ENDOGENOUS PROTECTION IN A TRADE LIBERALIZING ECONOMY: THE CASE OF SOUTH AFRICA

This article aims to establish the changes that occurred in the institutional structures governing trade policy in South Africa during the period 1990–1998. It also examines the forces that influenced the application of tariff policy by the major tariff-setting bodies by applying various theories of endogenous protection to their decisions. Using firm-level data on applications made to the Board on Tariffs and Trade, the study finds that when estimating a probit model, employment considerations rather than capital invested influenced the board's decisions to grant protection. In addition, the board is found to have granted protection even in the face of tariff lines having been bound under the Uruguay Round. The article argues that this should not be interpreted as a reversal of the trade liberalization but rather as an attempt by the board to cushion firms from the acceleration in the tariff rationalization process that occurred after the GATT offer. Finally, it is suggested that the board's response to changes in import penetration ratios between industries that were considered organized provides prima facie evidence of the superior lobbying ability of such industries.     

农产品对外贸易促进农民增收的区域差异——基于中国省际面板数据的实证分析

运用中国1999—2008年29个省(直辖市、自治区)的面板数据,实证了中国农产品对外贸易促进农民增收的区域差异。结果显示:东、中部地区农产品进、出口依存度与农民收入增长正相关,且中部地区要明显强于东部地区;西部地区农产品进、出口依存度与农民收入增长负相关。在对实证结果进行讨论和解释的基础上,就中国农产品对外贸易促进农民收入增长提出了政策建议。     

传统贸易理论、新贸易理论和新经济地理框架下的产业集聚现象

文章使用传统贸易理论、新贸易理论和新经济地理的分析框架讨论了产业集聚现象的影响因素,并利用1999-2003年省级面板数据研究了导致中国地区产业集聚的因素.发现:①比较优势仍是产业集聚形成的前提;②产业一旦在特定区域形成集聚现象,规模经济效应的存在,会促进这种集聚趋势进一步增强;③打破地方贸易保护障碍,建立全国统一大市场,有助于区域的专业化发展.