Foreign Direct Investment and International Skill Inequality

This paper focuses on the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on skill inequality amongst countries. New growth models and international business studies predict that when countries liberalize their trade and investment regime in an environment of imperfect technology transfers, they will specialize in activities depending on the initial conditions such as skill endowments. Countries with few skills tend to specialize in low-skill intensive production, while countries with a high innovation rate and skill endowment tend to specialize in the production of high-skill intensive goods. The econometric evidence, based on an unbalanced panel for 111 countries over seven 5-year time periods from 1970 to 2000, confirms that FDI enhances skill development (particularly secondary and tertiary enrolment) in countries that are relatively well endowed with skills to start with. There are important policy conclusions for national governments when FDI tends to raise international skill inequalities. In particular, developing countries with low-skill endowments that attract investors would do well to co-ordinate actively their human resources policies with investor needs in order to bring the country to a higher skill path.     

Testing two trade models in Latin American agriculture

The Heckscher–Ohlin and Markusen models state that countries export the goods intensive in the use of their relatively abundant factor. Latin American agricultural trade is consistent with both models. The paper then shows that Latin American agricultural trade is primarily explained by country differences in relative factor abundance between countries rather than differences in technology. This finding does not reject the Heckscher–Ohlin model but rejects one of Markusen's models.     

TRADE REFORM AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PROCESSED FOOD EXPORTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This paper draws attention to the relative neglect of the consequences of barriers to processed food exports from developing countries in the literature examining the effects on these countries of agricultural trade liberalisation. These barriers are of three kinds: trade policy barriers; differing health, food safety and environmental standards; and, barriers arising from the evolving market structure in food processing and distribution in developed country markets. The paper discusses the likely significance of the gains to developing countries from reduction of tariffs on processed food commodities and examines the consequences of the EU single market programme for developing country food exports.     

我国木质林产品贸易结构优化升级策略研究

在产品、市场和贸易主体的维度上,对我国木质林产品的贸易结构进行具体分析。在此基础之上,发现在我国木质林产品贸易结构优化升级过程中,面临贸易壁垒增多、产品竞争优势不足和贸易国别风险高等多种问题。据此,提出了要加快推进我国木质林产品贸易向技术资本密集型转变,规范市场竞争、建立品牌优势;通过"一带一路"加强和巩固与各国之间的合作关系,分散贸易风险,开创新的发展格局。     

论进出口国共担国际贸易中的木质林产品隐含碳排放

从单一的生产者负责和消费者负责存在弊端的分析入手,从生产者和消费者共同拥有外部性产权及WTO国际贸易原则的角度,论证国际贸易中木质林产品隐含碳排放应该由进出口国共同承担,建议改进国际贸易碳计量方法学,构建监测报告体系,探索共担机制下的国际碳交易,在共担机制下优化木质林产品国际贸易政策,推进进出口国产业结构调整。     

The Heterogeneous Effects of Standards on Agricultural Trade Flows

This article uses a theory‐based translog gravity model to investigate the heterogeneous effects of food standards on aggregate agricultural trade. We revisit the ‘standards‐as‐barriers‐to‐trade’ debate with a distinctive twist. In contrast to existing works, we show that standards reduce trade but even more so for countries that trade smaller volumes. Our identification strategy exploits the within‐country variation in specific trade concerns. We confirm that stricter importer standards are indeed trade‐restrictive. However, the estimated trade cost elasticity varies depending on how intensively two countries trade. Specifically, it decreases in magnitude with an increasing import share of the exporter in the importing country's total imports. The reason is simple but intuitive; bigger trading partners find it more profitable to invest in meeting the costs of importer‐specific standards. This work is novel in showing that the standards–trade debate misses out on an important heterogeneity driven by existing import shares. Liberalising non‐tariff measures will favour smaller trading partners more than well‐established ones.     

基于多视角群组划分“一带一路”沿线重要节点国家农业合作研究

[目的]基于多视角开展"一带一路"沿线国家群组划分,提出"一带一路"农业国际合作重要战略节点国家,并探讨新冠肺炎疫情对重要战略节点国家与我国农业国际合作的影响,对进一步促进我国与"一带一路"沿线国家全面农业国际合作,打破农业国际合作瓶颈具有重要意义。[方法]文章通过地理位置、地缘政治、资源禀赋、农产品贸易等多个角度,结合引力模型和聚类分析法,对"一带一路"农业国际合作的重要战略节点国家进行分析。并从农产品贸易和投资两个角度探讨新冠肺炎疫情对重要战略节点国家和我国农业国际合作的影响。[结果]在"一带一路"沿线国家中,我国农业合作的重要战略节点国家按重要性划分为两个层次,第一层次为俄罗斯、哈萨克斯坦、波兰、缅甸、越南、泰国、巴基斯坦、埃及、印度尼西亚和马来西亚;第二层次为希腊、柬埔寨和老挝。新冠肺炎疫情对重要战略节点国家和我国的农业贸易、投资合作造成了不可忽略的影响。[结论]为进一步加强我国与"一带一路"重要战略节点国家农业国际合作,应在十九大提出的"六个坚持"理念指引下,从基础设施建设、资源禀赋、部门协调、共同抗疫四个方面,继续深化"一带一路"农业国际合作。     

Trade and agroindustrialization in developing countries: trends and policy impacts

There have been important changes in the international trade of processed and high-value added food products from developing countries over the past several decades. One of them has been the emergence of oilseeds and fruits and vegetables, replacing traditional products such as sugar, coffee, and cocoa as the main exports from developing countries. Another trend has been the collapse of African agroindustrial exports and the increase of exports from Asia. The paper highlights key trends, and explores possible reasons for the trends, focusing on trade policies in less-developed countries (LDCs) and developed countries (DCs). The paper argues that national trade policies and other economic policies appear to have been relatively supportive of agroindustrial production and exports in Asia. In contrast, policies have had more mixed effects in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and seem to have been just one component in a larger array of forces inhibiting economic development in Africa. The performance of agroindustrial production and exports from LDCs may be now more dependent than ever on the completion of reforms in the agricultural trade policies of DCs. For Africa, however, a more supportive international environment and better macroeconomic and trade policies will not be enough to ensure a thriving agroindustrial sector within a broader process of economic development until military confrontations stop.     

我国纸产品国际竞争力比较分析

通过国际市场占有率、贸易竞争指数和显示比较优势指数这三个指标定量分析了我国纸产品的国际竞争力，结果显示我国纸产品的国际竞争力与世界纸业发达国家相比仍存在很大差距，其主要原因在于我国纸业集约度低，产品结构不合理等。并在此基础上提出了提高我国纸产品国际竞争力的对策。     

我国国际保理业务发展缓慢原因及对策

自20世纪60年代以来，国际保理在国际贸易中获得了突破性的发展。当前在西方国际保理已是一种相当成熟的业务。然而在我国国际保理业务的发展却相对缓慢。分析阻碍我国国际保理业务发展缓慢的原因，提出突破国际保理业务发展的难点和解决问题的对策，推进我国国际保理业务快速发展。     

中国鱿鱼生产及进出口贸易分析

鱿鱼是头足类中最重要的经济资源之一,中国鱿鱼的产量年际间波动较大,但也不乏独特的特征和规律,这对本国贸易的稳定和发展有着直接或者间接的影响。本文主要是对在对目前中国鱿鱼的生产和贸易两方面概述的基础上,着重剖析中国鱿鱼的生产供给和贸易状况。通过收集的数据信息,采用分析统计法,对中国鱿鱼不同种类的资源状况、国际生产中的地位以及进出口贸易的主要结构格进行研究,从而对目前中国鱿鱼市场的状况做整体的窥探和了解,并且针对其中存在的问题从拓展国内市场和优化进出口市场的角度提出相应的建议。     

关税对水产品贸易量的影响——基于引力模型的实证研究

水产品是各国间最重要的贸易品之一,各国间的水产品贸易量受多种因素影响,关税无疑是其中重要的因素之一.论文在考察多种面板引力模型设定形式的基础上,选取了包含两两国家固定效应（country-pair fixed effects）的引力模型对1990～2011年间128个国家（地区）的双边水产品贸易情况进行了实证分析,重点研究了关税水平对各国水产品贸易量的影响.研究结果显示,较高的关税水平对贸易量有显著的负面影响,若保持其他条件不变,关税水平下降一半,贸易量将增加14.2％.     

我国特色果蔬国际贸易中存在的技术壁垒问题探析

我国是农业大国,农产品的国际贸易对我国经济发展具有较大的影响。随着我国农产品贸易出口量的增加,国外许多国家,尤其是发达国家开始制定许多措施来限制我国农产品的出口,其中技术壁垒对我国农产品出口产生很大的阻碍。为了更好地促进农产品贸易发展,我国逐渐将特色果蔬作为农产品贸易的主要竞争力,特色果蔬不仅具有较高的经济效益,其区域特色、品质特色及丰富的营养结构等优势更是顺应了消费者对农产品质量要求越来越高的新变化。文章通过阐述特色农产品与技术壁垒等的相关概念,进而分析我国特色果蔬国际贸易发展存在的相关问题,从不利与有利因素来研究技术壁垒对我国特色果蔬国际贸易带来的影响,以此为我国特色果蔬贸易的发展提出以下几点政策建议:(1)提高特色果蔬产品质量安全水平;(2)完善特色果蔬质量标准体系建设;(3)实现特色果蔬集约化生产与运输。     

木质林产品贸易格局的社会网络分析

基于2001—2018年区域全面经济伙伴关系协定(RCEP)成员国的木质林产品进出口贸易数据,采用社会网络方法分析RCEP成员国之间的木质林产品贸易网络格局。研究表明:RCEP成员国之间的木质林产品贸易联系比较紧密且贸易关系日益复杂;RCEP成员国之间的木质林产品贸易网络正向着最优的网络形态发展且木质林产品贸易往来趋于平衡;RCEP成员国之间签署、生效和升级自由贸易协定会加强RCEP成员国之间的木质林产品贸易关系;截至2018年,中国的木质林产品贸易地位已取代日本在RCEP木质林产品贸易网络中的核心位置,成为唯一的核心国家。因此,中国一方面要重视RCEP成员国的木质林产品市场,以此为契机促进更高水平的对外开放,推进全球贸易自由化;另一方面,中国木质林产品要依托质量、品牌、技术、管理创新等提高产品附加值,通过高质量发展来提高价值链分工地位,通过实施双循环战略实现国内国际双循环相互促进,提升国际竞争力,进而获取较高的贸易利得,确保中国木质林产品贸易的健康和可持续发展。     

我国对虾产业国际竞争力综合评价研究

20多年来,对虾产业的发展在各养殖国都取得了令人瞩目的成就,为全球粮食安全、食物供给、经济增长、国际贸易平衡、就业等做出了巨大贡献,对虾也成为国际贸易中最重要的水产品。如何衡量各国的对虾产业国际竞争力水平高低,并提出针对性的对策,是一个重要的问题。论文选取目前世界上最大的五个对虾出口国的现实数据进行实证分析,运用主成分分析方法,得到各国的对虾产业国际竞争力评价值,并根据评价结果对我国提升对虾产业国际竞争力提出了建议。     

Modeling differentiated quality standards in the agri-food sector: the case of meat trade in the enlarged EU

Quality standards play an increasingly important role in international agri-food trade, and their functioning as nontariff barriers to trade is widely discussed. We argue that food quality standards imposed by importing countries are more than just border measures and can have profound effects on the market structure of the exporting industry, thereby significantly influencing the supply response. We develop a stylized oligopoly model that accounts for compliance costs (fixed and variable) and investigate alternative policy options to explore different mechanisms an importing county may use to enhance the quality of its imports. The model explicitly recognizes the coexistence of complying and noncomplying firms, which is a situation often found in low-income countries where a small modern export-oriented segment invests in meeting foreign quality standards. We use the adjustment of the Polish meat sector to the tight EU food quality standards as an empirical example. The simulations show that a subsidy scheme can promote compliance with standards and can contribute to an upgrade of the industry in the exporting country, but its marginal effectiveness is diminishing.     

THE FUTURE OF EEC DAIRY EXPORTS TO THE LESS-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS OF LONG-RANGE PROJECTIONS AND MODEL STUDIES

From recent projection studies it can be concluded that future dairy exports by the EEC to the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) will increase. The self-sufficiency ratio for dairy products in the EEC will increase because of strong, technologically induced, growth of production potential. On the one hand, surplus production in the EEC will be difficult to curtail as the unfavourable conditions of the general economy will impede outmigration of inputs. Import demand, on the other hand, is projected to increase as many populations will be moving into stages of higher growth of income. Thus, input restrictions of agriculture in industrialised countries may be unnecessary. In this paper some agricultural economic aspects of the implied trade relationships are discussed. It is concluded that LDCs are not likely to benefit from gains of trade as predicted by theory of free trade and international specialisation. From projections by model studies, however, no consensus emerged. Projection and model studies seem hardly suited to provide insight in the effects of international trade under conditions of imperfect competition.     

WHICH COUNTRY LOSES THE LEAST IN A TRADE WAR?

Trade actions, which can generally be claimed as trade wars, appear to be on the rise. This is particularly true in the case of agricultural commodities. It is a common perception that large countries will be the victors in such contests and this clearly affects the trade strategies of small countries, including Australia. The relationship between free-trade and trade-war pay-offs in the context of a prisoner's dilemma is explored in this paper. It is shown why neither a favourable terms of trade movement, a flatter import demand curve nor a larger population is, on its own, a sufficient condition for a relative victory in a trade war. The implications for small country trade strategies are then discussed.     

International trade and agricultural development in developing countries: Significance of the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations

Liberalization of world trade in agricultural products ranks high on the agenda of the Uruguay Round. After a period of more than six years, however, the negotiations have not been concluded. Nevertheless, an outcome seems to be in sight. The agreement will most likely not result in a move to freer trade. It seems that domestic policies will become even more regulative than in the past in an attempt to cut exportable surpluses and to ease trade tensions among the main exporting nations. This paper explores possible impacts of the GATT Round on agricultural development in developing countries. Agricultural development is more than only growth in agricultural production or productivity. However, it is argued in the paper that other variables which also indicate agricultural development are often closely correlated with growth in production and productivity. Trade in agricultural products is not always an engine for agricultural development. If internal divergences are not accounted for by appropriate domestic policies, trade may be even harmful to agricultural development. Hence, empirical research based on cross-country analysis does not provide a clear answer about the role of trade for development. Past policies in industrialized countries have most likely had a negative effect on developing countries as a group; however, the effects differ widely across countries. Liberalization policies in industrialized countries would not just reverse these negative effects for developing countries. Price reduction in industrialized countries may not result in the often-cited production decline in the short term. Present X-inefficiency in agriculture will be reduced by liberalization, leading to an outward shift of the supply curve. Hence, liberalization may not lead to higher world market prices for temperate-zone products in the short and medium term. Apart from this, empirical models differ widely in the price effects they predict. The expected outcome of the Uruguay Round – increased regulation of domestic policies – is likely both more negative for developing countries than past protectionist policies and worse than an overall liberalization. World market prices will increase, uncertainty and instability can be expected to grow, and food aid may become less available. There will be a need to react to these challenges with measures on the international and national level. Initiatives to deal with food crises in developing countries and to stimulate liberalization in developing countries should be considered. Finally, developing countries should be made aware that their own domestic policies have a much greater economic impact than policies in other countries, even if the latter are as protectionist as current agricultural policies in the industrialized world.     

A gravity model analysis of meat trade policies

The conventional gravity model is revised for a single commodity and applied to meat markets to determine factors affecting trade flows of meat. This study demonstrates that the gravity model for a single agricultural commodity can be parameterized more effectively by using time series and cross-section data rather than cross-section data alone. This study reveals that trade policies and subsidies used by exporting and importing countries, livestock production capacity in countries, and distances play an important role in determining trade flows of meat. Long-term agreements achieve the highest performance toward enhancing international meat trade. Import quotas and the hoof-and-mouth disease on beef greatly impair meat trade.