Trade liberalization and institutional reforms1

The accession of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to the European Union (EU) is expected to lead to the new member countries becoming more like the older members, including in terms of trade. In this paper, we focus on two factors promoting CEE–EU trade integration: trade liberalization and institutional reforms. Measures of trade liberalization undertaken by both parties during the 1990s were very substantial, but did not always produce the expected upsurge of regional trade flows. Much less progress has been made in improving the functioning of CEE institutions (e.g., progress in the privatization process or in reducing corruption). Countries where most important changes at the institutional level occurred were also those that most increased their trade with the EU. Comparing the impact of these two factors, we find that improving institutions in CEE countries can generate as much trade as the removal of all tariff and non‐tariff barriers. The paper also addresses the issue of the presence of reversed causality between trade and institutions, and the pro‐trade effect of institutional similarity.     

中马经贸关系发展与华商作用研究

近年来，随着中马关系的持续改善以及中国一东盟自由贸易区（简称“10＋1”）效应的不断发挥，两国经贸关系得到了全面发展，已经初步形成互惠互利、互动双赢的发展格局。面对着中国经济增长的良好前景，马来西亚华商应积极应对、顺势而为，继续发挥两国经贸关系的先行者、桥梁和纽带作用。     

建设自由贸易港区与国家综合配套改革试验区

综合配套改革这一全新的改革思路和理念的提出,为建设自由贸易港区提供了条件。同时,自由贸易港区的建设,也赋予了综合配套改革以新的特征。当前,上海浦东新区、深圳特区和天津滨海新区应当充分利用综合配套改革的政策优势,在外汇政策、贸易政策、税收政策、行政管理体制等各个领域进行政策调整和制度创新,积极稳妥地推进自由贸易港区建设。     

中韩农产品贸易自由化及其对策研究

中韩实行农产品自由贸易既有利于中韩自由贸易区的建立,又符合中韩两国的长远利益,因此中韩两国有着实行农产品贸易自由化的必要性。但是,还有一系列的障碍摆在这个问题之前,它们主要来自韩国方面的担忧,如产业冲击、粮食安全、政治风险等。解决这些障碍需要中韩两国政府和人民的共同努力。     

大话车坛奥斯卡

影坛最星光璀璨的一刻，就是一年一度的奥斯卡颁奖礼。仿照这一国际影坛盛事的奖项设置，我们制作了这期的“车坛奥斯卡”，用6个奖项为过去半年的车市做一个总结。此榜属一家之言，纯属娱乐。     

贸易引力模型对中国新疆与中亚四国贸易流量的实证检验及出口潜力分析

文章采用2005年中国新疆及哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、土库曼斯坦、塔吉克斯坦四个国家的出口贸易流量的截面数据,通过贸易引力模型进行实证检验。实证表明：GDP、空间距离以及上海合作组织这三个因素对上述国家和地区间的双边贸易具有明显的影响。文章通过实际双边贸易额与模型预测贸易额的比较,对上述国家和地区间双边贸易发展潜力进行分析和估计。     

On the conservation of distance in international trade

Using disaggregated bilateral trade data, we find that the elasticity of trade to distance increased (in absolute value) by about 10% since 1985. To explore the reasons for this shift, we decompose the change in the distance elasticity of trade into the part due to a shift in the composition of trade among industries and the part due to a change in the distance sensitivity within industries. We find that adjustment in the composition of trade had little effect, but for 40% of industries distance became more important, with nearly all of the remaining industries showing no significant change. We explore alternative hypotheses as to why the elasticity of trade to distance increased in some industries. We find that homogeneous goods, bulky goods, and high tariff goods became significantly more distance sensitive. In contrast, the evidence implies that changes in tariffs and freight costs have reduced the importance of distance on trade. We conclude that the increase in the importance of distance over time is related to the substitutability of goods and the level of trade costs, but not to changes in tariffs or freight costs.     

A comparative institutional analysis of agreements on product standards

The WTO and the EU have chosen two different agreements on product standards. While the WTO's approach is primarily based on a “National Treatment” (NT) principle, the EU's approach crucially relies on a principle of “Mutual Recognition” (MR). This paper offers a first look at the comparative performance of these two principles. We show that standards are imposed for levels of externalities that are too low under NT and too high under MR. This suggests that NT should be preferred to MR when the amount of trade in goods characterized by high levels of externalities is large.     

贸易与收入分配关系的理论和实证研究回顾

20世纪90年代末,随着全球化的急剧推进,各国非熟练劳动力的收入日益恶化且收入差距也迅速扩大,使得贸易对收入分配的影响成为各国学者研究的热点。无论是传统的国际贸易理论,还是当代的新国际贸易理论对贸易是否会影响国内收入分配这一问题上一直充满争议。本文对贸易与收入分配关系的理论和实证研究进行简单的回顾和归纳,并在分析现有研究成果的基础上指出今后这一问题的研究动向。     

台湾大青枣无公害栽培技术要点

台湾大青枣为热带果树,对气候适应性强,具有投产早、产量高而稳等优点,且果实成熟时间正直鲜果淡季,极具市场潜力和开发前景。文章从选种、选址、栽植、栽培与管理、病虫害的防治几方面详细阐述了台湾大青枣无公害栽培的技术要点,为大青枣无公害栽培提供了技术指导,以提高其市场竞争力。