Trade Misinvoicing: The Dark Side of World Trade

We analyse the determinants of trade misinvoicing using data on 86 countries from 1980 to 2005. In a simple microeconomic framework, we derive the determinants of four different types of trade misinvoicing taking into account that only the financial incentives determine whether and how much exports/imports to underinvoice or overinvoice, whereas the deterrents only affect the extent of misinvoicing. The hypothesised determinants are tested using data on discrepancies in bilateral trade with the United States. We find that the black market premia and tariffs motivate illegal trading activities. Higher financial penalties effectively act as a deterrent to this crime.     

贸易统计国别标准的演进哲学:否定之否定

在国际贸易统计中,由20世纪前半叶的较低层次的属权标准——贸易国标准,转向后半叶的在地标准——产销国标准,是为了增进国际贸易统计数据的可比性。然而FDI造成的大量外国附属机构的交易活动,又使得以基于在地标准为核心的统计数据不能反映当事国的真实利得。于是又向更高层次的属权标准寻求答案。这就是贸易统计国别标准的演进哲学:否定之否定,螺旋式上升。     

Trade relations with the Communist countries

After the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan is the second largest trade partner of the Communist countries as a whole and of the Soviet Union and the largest partner of the People’s Republic of China. It has only been in recent years that Japan gained this formidable position in the trade with the East.     

The Gravity Model Analysis of Bangladesh's Trade: A Panel Data Approach

The article applies generalized gravity models to analyze Bangladesh's bilateral trade pattern using the panel data estimation technique. The results reveal that Bangladesh's trade is positively determined by the size of the economies, per capita gross domestic product differential and openness of the trading countries. Bangladesh's exports are positively determined by its income, partner countries' total import demand and openness, but negatively determined by partner countries' income and domestic inflation. Bangladesh's imports are positively determined by income of trading countries and degree of openness of the partner countries and negatively determined by partner countries' inflation. Transportation costs affect Bangladesh's trade negatively.     

从2004年中英贸易看两国贸易发展趋势

根据英国国家统计局的统计,2004年中英双边贸易仍然存在贸易逆差,并且还有进一步扩大的趋势,如何改变这一状况,使中英双边贸易朝着更加平衡健康的方向发展,这对中英双方经济的长期发展都是有利的.中英两国经济互补性强,双边经贸合作发展迅速,贸易规模不断扩大;中英双边贸易的合作有着巨大的潜力和广阔的前景.     

Does Aid Cause Trade? Evidence from an Asymmetric Gravity Model

Anderson and vanWincoop developed what has become the standard framework for framing and interpreting empirical work using the gravity model. Their framework relies heavily on an assumption of symmetry among countries. For issues related to North‐South trade, this assumption is problematic. In this paper, we develop an asymmetric extension of the Anderson–vanWincoop framework appropriate to the analysis of North‐South trade, where Northern countries produce differentiated goods and Southern countries homogenous ones. In addition, we use an appropriately extended version of Baier and Bergtrand and Taylor linear expansion – thus permitting its estimation using (good old) OLS. The result is an empirical model that (i) is better suited to the analysis of North‐South trade, (ii) is easy to estimate and compute comparative statics, not requiring a customised NLS routine and, given the way the South is included, (iii) provides a simple explanation of zero trade flows between some country pairs, a fact still not fully explained in the literature. As an illustration of its use, we examine the empirical link between foreign aid and trade.     

Computational Analysis of the Menu of US‐Japan Trade Policies

We have used the Michigan Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model of World Production and Trade to calculate the aggregate welfare and sectoral employment effects of the menu of US‐Japan trade policies. The menu of policies encompasses the various preferential US and Japan bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) negotiated and in process, unilateral removal of existing trade barriers and global (multilateral) free trade. The welfare impacts of the FTAs on the United States and Japan are shown to be rather small in absolute and relative terms. The sectoral employment effects are also generally small but vary across the individual sectors depending on the patterns of the bilateral liberalisation. The welfare effects on the FTA partner countries are mostly positive though generally small, but there are some indications of potentially disruptive employment shifts in some partner countries. There are indications of trade diversion and detrimental welfare effects on non‐member countries for some of the FTAs analysed. In comparison to the welfare gains from the US and Japan bilateral FTAs, the gains from both unilateral trade liberalisation by the United States, Japan and the FTA partners, and from global (multilateral) free trade are shown to be rather substantial and more uniformly positive for all countries in the global trading system. The US and Japan FTAs are based on ‘hub’ and ‘spoke’ arrangements. We show that the spokes emanate out in different and often overlapping directions, suggesting that the complex of bilateral FTAs may create distortions of the global trading system.     

附加值贸易统计方法视角下的中国外贸发展状况

2013年1月16日,WTO与OECD共同推出了利用附加值统计方法计算出来的贸易数据,为重新测量国际贸易提供了新的视角。本文在诠释附加值贸易统计方法的内涵的基础上,分析了附加值贸易统计方法所带来的经济意义,通过对比传统贸易数据和附加值贸易数据,剖析了在附加值贸易统计方法下我国的对外贸易发展状况,并提出了该方法对我国对外贸易的发展启示。     

The Welfare Analysis of a Free Trade Zone: Intermediate Goods and the Asian Tigers

We analyse trade reform among the ASEAN countries, which recently began removing all mutual trade barriers. The standard method to avoid complete specialisation in traded goods is to distinguish goods both by physical type and place of origin (the so‐called Armington assumption). This methodology is not suitable for the sort of intermediate goods produced by the ASEAN countries. We develop a computational approach in the context of a non‐Armington dynamic general equilibrium model. Analysing the results of a calibrated version of the model, we find that trade liberalisation is generally welfare improving for the ASEAN countries.     

构建中俄东部边境自由贸易区的设想

目前,建立中俄东部边境地区自由贸易区还是一个设想。中俄双方政府应借鉴其他较为成功的自由贸易区的经验,总结中俄两国贸易间的经验与教训,在遵循基本原则的前提下,探索中俄东部自由贸易区的开发模式,同时,图对商贸服务区、进出口加工区、货运仓储区、金融贸易服务区、科技合作园区、文化教育交流区、国际化居住区等进行规划研究。     

Trade and the gains from trade with imperfect competition

A simple two-country model is constructed in order to show how imperfect competition can form a basis for trade. Under the assumption of Cournot-Nash behaviour, it is demonstrated that trade will lead to a bilateral welfare improvement when countries are identical in all respects. When countries differ in size, trade will always increase total world real income, but the large country may experience a welfare loss. Increasing returns to scale in the production of the monopolized good complicates the situation further, but it generally remains true that trade increases world real income.     

中美农产品贸易收益核算及贸易摩擦的影响分析

在全球生产分割的背景下,海关统计数据由于包含大量重复计算的成分,并不能真实反映一国某部门的贸易收益情况。文章通过构建跨国投入产出模型,定义增加值出口为衡量双边贸易收益的指标,从增加值出口变化趋势、行业分布情况及贸易收益的实现方式,分别剖析2000~2014年中美两国农产品各部门的增加值出口情况。发现中美农产品双边贸易的盈余方实为中国,农产品行业的大量增加值隐藏在本国的其他部门中出口。中国市场对美国农业经济的拉动作用在提升,两国农产品行业实现收益的方式不同,中国越来越趋向于附加值含量低的粗加工中间品出口。两国农产品贸易关系紧密,对第三国市场的依赖不断下降,中美贸易摩擦对两国农产品行业的收益都将造成较大的冲击。     

中欧贸易互补性研究——基于比较优势理论和产业内贸易理论的实证分析

自中欧建交以来,双边贸易取得了快速进展。经过2004年东扩的欧盟已经成为我国最大的贸易伙伴,同时我国也成为了欧盟的第二大贸易伙伴,不断扩大的双边贸易从一个侧面反映了中欧贸易的互补性。本文利用近十几年的贸易统计数据,分别以比较优势理论和产业内贸易理论为依据对中欧贸易的互补性进行了实证分析,从而得出了以下结论:中欧双边贸易存在较强的互补关系,中欧之间的国际分工主要以产业间的垂直分工为主,同时随着我国工业制成品国际竞争力的迅速提高,产业内贸易在中欧双边贸易中的重要性正在不断增强,中欧之间的国际分工正逐步向水平方向发展。     

Trade in Educational Services: Trends and Emerging Issues

This paper examines the trends and emerging issues in trade in educational services. It provides rough estimates of the size of the international market in educational services drawing on the limited data available in services trade statistics and data on foreign students in tertiary education in OECD countries. It outlines the current commitments for trade in educational services under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It also reviews the implications of the on‐going GATS negotiations for further multilateral trade liberalisation in this sector. It points out that OECD countries have been noticeably reluctant to make proposals for further liberalisation of trade in educational services. One reason for this is the concern in many countries about the potential threats posed to cultural values and national traditions by growing trade liberalisation in educational services. Finally, the paper reviews some of the main policy issues arising from trade in educational services.     

Trade costs and the Home Market Effect

Most of the theoretical and empirical studies on the Home Market Effect (HME) assume the existence of an “outside good” that absorbs all trade imbalances and equalizes wages. We study the consequences on the HME of removing this assumption. The HME is attenuated and, more interestingly, it becomes non-linear. The non-linearity implies that the HME is more important for very large and very small countries than for medium size countries. The empirical investigation conducted on a database comprising 25 industries, 25 countries, and 7 years confirms the presence of the HME and of its non-linear shape.     

所有权原则、FDI利得与中美贸易差额

在发达国家大量通过FDI参与国际商业活动的背景下,基于所有权原则的贸易收支统计能够捕捉FDI对贸易收支的影响,从而反映出各国参与国际商业活动的实际利得。根据测算,美国自2000年以来外国直接投资净收益约占其贸易赤字的25%~30%。同时基于所有权统计原则调整后发现,中美贸易顺差根源于FDI,这与现有有关中美贸易不平衡的研究结论大相径庭。     

Trade costs and the Home Market Effect

Most of the theoretical and empirical studies on the Home Market Effect (HME) assume the existence of an “outside good” that absorbs all trade imbalances and equalizes wages. We study the consequences on the HME of removing this assumption. The HME is attenuated and, more interestingly, it becomes non-linear. The non-linearity implies that the HME is more important for very large and very small countries than for medium size countries. The empirical investigation conducted on a database comprising 25 industries, 25 countries, and 7 years confirms the presence of the HME and of its non-linear shape.     

人民币汇率与中美贸易收支结构研究

在国际金融危机的压力下,一些国家的贸易保护主义开始抬头,中国的对外贸易又成为众人关注的焦点。美国是中国的主要贸易伙伴国,中美贸易关系的发展不仅对各自的经济有极其重要的作用,而且对世界经济发展越来越具有影响力。关于人民币汇率与中美贸易失衡问题的研究表明,改善中美贸易收支的关键在于中国经济的持续增长。     

Trade Creation and Diversion Effects of Regional Trade Agreements: A Product‐level Analysis

This paper examines the impacts of regional trade agreements (RTAs) on trade flows at product level, with a particular focus on trade creation and diversion. Based on estimation of the gravity equation, dealing with the zero trade flows and endogeneity bias problems, we analyse the impacts of various types of RTAs involving 67 countries for 20 products during the 1980–2006 period. We find that RTAs among developing countries tend to cause trade diversion compared with RTAs among developed countries. Taking the higher external tariff rates of developing countries compared with developed countries into consideration, our results suggest trade diversion is likely to be caused by remaining high tariffs on imports from non‐members. In addition, we find the trade creation effect for many products in the cases of Customs Unions and plurilateral RTAs. These results imply that trade creation would be caused by various factors besides the reduction in tariff rates. Based on these results, we draw a policy implication that external tariff rate reduction is an important factor in avoiding trade diversion in the formation of RTAs, in particular for RTAs among developing countries, while a large number of members and the common external tariff appear to be important for generating the trade creation effect.