Trade Policies For Development And Transition

The author has virtually incomparable experience in both providing trade policy advice to more than 25 countries on behalf of the World Bank and also publishing quality journal articles in most of those cases. In this volume, he focuses on his work on: (i) trade policies for countries making the transition from planned to market economies; (ii) his trade policy guideline papers for the World Bank on trade policies for poverty alleviation, uniform tariff policy, adjustment costs of trade liberalization, exchange rate overvaluation, globalization and technology transfer and rules of thumb on regional trade policies; (iii) multilateral, dynamic and environmental issues in trade policy using computable general equilibrium models; (iv) trade policy of the United States in the auto and steel industries; and (v) mathematical methods for modeling. The papers show an unusual combination of policy relevance, advice and impact, with rigor and international trade theory insights. The papers in this volume have appeared in many of the economics profession's more prestigious journals, including Econometrica, Review of Economic Studies, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Economic Journal, the Journal of International Economics, International Economic Review, European Economic Review, Canadian Journal of Economics, Economic Inquiry, the Journal of Comparative Economic, Review of International Economics, World Economy, the Southern Economic Journal, the World Bank Economic Review, the Japanese Economic Review and the Latin American Journal of Economics. In this book, the author elaborates on the articles by discussing some of the policy contexts for the requests for the work from developing and transition countries to the World Bank, the key trade theory or policy insights, policy recommendations and conclusions and the policy impacts.

In Economic Development and Transition, renowned development economist Justin Yifu Lin argues that economic performance in developing countries depends largely on government strategy. If the government plays a facilitating role, enabling firms to exploit the economy's comparative advantages, its economy will develop successfully. However, governments in most developing countries attempt to promote industries that go against their comparative advantages by creating various kinds of distortion to protect nonviable firms in priority industries. Failing to recognize the original intention of many distortions, most governments in transition economies attempt to eliminate those distortions without addressing firms' viability problems, causing economic performance to deteriorate in their transition process. Governments in successful transition economies adopt a pragmatic dual-track approach that encourages firms to enter sectors that were suppressed previously and gives necessary support to firms in priority industries before their viability issue is addressed.

Export promotion covers various fiscal, commercial and exchange rate measures that governments can take to ensure some neutrality when comparing domestic and export markets. These essays discuss export promotion and its pros and cons.

This book analyses the role of regional governments in the trade policy of the Russian Federation. It examines regional trade-related policies, such as subsidies, taxes and licensing, and their implications.

Study of international cooperation in trade - covers trade agreements of the GATT and EC, and includes the role of foreign trade in the economic development of developing countries. References.

This book presents an analysis of the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan whose experiences are equally important to other newly independent countries. These countries were little known to the rest of the world until they gained independence from the FSU. Independence from the FSU brought more challenges than opportunities. Despite huge development potential, based on natural resources, almost all countries in the region continue to suffer from high unemployment and fiscal imbalances. While trade, based on the concept of comparative advantage, is crucial for small economies, as the experience of Singapore and Hong Kong suggests, it has not played a significant role in accelerating growth and alleviating poverty in the Central Asian countries. The book sheds light on these issues which can provide useful development lessons, not only to newly independent countries, but also to other developing countries which are in the path of global integration.

GAO summarized information on federal government issues relating to international trade and economic policy, including: (1) economic policies in an interdependent world; (2) trade negotiations and agreements; (3) management of export promotion and market development programs; (4) export controls; and (5) foreign direct investment in the United States. GAO noted that: (1) its trade deficit and status as a debtor nation demonstrate the United States' increased interdependence with other nations' economies; (2) current U.S. trade negotiations are focusing on strengthening and improving multilateral trade agreements, expanding world market access, and extending coverage to services, investment, and intellectual property rights; (3) management problems and resource limitations have significantly limited the effectiveness of export promotion and market development programs; (4) the current export control system for civilian products with military applications is inefficient and ineffective; and (5) the government lacks the data necessary to fully evaluate the impact of foreign direct investment in the United States.