This article critically examines the theory of comparative advantage, which underlies the wide-spread support of worldwide trade liberalisations. Both the classical and neoclassical formulations of it are shortly discussed and its essential assumptions are scrutinised. These include the international immobility of capital and labour, balanced trade, the existence of an adjustment mechanism whic...

I construct a theory of trade agreements in which nations negotiate over both domestic policies and trade policies in a monopolistically competitve setting. My theory contributes to two trade policy questions: …rst, what problems do trade agreements solve? Second, what explains the evolution of domestic subsidy rules between the GATT and the WTO? I show that trade agreements must solve a …rm-de...

The Trade Knowledge Network is a global collaboration of research institutions across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas working on issues of trade and sustainable development. Coordinated by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the TKN links network members, strengthens capacity and generates new research to assess and address the impact of trade and investment po...

Illicit trade in tobacco products presents a threat to public health because it undermines the use of tax and price policies, which are among the most effective mechanisms for reducing tobacco consumption. Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) are in the final stages of negotiating a protocol aimed at strengthening international cooperation in the fight against illic...

one of the basic tenets in recent international trade literature is about the effect of trade integration on business cycle synchronization (bcs) among trading countries. the objective of this paper is to explore the main determinants of business cycle synchronization, with emphasis on trade integration. to this end, we have specified two simultaneous regression equations which were estimated b...

in the era of globalization, particularly, since early 1990s, economies around the world have been affected considerably by co-movements in one or more countries. in the literature this phenomenon is recognized as synchronization in business cycles, while joint policies being conducted by trading partners can modify such effects properly. the objective of this paper has been to evaluate a possi...

Abstract: This introduction surveys the evidence on the linkages between globalization and poverty, drawing on fifteen papers prepared for an NBER project under my direction. We focus on two measures of globalization: trade integration (measured using tariffs or trade flows), and international capital flows. Many economists have used the Heckscher-Ohlin framework in international trade to argue...

ADMIRE REBUS is a dynamic simulation of the international market for green electricity. It pays explicit attention to trade barriers, discriminative support policies, risks and other imperfections that are inherent to a market in transition. The model matches national supply curves (based on costs and potentials) with policy-based demand curves in a way that takes into account the discriminativ...

International trade produces income gains across the world by facilitating an efficient allocation of production among trading countries. However, increased trade exposure also creates some challenges, and there are adjustment costs associated with changing trade patterns. Effective complementary policies, by promoting flexibility and adaptation within economies, can reduce adjustment costs ass...