Suchergebnisse

Studies of economic development & economic history have long been concerned with the relationship between the transparent & supposedly anonymous forces of markets, rules, & bureaucracies, on the one hand, & membership in groups, such as local communities, associations, or networks on the other. Economists are quite divided about these latter forces: for some, they are necessary underpinnings for the market, providing trust & social capital which in turn reduce transaction costs & moral hazards & hence promote development; for most, they are seen as archaic, leading to nepotism, rent seeking, & institutional rigidity. Indeed, throughout the social sciences, there is an opposition between the roles assigned to what may be called the "societal" & the "communitarian" bases of social & economic development. But each position in this theoretical standoff underestimates the contributions of either society or community to economic development. This is because both society & community have potentially positive & negative effects; together, however, they can act as mutual checks & balances on their potentially negative effects, while reinforcing the positive contributions of each to economic efficiency. Different levels & types of society & community, in interaction, define complex contexts of choice & incentives in economic development, & allow us to see more clearly the basis of different institutional configurations in relationship to development. 2 Figures, 97 References. Adapted from the source document.

Economists offer rigorous quantitative analyses of how the institutional design and purpose of the WTO (and its progenitor, the GATT) affect economic development.The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established partly to support economic development in developing countries through international trade. This goal has been elusive, with some questioning the WTO's ability to achieve such a goal. In this volume, leading scholars in the economics of international trade offer rigorous quantitative analyses of how the institutional design and purpose of the WTO (and its progenitor, the GATT) affect economic development. The volume begins with analyses of market access concessions that have been or could be exchanged between developing and developed countries, from a formal framework for incorporating non-tariff measures into a model for analyzing a multilateral trade agreement to an examination of the MFN (most-favored nation) free rider problem. Contributors then develop new theoretical and econometric approaches for understanding key aspects of trade liberalization under the GATT/WTO that are of particular relevance to economic development, considering such topics as achieving cooperation in eliminating prohibitive trade barriers and the effect of China's export subsidies on its dramatic growth in exports. Finally, the book considers two significant new issues that arose from the Uruguay round, from which the WTO was formed: the TRIPS agreement, regulating intellectual property; and the resolution of trade disputes with and without litigation. Taken together, these analyses shed new light on the relationship between trade liberalization and economic development as well as the WTO's effectiveness.