Welfare effects of non-tariff barriers: A general equilibrium analysis

Zusammenfassung Wohlfahrtswirkungen nichttarif?rer Handelshemmnisse. Eine Analyse des allgemeinen Gleichgewichts. — Dieser Aufsatz geht von der Beobachtung aus, da? Importquoten, Exportquoten oder freiwillige Ausfuhrbeschr?nkungen zu unterschiedlich hohen Anteilen der Handelspartner an der Knappheitsrente führen, und behandelt die Wohlfahrtswirkungen der internationalen Verteilung der Renten aus solchen protektionistischen Ma?nahmen. Unter anderem wird gezeigt, da? die Konsumenten in einer Zwei-L?nder-Welt mit repr?sentativen Haushalten um so weniger von einer Handelsbeschr?nkung profitieren, je kleiner ihr Anteil an der Knappheitsrente ist.

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Résumé Les effets du bien-être des barrières non-tarifaires: une analyse de l’équilibre général. — Commen?ant par l’observation que les quotas d’importations ou d’exportations ainsi que les restrictions à l’exportation volontaires mènent aux parts différentes des partenaires commerciaux en ce qui concerne la rente résultant de la pénurie, cette étude expose les conséquences pour le bien-être de la distribution internationale de la rente qui résulte de telles mesures de protection. Entre autres, on démontre que dans un monde de deux économies aux ménages représentatifs, les consommateurs d’un pays probablement profitent le moins d’une barrière non-tarifaire, si leur part concernant la rente résultant de la pénurie est plus petite.

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Resumen Los efectos de barreras no arancelarias sobre el bienestar: un análisis de equilibrio general. — Partiendo de la observatión de que cupos de importation, cupos de exportation o restricciones voluntarias a las exportaciones dan lugar a participaciones diferentes en la renta por escasez para cada una de las partes comerciantes, este trabajo trata de las implicaciones que tiene para el bienestar la distribución international de la renta ligada a dichas medidas protectionistas. Inter alia se demuestra que en un mundo con dos economías y hogares representatives, los consumidores de un país se benefician con menor probabilidad de una restrictión al comercio, cuanto menor sea su participatión en la renta por escasez.

     

Corporate Tax Consolidation and Enhanced Cooperation in the European Union*

We assess the economic impact of introducing consolidation with formula apportionment in the European Union and consider alternative enhanced cooperation agreements. We find that the consolidation is likely to yield a small aggregate welfare gain in Europe. However, not all countries benefit. A coalition of winning countries reduces the welfare gain and may induce a process of adverse selection which destroys the possibility of cooperation. We find that a coalition of similar countries (in terms of the size of their multinational sector) is more feasible in achieving agreement and is actually preferred by those countries over a Europe‐wide reform.     

Europe – Quo Vadis? Reflections on the Future Institutional Framework of the European Union

With twelve new members the decision making in the European Union via intergovernmental cooperation will become ineffective. The EU is at the Cross Roads. In order to avoid a Stagno‐Europe the EU has a choice: Either it looks for the very essentials in the common institutional framework and adjusts it accordingly or the member states agree in ceding national sovereignty to the European level. This, however, requires that the democratic deficit at the EU level is reduced. The Treaty of Nice has failed to solve these issues. The paper elaborates in detail the non‐essentials and the essentials of European integration and discusses the basics of an approach to a constitution‐like arrangement for Europe.     

Greasing the wheels of international commerce: how services facilitate firms’ international sourcing

Abstract We use plant‐level data to study the link between the local availability of services and the decision of manufacturing firms to source materials from abroad. We develop a model to generate predictions about how the intensity of international sourcing of materials depends on the availability of services and firm characteristics. These predictions are supported by the data. Greater availability of services across regions, industries, and time increases firms’ foreign sourcing of materials relative to sales. The impact of services differs by firm type. National firms’ sourcing responds to changes in regional service conditions, whereas multinationals tend to be less affected.     

On derivatives with illiquid underlying and market manipulation

In illiquid markets, option traders may have an incentive to increase their portfolio value by using their impact on the dynamics of the underlying. We provide a mathematical framework to construct optimal trading strategies under market impact in a multi-player framework by introducing strategic interactions into the model of Almgren [Appl. Math. Finance, 2003, 10(1), 1–18]. Specifically, we consider a financial market model with several strategically interacting players who hold European contingent claims and whose trading decisions have an impact on the price evolution of the underlying. We establish the existence and uniqueness of equilibrium results for risk-neutral and CARA investors and show that the equilibrium dynamics can be characterized in terms of a coupled system of possibly nonlinear PDEs. For the linear cost function used by Almgren, we obtain a (semi) closed-form solution. Analysing this solution, we show how market manipulation can be reduced.     

Firm Productivity and the Foreign‐Market Entry Decision

We use Japanese firm‐level data to examine how a firm’s productivity affects its foreign‐market entry strategy. The firm faces a choice between exporting and foreign direct investment (FDI). In the case of FDI, the firm has two options: greenfield investment or acquisition of an existing plant (M&A). If it selects greenfield investment, it has two ownership choices: whole ownership or a joint venture with a local company. Controlling for industry‐ and country‐specific characteristics, we find that the more productive a firm is, the more likely it is to choose FDI rather than exporting and greenfield investment rather than M&A.