Economic and Household Impacts of Projected Policy Changes for the Irish Agri‐food Sector

The policy environment for the Irish agri‐food sector could change rapidly in the coming decade. A potentially positive factor will be the elimination of milk quotas in 2015, although a potentially negative factor will be further trade liberalisation and increased import competition. These changes come on top of the move to decouple direct aids to farmers in 2005 as part of the Mid‐Term Review of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy agreed in 2003. This paper examines these reforms and their impacts on the Irish economy and income distribution using a CGE model particularly rich in detail on the agri‐food sectors, differentiated household groups, and agricultural policy instruments including their links to productive factors and households. The results suggest that the past and projected changes in the policy environment have, in sum, a small positive impact on GDP and household income. However, the gains and losses are unequally distributed across sectors and household groups due to the highly differentiated distribution of support and protection. Although all households generally gain from the sequence of policy reforms in the long run, some experience strong adverse effects from particular reforms and in the medium term.     

WTO多哈回合:各方分歧、受阻原因及前景展望

多哈回合谈判是WTO成立后的第一轮多边贸易谈判。10年来虽取得过阶段性的成果,但因农业领域的矛盾仍未达成全面协议。本文在回顾多哈回合农业谈判历程及其成果的基础上,主要阐述了农业谈判方的主要观点和分歧所在,进而从直接原因、内在机制和外部环境3个方面详细分析了多哈回合谈判受阻的原因。最后从经济、政治和谈判意向3个方面分析了各主要谈判国的状况并对多哈回合的前景进行了展望。     

考克斯圆桌商业原则与企业发展(英文)

考克斯圆桌商业原则,突破了旧的企业伦理观,反对企业将利润作为唯一追求,强调兼顾企业、个人、社会的新的企业伦理观。考克斯圆桌商业原则体现了一种均衡的、协调的发展观和思想。     

Implementation and imbalance: dealing with hangover from the Uruguay Round

The Uruguay Round agreements impose bound obligations to implement,but provide only unbound promises of assistance—is therea legal solution within the WTO legal system, i.e. can implementationassistance be made a legal obligation? The author concludesthat the Doha negotiations on trade facilitation and on aidfor trade demonstrate that such a legal arrangement cannot beconstructed. This is not, however, a problem; the internationalcommunity has provided extensive trade-related assistance throughbilateral and multilateral development agencies. Regarding theoverall Uruguay Round imbalance (developing countries gave morethan they got), failure of the international community to acknowledgethat the imbalance stems in major part from the WTO agreementon intellectual property (TRIPS) has retarded a general making-up.     

多哈发展议程与中国外贸可持续发展

协调贸易与发展的温尼伯原则促进WTO将环境措施融入了多边贸易体系之中。2001年WTO多哈部长级会议上,各方一致同意就贸易与环境议题进行谈判,力图实现贸易、环境与发展“三赢”的局面。我国作为WTO成员国,必须实施贸易与环境相互协调的外贸可持续发展战略,充分利用WTO多边贸易协议,支持环境项目;调整产业结构,加快发展第三产业;提倡集约化经营战略和循环经济发展模式,发展技术型产品,替代资源型产品的出口;内部化环境成本,促进贸易与环境和谐统一发展;实施绿色产品战略,推行环境标志认证;利用WTO争端解决机制解决贸易纠纷,以实现贸易和环境的相互协调,实现传统经济增长和发展模式向可持续发展模式的转变     

多哈回合中的农业问题对中国的影响

多哈回合的谈判结果对于多边贸易体制的稳定、经济全球化的进程、贸易自由化给各成员国带来的福利增进而言,具有极其重要的意义。世贸组织承诺,多哈回合要给发展中国家带来真正的好处。作为世界上最大的发展中国家,中国所受到的影响更是引人注目。     

多哈回合谈判的困局及出路

经过近九个年头的谈判,多哈回合仍然没有任何结果,让人觉得前途暗淡。然而必须看到,多哈回合的胜利完成,一方面,会带来更大的贸易自由化;另一方面,可以抵御日渐抬头的贸易保护主义;而它的失败则会对全球贸易带来严重后果。因此,针对目前的僵局,发达国家应该做出更多让步;小国家则应该组成不同的集团,以集团代表的方式参加各项议题的讨论;而谈判委员会主席的工作和职权则应该受到更多的约束。只有各方都做出调整,谈判才有可能顺利完成。     

Exploring cruise ship passenger spending patterns in two Uruguayan ports of call

The cruise industry has become a significant component of the Uruguayan tourism economy in the last few years. The present study aims to provide a better understanding of the cruise industry by considering the expenditure of cruise ship passengers disembarking at the ports of call of Montevideo and Punta del Este as a key variable in the economic analysis of the costs and benefits. We estimate two cross-sectional regression models for cruise passenger expenditures, and show that the size of the group the visitors travel with and visitor mobility within the country are the most important variables to explain individual expenditure behaviour. We also include some management recommendations that policy-makers could implement in order to improve the economic profits from cruise ship tourism.     

The impact of the Uruguay Round on tariff escalation in agricultural products

Tariff escalation (i.e. higher tariffs on processed agricultural products than on their input commodities) has been one of the obstacles for developing countries in their efforts to establish processing industries for exports. This article assesses the changes in tariff escalation resulting from the Uruguay Round (UR) tariff concessions, examining the agricultural import markets of EU, Japan and the US. The approach consisted of comparing the base and bound tariffs, as listed in the UR tariff schedules, of actual input/output processing relationships, taking also specific tariffs into account. Three main conclusions can be drawn. First, more than half of the commodity pairs have positive tariff wedges (escalating tariffs), about 10 per cent have no tariff wedges (input and output tariffs are equal) and the remaining one-third of the commodity pairs have negative tariff wedges (de-escalating tariffs). These numbers are roughly the same for both base and bound tariff wedges. Second, as a result of the UR tariff concessions more than 80 per cent of the tariff wedges have decreased (in absolute values, i.e. positive wedges have become less positive and negative wedges have become less negative). Convergence towards zero is therefore a common feature. Third, after the full implementation of the UR tariff concessions, high levels of nominal tariff escalation will still remain for a number of commodity pairs, highest in Japan and lowest in US. Considering only the positive tariff wedges, these will average 17 per cent after the implementation of the UR (down from 23 per cent of the base years). Finally, the study has certain methodological shortcomings, and a degree of caution is in order for countries contemplating export diversification and investing in valued-added industries. There are well known problems with “water in the tariffs” and the difference between applied and bound rates of duty that are common to all studies on this subject. In addition, a number of factors that are beyond the scope of this study should also be taken into account when export diversification is considered. These relate, inter alia, to the competitiveness of the export commodities or industries in question, availability of appropriate technologies and infrastructure, product standards, technical regulations and a host of consumer preference issues having to do with brand recognition as well as product characteristics.     

新一轮退耕还林对农户收入影响的机理研究 ——基于赣南、鄂北农户调查的实证分析

研究目的：新一轮退耕还林补助资金即将到期之际,分析新一轮退耕还林对农户家庭收入的净效应并揭示其内在机制。研究方法：理论上阐述了新一轮退耕还林政策促进农户收入增长的作用机理,基于赣南、鄂北地区农户调查数据,利用倾向得分匹配法进行实证分析。研究结果：（1）无论是否包含退耕补贴,新一轮退耕还林政策对农户收入有正向影响;（2）退耕林种对农户收入的作用机理不同：种植经济林的农户增加了林果业收入和非农经营收入,减少了工资性收入;种植生态林的农户通过提高工资性收入,进而提高总收入水平。研究结论：新一轮退耕还林加快了农户生计转型的进程。政策实施5年后,农户形成与生态环境相适应且稳定的生产方式,为补偿政策的逐步退出创造有利条件,实现了新一轮退耕还林政策的造血功能。