Suchergebnisse

To address the economic significance of national border effects, this paper provides evidence on two fundamental questions: (1) Do large border effects arise because of high perceived-price wedges between foreign and domestic products, or because imports and domestic goods are very close substitutes?; and (2) If price wedges are important, do they reflect distortionary barriers to trade or do they arise from nondistortionary factors, such as differences in transactions costs or product characteristics? I conclude that, while border effects may imply barriers, welfare costs, and a role for policy, distortions are probably not as substantial as initial border results suggested.

A significant body of empirical studies demonstrates sizable national border effects in foreign trade of Canadian provinces throughout the 1980s and 1990s. This paper revisits and expands the scope of the border effects analysis by estimating the border effect in trade with U.S. states as well as countries in the European Union (EU) and the G 20 using more recent data from 2001-10. Furthermore, we perform the Blinder-Oaxaca nonlinear decomposition (Bauer and Sinning, 2008) to decompose the border effects into various components, including the transaction costs, the tariff and non-tariff measures, and the unexplained component. Results from the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood model show that, compared to existing estimates from the 1980s and 1990s, the size of the border effect in trade between Canadian provinces and U.S. states has declined. The border effects for Canada-EU and Canada-G 20 bilateral trade flows sit at somewhat elevated levels. About a third of the border effects in overall trade with EU and G-20 countries can be attributed to the variables related to transaction costs in foreign trade. While the significance of tariffs has declined, the prevalence of non-tariff measures seems to be on a rise. That said, we find that the welfare-changing measures combined - tariff and non-tariff measures - play a limited role in explaining the border effects in comparison with the role of transaction costs and the unexplained component.

Since World War II, Australia has been the destination of hundreds of thousands of migrants from countries all over the world. Throughout this time, the government has engaged in different policies of border monitoring, protection, and enforcement. This Essay contends that the government should not waiver in its enforcement of its border, and it should continue to prevent the illegal entry of migrants into Australia. It, however, must do so fairly and compassionately in order to ensure that it protects the human rights of migrants. This argument is supported by the fact that the current international legal order doesn't provide any further obligations on the state to migrants. Asylum seekers, however, have distinct legal rights from migrants, but distinguishing asylum seekers from migrants is not easy because no bright line exists. By examining the policies of the United States and the European Union while considering the religious discourse of refugees, this Essay concludes that Australia must reexamine its current approach to stopping the boats.

As the conflict in Northern Ireland heightened in the early 1970s, the Australian authorities became worried that political violence might spread amongst the Irish communities in Australia. Coming at a time when there was a concern about political extremism and violence linked to overseas conflicts, such as the Palestinian struggle in the Middle East and the anti-communist opposition to Yugoslavia, the Australian government and security services were also anxious about militant Irish Republicanism transgressing borders, particularly representatives of the Irish Republican Army entering the country. Unlike nearly all migrants and visitors from Europe and the Middle East, people coming from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could enter Australia without visa, and few criminal or security checks were conducted upon them. This article examines the ways in which the Australian authorities attempted to prevent militant Irish Republicans coming during the 1970s and how the favoured status of British (including Northern Irish) and Irish citizens was seen as an impediment to Australia's national security in the era of international terrorism.