Trade Liberalization, Industrialization, and Development

Trade Liberalization, Industrialization, and Development PDF Author: Mehdi Shafaeddin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789675412493
Category : Economic development
Languages : en
Pages : 42

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Trade Liberalization, Industrialization, and Development

Trade Liberalization, Industrialization, and Development PDF Author: Mehdi Shafaeddin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789675412493
Category : Economic development
Languages : en
Pages : 42

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Book Description


Trading Arrangements and Industrial Development

Trading Arrangements and Industrial Development PDF Author: Anthony Venables
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
June 1997 A new approach to analyzing the role of trade in promoting industrial development. How do different trading arrangements influence the industrialization process of developing countries? Can preferential trading arrangements (PTAs) be superior to multilateral liberalization, or at least an alternative when multilateral liberalization proceeds slowly? If so, what form should the PTAs take? Are developing countries better advised to seek PTAs with industrial countries or among themselves? Traditional analysis of these issues has been based on the ideas of trade creation and trade diversion. The problem with this analysis is that it starts from assuming a pattern of comparative advantage. This stands in sharp contrast to the apparently changing comparative advantage of newly industrialized countries. The experience of these countries suggests the need for an analysis in which the pattern of comparative advantage is not set in stone but is potentially flexible, and in which less developed countries can develop and converge in both income and economic structure to industrial economies. Puga and Venables outline an alternative approach for analyzing the role of trade in promoting industrial development. There are few fundamental differences between countries that generate immutable patterns of comparative advantage. Instead the pattern of trade and development in the world economy is determined mainly by history. Cumulative causation has created concentrations of industrial activity in particular locations (industrial countries) and left other areas more dependent on primary activities. Economic development can be thought of as the spread of these concentrations from country to country. Different trading arrangements may have a major impact on this development process. By changing the attractiveness of countries as a base for manufacturing production they can potentially trigger or postpone industrial development. This approach explains why firms are reluctant to move to economies that have lower wages and labor costs, and shows how trade liberalization can change the incentives to become established in developing countries. It provides a mechanism through which import liberalization can have a powerful effect in promoting industrialization. And it suggests that import liberalization may create or amplify differences between liberalizing countries with the possible political tensions this may create. While these features are consistent with the world economy, they fall short of providing convincing empirical support for the approach. Using the approach, the authors derive a number of conclusions about the effects of trade liberalization. First, that unilaterally liberalizing imports of manufactures can promote development of the local manufacturing industry. The mechanism is forward linkages from imported intermediates, but this may be interpreted as part of a wider package of linkages coming from these imports. Second, the gains from liberalization through PTA membership are likely to exceed those obtained from unilateral action. South-South PTAs will be sensitive to the market size of member states, and North-South PTAs seem to offer better prospects for participating Southern economies, if not for North and excluded countries. Third, the effects of particular schemes (such as the division of benefits between Southern economies) will depend on the characteristics of the countries and cross-country differences in these characteristics. This paper-a product of the International Trade Division, International Economics Department-was prepared for the research project on regional integration.

Trading Arrangements and Industrial Development

Trading Arrangements and Industrial Development PDF Author: Diego Puga
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A new approach to analyzing the role of trade in promoting industrial development. How do different trading arrangements influence the industrialization process of developing countries? Can preferential trading arrangements (PTAs) be superior to multilateral liberalization, or at least an alternative when multilateral liberalization proceeds slowly? If so, what form should the PTAs take? Are developing countries better advised to seek PTAs with industrial countries or among themselves? Traditional analysis of these issues has been based on the ideas of trade creation and trade diversion. The problem with this analysis is that it starts from assuming a pattern of comparative advantage. This stands in sharp contrast to the apparently changing comparative advantage of newly industrialized countries. The experience of these countries suggests the need for an analysis in which the pattern of comparative advantage is not set in stone but is potentially flexible, and in which less developed countries can develop and converge in both income and economic structure to industrial economies. Puga and Venables outline an alternative approach for analyzing the role of trade in promoting industrial development. There are few fundamental differences between countries that generate immutable patterns of comparative advantage. Instead the pattern of trade and development in the world economy is determined mainly by history. Cumulative causation has created concentrations of industrial activity in particular locations (industrial countries) and left other areas more dependent on primary activities. Economic development can be thought of as the spread of these concentrations from country to country. Different trading arrangements may have a major impact on this development process. By changing the attractiveness of countries as a base for manufacturing production they can potentially trigger or postpone industrial development. This approach explains why firms are reluctant to move to economies that have lower wages and labor costs, and shows how trade liberalization can change the incentives to become established in developing countries. It provides a mechanism through which import liberalization can have a powerful effect in promoting industrialization. And it suggests that import liberalization may create or amplify differences between liberalizing countries with the possible political tensions this may create. While these features are consistent with the world economy, they fall short of providing convincing empirical support for the approach. Using the approach, the authors derive a number of conclusions about the effects of trade liberalization. First, that unilaterally liberalizing imports of manufactures can promote development of the local manufacturing industry. The mechanism is forward linkages from imported intermediates, but this may be interpreted as part of a wider package of linkages coming from these imports. Second, the gains from liberalization through PTA membership are likely to exceed those obtained from unilateral action. South-South PTAs will be sensitive to the market size of member states, and North-South PTAs seem to offer better prospects for participating Southern economies, if not for North and excluded countries. Third, the effects of particular schemes (such as the division of benefits between Southern economies) will depend on the characteristics of the countries and cross-country differences in these characteristics. This paper - a product of the International Trade Division, International Economics Department - was prepared for the research project on regional integration.

Trade Liberalization and Economic Reform in Developing Countries

Trade Liberalization and Economic Reform in Developing Countries PDF Author: S. Mehdi Shafaeddin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Developing countries
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
"The paper analyses economic performance of a sample of developing countries that have undertaken trade liberalization and structural reforms since the early 1980s with the objective of expansion of exports and diversification in favour of manufacturing sector. The results obtained are varied. Forty per cent of the sample countries experienced rapid expansion of exports of manufactured goods. In a minority of these countries, mostly East Asian, rapid export growth was also accompanied with fast expansion of industrial supply capacity and upgrading. By contrast, the experience of the majority of the sample countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America, has not been satisfactory. In fact, half of the sample, most of them low income countries, have faced de-industrialization. Even in some cases where manufactured exports grew extremely fast, e.g. Mexico, MVA did not accelerate and upgrading of the industrial base did not take place. Slow growth of exports and deindustrialization has also been accompanied by increased vulnerability of the economy, particularly the manufacturing sector, to external factors particularly as far as reliance on imports are concerned. Generally speaking, in the case of the majority group, trade liberalization has led to the development and re-orientation of the industrial sector in accordance with static comparative advantage, with the exception of industries that were near maturity. For example, in Latin America the expansion of exports has taken place mainly in resource based industries, the labour intensive stage of production, i.e. assembly operations, and in a few cases in the automobile industry. A number of industries which had been dynamic during the import substitution era continued, however, to be dynamic in terms of production, exports and investment. The industries which were near maturity when the reform started, such as aerospace in Brazil, benefited from liberalization as the competitive pressure that emerged made them more efficient. The reform programmes designed by IFIs also failed to encourage private investment, particularly in the manufacturing sector; the I/GDP ratio fell even where the inflow of FDI was considerable--e.g. in the case of Latin America. Trade liberalization changed the structure of incentives in favour of exports, but the balance between risks and return changed against the manufacturing sector. A major difference between the 'minority' and the 'majority' groups is that in the case of the former, i.e. East Asian NIEs, at least until recently economic reform, particularly trade liberalization, has taken place gradually and selectively as part of a long-term industrial policy, after they had reached a certain level of industrialization and development. By contrast, the 'majority group' embarked, in the main, on a process of rapid structural reform including uniform and across-the-board liberalization. The author argues that no doubt trade liberalization is essential when an industry reaches a certain level of maturity, provided it is undertaken selectively and gradually. Nevertheless, the way it is recommended under the Washington Consensus, it is more likely to lead to the destruction of the existing industries, particularly of those that are at their early stages of infancy without necessarily leading to the emergence of new ones. Further, any new industry that emerges would be in line with static, rather than dynamic, comparative advantage. The low income countries, in particular, will be locked in production and exports of primary commodities, simple processing and at best assembly operation or other labour intensive ones with little prospect for upgrading"--United Nations Conference on Trade and Development web site.

Trade Liberalization

Trade Liberalization PDF Author: Romain Wacziarg
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781788111492
Category : Free trade
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
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.

Trade and Industrial Development in Africa

Trade and Industrial Development in Africa PDF Author: Moyo, Theresa
Publisher: CODESRIA
ISBN: 2869785712
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
This book revisits the perennial challenge that scholars, economists, and politicians have been grappling with since the 1960s. Development, in this book, has been defined in a context that projects it as a multidimensional and complex process which seeks to enhance the human, social, economic and cultural welfare of the people. This book calls for a rethinking of trade and industry for Africa's development. It uses data drawn from national development plans and strategies, and trade and industry issues have been prioritized at the continental level, in key policy documents. On the whole Africa's industry and trade performance have been poor in spite of national, regional, and continental plans. The contributors to this volume propose some alternative strategies and policies which are necessary for trade and industry to grow and to contribute to the well-being of Africa's people. It calls for a developmental trade and industry policy which, fundamentally, must be people-centred. African states should invest time, energy and resources to develop policies which will take into consideration African realities.The different contributors are aware that Africa has experienced strong economic growth in the recent past but this growth has largely been due to a strong demand for Africa's primary commodity exports. It has also been a result of increases in productivity and domestic investment and remittances from Africans living in the Diaspora. It is important to note that despite this unprecedented growth performance, the impact of trade and industry on development has been limited. The book argues that a structural transformation of Africa's economies is inevitable if Africa is to achieve the shift from the dominant paradigm of production and export of primary goods. The various contributors to this book agree that there is need to rethink policy and strategy in order to achieve industrial development in Africa. There is no unique solution or answer that can fit all situations as African countries are not the same. While Africa can draw lessons from other regions which have successfully industrialized, this book argues that policies and strategies will have to be adapted to country-specific situations and circumstances.

Trade Policy, Industrialization, and Development

Trade Policy, Industrialization, and Development PDF Author: Gerald K. Helleiner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
This volume contributes to a better appraciation of the actual problems and constraints of industrialization and growth in developing countries and points the way to useful further lines of research.

Trade Liberalisation and the Poverty of Nations

Trade Liberalisation and the Poverty of Nations PDF Author: A. P. Thirlwall
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 184844401X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
This is a meticulously researched and well written book on a subject of immense contemporary academic and policy interest. Prema-chandra Athukorala, Journal of Development Studies The book is a valuable contribution to the analysis of the links between trade liberalisation, poverty and inequality . . . The book is a coherent piece of work offering an abundance of well-researched and argued information, effectively establishing it as a notable contribution to the investigation and understanding of this very important field. Therefore this book is highly recommended as an important publication for everyone interested in this field as it is a powerful guide to the complex questions that emerge when dealing with the issues of trade liberalisation and poverty elimination at international level. Marios Koutsias, International Trade Law and Regulation Thirlwall and Pacheco-López s book makes its contribution by serving as a clearly written synthesis of a diversity of literatures on trade liberalization and its impacts on growth, inequality and wages, and poverty. . . . the book is an excellent one. It should be a required reading companion to any graduate-level trade course. Kevin P. Gallagher, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities This book breaks out of the standard distinction between free trade and protectionism , and shows how to think constructively about trade policy as an instrument of national economic strategy. It is highly recommended for those who wish to think beyond orthodoxy, and especially for those in developing countries who wish to influence negotiations with developed countries and western-based international organisations. Robert Wade, London School of Economics, UK This is a gem of a book. Based on deep understanding of diverse economic theories and empirical evidence, it offers us a succinct but highly informative overview of the controversies surrounding the impact of trade policy on growth, inequality, and macroeconomics. Ha-Joon Chang, University of Cambridge, UK, and author of Kicking Away the Ladder, and Bad Samaritans Free-trade fundamentalism is gradually making way for a more nuanced and historically well-informed understanding of the role that trade policy plays in economic development. Thirlwall and Pacheco-López provide an excellent review of the relevant literature as well as a sophisticated critique of the earlier, simplistic views. As they explain, it is the details the timing, sequencing, and context that determine whether liberalization will succeed. Dani Rodrik, Harvard University, US This book will infuriate the free trade ultras who believe that liberalisation is the answer to every problem and a good thing too. The real world, as Thirlwall and Pacheco-López show clearly and vividly, is different from the world of theoretical models so beloved by today s economic orthodoxy, and they take delight in tweaking the noses of the Washington consensus. History suggests they are right to argue that managed trade is better for developing countries than swallowing large doses of free-trade medicine. Larry Elliott, The Guardian Orthodox trade and growth theory, and the world s multilateral development institutions, extol the virtues of trade liberalisation and free trade for more rapid economic development of poor countries. However, the contemporary reality and history seem to tell a different story. The world economy has experienced an unprecedented period of trade liberalisation in the last thirty years, and yet international and global inequality is widening; domestic poverty (outside of China) is increasing; poor countries exports have grown more slowly than their imports leading to balance of payments crises, and the so-called globalising economies of the world (excluding China and India) have fared no better, and in some cases worse, than those countries that have not liberalised so extensively. This book argues that orthodox theory is based on many unreal assumptions,

Trading Arrangements and Industrial Development

Trading Arrangements and Industrial Development PDF Author: Diego Puga
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Desarrollo industrial
Languages : en
Pages : 42

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Book Description


Trade Liberalization and Industrial Development

Trade Liberalization and Industrial Development PDF Author: A. Geske Dijkstra
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Commerce
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description