Productivity of core infrastructure investment in China: An input–output approach

This paper examines the productivity effect of two categories of core infrastructure investment in China, by matching a panel of manufacturing firm-level production data with province-level infrastructure investment data. Cross-industry variation in infrastructure reliance using input–output table information is employed to address potential endogeneity issues. We find that firms in an industry that relies more heavily on infrastructure in production experience higher productivity growth from more infrastructure investment. On average, the annual rate of return to core infrastructure investment in China is about 23% during 1998–2007.     

The determinants and consequences of across-the-board trade restrictions in the U.S. economy

This paper examines the effect of macroeconomic fluctuations in the determination of across-the-board trade restrictions in the U.S. economy.

The empirical results reported show that generalized trade intervention is most immediately affected by wealth transfer abroad through the trade balance and not by a slowing in employment growth. Furthermore, trade restrictions are associated with a decline in the stock market and aggregate employment.     

国际贸易环境下我国对外贸易政策的发展方向

近十几年来,全球贸易量取得了惊人的跨越式增长,而自由贸易与环境的关系问题也日趋尖锐。一方面,许多发达国家利用不对等的贸易和投资手段从发展中国家攫取大量战略性资源,却造成这些国家境内生态环境的严重失调;另一方面,一味地追求贸易扩张、资金积累和工业化又实际加剧了全球环境的恶化。环境效应对贸易的挤压性制约日益上升为国际贸易发展的焦点。在此背景下,引入环境变量,促进贸易策略的可持续性便成为实现我国对外贸易科学发展的必然之路。     

从外贸依存度看中国外贸面临的结构型风险

2004年中国名义外贸依存度上升至70％。本通过对中国名义外贸依存度的解读，指出中国既是一个贸易大国也是一个贸易弱国，中国外贸面临着结构型风险。     

Bifurcations in the evolutionary approach to multilateralizing trade policy

The Doha Round on multilateral trade liberalization, originally intended to better integrate developing countries into the world economy, has been largely considered a failure. With the Doha outcome falling short of expectations, North–South trade remains underdeveloped. Embedding the political economy and the resulting importance of reciprocating trade liberalization in an evolutionary model along Axelrod–Rapoport lines indicates that factor endowments are crucial in triggering trade policies. Their pivotal nature gives rise to bifurcations, thereby tilting policies towards or away from liberalization trajectories. The theoretical insights are reflected in an empirical analysis, thus strengthening the case for a variable-geometry approach.     

Impact of services trade on economic growth and current account balance: Evidence from India

This paper aims to study the impact of services trade on India’s economic growth and current account balance during the post-reform period. Earlier studies on this subject have mostly looked at the goods sector. Indian studies which analysed services-led growth from a balance of payments perspective suffered from a bias of having focused only on call-centre exports. In such a context, this study brings in a novel approach by using the Balance of Payments Constrained Growth model and autoregressive distributed lag cointegration to estimate the balance of payments equilibrium growth rate for India’s service sector. The key service sub-sectors are also identified using input–output tables and the TIVA database. This study finds that India’s service sector is growing at a rate almost equal to its balance of payments equilibrium growth rate under the assumption of constant relative prices in international trade, and at a rate lower than the equilibrium growth rate when this assumption is relaxed. Among the major services in India’s export basket, construction, transport and business services are found to exhibit strong backward linkages. Foreign value-added content in India’s services exports is found to be highest in the case of business services, transport services and telecommunications.     

Savings and the terms of trade under borrowing constraints

This paper examines the extent to which permanent terms of trade shocks have an asymmetric effect on private savings. The first part uses a simple three-period model to show that, if households expect to face binding borrowing constraints in bad states of nature, savings rates will respond asymmetrically to favorable movements in the permanent component of the terms of trade—in contrast to what conventional consumption-smoothing models would predict. The second part tests for the existence of asymmetric effects of terms of trade disturbances while controlling for various standard determinants of private savings. The results, based on panel data for non-oil commodity exporters of sub-Saharan Africa for the period 1980-1996, indicate that periods of increases in the permanent component of the terms of trade tend indeed be associated with higher rates of private savings.     

Convergence of shocks and trade in the enlarged European Union

This paper explores the relation between trade flows and cross-country symmetry of supply and demand shocks using data from the EU-27 countries. Increased bilateral trade intensity is found to have a positive impact on the correlation of both demand and supply shocks. Intra-industry trade is found to be positively linked to correlations of supply-side shocks but negatively linked to correlations of demand shocks. Our results thus provide support for the argument that aggregate demand spillovers and intra-industry trade, rather than specialization, dominate in the process through which trade flows affect the cross-country transmission of shocks in Europe. At the same time, our estimates suggest that monetary-policy convergence in Europe (the circulation of the euro), while having increased symmetry of supply-side shocks, has had no direct favourable impact on symmetry of demand shocks. By contrast, the process of fiscal-policy convergence is found to have resulted in more correlated demand shocks across the EU member states.     

入世前后浙江省贸易条件变动的实证分析

文章对浙江省入世前后贸易条件的变动趋势进行了实证分析,研究结果显示:浙江省贸易条件的变动受入世的影响较大.其进出口产品、初级品和工业制成品的价格贸易条件及制成品要素贸易条件在入世后均相对趋向不利的变动;收入贸易条件则以入世为界趋于改善;经过调整计算的价格贸易条件也显示出入世后的贸易利益变动不利于浙江省.文章最后重点分析了入世后影响浙江贸易条件变动的主要因素,并提出了改善其贸易条件的对策建议.     

Timing of trade liberalization

Abstract

This paper studies the effects of trade liberalization on growth and long-run global income inequality using a two-country model of human capital accumulation by credit-constrained households. I show that the timing of trade liberalization is a crucial determinant of its effects on growth. Moreover, I show that the size of the long-run income gap between the two countries depends on the difference in domestic income inequality when they open up to trade. Based on these results, I analyze the effects of redistributive policy within a country. I show that redistribution in one country may increase income per capita of its trading partner if it is undertaken in a steady state, while the opposite is true if the policy is undertaken during transition.     

Dumping in a product differentiated reciprocal trade industry emitting global pollution

By modeling an international industry where developed and developing countries’ firms reciprocally trade differentiated goods under global pollution and the incomplete internalization of the pollution externality, we examine the firms’ dumping and anti-dumping duty (ADD). We assume that the product quality, pollution emissions, and consumer's pollution internalization are worse in the developing country. We find, among others, that the developing country's firm always conducts dumping, but the developed country's firm only does so under a certain condition and that if the two countries’ internalization degrees of the pollution externality are the same, the firms’ dumping disappears, regardless of product qualities and units of pollution emissions. We also show that a rise in the developed (developing) country's ADD decreases (increases) global pollution and that a rise in a country's ADD always decreases its rival country's welfare, but there is the possibility that it also reduces its own welfare in a certain case.     

Productivity, terms of trade and the ‘home market effect’

This paper analyzes the international transmission and welfare implications of productivity gains and changes in market size when macroeconomic adjustment occurs both along the intensive margin of trade (changes in the relative price of existing varieties of tradable goods) and the extensive margin (creation and destruction of varieties). We draw a distinction between productivity gains that enhance manufacturing efficiency and gains that lower the cost of firms' entry and of product differentiation. Countries with lower manufacturing costs have higher GDP but supply their products at lower international prices. Instead, countries with lower entry costs supply a larger array of goods at improved terms of trade. Output growth driven by demographic expansions, as well as government spending, is associated with an improvement in international relative prices and firms' entry. While trade liberalization may result in a smaller array of goods available to consumers, efficiency gains from deeper economic integration benefit consumers via lower goods prices. The international transmission mechanism and the welfare spillovers vary under different asset market structures, depending on trade costs, the elasticity of labor supply, and consumers' taste for varieties.     

我国对外贸易发展的挑战和对策研究

改革开放以来,我国对外贸易发展迅速,已经成长为全球第一大货物贸易国。然而,我国对外贸易也面临着人口红利快速衰减、经济增长下降明显、贸易竞争力提升比较慢、对外贸易高端人才支撑不足等国内因素的挑战,加之国际贸易新规则频出、贸易保护主义抬头、全球经济增长失速、WTO改革陷入停滞等国际因素的挑战。应积极构建高标准自贸网络打破美国封锁、加快推进“一带一路”建设、以高质量为目标加快对外贸易转型、加强国际贸易领域人才培养,以实现我国对外贸易的健康可持续发展。     

Social responsibility of countries and their international trade: A gravitational approach

This article presents an econometric study based on a gravitational model estimation of the link between the prevailing social conditions in a country and its exports. It is based on an original indicator of social conditions: the Responsible Competitiveness Index (RCI) launched in 2007 by AccountAbility, the organisation that introduced the international AA1000 Standard. The regressions initially show a positive connection between the social responsibility of the countries and their exports. It is not a linear connection but shows a bell-shaped curve stronger in countries with lower levels of social responsibility (Southern countries): it can be negative in countries with high levels of social responsibility (Northern countries).     

国际贸易中的反倾销调查原因分析与对策研究

近年来,中国已经成为全球范围内遭受反倾销调查案最多的国家,为中国企业国际市场开拓带来严重阻碍。本文围绕国际贸易中反倾销调查原因进行分析探讨,结合国内市场实情寻求解决对策,希望通过本文的论述,唤起政府有关部门以及国内企业对反倾销问题的重视。     

我国工业制成品贸易条件的影响因素分析

本文运用1981-2006年的数据,对我国工业制成品的价格贸易条件、收入贸易条件和单要素贸易条件的影响因素进行了实证分析。结果表明:技术进步与我国工业制成品的价格贸易条件和收入贸易条件呈显著正相关关系,人均资本存量与收入贸易条件呈显著负相关关系,资本技术密集型产品出口占工业制成品出口的比例与价格贸易条件呈显著正相关关系;经济增长与收入贸易条件、单要素贸易条件呈显著正相关关系,累积外国直接投资占国内资本存量的比例与价格贸易条件和收入贸易条件呈显著负相关关系;以直接标价法表示的实际汇率变动与三种贸易条件均呈显著负相关关系。本文在此基础上提出了相关的政策建议。     

Gatekeepers to consumer markets: the role of retailers in international trade

This study explores how recent developments in the retail sector affect trade in consumer goods. It focuses on three developments in the retail sector: (i) internationalization; (ii) market structure; and (iii) the growing market share of retailers' private labels. Using gravity model estimation techniques it is found that the foreign operations of a retailer are positively related to imports from the host to the home country of the retailer. Imports are negatively related to ownership concentration, while the market share of private labels is negatively related to imports of food and positively related to imports of non-food consumer goods. For both product categories private labels shift sourcing towards poor countries. The trade response to trade liberalization is higher both at the extensive and intensive margin in countries with lower retail concentration.     

Dynamic causality testing for EKC hypothesis,pollution haven hypothesis and international trade in India

This study examines the causality relationships between foreign direct investment (FDI), economic growth (GDP) and CO₂ emissions along with the level of trade (exports and imports) taking place in India. The study uses data obtained from World Development Indicators (WDI) of World Bank Group for the period 1982–2013. The study employed the dynamic multivariate Toda-Yamamoto (TY) approach that uses the modified Wald (MWALD) test. Among the major findings of the study are: the existence of both Pollution Haven Hypothesis and Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in India. The other findings of the study are: FDI is causing exports; exports are causing imports; imports are causing CO₂ emissions; and finally CO₂ emissions and GDP are causing each other. This finding concludes mainly two things. First, India imports more of pollution-intensive manufactured goods. Second, FDI is causing GDP in India but through CO₂ emissions.     

Mars or Mercury redux: The geopolitics of bilateral trade agreements

We analyse the role of economic and security considerations in bilateral trade agreements. We use the pre‐World War I period to test whether trade agreements are governed by standard gravity variables, or by instead—or in addition—geopolitical factors. While we like others find support for standard gravity variables, we also find that defence pacts boost the probability of trade agreements by as much as 20 percentage points. Our estimates imply that were the U.S. to alienate its geopolitical allies, the likelihood and benefits of successful bilateral agreements would fall significantly. Trade creation from an agreement between the U.S. and E.U. countries would decline by about 0.6 per cent of total U.S. exports.     

A longitudinal meta-analysis of corruption in international business and trade: Bridging the isolated themes

ABSTRACT

This article chronicles the academic debate on corruption in international business and trade. It identifies three themes: contributing factors, consequences, and combating corruption. We found convergence in the literature and that authors tend to remain loyal to their chosen theme. As a result, we found a distressing dearth of research that transcends, integrates, or validates the interrelationships between them. Through our work, we propose the bridging of themes, demonstrating how they interrelate, thereby validating their interdependencies and the broader lens needed through which to observe corruption in international business.