regionalism, Multilateralism, and Deeper Integration PDF Download

Author: Robert Z. Lawrence
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815722991
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
Over the past decade, international economic liberalization has been pursued through both multilateral and regional arrangements. In the Uruguay Round, more than one hundred governments pledged their commitment to greater open trade in goods and services, and established new rules under the enforcement of the World Trade Organization. At the same time, however, many regional arrangements have been negotiated--including the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement. Nonetheless, controversy still rages about these arrangements. Are regional arrangements stumbling blocks or, in fact building blocks for a more integrated and successful international economy? In this book, Robert A. Lawrence addresses this question and explains both sides of the debate. A volume of Brookings' Integrating National Economies Series

Author: Gary P. Sampson
Publisher: UNU
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
This publication considers whether regional trade agreements have led to a new form of economic co-operation, by promoting deeper integration in the regulatory structures of participating countries. An examination of recent experiences are found to show that, although there is no single model for deeper integration, regional trade agreements have generally more effective than more remote WTO procedures in facilitating trade and improving transparency. Regional processes and rules are found to have been consistent with the multilateral obligations of each party, with additional commitments in the regional agreements complementing WTO rules.

Author: L. Alan Winters
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9703111149
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
November 1996 Do the forces that regional integration arrangements set up encourage or discourage a trend toward globally freer trade? We don't know yet. The literature on regionalism versus multilateralism is growing as economists and political scientists grapple with the question of whether regional integration arrangements are good or bad for the multilateral system. Are regional integration arrangements building blocks or stumbling blocks, in Jagdish Bhagwati's phrase, or stepping stones toward multilateralism? As economists worry about the ability of the World Trade Organization to maintain the GATT's unsteady yet distinct momentum toward liberalism, and as they contemplate the emergence of world-scale regional integration arrangements (the EU, NAFTA, FTAA, APEC, and, possibly, TAFTA), the question has never been more pressing. Winters switches the focus from the immediate consequences of regionalism for the economic welfare of the integrating partners to the question of whether it sets up forces that encourage or discourage evolution toward globally freer trade. The answer is, We don't know yet. One can build models that suggest either conclusion, but these models are still so abstract that they should be viewed as parables rather than sources of testable predictions. Winters offers conclusions about research strategy as well as about the world we live in. Among the conclusions he reaches: * Since we value multilateralism, we had better work out what it means and, if it means different things to different people, make sure to identify the sense in which we are using the term. * Sector-specific lobbies are a danger if regionalism is permitted because they tend to stop blocs from moving all the way to global free trade. In the presence of lobbies, trade diversion is good politics even if it is bad economics. * Regionalism's direct effect on multilateralism is important, but possibly more so is the indirect effect it has by changing the ways in which groups of countries interact and respond to shocks in the world economy. * Regionalism, by allowing stronger internalization of the gains from trade liberalization, seems likely to facilitate freer trade when it is initially highly restricted. * The possibility of regionalism probably increases the risks of catastrophe in the trading system. The insurance incentives for joining regional arrangements and the existence of shiftable externalities both lead to such a conclusion. So too does the view that regionalism is a means to bring trade partners to the multilateral negotiating table because it is essentially coercive. Using regionalism for this purpose may have been an effective strategy, but it is also risky. This paper - a product of the International Trade Division, International Economics Department - was prepared for a conference on regional integration sponsored by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, La Coru-a, Spain, April 26-27, 1996, and will appear in the conference proceedings.

Author: Donald Barry
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774807512
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The essays in this volume reflect the current debate about whether the new regionalism and interregional politics of the last decade support or undermine the global trading system. Political scientists and international relations scholars from North America examine the changing relationship between regionalism and multilateralism, and discuss the implications for national policy in the globalized economy. The essays are arranged into four categories covering regionalism, globalism, and the state; the dynamics of regional integration; interregional relations; and the policy implications, particularly for CanadaAnnotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Author: Philippe De Lombaerde
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402059515
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
In 2001, the United Nations University launched UNU-CRIS, a research and training programme on comparative regional integration to study the role of regional integration in global governance. This is a timely product of the research undertaken at UNU-CRIS. The report represents a unique collaboration between all regional UN Economic Commissions. It focuses on one of the central issues in the debate on global governance.

Author: Patrick Low
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521506018
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 743

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Book Description
A collection of revised papers from the 'Multilateralizing Regionalism' conference, held at the WTO in September 2007.

Author: Guido Glania
Publisher: CEPS
ISBN: 9290796030
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Book Description
This new book highlights the multifaceted effects of regional trade agreements and outlines the strategic options for EU trade policy. It points out what is new about this most recent phase of regionalism and analyzes the effects on economic welfare and trade transaction costs. The authors draw upon elements of game theory to explore a self-reinforcing mechanism that is resulting in a potentially damaging race for markets. They focus in particular on the multiple impacts of regionalism on the WTO and the multilateral trading order. The book arrives at an opportune time, as the Doha Round is reaching a critical phase.

Author: Edward D. Mansfield
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231106634
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Exploring regionalism from a political economic perspective, this text investigates why regional arrangements are formed, the conditions under which these arrangements solidify, and why they take on different institutional forms.

Author: Maurice W. Schiff
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821350782
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
This text examines regionalism from the perspective of developing countries. It presents a comprehensive account of existing theory and empirical results and incorporates the findings of formal analyses ofthe politics and dynamics of regionalism.

Author: Naoto Jinji
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811652104
Category : Economic history
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
This open access book explores the impact of deep regional economic integration on spillovers of knowledge and technology across countries. Deep integration through signing deep regional trade agreements (DRTAs), which cover various policy areas in addition to tariff reductions, may or may not facilitate technology spillovers among their signatories. To understand the mechanism of the impact of deep integration on technology spillovers, this book starts by analyzing the behavior of global firms. Factors that affect global firms' activities, such as export, foreign direct investment (FDI), offshore outsourcing, are examined. Micro data on Japanese firms are employed for the analysis. Then, the relationships between bilateral trade patterns and technology spillovers and between types of FDI and technology spillovers are investigated in detail. Patent citation data are used to measure technology spillovers. Finally, the impact of DRTAs on international technology spillovers is analyzed. This book is highly recommended to readers who are interested in the effects of deep regional integration, including academic scholars, policymakers, and graduate students. [Resumen de la editorial]