WorldWideScience

Sample records for SADC regional trade integration Protocol on Trade

  1. Livestock policy and trade issues in SADC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulman, B

    2009-03-01

    As from 2001, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has embarked on a course to deepen regional integration through restructuring. Under the new structure SADC has centralised the coordination of its activities to the Secretariat in Gaborone. The former Sector Coordinating Units have been merged into four directorates, one of which is the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate, which comprises, amongst others, the Livestock Development Unit (LDU). The LDU, under the aegis of the FANR, formulates policies for regional livestock development in order to respond to the objectives of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), and which are mainly to: Contribute to improved food security, Promote wealth creation, Enhance rural livelihood, Enhance livestock as a tradable and consumable commodity. Following the launch of the SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations, the eight SADC EPA member states identified sanitary and phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade to be major trade barriers for access to international markets, especially the EU market where standards are normally set beyond international standards. SADC has already brought some of the issues related to beef exports to the OIE Regional Commission for Africa as SADC member states feel that a few of the present requirements do not have a scientific basis. The paper discusses the process that the LDU follows in the formulation of policies and strategies in regional livestock development with the objective of bolstering intra and extra regional trade in livestock and livestock products.

  2. Measuring multi-membership in economic integration and its trade-impact. A comparative study of ECOWAS and SADC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Afesorgbor, Sylvanus Kwaku; van Bergeijk, Peter A.G.

    in two major African Regional blocs, ECOWAS and SADC. We find that the impact of multi-membership critically depends on the characteristics of the multi-membership of regional integration initiatives. We find a positive impact if an additional membership complements the integration process...... of the original regional integration initiative: overlapping memberships had a much stronger and significant positive effect on bilateral trade within ECOWAS compare to an insignificant impact within SADC....

  3. Multi-membership and the effectiveness of regional trade agreements in Western and Southern Africa : A comparative study of ECOWAS and SADC

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.K. Afesorgbor (Sylvanus Kwaku); P.A.G. van Bergeijk (Peter)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractUsing a gravity model for 35 countries and the years 1995-2006 we estimate the impact of regional trade agreements in Africa (in particular ECOWAS and SADC) and compare this to the a benchmark of North South trade integration (Europe’s preferential trade agreement). We find that •

  4. The Southern African Development Community Trade Legal Instruments Compliance with Certain Criteria of GATT Article XXIV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Saurombe

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT lays down the legal principles with which regional trade agreements have to conform. Based on these principles, WTO members have the mandate to determine the legality of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs under the GATT. Article XXIV permits both regional and bilateral preferential trade agreements leading to the formation of customs unions and free trade areas, and seeks to integrate them in the multilateral trading system envisioned for the world. SADC is an RTA created under this Article. Notwithstanding the controversies surrounding the provisions and interpretation of Article XXIV, this paper seeks to establish the extent to which the SADC Protocol on Trade and free trade area comply with WTO rules. An analysis of selected Article XXIV provisions and the SADC Trade Protocol provisions will be undertaken in trying to establish this compliance.

  5. Measuring Multi-Membership in Economic Integration and Its Trade Impact

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Afesorgbor, Sylvanus Kwaku; van Bergeijk, Peter A.G.

    2014-01-01

    impact in two major African regional blocs, Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). We find that the impact of multi-membership critically depends on the characteristics of the multi-membership of regional integration initiatives. We find...... a positive impact if an additional membership complements the integration process of the original regional integration initiative: overlapping memberships had a much stronger and significant positive effect on bilateral trade within ECOWAS compare with an insignificant impact within the SADC....

  6. Analysis of virtual water flows associated with the trade of maize in the SADC region: importance of scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. Dabrowski

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The concept of virtual water encourages a country to view agricultural crops in terms of the amount of water required to produce those crops, with a view to implementing trading policies that promote the saving of scarce water resources. Recently, increased attention has focussed on partitioning the virtual water content of crops into green and blue water (derived from rainfall and irrigation, respectively as the latter has higher opportunity costs associated with its use and therefore impacts directly on scarcity. Maize is the most important crop traded within the SADC region. South Africa is the largest producer and exporter of maize, with the majority of its exports destined for other SADC countries. In comparison to other SADC countries, South Africa produces maize relatively efficiently, with a low virtual water content and a high green (868 m3 t−1 to blue (117 m3 t−1 water ratio. The blue water content is however higher than for maize produced in all other SADC countries, with the exception of Namibia (211 m3 t−1. Current trade patterns therefore result in a net expenditure of blue water (66×106 m3, almost all of which is exported by South Africa (65×106 m3. South Africa is one of the most water scarce countries in the region and analysis of virtual water flows indicates that current SADC maize trading patterns are influenced by national productivity as opposed to water scarcity. The virtual water content of maize was estimated for each of South Africa's nineteen Water Management Area's (WMA and used as a proxy to represent water use efficiency for maize production. The virtual water content varied widely across all of the WMAs, ranging from 360 m3 t−1 in the Ustutu Mhlatuze to 1000 m3 t−1 in the Limpopo. A comparison of the virtual water content and production of maize

  7. Regional trade and the nutrition transition: opportunities to strengthen NCD prevention policy in the Southern African Development Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thow, Anne Marie; Sanders, David; Drury, Eliza; Puoane, Thandi; Chowdhury, Syeda N; Tsolekile, Lungiswa; Negin, Joel

    2015-01-01

    Addressing diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will require a multisectoral policy approach that includes the food supply and trade, but implementing effective policies has proved challenging. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has experienced significant trade and economic liberalization over the past decade; at the same time, the nutrition transition has progressed rapidly in the region. This analysis considers the relationship between regional trade liberalization and changes in the food environment associated with poor diets and NCDs, with the aim of identifying feasible and proactive policy responses to support healthy diets. Changes in trade and investment policy for the SADC were documented and compared with time-series graphs of import data for soft drinks and snack foods to assess changes in imports and source country in relation to trade and investment liberalization. Our analysis focuses on regional trade flows. Diets and the burden of disease in the SADC have changed since the 1990s in parallel with trade and investment liberalization. Imports of soft drinks increased by 76% into SADC countries between 1995 and 2010, and processed snack foods by 83%. South Africa acts as a regional trade and investment hub; it is the major source of imports and investment related to these products into other SADC countries. At the same time, imports of processed foods and soft drinks from outside the region - largely from Asia and the Middle East - are increasing at a dramatic rate with soft drink imports growing by almost 1,200% and processed snack foods by 750%. There is significant intra-regional trade in products associated with the nutrition transition; however, growing extra-regional trade means that countries face new pressures in implementing strong policies to prevent the increasing burden of diet-related NCDs. Implementation of a regional nutrition policy framework could complement the SADC's ongoing commitment to regional trade policy.

  8. Regional trade and the nutrition transition: opportunities to strengthen NCD prevention policy in the Southern African Development Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Marie Thow

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: Addressing diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs will require a multisectoral policy approach that includes the food supply and trade, but implementing effective policies has proved challenging. The Southern African Development Community (SADC has experienced significant trade and economic liberalization over the past decade; at the same time, the nutrition transition has progressed rapidly in the region. This analysis considers the relationship between regional trade liberalization and changes in the food environment associated with poor diets and NCDs, with the aim of identifying feasible and proactive policy responses to support healthy diets. Design: Changes in trade and investment policy for the SADC were documented and compared with time-series graphs of import data for soft drinks and snack foods to assess changes in imports and source country in relation to trade and investment liberalization. Our analysis focuses on regional trade flows. Results: Diets and the burden of disease in the SADC have changed since the 1990s in parallel with trade and investment liberalization. Imports of soft drinks increased by 76% into SADC countries between 1995 and 2010, and processed snack foods by 83%. South Africa acts as a regional trade and investment hub; it is the major source of imports and investment related to these products into other SADC countries. At the same time, imports of processed foods and soft drinks from outside the region – largely from Asia and the Middle East – are increasing at a dramatic rate with soft drink imports growing by almost 1,200% and processed snack foods by 750%. Conclusions: There is significant intra-regional trade in products associated with the nutrition transition; however, growing extra-regional trade means that countries face new pressures in implementing strong policies to prevent the increasing burden of diet-related NCDs. Implementation of a regional nutrition policy framework could

  9. Regional trade and the nutrition transition: opportunities to strengthen NCD prevention policy in the Southern African Development Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thow, Anne Marie; Sanders, David; Drury, Eliza; Puoane, Thandi; Chowdhury, Syeda N.; Tsolekile, Lungiswa; Negin, Joel

    2015-01-01

    Background Addressing diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will require a multisectoral policy approach that includes the food supply and trade, but implementing effective policies has proved challenging. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has experienced significant trade and economic liberalization over the past decade; at the same time, the nutrition transition has progressed rapidly in the region. This analysis considers the relationship between regional trade liberalization and changes in the food environment associated with poor diets and NCDs, with the aim of identifying feasible and proactive policy responses to support healthy diets. Design Changes in trade and investment policy for the SADC were documented and compared with time-series graphs of import data for soft drinks and snack foods to assess changes in imports and source country in relation to trade and investment liberalization. Our analysis focuses on regional trade flows. Results Diets and the burden of disease in the SADC have changed since the 1990s in parallel with trade and investment liberalization. Imports of soft drinks increased by 76% into SADC countries between 1995 and 2010, and processed snack foods by 83%. South Africa acts as a regional trade and investment hub; it is the major source of imports and investment related to these products into other SADC countries. At the same time, imports of processed foods and soft drinks from outside the region – largely from Asia and the Middle East – are increasing at a dramatic rate with soft drink imports growing by almost 1,200% and processed snack foods by 750%. Conclusions There is significant intra-regional trade in products associated with the nutrition transition; however, growing extra-regional trade means that countries face new pressures in implementing strong policies to prevent the increasing burden of diet-related NCDs. Implementation of a regional nutrition policy framework could complement the SADC

  10. The welfare impact of a free trade agreement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Hans Grinsted; Sandrey, Ron; Vink, Nick

    2012-01-01

    The African market has become increasingly important to South Africa’s agricultural trade. Exports have been increasing rapidly, although imports have not kept pace. This pattern is also evident in the general trade in manufactured goods. The purpose of this article is to look at the best estimate...... conditiuons that will prevail with respect to trade in agricultural and manufactured goods between South Africa (SACU) and the member countries of SADC, the East African Comminuity and COMESA. The analysis is conducted using the GTAP database and its associated general equilibrium model. The results show...... that South Africa benefits from integration in SADC and from the integration of the entire region, but not from integration with the EAC and COMESA. However, the latter steps are necessary to reap the benefits of integration in the entire region....

  11. Southern African Development Community (SADC) trade legal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) lays down the legal principles with which regional trade agreements have to conform. Based on these principles, WTO members have the mandate to determine the legality of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) under the GATT. Article XXIV permits both ...

  12. Energy Trade in Southern Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holland, W F.

    1996-01-01

    This document deals with possible energy growth in Southern African countries. This region possesses substantial energy resources (including fossil fuels), but because of political instability, government intervention, financial paralysis and lack of adequate transportation infrastructure, this region faces problems in satisfying energy needs. Two key international actions, namely the South African Development Community (SADC) Energy Protocol and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) are expected to enhance energy trade and promote economic development. (TEC)

  13. Regional Trade Integration and Conflict Resolution | CRDI - Centre ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Regional Trade Integration and Conflict Resolution. Couverture du livre Regional Trade Integration and Conflict Resolution. Directeur(s) : Shaheen Rafi Khan. Maison(s) d'édition : Routledge, CRDI. 5 décembre 2008. ISBN : 9780415476737. 288 pages. e-ISBN : 9781552504147. Téléchargez le PDF · Téléchargez le ...

  14. Promotion of trade in service in developing economy: challenges and prospects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AA Okharedia

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In the past, trade in services was not considered important by international Economists. One of the main arguments put forward for ignoring the concept of trade in service was that services were non- tradable In view of this, this paper attempts to investigate the role played by service industries and the associated challenges in a developing economy with particular reference to the SADC countries. This investigation shows that the service industries are uncompetitive and inefficient when compared with their peers in developed economy. This paper recommends that there is an urgent need for a major-shake up especially within the core economic infrastructure services. This paper also highlights that the service industries in the SADC region contributes greatly to GDP, creates employment opportunity, improved access to transport which translates into improved access to customers and suppliers. The transport sector is of crucial importance in poverty alleviation and regional economic integration. Some of the challenges identified include, the need for SADC countries to conform to international standards in delivery of its services since most SADC countries are members of GATS, ILO and WTO. The other challenge is the different legislative framework in the service industries within the SADC region. There is an urgent need to harmonise the different legislative framework.

  15. Regional Integration, Trade and Private Sector Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Regional Integration, Trade and Private Sector Development Program (Namibia) ... (NEPRU's other clients include regional and private sector institutions.) ... New Dutch-Canadian funding for the Climate and Development Knowledge Network.

  16. Trade Integration Effects in ASEAN Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yana Valeryevna Dyomina

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines evolution of trade integration process in ASEAN. The author employs three methods in order to evaluate the degree of ASEAN‘s trade integration that has been achieved over two decades since the signing of the Association of South-East Asian Nations Free Trade Area Agreement (AFTA in 1992. The high degree of trade integration among member states allows moving to the next stage of international economic integration (ASEAN countries are going to form ASEAN Community (the Common Market by the 1st of January 2016. So the study assesses the ASEAN’s preparedness to the Common Market by determining the share of mutual (intraregional trade, regional trade intensity index (RTII and trade integration effects (trade creation and trade diversion effects for each member state, 2 groups of ASEAN countries (ASEAN-6 and ASEAN-4 and the Association as a whole. The paper shows that despite the increase in the share of intraregional trade during the years of the AFTA functioning, the member states of ASEAN still demonstrate low levels of trade integration: a 75% of the Association’s external trade focuses on extra regional partners; b ASEAN as a whole has the low volume of RTII and among its member states only Singapore has the high one; c trade diversion effect prevails over trade creation one

  17. Economic Diplomacy in Africa: The Impact of Regional Integration versus Bilateral Diplomacy on Bilateral Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Afesorgbor, Sylvanus Kwaku

    The paper examines the impact of two main instruments of economic diplomacy — regional integration and commercial diplomacy on export flows among African states. We test whether there is any evidence of a trade-off or complementary interaction between these two instruments in trade facilitation. We...... compared to regional integration. We also find a nuanced interaction between these two instruments of economic diplomacy: the trade–stimulating effect of diplomatic exchange is less pronounced among African countries that shared membership of the same regional bloc. Generally, this could mean...... that there exists a trade-off between regional integration and commercial diplomacy in facilitating exports or a lack of complementarity between these two instruments of economic diplomacy....

  18. Regional Trade Agreement and Agricultural Trade in East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Intra-EAC trade is very low, that is, at 9 per cent of the total regional trade, but it is on upward trend. Agricultural trade accounts for over 40 per cent of the intra-EAC trade. This study investigated the effect of EAC regional trade agreement on the regions agricultural trade by analyzing the degree of trade creation and ...

  19. GLOBALIZATION & REGIONALIZATION IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

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    Ramona Frunză

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The concept of globalization refers to the growing interdependence of countries, resulting from the increasing integration of trade, finance, investments, labor markets and ideas in one globalmarketplace. The most important elements of this process are the international trade and the cross-border investment flows. Economic globalization has increased the specialization of workers, while the companies compete in global markets. Even globalization has recently become a common topic in academic discourse, many economists focused, from the 1980s and 1990s, in addition to globalization, on regionalization - the growth of networks of interdependence within multinational regions of the world. The recent decades arecharacterized by the fact that the world trade grew faster than world output, which implies that an increasing share of world GDP crosses international borders. The trend is explained, mostly, by thesubstantially declining of the trade barriers during the same period, as a result of successive trade negotiation rounds under the auspices of the GATT/WTO, unilateral trade liberalization and regional tradeagreements. Even there are global connections between all the countries, the strongest political and economic integration is being created within a few specific regions of the world: Europe, North America and East Asia.

  20. Regional Integration, Trade and Private Sector Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Dr. Dirk Hansohm. Institution. Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit. Pays d' institution. Namibia. Site internet. http://www.nepru.org.na. Extrants. Rapports. Regional integration, trade and private sector development : final report. Contenus connexes. L'Initiative des conseils subventionnaires de la recherche scientifique ...

  1. Dynamics of a developing economy with a remote region: Agglomeration, trade integration and trade patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Commendatore, Pasquale; Kubin, Ingrid; Sushko, Iryna

    2018-05-01

    We consider a three-region developing economy with poor transport infrastructures. Two models are related to different stages of development: in the first all regions are autarkic; in the second two of the regions begin to integrate with the third region still not accessible to trade. The properties of the two models are studied also considering the interplay between industry location and trade patterns. Dynamics of these models are described by two-dimensional piecewise smooth maps, characterized by multistability and complex bifurcation structure of the parameter space. We obtain analytical results related to stability of various fixed points and illustrate several bifurcation structures by means of two-dimensional bifurcation diagrams and basins of coexisting attractors.

  2. Dispute resolution in NAFTA and the WTO: a useful guide for SADC ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In the process of developing, structuring and formalising the mechanism for settlement of trade disputes in the SADC region, the system for the settlement of disputes in both NAFTA and the WTO can serve as a useful guide for SADC and even more so for the African Union. The swift, fair and just settlement of especially ...

  3. Trends in Global and Regional Integration by means of Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulia Monica Oehler-Șincai

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In the present paper we aim to emphasize several aspects of the economic integration realized through the channel of trade, from a double perspective. The first point of view is given by the formal framework, de jure, composed by the multitude of preferential trade agreements, while the second one, de facto, market-driven, is concretized by the global production networks. The first stance is exemplified through the agreements negotiated or concluded by the traditional trade powers, EU, US and Japan. Although, economically, EU is more present in Asia-Pacific than the US, the latter are politically more active and seem to gain ground. The second stance is underlined by means of the Asian integration specificity. East and South-East Asia represents the core of „Factory Asia” and is governed by the activity of the transnational corporations, their investment and cross-border networks, which makes the production process more fragmented and the regional economies more mutually dependent.

  4. Why are Trade Agreements Regional?

    OpenAIRE

    Zissimos, Ben

    2007-01-01

    This paper shows how distance may be used to coordinate on a unique equilibrium in which trade agreements are regional. Trade agreement formation is modeled as coalition formation. In a standard trade model with no distance between countries, a familiar problem of coordination failure arises giving rise to multiple equilibria; any one of many possible trade agreements can form. With distance between countries, and through strategic interaction in tariff setting, regional trade agreements gene...

  5. Relative intensity of bilateral trade flows, regional integration, and trade performance: the case of Brazil, 1984-1998

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    Silva Valquiria da

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research is to identify the component of trade that results specifically from bilateral relations and evaluate how the creation of trading blocs affects trade relations between countries. The trirapport coefficient of the relative intensity of bilateral agricultural sector trade flows between Brazil and other countries from 1984 and 1998 is used in the evaluation. In general, the results show that relative trade intensity between Brazil and its non-MERCOSUL trade partners fell after their entry into regional trade agreements (extra-bloc effect. The intra-bloc effect (trade expansion is reflected by changes in trade intensity between Brazil and the other MERCOSUL members and changes in trade intensity between NAFTA members Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

  6. The Algerian Foreign Trade between the Multilateral Trading System and the Regionalism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khayreddine Belaaze

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This contribution aims at highlighting a major challenge facing global trade and trade in developing countries. Indeed, regional and preferential trade agreements are now more than ever inconsistent and incoherent and one of the principles of the World Trade Organization, the clause of the most favored nation requiring eliminated all forms of discrimination between trading parties, but what we see in regional trade agreements that the preferential tariffs based on a principle of discrimination. All regional trade agreements granting preferential tariffs between member countries, these preferences do not include the remains of non-member countries (rest of world. On the other hand, preferential tariffs are lower than MFN rates. Meanwhile, the number of regional agreements has doubled since 1995 date creation of the WTO, and Algeria like other developing countries considered one of countries which have not benefit a lot from this situation.

  7. Trade Facilitation Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements: Discriminatory or Non-discriminatory?

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    Innwon Park

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The RTAs with trade facilitation provisions have been expected to generate a larger net trade-creating effect and complement the discriminatory feature of RTAs but have yet to be empirically proven. Recognizing the limitations of existing studies, we conducted a quantitative analysis on the effects of RTAs with and without trade facilitation provisions on both intra- and extra-bloc trade by using a modified gravity equation. We applied the Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood (PPML estimation with time varying exporter and importer fixed effect method to panel data consisting of 45,770 country pairs covering 170 countries for 2000-2010. We found that the trade facilitation provisions in existing RTAs are non-discriminatory by generating more intra- and extra-bloc trade in general. In particular, we found that the trade effects of RTAs in the APEC region are much stronger than the general case covering all RTAs in the world. In addition, as we control the trade effect of a country's trade facilitation, which is ranked by the World Bank's logistic performance index, RTAs consisting of trade facilitation provisions are discriminatory for trade in final goods and non-discriminatory for trade in intermediate goods. Overall, we endeavor to "explain," instead of "hypothesizing," why most of the recent RTAs contain trade facilitation provisions, especially in light of the deepening regional interdependence through trade in parts and components under global value chains and support the necessity of multilateralizing RTAs by implementing non-discriminatory trade facilitation provisions.

  8. Emission Trading under the Kyoto Protocol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holtsmark, Bjart; Hagem, Cathrine

    1998-12-01

    This report discusses the potential gains from emission trading and raises some crucial questions. It shows that the total costs of the Kyoto Protocol could be reduced by about 95% through emission trading. Emission trading is an option also in the domestic arenas. The governments of the Annex B countries may allocate emission quotas to local enterprises as emission permits. Thus new markets for greenhouse gas emission quotas may emerge, domestically and internationally. It is emphasized that emission trading at the national and international levels must be discussed separately. The Nordic governments, for example, will find several good reasons for supporting emission trading at the international level if not necessarily domestically. The Nordic countries have already implemented domestic taxes on CO{sub 2} emissions and this tax policy could be sustained while these governments support and take part in emission trading at the international level.The report also considers a possible side effect of emission trading: free emission trading among Annex B countries could reduce the total abatement compared to a non-tradable policy as a consequence of the fact that some of the countries that are in transition to a market economy may be given emission limitations above their business-as-usual emissions. 40 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs.

  9. Trade Logistic and Regional Integration in Latin America & the Caribbean

    OpenAIRE

    Pablo Guerrero; Krista Lucenti; Sebastián Galarza S.

    2009-01-01

    During the past few decades, the landscape of the world economy has changed. New trade patterns reflect the globalization of the supply chain and intra-industry trade, and increasing flows between neighboring countries and trading blocs with similar factor endowments. Similarly, the approach to production, trade, and transportation has evolved incorporating freight logistics as an important valueadded service in the global production. This integrated approach have become essential, and as suc...

  10. Trade Integration and Trade Imbalances in the European Union: A Network Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krings, Gautier M.; Carpantier, Jean-François; Delvenne, Jean-Charles

    2014-01-01

    We study the ever more integrated and ever more unbalanced trade relationships between European countries. To better capture the complexity of economic networks, we propose two global measures that assess the trade integration and the trade imbalances of the European countries. These measures are the network (or indirect) counterparts to traditional (or direct) measures such as the trade-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and trade deficit-to-GDP ratios. Our indirect tools account for the European inter-country trade structure and follow (i) a decomposition of the global trade flow into elementary flows that highlight the long-range dependencies between exporting and importing economies and (ii) the commute-time distance for trade integration, which measures the impact of a perturbation in the economy of a country on another country, possibly through intermediate partners by domino effect. Our application addresses the impact of the launch of the Euro. We find that the indirect imbalance measures better identify the countries ultimately bearing deficits and surpluses, by neutralizing the impact of trade transit countries, such as the Netherlands. Among others, we find that ultimate surpluses of Germany are quite concentrated in only three partners. We also show that for some countries, the direct and indirect measures of trade integration diverge, thereby revealing that these countries (e.g. Greece and Portugal) trade to a smaller extent with countries considered as central in the European Union network. PMID:24465381

  11. Trade integration and trade imbalances in the European Union: a network perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krings, Gautier M; Carpantier, Jean-François; Delvenne, Jean-Charles

    2014-01-01

    We study the ever more integrated and ever more unbalanced trade relationships between European countries. To better capture the complexity of economic networks, we propose two global measures that assess the trade integration and the trade imbalances of the European countries. These measures are the network (or indirect) counterparts to traditional (or direct) measures such as the trade-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and trade deficit-to-GDP ratios. Our indirect tools account for the European inter-country trade structure and follow (i) a decomposition of the global trade flow into elementary flows that highlight the long-range dependencies between exporting and importing economies and (ii) the commute-time distance for trade integration, which measures the impact of a perturbation in the economy of a country on another country, possibly through intermediate partners by domino effect. Our application addresses the impact of the launch of the Euro. We find that the indirect imbalance measures better identify the countries ultimately bearing deficits and surpluses, by neutralizing the impact of trade transit countries, such as the Netherlands. Among others, we find that ultimate surpluses of Germany are quite concentrated in only three partners. We also show that for some countries, the direct and indirect measures of trade integration diverge, thereby revealing that these countries (e.g. Greece and Portugal) trade to a smaller extent with countries considered as central in the European Union network.

  12. Korea’s Trade Strategies for Mega Free Trade Agreements in Regional and Global Economic Integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sang-Chul Park

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Korea has developed rapidly since the 1960s. It is one of the four Asian tiger economies and a good model for developing countries. Korea shows the world how a developing country can develop its economy rapidly and become industrialized. Its development strategy has mainly been an export-oriented trade policy. As a result, its trade volume grew from $1 billion in 1966 to $1 trillion in 2011, which is a 1,000-fold increase within five decades. Since 2011, Korea has become one of seven countries with a trade volume over $1 trillion. However, the Korean economy has experienced turbulence as well as positive growth. It underwent severe economic crises such as the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008. Its economy has been extremely vulnerable to the external economic environment, although it has improved and strengthened, particularly since the global financial crisis. During those two crises, the government carried out an appropriate trade policy with a strategic approach to upgrade its industrial structure and competitiveness in global markets. This article comprehensively discusses Korean trade policy and strategy over the last five decades, and how its national economy has developed rapidly. It also explores how the government sets its strategic targets in Asia and the Asia Pacific region. It considers two mega free trade agreements (FTAs — the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership — as new opportunities for further development. Therefore, it is wise to analyze these regional mega FTAs in order to maximize the national interest.

  13. Regional trade agreements & procurement rules : facilitators or hindrances?

    OpenAIRE

    ANDERSON, Robert D.; MÜLLER, Anna Caroline; PELLETIER, Philippe

    2015-01-01

    This Working Paper considers the significance of government procurement chapters in regional trade agreements (RTAs), both in their own right and vis-à-vis the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). The paper finds, inter alia, that: (i) a strong complementarity exists between government procurement trade commitments and general goods and services trade commitments, making integration of procurement commitments in a more general system such as the WTO Agreements desirable; (ii) govern...

  14. Regional Trade Integration and Conflict Resolution

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    9 Trading across the Straits: will a free trade agreement between China and Taiwan .... Moeed Yusuf is a consultant on Economic Policy at the SDPI, Islamabad, ...... In the tourism sector, joint marketing and management strategies could bring ...

  15. Implications of the New Regional Trade Agreements for the World Trading System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The year 2013 witnessed an outstanding rise in the pace and scale of negotiations on regional trade agreements (RTAs. While RTAs are not a new phenomenon, current negotiations involve multiple parties and/or major trading countries that have a significant combined economic weight, i.e. mega-RTAs. This paper looks at the recent surge in trade regionalism and addresses some of the key issues related to the potential impact of mega-RTAs upon the world trading system and global trade patterns. It examines the peculiarities of the new mega-RTAs and the factors underlying their proliferation, and discusses the main concerns raised by their foreseeable impact on excluded countries and the wider trading system. The paper finds that, if successfully concluded, mega-RTAs are likely to have far-reaching implications for the world trading regime, affecting its transparency and coherence. Nevertheless, the adverse effects could be cushioned through a revival of trading nations’ interest in the multilateral Doha Round talks.

  16. Multilateral, regional and bilateral energy trade governance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leal-Arcas, Rafael; Grasso, Costantino; Rios, Juan Alemany (Queen Mary Univ. of London (United Kingdom))

    2014-12-01

    The current international energy trade governance system is fragmented and multi-layered. Streamlining it for greater legal cohesiveness and international political and economic cooperation would promote global energy security. The current article explores three levels of energy trade governance: multilateral, regional and bilateral. Most energy-rich countries are part of the multilateral trading system, which is institutionalized by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article analyzes the multilateral energy trade governance system by focusing on the WTO and energy transportation issues. Regionally, the article focuses on five major regional agreements and their energy-related aspects and examines the various causes that explain the proliferation of regional trade agreements, their compatibility with WTO law, and then provides several examples of regional energy trade governance throughout the world. When it comes to bilateral energy trade governance, this article only addresses the European Union’s (EU) bilateral energy trade relations. The article explores ways in which gaps could be filled and overlaps eliminated whilst remaining true to the high-level normative framework, concentrating on those measures that would enhance EU energy security.

  17. ROMANIAN FOREIGN TRADE - A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Carmen Pascariu

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available The increasing integration of Romania in the global economy is a reality of the last years, proved through a constant growth of the foreign trade with other countries, which exceeded, in terms ofdynamics, both GDP and industrial production. In the first part of our paper, we intend to analyze the evolution of Romanian foreign trade in the period 1995-2007, focusing on the proportions of the imports and exports, at regional level. We wish to emphasize the correlations between the indicators that describe the degree of openness to foreign trade and indicators of competitiveness and specialization in different industries. The main goal of our approach is to highlight the sectors which generate comparative advantages and potential competitiveness poles, contributing significantly to the increase of the Romanian economy, expressed in GDP/capita. In the second part of the paper, based on the frame of analysis and interpretation defined and implemented in the first part, we intend to establish if the agglomeration processes in some regions of ourcountry will lead gradually to the strengthening of growth poles and, therefore to boost the foreign trade.

  18. India’s Participation In The Regional Trade Agreements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. I. Baronov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of the proposed study is to identify the specifics of India’s participation in the regional trade agreements (RTAs, a comparative analysis of the main provisions of the RTAs and the impact of membership in the integration agreements on the country’s foreign trade relations. In the world economic literature there is no unity of opinions on the economic effect of the participation of states in RTAs. The author’s thesis is that the final effect of membership in the RTAs depends on the amount of customs duties on the date of signing the agreement (the higher they are, the greater the effect of trade creation, and also on the place of the partner country in the trade of another participating state (the greater is mutual turnover, the greater effect of trade creation. Of course, other factors affect, such as geographical proximity, transportation and other transaction costs. India’s participation in the regional trade agreements (RTA was one of the tasks of implementing the policy “Look East”, which was approved in 1991. The countries of Southeast Asia have been identified as a regional priority, which was caused by the geo-strategic and economic reasons. Later, regional coverage has been extended to the countries of Northeast and South Asia because of increasing the role of China in the world economy and politics, which has become a strategic challenge and economic opportunities for the Indian economy. India is a participant of 13 RTAs, the majority of which are bilateral. In India’s integration practice, one of four types of RTAs is applied: (1 agreement on comprehensive economic partnership, which differ in the widest scope of mutual economic relations; (2 agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation; (3 free trade agreement; (4 preferential trade agreement. Most often, there is used classical integration model (of preferential or free trade area.Initially, the Indian policy of RTA dominated the political factor

  19. Emission trading and Kyoto's protocol: discussions concerning rules and international coordination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baron, R.

    2000-01-01

    The Kyoto Protocol of the Climate Convention introduced the possibility to trade greenhouse gas emission reductions among industrialized countries, as a means to reduce the total cost of achieving the agreed emission goals. The rules for this international co-ordination regime are still debated, even if its principle is generally agreed. This article, written before the negotiation in the Hague, summarizes how the notion of emission trading made its way in the Framework Convention on Climate Change. The authors show what economic gains could realistically be expected from emission trading, based on macro-economic modelling results and a simulation of trading in the conditions of the Kyoto Protocol. They stress the critical contribution that emission trading could make, provided that the Protocol's environmental basis is not undermined. In the end, the negotiation collapsed over this issue. Beyond this near-term obstacle, the international emission trading system represents a significant progress towards an efficient resolution of man-made global climate change. (author)

  20. Trade Liberalisation and Vertical Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bache, Peter Arendorf; Laugesen, Anders Rosenstand

    We build a three-country model of international trade in final goods and intermediate inputs and study the relation between four different types of trade liberalisation and vertical integration. Firms are heterogeneous with respect to both productivity and factor (headquarter) intensity. Final......-good producers face decisions on exporting, vertical integration of intermediate-input production, and whether the intermediate-input production should be offshored to a low-wage country. We find that the fractions of final-good producers that pursue either vertical integration, offshoring, or exporting are all...... increasing when intermediate-input trade or final-goods trade is liberalised. Finally, we provide guidance for testing the open-economy property rights theory of the firm using firm-level data and surprisingly show that the relationship between factor (headquarter) intensity and the likelihood of vertical...

  1. Protocol to monitor trade agreement food-related aspects: the Fiji case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravuvu, Amerita; Friel, Sharon; Thow, Anne Marie; Snowdon, Wendy; Wate, Jillian

    2017-04-26

    Despite the growing rates of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, globally, public health attention has only relatively recently turned to the links between trade agreements and the nutritional risks associated with it. Specific trade agreements appear to have played an influential role in the volume and types of foods entering different countries, yet there is currently no systematic and objective monitoring of trade agreements for their impacts on food environments. Recently, INFORMAS was set up to monitor and benchmark food environments, government policies and private sector actions within countries and globally. One of its projects/modules focuses on trade policy and in particular the food-related aspects of trade agreements. This paper describes the INFORMAS trade protocol, an approach to collecting food-related information about four domains of trade: trade in goods; trade in services and foreign direct investment; domestic supports, and policy space. Specifically, the protocol is tested in Fiji. The development and testing of this protocol in Fiji represents the first effort to set out a framework and process for objectively monitoring trade agreements and their impacts on national food supply and the wider food environment. It has shown that entry into WTO trade agreements contributed to the nutrition transition in Fiji through the increased availability of imported foods with varying nutritional quality. We observed an increase in imports of both healthy and less healthy foods. The application of the monitoring protocol also highlights challenges for data collection associated with each trade domain that should be considered for future data collection and analysis in other low and middle income countries. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Trade Liberalisation and Vertical Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bache, Peter Arendorf; Laugesen, Anders

    We build a three-country model of international trade in final goods and intermediate inputs and study the relation between different types of trade liberalisation and vertical integration. Firms are heterogeneous with respect to both productivity and factor intensity as observed in data. Final......-good producers face decisions on exporting, vertical integration of intermediate-input production, and whether the intermediate-input production should be offshored to a low-wage country. We find that the fractions of final-good producers that pursue either vertical integration, offshoring, or exporting are all...... increasing when intermediate-input or final-goods trade is liberalised and when the fixed cost of vertical integration is reduced. At the same time, one observes firms that shift away from either vertical integration, offshoring, or exporting. Further, we provide guidance for testing the open...

  3. Trade in health services in the ASEAN region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arunanondchai, Jutamas; Fink, Carsten

    2006-12-01

    Promoting quality health services to large population segments is a key ingredient to human and economic development. At its core, healthcare policymaking involves complex trade-offs between promoting equitable and affordable access to a basic set of health services, creating incentives for efficiencies in the healthcare system and managing constraints in government budgets. International trade in health services influences these trade-offs. It presents opportunities for cost savings and access to better quality care, but it also raises challenges in promoting equitable and affordable access. This paper offers a discussion of trade policy in health services for the ASEAN region. It reviews the existing patterns of trade and identifies policy measures that could further harness the benefits from trade in health services and address potential pitfalls that deeper integration may bring about.

  4. Regional transport sector mitigation options

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Peter [EECG Consultants, Gaborone (Botswana)

    1998-10-01

    The rationale for conducting climate change mitigation studies in the transport sector is on the premise that: The transport sector is the second largest consumer of fossil fuels in the region; The regional transport sector is an area with high opportunity for infrastructural development under UNFCCC financial mechanism; The regional transport sector is crucial in the SADC region for trade and coupled with the Trade Protocol will play a major role in development hence the need to make it efficient in terms of energy demand and provision of services; The sector offers many mitigation options but with a challenge to evaluate their energy saving and GHG saving potential and yet there is need to quantify possible emission reduction for possible future emission trading. This is also a sector with potential to qualify for financing through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) recently stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. (au)

  5. Regional transport sector mitigation options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Peter

    1998-01-01

    The rationale for conducting climate change mitigation studies in the transport sector is on the premise that: The transport sector is the second largest consumer of fossil fuels in the region; The regional transport sector is an area with high opportunity for infrastructural development under UNFCCC financial mechanism; The regional transport sector is crucial in the SADC region for trade and coupled with the Trade Protocol will play a major role in development hence the need to make it efficient in terms of energy demand and provision of services; The sector offers many mitigation options but with a challenge to evaluate their energy saving and GHG saving potential and yet there is need to quantify possible emission reduction for possible future emission trading. This is also a sector with potential to qualify for financing through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) recently stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. (au)

  6. A Comparative Analysis of Trade Facilitation in Selected Regional and Bilateral Trade Agreement

    OpenAIRE

    Institute for International Trade

    2006-01-01

    This study compared the treatment of trade facilitation in four selected regional trade agreements, AFTA, APEC, SAFRA and PACER, and in one bilateral free trade agreement being the Australia-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (ASFTA), with a view to determining model trade facilitation principles and measures which may be instructive for developing country negotiations and policy makers.

  7. Disentangling regional trade agreements, trade flows and tobacco affordability in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appau, Adriana; Drope, Jeffrey; Labonté, Ronald; Stoklosa, Michal; Lencucha, Raphael

    2017-11-14

    In principle, trade and investment agreements are meant to boost economic growth. However, the removal of trade barriers and the provision of investment incentives to attract foreign direct investments may facilitate increased trade in and/or more efficient production of commodities considered harmful to health such as tobacco. We analyze existing evidence on trade and investment liberalization and its relationship to tobacco trade in Sub-Saharan African countries. We compare tobacco trading patterns to foreign direct investments made by tobacco companies. We estimate and compare changes in the Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) Economic Globalization measure, relative price measure and cigarette prices. Preferential regional trade agreements appear to have encouraged the consolidation of cigarette production, which has shaped trading patterns of tobacco leaf. Since 2002, British American Tobacco has invested in tobacco manufacturing facilities in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa strategically located to serve different regions in Africa. Following this, British America Tobacco closed factories in Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius and Angola. At the same time, Malawi and Tanzania exported a large percentage of tobacco leaf to European countries. After 2010, there was an increase in tobacco exports from Malawi and Zambia to China, which may be a result of preferential trade agreements the EU and China have with these countries. Economic liberalization has been accompanied by greater cigarette affordability for the countries included in our analysis. However, only excise taxes and income have an effect on cigarette prices within the region. These results suggest that the changing economic structures of international trade and investment are likely heightening the efficiency and effectiveness of the tobacco industry. As tobacco control advocates consider supply-side tobacco control interventions, they must consider carefully the effects of these economic agreements and

  8. Non-conventional provisions in regional trade agreements : do they enhance international trade?

    OpenAIRE

    Hayakawa, Kazunobu; Kimura, Fukunari; Nabeshima, Kaoru

    2011-01-01

    The scope of recent regional trade agreements (RTAs) is becoming much wider in terms of including several provisions such as competition policy or intellectual property. This paper empirically examines how far advanced, non-conventional provisions in RTAs increase trade values among RTA member countries, by estimating the gravity equation with more disaggregated indicators for RTAs. As a result, we find that the provision on competition policy has the largest impacts on trade values, followin...

  9. International trade. Multinational aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozawa, Y

    2000-01-01

    Of numerous regional economic agreements, the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), South American Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement are examples that are actively pursuing regional integration for freer trade of animals and animal products. The World Trade Organization (WTO) believes that regional and multinational integration initiatives are complements rather than alternatives in the pursuit of more open trade. In the efforts to harmonize SPS standards among multilateral trading nations, it is recommended that national requirements meet the standards developed by the OIE and the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission as the minimum requirements rather than adopting the standards of the lowest common denominator. Regional grouping may hinder multilateral or bilateral trade between the countries of a group and those of the other groups. How to eliminate such non-tariff barriers as traditional trade custom remains to be examined. Ongoing activities of VICH (Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medical Products) may pave the way for more open trade in pharmaceutical products between multilateral regional groups.

  10. Systems for carbon trading. An overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasselknippe, Henrik

    2003-12-01

    This paper focuses on the increasing number of regional, national and international systems for trading and transfer of greenhouse gas emission allowances and emission reduction credits. The paper will serve as a platform for further discussions on the development of the international carbon trading market. The analysis builds on the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) Trading Schemes Database, which has been developed by Point Carbon, covering all known trading schemes and programs. A full overview of all existing trading schemes and proposals is presented, showing inter alia the outreach and judicial nature of the systems, the range and nature of emission reduction or credit purchase targets, allocation methods used, links to external systems, and possibilities for the use of project-based credits. A comparative assessment is performed on a number of design criteria, allowing for conclusions to be drawn on the level of harmonisation of these systems, and the identification of convergence or divergence of important operational features. The systems covered in the analysis display considerable variation when it comes to key design criteria and functionality. A rapid integration of many of the planned and active systems seems likely following the agreement on the EU emissions trading scheme, and will be further accelerated if the Kyoto Protocol is ratified

  11. Kyoto Protocol: trade versus the environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loose, H.

    2001-01-01

    Could the signatories to the Kyoto Protocol find themselves up against the WTO? This paper examines how the climate change agreement could conflict with trade rules, and shows that there are potentially serious conflicts in the interface between the WTO and the Kyoto Protocol. It argues for dialogue and debate before it is too late. (author)

  12. Regional Trade Integration and Conflict Resolution | CRDI - Centre ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    5 déc. 2008 ... This book addresses the growth of regional trade agreements (RTAs) which have mushroomed since the 1990s, and considers their potential as a tool for reducing inter- and intra-state conflict.

  13. Trading sulphur emissions under the Second Sulphur Protocol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foersund, Finn R.; Naevdal, Eric

    1997-07-01

    Emission trading is a potent policy instrument in theoretical analyses of environmental policy. However, trading in emission quotas of non-uniformly dispersed pollutants requires that the offsetting quantities vary with location of sources. Such a system is not yet in use. The Second Sulphur Protocol for Europe makes it possible to try out a system of ``exchange rates`` through a clause allowing ``joint implementation`` of emission reductions. In this report, the authors investigate some properties of a system with exogenous exchange rates within a simultaneous trade model based on cost efficiency. Incorporation of constraints on depositions in third party countries may be necessary in order to get third party country cooperation. It is demonstrated that imposition of constraints is feasible, but it is also revealed what demands such incorporation places on the design of the institutional setting. Constraints on trade should only be introduced when the concern for the environment of the various receptors fail to be captured adequately by the calibration of the exchange rates. 16 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

  14. REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND COMPETITION POLICY. CASE STUDY: EU, ASEAN AND NAFTA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fora Andreea-Florina

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The large number of regional trade agreements notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO significantly influenced the flow of world trade. By April 2014 there had been notified 583 regional trade agreements to the WTO, of which only 379 are in force. The objective of this paper is to highlight the importance of regional trade agreements in world trade, especially the importance of establishing a regional competition policy in these agreements. The research methodology used is the analysis of legislation governing preferential trade agreements at the level of WTO, the collection and interpretation of statistical data provided by the WTO Secretariat, the case study, namely the study of literature. The paper is structured in three parts. The first part of the paper examines the basic laws based on which regional trade agreements are notified to the WTO and the evolution of these agreements in the period 1958-2013. The second part of the paper is devoted to the analysis of competition policy in regional trade agreements. In this part of the paper, to highlight the patterns of competition policy adopted under these agreements was analyzed by three case studies of competition policy in the EU, ASEAN and NAFTA. The three case studies have revealed that the three preferential trade agreements present regional competition policies with varying degrees of integration. The most complex form of competition policy is found in the European Union, because we are talking about a centralized model of competition policy. ASEAN presents a partially decentralized model, while NAFTA scrolls with a decentralized model of competition policy. The last part of the paper presents the characteristics of the four models of competition policy identified in the preferential trade agreements in force. It should be emphasized that if the initial preferential trade agreements have not put a great emphasis on the rules of competition policy, practice has shown the importance

  15. Health policy and integrated mental health care in the SADC region: strategic clarification using the Rainbow Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rensburg, André Janse; Fourie, Pieter

    2016-01-01

    Mental illness is a well-known challenge to global development, particularly in low-to-middle income countries. A key health systems response to mental illness is different models of integrated health care, especially popular in the South African Development Community (SADC) region. This complex construct is often not well-defined in health policy, hampering implementation efforts. A key development in this vein has been the Rainbow Model of integrated care, a comprehensive framework and taxonomy of integrated care based on the integrative functions of primary care. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature and strategic forms of integrated mental health care in selected SADC countries, specifically how integrated care is outlined in state-driven policies. Health policies from five SADC countries were analysed using the Rainbow Model as framework. Electronic copies of policy documents were transferred into NVivo 10, which aided in the framework analysis on the different types of integrated mental health care promoted in the countries assessed. Several Rainbow Model components were emphasised. Clinical integration strategies (coordination of person-focused care) such as centrality of client needs, case management and continuity were central considerations, while others such as patient education and client satisfaction were largely lacking. Professional integration (inter-professional partnerships) was mentioned in terms of agreements on interdisciplinary collaboration and performance management, while organisational integration (inter-organisational relationships) emerged under the guise of inter-organisational governance, population needs and interest management. Among others, available resources, population management and stakeholder management fed into system integration strategies (horizontally and vertically integrated systems), while functional integration strategies (financial, management and information system functions) included human resource

  16. Cross-Border Trade: An Analysis of Trade and Market Integration ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An assessment of cross-border trade and market integration reveal that inhabitants of the border areas have become economically, socially and politically integrated in spite of the conflict over the Bakassi Peninsula. Based on empirical analysis, bilateral agreements between Nigeria and Cameroon have made negligible ...

  17. Environmentally damaging electricity trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Billette de Villemeur, Etienne; Pineau, Pierre-Olivier

    2010-01-01

    Electricity trade across regions is often considered welfare enhancing. We show in this paper that this should be reconsidered if environmental externalities are taken into account. We consider two cases where trade is beneficial, before accounting for environmental damages: first, when two regions with the same technology display some demand heterogeneity; second when one region endowed with hydropower arbitrages with its 'thermal' neighbor. Our results show that under reasonable demand and supply elasticities, trade comes with an additional environmental cost. This calls for integrating environmental externalities into market reforms when redesigning the electricity sector. Two North American applications illustrate our results: trade between Pennsylvania and New York, and trade between hydro-rich Quebec and New York.

  18. Environmentally damaging electricity trade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Billette de Villemeur, Etienne [Toulouse School of Economics (IDEI and GREMAQ) (France); Pineau, Pierre-Olivier [HEC Montreal (Canada)

    2010-03-15

    Electricity trade across regions is often considered welfare enhancing. We show in this paper that this should be reconsidered if environmental externalities are taken into account. We consider two cases where trade is beneficial, before accounting for environmental damages: first, when two regions with the same technology display some demand heterogeneity; second when one region endowed with hydropower arbitrages with its ''thermal'' neighbor. Our results show that under reasonable demand and supply elasticities, trade comes with an additional environmental cost. This calls for integrating environmental externalities into market reforms when redesigning the electricity sector. Two North American applications illustrate our results: trade between Pennsylvania and New York, and trade between hydro-rich Quebec and New York. (author)

  19. Scoping study on SADC energy sector carbon market potential; SADC = Southern African Development Community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2010-10-22

    This study shows that, while there is a certain degree of institutional and project development capacity in the region and significant Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) potential, very little of this potential is currently being tapped. National institutional structures are mostly very new, understaffed, and working in isolation from each other. There are ongoing national CDM capacity building programmes in several SADC countries that will address barriers and develop projects at a national level, but there are also regional opportunities that these programmes will not address. For some of large scale project opportunities such as landfill gas, industrial energy use, fugitive emission and transport, a national approach is required because these projects depend on local industrial base, regulatory environment, and are also large enough that the carbon revenue can cover the transaction costs. There are a few key areas that should be addressed, however, at a regional level: Energy trade and power development: any low carbon power projects that are developed to serve regional energy needs and displace coal fired power can only receive carbon credits if the baseline is a regional power grid rather than just a national grid. This is also true for large scale energy efficiency projects in countries that have only hydropower - these would not receive any carbon credits unless there is justification for a regional grid definition that includes fossil fuel fired power stations.Small scale projects: While the total potential for small scale renewables may not be large in terms of tonnes of CO{sub 2} mitigated, the local development impacts of distributed renewable energy and energy efficiency projects are very large. For these projects to be implemented at a large enough scale to recoup the transaction costs of project development, a regional approach is critical. The CDM 'Programme of Activities' (PoA) approach is ideally suited for such regional small scale energy

  20. New Insights on US Aggregate and State Level Trade with the China Region%New Insights on US Aggregate and State Level Trade with the China Region

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Catherine Y. Co

    2011-01-01

    Aggregate trade data with breakdown into related and non-related party components show that US multinational enterprises use different trading strategies in the China region relative to other countries. US trade with the China region in 2002-007 is characterized by arm 's- length transactions. State-level trade data show great variability in state engagement with the region through trade: exports to the region range from 1 to 28 percent of state exports. In addition, compared to exports to other countries, exports to the region are highly concentrated. At the extreme, for some states, 96-98 percent of exports to the region are computer and electronic products. Finally, gravity regressions show that state exports to Hong Kong are posflively associated with the relative size of the ltong Kong-born population in the states. There is no evidence that stricter labor regimes lead to lower state exports.

  1. Implications for U.S. trade and nonindigenous species risk resulting from increased economic integration of the Asia-Pacific Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amanda M. Countryman; Travis Warziniack; Erin Grey

    2018-01-01

    This work investigates how potential changes in trade patterns resulting from increased economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region may affect the risk for nonindigenous species spread to the United States. We construct an invasion risk index utilizing the results from a global economic modeling framework in tandem with data for climate similarities between trade...

  2. Trade structure, trade mode and the urban-rural income gap in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Wei

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the effect of foreign trade in China on the urban-rural income gap from certain angles including trade scale, trade structure and trade mode at the national and provincial levels. The empirical results indicate that, from the perspective of trade scale, the export and import in the eastern and national regions have an expansion effect on the urban-rural income gap, and, in the central regions, they have a reduction effect. Furthermore, export in the western regions has a reduction effect while import in these regions did not have a significant effect. From the perspective of trade structure, the trade of high-tech products and labour-intensive products in the national and eastern regions has an expansion effect, and the trade of the above-mentioned products in the central regions has a reduction effect. The trade of labour-intensive products in the western regions has a reduction effect, and that of high-tech products an expansion effect. From the perspective of trade mode, processing trade and general trade in the national and eastern regions have an expansion effect, while in the central regions they have a reduction effect. General trade in the western regions would expand the urban-rural income gap, and processing trade does not have a significant effect. Consequently, when the South African Government is working out trade multiplicative and corresponding policy, they should consider the development of foreign trade and should pay attention to the labour market structure.

  3. LESSONS FOR THE SADC FROM THE INDIAN CASE OF NOVARTIS AG V UNION OF INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lonias Ndlovu

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In the pharmaceutical context, many Southern African Development Community (SADC members grant patents on drugs without substantially reviewing applications first, thus routinely granting patents for new versions of old medicines, thus extending patent life beyond the normal 20-year period. In contrast, Brazil and India, homes to major generic drug manufacturers in the BRICS grouping, examine each application before a patent is granted. It has been argued by health activists and academics that excessive patenting results in too many patents for minor innovations in medical technology and this in turn leads to higher prices of medicines, thus frustrating SADC citizens' right to access affordable essential medicines. This paper highlights how the legislative inclusion of World Trade Organisation (WTO Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS flexibilities around the requirements for patentability can be effectively used to curb incremental patenting and limit the proliferation of evergreen patents. This is achieved through a critical analysis the 2013 Supreme Court of India case of Novartis AG v Union of India before extracting useful lessons for the SADC. The highlighted lessons will in all likelihood inform the current intellectual law reform projects in most SADC members, including South Africa.

  4. Africa's intra-regional, inter-regional and intercontinental electricity trade - Techno-politico-economic considerations and future prospects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ram, Babu

    2007-07-01

    The majority of Africa's population does not have access to electricity. The Sub-Saharan African is largely hit save South Africa. Among the many reasons for this situation, the major one is: the insufficient growth of the investment against the demand of electricity. This is to say that the investment has not been able to keep pace with the demand which has been rising with the growing population and with the economic activities. As a result, there is a backlog of investment. To circumvent this situation, 4 billion dollar annual investment is needed in the electricity sector. But the risks and high transaction costs of African economies deter investors and are relatively unable to attract them. Furthermore, a number of African economies are small due to which the benefits of the economy of scale are not realizable. Moreover, isolated and individualistic planning makes countries incur huge investment and makes the supply of electricity to disadvantaged areas even costlier. The supply costs can be reduced by invoking meticulously to coordinated combined planning and regional integration. New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) advocates a development paradigm based on the principles of interdependence, cooperation, and regional integration. However, the absence of infrastructure and institutions and harmonized policies obstruct the integration of electricity supply systems. Creating regional electricity markets is a way to reduce risks and transaction costs and to lure investors to develop much needed electricity generation and transmission facilities for increasing electricity access in rural areas. This paper extends the themes of regional integration to establishing the regional electricity markets/power pools. It considers the intra-regional and inter-regional electricity trade in Africa. It also considers Africa's inter-continental trade that is its trade with Europe and Asia. This paper examines technical constraints, proposes solutions

  5. Emissions trading and the climate change levy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Connett, Richard

    2000-01-01

    This paper discusses the flexible mechanisms established in the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework on Climate Change focussing on the mechanism whereby countries achieving their target for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases can trade their excess to countries having difficulty achieving their target. UK measures to meet their commitment, the UK government's proposed climate change levy on the use of energy, negotiated agreements, emissions trading, and the nature, supply and trading of permits are examined. Compatibility with international agreements and the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive, monitoring, and penalties are considered

  6. The impact of foreign capital inflows and trade expansion on integrated pollutant discharge from China: Regional differences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Xiufeng

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This article is based on the years from 1991 to 2012 of the nine categories of the provincial pollutant discharge indexes of China, uses the „vertical and horizontal method“ to calculate the comprehensive indexes that can fully measure the provincial pollutant discharge situation of China, establishes a dynamic inter-provincial panel data regression model and makes an empirical test on the relationship among foreign direct investments, foreign trade and pollutant discharge these three factors. The results show that foreign direct investment and foreign trade in different regions have a different impact on pollutant discharge. Therefore, local governments should at all levels be based on local conditions to attract foreign investment and develop foreign trade for the targeted optimization of the structure of introducing foreign investment and improving the quality of foreign trade growth, thus improving the overall situation of China’s pollutant discharge.

  7. Exploring hubness in Regional Trade Agreements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vaal, A. de

    2016-01-01

    In the plethora of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) some countries take in a more central position than others in the sense that some countries are much more engaged with other countries through RTAs. Furthermore, the position of some countries is that of a hub: they have (many) trade

  8. Networks of global bird invasion altered by regional trade ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reino, Luís; Figueira, Rui; Beja, Pedro; Araújo, Miguel B; Capinha, César; Strubbe, Diederik

    2017-11-01

    Wildlife trade is a major pathway for introduction of invasive species worldwide. However, how exactly wildlife trade influences invasion risk, beyond the transportation of individuals to novel areas, remains unknown. We analyze the global trade network of wild-caught birds from 1995 to 2011 as reported by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). We found that before the European Union ban on imports of wild-caught birds, declared in 2005, invasion risk was closely associated with numbers of imported birds, diversity of import sources, and degree of network centrality of importer countries. After the ban, fluxes of global bird trade declined sharply. However, new trade routes emerged, primarily toward the Nearctic, Afrotropical, and Indo-Malay regions. Although regional bans can curtail invasion risk globally, to be fully effective and prevent rerouting of trade flows, bans should be global.

  9. Design of a prosumer EMS for energy trading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, T.; Yoo, Y.; Kang, S.; Lee, I.

    2018-03-01

    We design a DER management system for energy trading based on OASIS EI and EMIX. With the spread of DERs, there is a growing need of a system for integrated management of DERs and customer loads. In this paper, we give a brief overview of a DER EMS for prosumer energy saving and trading. Based on the OASIS standards, we design a functional architecture of a DER EMS for energy trading. After showing communication protocols and operation sequences, we summarize our works.

  10. The role of regional economic integrations for trade margins: A case of Croatia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katja Zajc Kejžar

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this investigation is to research the development of intensive and extensive trade margins on product-country level data for Croatia during the period 2000–2012. Hypothesis of our paper is that RTAs-induced trade liberalization will have heterogeneous effects on particular product groups with indirect implications on national welfare. Static and dynamic gravity trade models are used on panel data accounting for over 90% of total trade during the observed period. Estimations of the trade gravity model and trade margins showed that while SAA and CEFTA arrangements positively affected different measures of intensive and extensive trade margins, specially exports and imports of consumption products, effects on trade in intermediate and capital goods were relatively subdued. This suggests a tendency for market-seeking rather than efficiency-seeking behaviour of Croatia’s trade sector. When comparing the results for two trade agreements using dynamic model, we find that SAA primarily affected trade in consumption goods while effects of CEFTA are more evenly dispersed across different product groups. Main conclusion of the paper is that Croatia’s policy makers should try to keep the preferential status of Croatia within the CEFTA market in the medium term, focusing on the Croatian economy.

  11. The role of SADC institutions in implementing SADC treaty ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Without some level of institutionalisation or other means of enforcement, national commitment to regional trade integration is bound to face some challenges. Accordingly, transnational trade is obviously inhibited when the validity and enforcement of contracts, obligation and rules cannot be guaranteed beyond the term of ...

  12. Trade in services: examples for SADC | Lehloenya | Journal for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Notwithstanding the adverse conditions, opportunities exist in the legal framework developed under the WTO for developing countries to participate more meaningfully in trade in service. These include, inter alia, the possibility of collaborating with foreign firms and benefiting from their experience, as well as establishing ...

  13. A regional perspective on the spatial concentration in Romania’s international trade in 2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ancuta Stangaciu

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, I aimed at analyzing the territorial structure of the international trade in Romania in 2011 on the level of each development region. Starting from the values of the export and import trade flows pertaining to each region of Romania and using statistical methods of analysis, we processed the existing data in order to determine the distribution of foreign trade and to emphasize the regional poles of competitiveness from this point of view. Since other indexes, such as the trade balance or the import/export coverage ratio, are also marks of competitiveness and of the increase or decrease in the performance of a certain economy, we also calculated these indexes for each region of the country. In order to statistically substantiate the existence of a certain degree of spatial concentration of the Romanian international trade in different regions of the country, we resorted to the boxplot graphical representation and to the Gini square and the Gini index respectively.

  14. A Factor Analysis of Trade Integration: The Case of Asian and Oceanic Economies

    OpenAIRE

    Yin-Wong Cheung; Matthew S. Yiu; Kenneth K. Chow

    2009-01-01

    We study trade integration among 15 selected Asian and Oceanic economies using factor models. The principal component approach is employed to extract the common factor that drives trade integration from bilateral trade integration series. It is found that the estimated common trade integration factor has strong seasonal and deterministic components. In accordance with theory, the common trade integration factor is significantly associated with the economic growth and the trade barriers of the...

  15. The continental free trade area

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandrey, Ron; Jensen, Hans Grinsted

    The Trade Law Centre (tralac) has recently capitalised upon the prerelease Version 9.2 of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and the recent excellent data sets from the World Bank and other publishing quality data on trade barriers across the African continent. It undertook a series...... of simulations examining regional integration and intra-African trade barrier reductions. The results for tariff elimination on intra-African trade are promising. But the real news is in confirming that these barriers are not as significant as the various trade-related barriers except for tariffs. Especially...... impressive results were forecast by simulating a modest 20% reduction in the costs associated with the particular African problem of transit time delays at customs, terminals and internal land transportation. These gains are significantly above both just intraAfrican tariff elimination and what may...

  16. REGIONALIZATION AND INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE. AN ANALYSIS OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY TRADE IN NAFTA

    OpenAIRE

    Sylvie MONTOUT; Jean-Louis MUCCHIELLI; Soledad ZIGNAGO

    2002-01-01

    As was shown in some previous studies, the creation of the North American Free Trade American (NAFTA) has significantly increased trade and investment flows between member countries. Consequently, it seems appropriate to analyze the incidences of the free trade agreement on the nature of trade. In this paper, we study the intra-industry trade in the automobile industry within the NAFTA area. Our results highlight an increase in intra-industry trade since the beginning of the 1990s. The import...

  17. Analysis of trade condition in Ras region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andelić Slavica

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Modern academic literature in the field of trade in macro and mesoeconomic atmosphere, is trying to shed light on the data which defines exchange flows in intra and international environment. The study of this work is based on the database based through state registers, where with their sizing and analysis, we are coming to a deeper insight into the condition of market channels of Ras region and its relationship with the environment. The aim of this work is meticulous interpretation of trade patterns as a result of macro and meso trade policy, which could serve as an incentive for local and governmental structures in developing commercial potential of the southern part of our country.

  18. The SADC regional bloc: What challenges and prospects for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    HP27975994114

    duplication emanating from the activities of the SACU and the SADC; the .... came at the expense of both SACU and SADC member states, its attention to regional ... the Southern African catchment geographical area find themselves divided.

  19. International trade and climate change policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brack, D.; Grubb, M.; Windram, C.

    2000-01-01

    Can the World Trade Organisation deal with climate change? Can a world of liberalised trade implement the Kyoto Protocol? As trade and environment head for a global collision, this book provides an essential guide to one of the key confrontations. It analyzes the conflicts now intensifying. How will climate change policies, including energy and carbon taxation and the removal of energy subsidies, affect overall trade structures and volumes? Will countries tackling climate change become less competitive? What of taxing international aviation and marine fuels? Will the 'flexibility mechanisms' of the Kyoto Protocol, such as emissions trading, fall under WTO disciplines? Can trade restrictions be applied to enforce the Kyoto Protocol? (Author)

  20. Why quota trade should be restricted: The arguments behind the EU position on emissions trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Westskog, Hege

    2001-01-01

    In this paper I try to clarify the background and arguments behind the EU position on emissions trading in negotiating the Kyoto Protocol and their suggestions of how the supplementary cap in the Kyoto agreement can be operationalized. I discuss economic arguments for restricting quota trade with a focus on the market power issue, transaction costs, and ancillary benefits of reducing emissions of climate gases. I also address the problem of hot air as an important argument to restrict quota trade, and arguments for restrictions connected to technological innovation. Finally, I look into the ethical considerations of restrictions. (author)

  1. Why quota trade should be restricted: The arguments behind the EU position on emissions trading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Westskog, Hege

    2001-07-01

    In this paper I try to clarify the background and arguments behind the EU position on emissions trading in negotiating the Kyoto Protocol and their suggestions of how the supplementarity cap in the Kyoto agreement can be operationalized. I discuss economic arguments for restricting quota trade with a focus on the market power issue, transaction costs, and ancillary benefits of reducing emissions of climate gases. I also address the problem of hot air as an important argument to restrict quota trade, and arguments for restrictions connected to technological innovation. Finally, I look into the ethical considerations of restrictions. (author)

  2. determinants of intra-industry trade between zambia and it's trading

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Eyerusalem

    countries which are relatively similar and produce relatively similar products. IIT arises from the .... trade based on economies of scale, imperfect competition and product differentiation ... with liberalisation, such as the collapse of the manufacturing industries, the country's trade ... Zambia: Diagnostic Trade Integration. Study.

  3. Hubs and spokes in Regional Trade Agreements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vaal, A. de

    2017-01-01

    In the plethora of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) some countries are involved in much more RTAs than others. Furthermore, some countries take in a position as a hub: they have trade agreements with many other countries, while their partner countries are much less involved in RTA relations. Even

  4. Ecological network analysis on global virtual water trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhifeng; Mao, Xufeng; Zhao, Xu; Chen, Bin

    2012-02-07

    Global water interdependencies are likely to increase with growing virtual water trade. To address the issues of the indirect effects of water trade through the global economic circulation, we use ecological network analysis (ENA) to shed insight into the complicated system interactions. A global model of virtual water flow among agriculture and livestock production trade in 1995-1999 is also built as the basis for network analysis. Control analysis is used to identify the quantitative control or dependency relations. The utility analysis provides more indicators for describing the mutual relationship between two regions/countries by imitating the interactions in the ecosystem and distinguishes the beneficiary and the contributor of virtual water trade system. Results show control and utility relations can well depict the mutual relation in trade system, and direct observable relations differ from integral ones with indirect interactions considered. This paper offers a new way to depict the interrelations between trade components and can serve as a meaningful start as we continue to use ENA in providing more valuable implications for freshwater study on a global scale.

  5. Trade Facilitation Indicators and their Potential Impact on Trade Between the Countries of South-Eastern Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toševska-Trpčevska Katerina

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we base our analysis on previous OECD findings and analysis of trade facilitation indicators for assessing relative economic and trade impact of specific trade facilitation measures for the countries of South-Eastern Europe. In the analysis we plan to include all CEFTA-2006 members, except Moldova, and other countries which are part of this region: Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. We plan to construct twelve trade facilitation indicators (TFIs that correspond to the main policy areas under negotiations at the WTO. The indicators are composed from seventy-eight variables, whose values are drawn from publicly available data. We plan to use these indicators in gravity model in order to estimate the impact of those policy areas on trade volumes between the countries of the region. The use of individual trade facilitation indicators should also enable countries to better assess which trade facilitation measures deserve priority.

  6. The Economic Determinants of Bioenergy Trade Intensity in the EU-28: A Co-Integration Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohd Alsaleh

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the dynamic effect of the economic determinants on bilateral trade intensity of the European Union (EU region’s bioenergy industry outputs. The authors adopt the panel co-integration model approach to estimate annual trade intensity data of the EU-28 countries’ bioenergy industry outputs from 1990 to 2013. This study investigated the long-term influence of the rate of real exchange, gross domestic product (GDP, and export price on the trade intensity of bioenergy industry applying fully modified oriented least square (FMOLS, dummy oriented least square (DOLS, and pooled mean group (PMG models. In the current study, the findings boost the empirical validity of the panel co-integration model through FMOLS, indicating that depreciation has improved the trade intensity. This study has further investigated, through the causality test, a distinct set of countries. FMOLS estimation does find proof of the long run improvement of trade intensity. Thus, the result shows that the gross domestic product (GDP and the real exchange rate have a positive and noteworthy influence on the EU-28 region trade intensity of the bioenergy industry. Moreover, the export price affects negatively and significantly the trade intensity of the bioenergy industry in the EU-28 countries.

  7. The Role of Institutional Environment in International Trade. The Case of Spanish Regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Márquez-Ramos

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We move beyond the nation-state as the unit of analysis and use subnational spatial variation to study the effect of the institutional environment on international trade. Additionally, we address the heterogeneous effect of trade agreements on different regions within a country. Employing a gravity model approach, we use a region-to-country dataset to estimate the determinants of Spanish regional exports and we apply quantile regressions for panel data. We find that better institutional quality of trade agreements leads to an increase in both the intensive and the extensive margins of trade. The institutional quality of trade agreements exerts a differential effect on regional exports at different locations within a country, although differences across Spanish regions seem to be larger for the intensive margin than for the extensive margin. We do, however, find a common trend: for the relatively more important exporting regions, the institutional quality of TAs is less relevant for trade margins. Therefore, our results posit that subnational spatial variation should be added to the analysis of the determinants of international trade flows.

  8. Greenhouse gas trading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drazilov, P. [Natsource-Tullett Emissions Brokerage, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2001-07-01

    Natsource-Tullett Emissions Brokerage is a market leader in natural gas, electricity, coal, and weather, emissions with a total of more than $2 billion by volume in emissions transactions in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Europe. This power point presentation addressed issues dealing with global warming, the Kyoto Protocol, and explained where we are in terms of reaching commitments for the first compliance period between 2008-2012. The paper focused on international emissions trading (IET), joint implementation (JI) and the clean development mechanism (CDM) and explained how greenhouse gases are traded. Emissions trading refers to the trade of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, perfluoro-carbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluorides. The motivational drivers for trading were outlined in terms of liability for buyers and assets for sellers. To date, trading activity is nearly 120 transactions with nearly 70 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. tabs., figs.

  9. Stock market development and integration in SADC (Southern African Development Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunil K. Bundoo

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the extent of stock market integration in SADC by first analyzing beta and sigma convergence and then using cointegration analysis. The US market and the SSA index were used as benchmarks. The sample period was from January 1999 to December 2011 using daily market index data. We observe beta convergence but not sigma convergence; though the sigma values are falling for most of the SADC countries. Under normal conditions, no cointegrating vector was identified when using the US market as benchmark. When using the SSA index as benchmark one cointegrating vector was identified. The paper also takes stock of the extent of software and hardware stock market integration in SADC. The SADC stock exchanges must work towards greater integration so that they can attract more sustained portfolio flows rather than volatile portfolio flows and also greater FDI flows which are much needed for the financial and economic development of the SADC countries. We also need to consolidate and reduce the number of exchanges with the view to improve market capitalization, liquidity, market infrastructure, governance amongst others but most importantly to increase the visibility, robustness and reputation of SADC stock markets at the international level.

  10. Permit trading and credit trading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boom, Jan-Tjeerd; R. Dijstra, Bouwe

    This paper compares emissions trading based on a cap on total emissions (permit trading) and on relative standards per unit of output (credit trading). Two types of market structure are considered: perfect competition and Cournot oligopoly. We find that output, abatement costs and the number...... of firms are higher under credit trading. Allowing trade between permit-trading and credit-trading sectors may increase in welfare. With perfect competition, permit trading always leads to higher welfare than credit trading. With imperfect competition, credit trading may outperform permit trading....... Environmental policy can lead to exit, but also to entry of firms. Entry and exit have a profound impact on the performance of the schemes, especially under imperfect competition. We find that it may be impossible to implement certain levels of total industry emissions. Under credit trading several levels...

  11. International trade law perspectives on paperless trade and inclusive digital trade

    OpenAIRE

    Mitchell, Andrew D.; Mishra, Neha

    2017-01-01

    Cross-border paperless trade is increasingly important to generate economic gains in a digitalised economy. Several developing and least developed countries will need to modernise their domestic laws and regulations to facilitate cross-border electronic transmissions, particularly to promote cloud computing and electronic payments. In recent trade agreements, trading partners have committed to deeper and more comprehensive provisions on electronic commerce, including adopting domestic laws on...

  12. Inequalities in Global Trade: A Cross-Country Comparison of Trade Network Position, Economic Wealth, Pollution and Mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prell, Christina; Sun, Laixiang; Feng, Kuishuang; Myroniuk, Tyler W

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we investigate how structural patterns of international trade give rise to emissions inequalities across countries, and how such inequality in turn impact countries' mortality rates. We employ Multi-regional Input-Output analysis to distinguish between sulfur-dioxide (SO2) emissions produced within a country's boarders (production-based emissions) and emissions triggered by consumption in other countries (consumption-based emissions). We use social network analysis to capture countries' level of integration within the global trade network. We then apply the Prais-Winsten panel estimation technique to a panel data set across 172 countries over 20 years (1990-2010) to estimate the relationships between countries' level of integration and SO2 emissions, and the impact of trade integration and SO2 emission on mortality rates. Our findings suggest a positive, (log-) linear relationship between a country's level of integration and both kinds of emissions. In addition, although more integrated countries are mainly responsible for both forms of emissions, our findings indicate that they also tend to experience lower mortality rates. Our approach offers a unique combination of social network analysis with multiregional input-output analysis, which better operationalizes intuitive concepts about global trade and trade structure.

  13. The Gravity Model Approach: An Application on the Eco Was Trading Bloc

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luqman Afolabi O.

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to examine bilateral trade flows across ECOWAS-15 nations with the use of a panel and cross section for the period of 1981-2013. The methodology carried out to achieve this objective involves the use of various techniques of estimation for the gravity model (Static and dynamic. More specifically, this study aims to investigate the formational impact of regional trade integration agreements on trade flows within a group of countries using the same currencies and ECOWAS at large. The main use of regional variables into gravity models is intended to determine whether RTAs lead to trade creation, or diversion. The results show the presence of a strong relationship among the factors of both RIAs and trade flows.

  14. Ghana integrated to the world economy : focus on Ghana-UK-Germany trade linkage model

    OpenAIRE

    Sarpong, Daniel Bruce

    1998-01-01

    In this study of Ghana integrated to the world economy, we focus primarily on Ghana-UK-Germany trade axis partly because of Ghana?s relative dependence on the EU for her international trade. The study employs ?representative? country macroeconometric models of these economies, using data over 1970-1991, including bilateral trade links among them and with the USA and Japan, to quantitatively analyze and draw policy inference of the international transmission mechanism of macroeconomic disturba...

  15. The role of COMESA in promoting intra-regional agricultural trade: Case study of Sudan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azharia Abdelbagi Elbushra

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available African countries have created many regional trade agreements with the economic objectives of reducing trade barriers and encouraging economic growth. The COMESA is an example of regional integration singed on 1993 by 19 African countries including Sudan. COMESA represents a chance for member countries to enhance their economic and social relations through increasing intra-trade. The objective of this paper is to assess the role of COMESA in promoting intra-regional agricultural trade between Sudan and COMESA countries. A multi-market model with Armington non-linear specification was applied. The paper results showed that there is a great potential for Sudan to increase its agricultural exports to other COMESA countries. The domestic agricultural markets are expected to be hampered by imports surge and increase in competition, while the producers of agricultural export commodities will be better off. In order to compete and benefit from potential in the COMESA markets, the paper recommended improving efficiency in the Sudanese agricultural sector through increasing productivity, lowering cost of production, enhancing marketing services, attaining economies of scale and attracting foreign investment.

  16. The Promotion and Integration of Human Rights in EU External Trade Relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samantha Velluti

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The European Union (EU has made the upholding of human rights an integral part of its external trade relations and requires that all trade, cooperation, partnership and association agreements with third countries, including unilateral trade instruments, contain with varying modalities and intensity a commitment to the respect for human rights. The paper discusses selected aspects of the EU’s promotion and integration of human rights in its external trade relations and assesses the impact of the changes introduced by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon (ToL on EU practice.

  17. The emergence of industrial relations in regional trade blocks: a comparative analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaminska, M.E.; Visser, J.

    2011-01-01

    This article analyses the emergence and institutionalization of regional industrial relations arrangements in six regional integration agreements (European Union, North American Free Trade Association, Mercado Común del Sur, Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development

  18. Sectoral and regional expansion of emissions trading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boehringer, Christoph; Bouwe, Dijkstra; Rosendahl, Knut Einar

    2011-07-01

    We consider an international emissions trading scheme with partial sectoral and regional coverage. Sectoral and regional expansion of the trading scheme is beneficial in aggregate, but not necessarily for individual countries. We simulate international CO{sub 2} emission quota markets using marginal abatement cost functions and the Copenhagen 2020 climate policy targets for selected countries that strategically allocate emissions in a bid to manipulate the quota price. Quota exporters and importers generally have conflicting interests about admitting more countries to the trading coalition, and our results indicate that some countries may lose substantially when the coalition expands in terms of new countries. For a given coalition, expanding sectoral coverage makes most countries better off, but some countries (notably the USA and Russia) may lose out due to loss of strategic advantages. In general, exporters tend to have stronger strategic power than importers.(Author)

  19. A research on EU trade policy system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qi Sitong

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The EU is the world’s largest trade group, occupying an important position in the world trade in goods and services, especially in the field of service trade. The EU trade in services exports and imports are higher than the United States and Japan, and the EU is the world’s largest capital output and input group, and the world’s largest foreign aid providers. With the deepening of the European integration process, Europe’s position in the world economy and trade is on the rise. Therefore, the EU’s trade policy has increasingly become the focus of attention. From the vertical point of view, research directions can be divided into trade in goods policy, trade in services policy, international direct investment policy, trade-related intellectual property policy four field. In this paper, the four vertical areas are illustrated as the focus of the study.

  20. Carbon Emission Trading. A survey of regional and national emission trading schemes outside the European Union; Handel med utslaeppsraetter. Kartlaeggning av EU-externa regionala och nationella system foer handel med koldioxidutslaepp

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Widegren, Karin

    2007-03-15

    For those countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol this is naturally one of the most important incentives for the introduction of mandatory measures such as emissions trading schemes. At the same time, there are major similarities between the political discussions in countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol and countries that did not. In all countries there is a great interest in market-based regulation such as emissions trading, at the same time as the political difficulties in achieving unity on the limits and shaping of the systems are very substantial. In countries with a federal government, operators at the regional level frequently have a prominent role. The driving force for the regional players is frequently a desire to influence the federal policy from below at the same time as goodwill is created and a learning process is developed that may become a competitive advantage the day a federal system is introduced. Regional initiatives and the introduction of different voluntary programs for emissions trading have also contributed to an increased interest on the part of industry and industrial operators. They have in several cases actively participated in the design of such programs. When it comes to the operational status of the different schemes none of the studied countries is expected to have a nationally compulsory trading system in operation prior to 2010. Most initiatives are at the initial stage and have been delayed many times on account of significant administrative and political difficulties. It may be established that as regards market volume, liquidity and practical experiences EU ETS is in a class of its own. The most common trading system that is planned or debated is of the type 'cap and trade'. Systems focus almost without exception on the energy sector and on emissions of carbon dioxide. Frequently, proposals include a wide variety of approved emission credits (offset). The design of these emission credits often reflects other

  1. Carbon Emission Trading. A survey of regional and national emission trading schemes outside the European Union; Handel med utslaeppsraetter. Kartlaeggning av EU-externa regionala och nationella system foer handel med koldioxidutslaepp

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Widegren, Karin

    2007-03-15

    For those countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol this is naturally one of the most important incentives for the introduction of mandatory measures such as emissions trading schemes. At the same time, there are major similarities between the political discussions in countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol and countries that did not. In all countries there is a great interest in market-based regulation such as emissions trading, at the same time as the political difficulties in achieving unity on the limits and shaping of the systems are very substantial. In countries with a federal government, operators at the regional level frequently have a prominent role. The driving force for the regional players is frequently a desire to influence the federal policy from below at the same time as goodwill is created and a learning process is developed that may become a competitive advantage the day a federal system is introduced. Regional initiatives and the introduction of different voluntary programs for emissions trading have also contributed to an increased interest on the part of industry and industrial operators. They have in several cases actively participated in the design of such programs. When it comes to the operational status of the different schemes none of the studied countries is expected to have a nationally compulsory trading system in operation prior to 2010. Most initiatives are at the initial stage and have been delayed many times on account of significant administrative and political difficulties. It may be established that as regards market volume, liquidity and practical experiences EU ETS is in a class of its own. The most common trading system that is planned or debated is of the type 'cap and trade'. Systems focus almost without exception on the energy sector and on emissions of carbon dioxide. Frequently, proposals include a wide variety of approved emission credits (offset). The design of these emission credits often reflects other political

  2. Inequalities in Global Trade: A Cross-Country Comparison of Trade Network Position, Economic Wealth, Pollution and Mortality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prell, Christina; Sun, Laixiang; Feng, Kuishuang; Myroniuk, Tyler W.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we investigate how structural patterns of international trade give rise to emissions inequalities across countries, and how such inequality in turn impact countries’ mortality rates. We employ Multi-regional Input-Output analysis to distinguish between sulfur-dioxide (SO2) emissions produced within a country’s boarders (production-based emissions) and emissions triggered by consumption in other countries (consumption-based emissions). We use social network analysis to capture countries’ level of integration within the global trade network. We then apply the Prais-Winsten panel estimation technique to a panel data set across 172 countries over 20 years (1990–2010) to estimate the relationships between countries’ level of integration and SO2 emissions, and the impact of trade integration and SO2 emission on mortality rates. Our findings suggest a positive, (log-) linear relationship between a country’s level of integration and both kinds of emissions. In addition, although more integrated countries are mainly responsible for both forms of emissions, our findings indicate that they also tend to experience lower mortality rates. Our approach offers a unique combination of social network analysis with multiregional input-output analysis, which better operationalizes intuitive concepts about global trade and trade structure. PMID:26642202

  3. Governance, corruption, and trade in the Asia Pacific region

    OpenAIRE

    Abe, Kazutomo; Wilson, John S.

    2008-01-01

    This paper examines the impact of reducing corruption and improving transparency to lower trade costs in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation region. The authors find, based on a computable general equilibrium model, significant potential trade and welfare gains for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation members, with increased transparency and lower levels of corruption. Results suggest that ...

  4. Customs as Facilitation of Trade. Case of Albania.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Etleva Bajrami

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Economic cooperation and trade between countries of region is very important as a opening step for entering in big markets like EU-s. All agreements have a huge impact in customs administration for elimination of customs taxes and for facilitation of trade during customs crossing. Trade integration is seen as faster way for countries to complete all necessary condition for European Integration. This process requires fulfillment of all reforms, needed for approaches the development and integration between countries. This process is spread in time because of the feature and difference between society and their economies. Regional economic integration is considered an import component for longterm integration of South Eastern European countries in EU. Membership of Albania in WTO brings a number of free trade agreements, with the main purpose trade liberalization. The essences of these agreements have been liberalization of customs tariffs for increasing foreign trade and attract foreign investors. The loss of customs income will be compensating from imports increasing and economic development in general. The role of Customs has changed from one of a complete focus on revenue collection to a broad role encompassing components of revenue collection, trade facilitation and border security. Simplified customs procedures and documents are very important for improving relation of business and government and also improving business performance. The aim of this paper is to point out the roles, responsibilities and challenges of customs, for concluding this we have conducted a survey for analyzing the performance of customs in Albania.  

  5. The impact of domestic trade on China's regional energy uses: A multi-regional input–output modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Bo; Chen, Z.M.; Xia, X.H.; Xu, X.Y.; Chen, Y.B.

    2013-01-01

    To systematically reveal how domestic trade impacts on China's regional energy uses, an interprovincial input–output modeling is carried out to address demand-derived energy requirements for the regional economies in 2007 based on the recently available data. Both the energy uses embodied in final demand and interregional trade are investigated from the regional and sectoral insights. Significant net transfers of embodied energy flows are identified from the central and western areas to the eastern area via interregional trade. Shanxi is the largest energy producer and interregional embodied energy deficit receiver, in contrast to Guangdong as the largest energy user and surplus receiver. By considering the impacts of interregional trade, the energy uses of most eastern regions increase remarkably. For instance, Shanghai, Hainan, Zhejiang, Beijing, Jiangsu and Guangdong have their embodied energy requirements 87.49, 19.97, 13.64, 12.60, 6.46 and 6.38 times of their direct energy inputs, respectively. In contrast, the embodied energy uses of some central and western regions such as Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Xinjiang, Shaanxi and Guizhou decrease largely. The results help understand the hidden network linkages of interregional embodied energy flows and provide critical insight to amend China's current end-reduction-oriented energy policies by addressing the problem of regional responsibility transfer. - Highlights: • Demand-derived energy requirements for China's regional economies are addressed. • Significant interregional transfers of embodied energy flows are identified. • Energy surpluses are obtained by 19 regions and deficits by the other 11 regions. • The eastern regions should take more responsibility for reducing China's energy uses

  6. Trade and the Development of the Pacific Alliance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Armando Hernández Bernal

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The Pacific Alliance is a process of deep integration among Colombia, Chile, Peru and Mexico, which aims to build a free trade area and to project into the Asia-Pacific region, in order to enhance existing trade agreements among the members. There is no deep trade relationships among these four countries, despite having regional agreements since the 1990s, as demonstrated by the low volume of reciprocal exports and imports, in addition to the low indicator of intra-industrial trade. In this paper, intra-regional trade index is calculated among the countries of the Pacific Alliance, evidencing low indicators, but with a growth, encouraged by reciprocal or unilateral policies of commercial opening, and by an environment favoring economic growth throughout the region.

  7. Monitoring the impact of trade agreements on national food environments: trade imports and population nutrition risks in Fiji.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravuvu, Amerita; Friel, Sharon; Thow, Anne-Marie; Snowdon, Wendy; Wate, Jillian

    2017-06-13

    Trade agreements are increasingly recognised as playing an influential role in shaping national food environments and the availability and nutritional quality of the food supply. Global monitoring of food environments and trade policies can strengthen the evidence base for the impact of trade policy on nutrition, and support improved policy coherence. Using the INFORMAS trade monitoring protocol, we reviewed available food supply data to understand associations between Fiji's commitments under WTO trade agreements and food import volume trends. First, a desk review was conducted to map and record in one place Fiji's commitments to relevant existing trade agreements that have implications for Fiji's national food environment under the domains of the INFORMAS trade monitoring protocol. An excel database was developed to document the agreements and their provisions. The second aspect of the research focused on data extraction. We began with identifying food import volumes into Fiji by country of origin, with a particular focus on a select number of 'healthy and unhealthy' foods. We also developed a detailed listing of transnational food corporations currently operating in Fiji. The study suggests that Fiji's WTO membership, in conjunction with associated economic and agricultural policy changes have contributed to increased availability of both healthy and less healthy imported foods. In systematically monitoring the import volume trends of these two categories of food, the study highlights an increase in healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables and whole-grain refined cereals. The study also shows that there has been an increase in less healthy foods including fats and oils; meat; processed dairy products; energy-dense beverages; and processed and packaged foods. By monitoring the trends of imported foods at country level from the perspective of trade agreements, we are able to develop appropriate and targeted interventions to improve diets and health. This

  8. Greenhouse gas trading starts up

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    While nations decide on whether to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, some countries and private companies are moving forward with greenhouse gas emissions trading.A 19 March report, "The Emerging International Greenhouse Gas Market," by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, reports that about 65 greenhouse gas emissions trades for quantities above 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxideequivalent already have occurred worldwide since 1996. Many of these trades have taken place under a voluntary, ad hoc framework, though the United Kingdom and Denmark have established their own domestic emissions trading programs.

  9. Trade Analysis and Safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chatelus, R.; Schot, P.M.

    2010-01-01

    In order to verify compliance with safeguards and draw conclusions on the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) collects and analyses trade information that it receives from open sources as well as from Member States. Although the IAEA does not intervene in national export controls, it has to monitor the trade of dual use items. Trade analysis helps the IAEA to evaluate global proliferation threats, to understand States' ability to report exports according to additional protocols but also to compare against State declarations. Consequently, the IAEA has explored sources of trade-related information and has developed analysis methodologies beyond its traditional safeguards approaches. (author)

  10. Testing the theory of emissions trading. Experimental evidence on alternative mechanisms for global carbon trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klaassen, Ger; Nentjes, Andries; Smith, Mark

    2005-01-01

    Simulation models and theory prove that emission trading converges to market equilibrium. This paper sets out to test these results using experimental economics. Three experiments are conducted for the six largest carbon emitting industrialized regions. Two experiments use auctions, the first a single bid auction and the second a Walrasian auction. The third relies on bilateral, sequential trading. The paper finds that, in line with the standard theory, both auctions and bilateral, sequential trading capture a significant part (88% to 99%) of the potential cost savings of emission trading. As expected from trade theory, all experiments show that the market price converges (although not fully) to the market equilibrium price. In contrast to the theory, the results also suggest that not every country might gain from trading. In both the bilateral trading experiment and the Walrasian auction, one country actually is worse off with trade. In particular bilateral, sequential trading leads to a distribution of gains significantly different from the competitive market outcome. This is due to speculative behavior, imperfect foresight and market power

  11. Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNET ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    During Phase II, ARTNET will continue its training and capacity building efforts, focusing on trade facilitation, preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and other trade agreements. Given the complexity of the trade and investment environment in the region, ARTNET will explore the interaction between trade, investment, ...

  12. The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement: impact on trade flows and external trade barriers

    OpenAIRE

    Hector Calvo-Pardo; Caroline Freund; Emanuel Ornelas

    2009-01-01

    Using detailed data on trade and tariffs from 1992-2007, the authors examine how the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement has affected trade with nonmembers and external tariffs facing nonmembers. First, the paper examines the effect of preferential and external tariff reduction on import growth from ASEAN insiders and outsiders across HS 6-digit industries. The analysis finds no evidence that prefe...

  13. Assessment of regional trade and virtual water flows in China

    OpenAIRE

    Dabo, G.; Hubacek, K.

    2007-01-01

    The success of Chinas economic development has left deep marks on resource availability and quality. Some regions in China are relatively poor with regards to water resources. This problem is exacerbated by economic growth. Flourishing trade activities on both domestic and international levels have resulted in significant amounts of water withdrawal and water pollution. Hence the goal of this paper is to evaluate the current inter-regional trade structure and its effects on water consumption ...

  14. Trade networks in West Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walther, Olivier

    2014-01-01

    To date, most of the literature on trade networks in West Africa has considered networks in a metaphorical way. The aim of this paper is to go one step further by showing how social network analysis may be applied to the study of regional trade in West Africa. After a brief review of the literature......, this exploratory paper investigates two main issues related to regional trade. We start by discussing how recent developments in regional trade in West Africa have contributed to challenging the social structure of traders. We then discuss the changes that have affected the spatiality of regional trade by looking...

  15. ASEAN: Regional Integration and Reforms

    OpenAIRE

    Mari PANGESTU; Lili Yan ING

    2015-01-01

    Over recent decades, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has advanced a policy of regional integration, starting with the ASEAN Free Trade Area, followed by the ASEAN+1 free trade agreements with its six main trading partners, and now with ASEAN+6. For ASEAN to further advance regional integration in the East Asian context, it should continue to focus on trade in goods, investment, and services, to smooth out the process of trade creation and investment realisation. East Asian ...

  16. Carbon Trading. Literature Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerste, M.; Weda, J.; Rosenboom, N.

    2010-12-01

    From Pigou and Coase to the Kyoto Protocol, carbon trading has resulted in pricing of the negative externalities emanating from pollution. This report highlights leading literature and empirical findings on carbon trading, amongst others addressing the relevant carbon and related markets, the (lack of) success of carbon trading so far and room for improvement as well as its impact on investments in emission reduction. This report is part of a set of SEO-reports on finance and sustainability. The other reports deal with: Financing the Transition to Sustainable Energy; Innovations in financing environmental and social sustainability; and Sustainable investment.

  17. The Position of Suitcase Trading in Turkey’s Foreign Trade and Growth-Suitcase Trading Connection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinem YAPAR SAÇIK

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Suitcase trading which is defined as a purchasing process of merchandises in a country that is implemented by travelers (nonresidents to sell those merchandises in their own country; it has started to take place in balance of payments of Turkey since 1996. After the collapse of USSR in 1991 Turkey became a net exporter in suitcase trading so the country reached significant figures occasionally. In this paper the position of suitcase trading in Turkey’s foreign trade is analyzed in consideration of statistical indicators. According to the findings acquired from the study, suitcase trading is a significant variable for Turkey to have currency and to close foreign deficits. Suitcase trading and growth connection is also analyzed by econometric method which is co-integration test and the result is affirmative. And also it is found that this connection is unilateral causation from growth towards suitcase trading according to the findings of Granger causality test

  18. Trade Blocs, Currency Blocs and the Disintegration of World Trade in the 1930s

    OpenAIRE

    Eichengreen, Barry; Irwin, Douglas

    1993-01-01

    The dramatic implosion and regionalization of international trade during the 1930s has often been blamed on the trade and foreign exchange policies that emerged in the interwar period. We provide new evidence on the impact of trade and currency blocs on trade flows from 1928 1938 that suggests a blanket indictment of interwar trade policies and payments arrangements is not warranted. Discriminatory trade policies and international monetary arrangements had neither a uniformly favorable nor un...

  19. The Political Economy of International Emissions Trading Scheme Choice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boom, Jan-Tjeerd; Svendsen, Jan Tinggard

    2000-01-01

    The Kyoto Protocol allows emission trade between the Annex B countries. We consider three schemes of emissions trading: government trading, permit trading and credit trading. The schemes are compared in a public choice setting focusing on group size and rent-seeking from interest groups. We find ...

  20. National Emissions Trading; Interim Report by the Committee on the Kyoto mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    By emissions trading is meant that operators eligible for emissions trading can trade in emission rights, which entitle the operator to greenhouse gas emissions. The domestic emissions trading in gases released into the atmosphere would be limited to domestic units and emissions only. Emissions trading does not reduce emissions. Emissions are reduced by investments and changes in lines of action. The role of the national emissions trading depends on the overall national climate programme. Emissions trading - especially if it is connected with quotas imposed on greenhouse gas emissions or with other quantitative restrictions - is a strong instrument of which there is no previous experience in Finland. Compared to mere emission quotas, emissions trading might, however, offer a flexible and cost-efficient means of meeting the emission targets. The Committee thinks that the majority of - and most important - points speak in favour of the option that, if emissions trading is to be taken among the methodology of the climate policy, it is more profitable and more cost-efficient for Finland to use emissions trading as one instrument included in the climate policy together with other countries. The emissions trading area should also include countries that have lower costs of reducing emissions than those of Finland. The Committee does not propose that emissions trading between companies be initiated so as to be applicable in Finland only. If the EU Member States and the Community ratify the Kyoto Protocol and if emissions trading within the EU area begins, Finland will have to consider joining the trading system. If no decisions are made on the EU trading system by the year 2005, or if Finland cannot join it due to an implementation method that would be disadvantageous to Finland, Finland will have to consider joining the emissions trading system especially on the regional level covering the Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea States. Before joining any emissions trading

  1. National Emissions Trading; Interim Report by the Committee on the Kyoto mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    By emissions trading is meant that operators eligible for emissions trading can trade in emission rights, which entitle the operator to greenhouse gas emissions. The domestic emissions trading in gases released into the atmosphere would be limited to domestic units and emissions only. Emissions trading does not reduce emissions. Emissions are reduced by investments and changes in lines of action. The role of the national emissions trading depends on the overall national climate programme. Emissions trading - especially if it is connected with quotas imposed on greenhouse gas emissions or with other quantitative restrictions - is a strong instrument of which there is no previous experience in Finland. Compared to mere emission quotas, emissions trading might, however, offer a flexible and cost-efficient means of meeting the emission targets. The Committee thinks that the majority of - and most important- points speak in favour of the option that, i emissions trading is to be taken among the methodology of the climate policy, it is more profitable and more cost-efficient for Finland to use emissions trading as one instrument included in the climate policy together with other countries. The emissions trading area should also include countries that have lower costs of reducing emissions than those of Finland. The Committee does not propose that emissions trading between companies be initiated so as to be applicable in Finland only. If the EU Member States and the Community ratify the Kyoto Protocol and if emissions trading within the EU area begins, Finland will have to consider joining the trading system. If no decisions are made on the EU trading system by the year 2005, or if Finland cannot join it due to an implementation method that would be disadvantageous to Finland, Finland will have to consider joining the emissions trading system especially on the regional level covering the Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea States. Before joining any emissions trading

  2. Elasmobranch fisheries in the Arabian Seas Region: Characteristics, trade and management

    KAUST Repository

    Jabado, Rima W

    2017-05-23

    The Arabian Seas Region plays an important role in the global landings and trade of sharks and rays. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen, two countries with stark socio-economic differences, serve as major regional trade hubs for shark and ray products and four countries (Oman, Pakistan, UAE and Yemen) supply nearly 11% of dried fin exports to Hong Kong. Yet, little information is available on the characteristics of this trade and the fisheries contributing to it. Here, we review the fisheries characteristics, trade, utilization and distribution chain of sharks and rays in 15 countries of the Arabian Seas Region based on published and grey literature, landing surveys, field observations and interviews with fishermen and traders. Although regional shark fisheries remain mostly artisanal, reported shark and ray landings represent 28% of the regional total fish production, reaching 56,074 mt in 2012 (7.3% of total world catches), with Iran, Oman, Pakistan and Yemen ranking as the primary catchers. Utilization and distribution patterns are complex, vary between landing sites and countries, and remain unmonitored. Based on widespread over-exploitation of most teleost fisheries, current exploitation levels for most sharks and rays are potentially unsustainable. The situation is exacerbated by limited research and political will to support policy development, the incomplete nature of fisheries data, as well as insufficient regulations and enforcement. A better understanding of shark and ray fisheries will be key for regulating trade, promoting conservation and developing management initiatives to secure food security, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in the region.

  3. Trends of International Trade in Services: Integration Opportunities for Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tetyana Bodnarchuk

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In the article the main trends and patterns of the development of international trade in services in the period of post-industrial development of the world economy are considered. Ukraine’s competitive positions on international service market are outlined. The main endogenous factors of enhancing the country’s integration to the world trade relations system in service sector are determined.

  4. Trade Liberalization and Women's Integration into National Labor Markets: A Cross-Country Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Lisa B.

    2006-01-01

    This paper examines the effects of trade liberalization and the risks associated with participation in the global trading system on women's integration into national labor markets. Using data from 1970 to 1995, I identify two global determinants of the female share of national labor markets: trade openness and transnational corporate penetration.…

  5. Energy trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beckmann, K.; Schroeter, S.

    2009-01-01

    Two brief articles and two interviews deal with the subject of energy trading. Power and gas exchanges in Europe multiply, but, experts say, we are nowhere near a mature, integrated European energy market as yet. Trading regulations need to be improved and harmonised and interconnections expanded. European Energy Review assesses the state of energy trading in Europe and interviews the ceo's of NordPool (the Nordic power exchange) and APX (Amsterdam Power Exchange)

  6. Canada and the North American Free Trade Agreement: Between globalization and regional integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caterina García Segura

    1995-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present article is to analize, from Canada’s perspective, the choice regarding the model of state as well as of economic and commercial policy which the decision to participate in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA implies. The debatewhich NAFTA provoked in Canada expresses in concrete terms that debate which, in much larger terms, takes place at the international level regarding the multilateralization and/or the regionalization of commercial exchanges. It is a reflection of the tension between theintegrating forces (process of globalization and the fragmenting ones (processes of regionalization which characterize the dynamics of the contemporary international system. The hypothesis of this work is that in spite of being a commercial agreement, the Canadian government’s decision to participate in NAFTA was a decision of a political nature which was not determined exclusively by the reality of the existing commercial exchanges between Canada and Mexico or by the perspectives of improving them inthe short term. The immediate objective of Canada was to avoid that a possible bilateral agreement between its prinicipal economic member, the United States, and Mexico would empty out the contents of the existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA between Canada and the United States. In this sense, NAFTA was the possible remedy to an unwanted situation (the negotiation of a US-Mexico bilateral agreement. The objective in the medium and long term is use the platform of regional integration as a trampoline from where the Canadian economy can be reorientated and driven in order to attain international competitiveness. In this sense, Canada’s true option had already beenrealised with the FTA.

  7. Effects of Free Trade Agreements on Foreign Trade: Predictions for Puerto Rico in the face of CAFTA-DR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José E. Signoret

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the effects of regional free trade agreements on international trade activity. The analysis estimates gravity models of trade that serve to assess the likely impact of CAFTA-DR on Puerto Rico and United States’ foreign trade. The estimated effects of CAFTA-DR on the US are invariably modest. For the case of Puerto Rico, the effects are of considerably larger importance, albeit still somewhat small. The inclusion of the Dominican Republic into the Agreement, however, is critical for these latter results.

  8. Comparative study on current trading system and online trading: the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Comparative study on current trading system and online trading: the case of ... of online trading and factors affecting its feasibility of implementation in ECX. ... The study found that there is significant capacity problem with major skills gap with ...

  9. SADC and the war in the Democratic republic of Congo : a critical view on the role of a regional organization in a conflict-torn memberstate

    OpenAIRE

    Dahlen, Inger Anette Sandvand

    2005-01-01

    During the last decade we have seen a great increase in regional integration projects around the world. Several of them are found within the African continent; the continent holds one of the highest densities of regional organisations in the world. Southern African Development Community (SADC) represents one of the more enduring efforts of regional cooperation in southern Africa. With its 13 member countries SADC covers a vast area in southern Africa . The economic- and political situations i...

  10. Linking project-based mechanisms with domestic greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bygrave, S.; Bosi, M.

    2004-01-01

    Although there are a number of possible links between emission trading and project-based mechanisms, the focus of this paper is on linking domestic GHG emission trading schemes with: (1) domestic; and, (2) international (JI and CDM) GHG reduction project activities. The objective is to examine some of the challenges in linking DETs and project-based mechanisms, as well as some possible solutions to address these challenges. The link between JI / CDM and intergovernmental international emissions trading (i.e. Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol) is defined by the Kyoto Protocol, and therefore is not covered in this paper. The paper is written in the context of: (a) countries adhering to the Kyoto Protocol and elaborating their strategies to meet their GHG emission commitments, including through the use of the emissions trading and project-based mechanisms. For example, the European Union (EU) will be commencing a GHG Emissions Trading Scheme in January 2005, and recently, the Council of ministers and the European Parliament agreed on a text for an EU Linking Directive allowing the use of JI and CDM emission units in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS); and (b) all countries (and/or regions within countries) with GHG emission obligations that may choose to use domestic emissions trading and project-based mechanisms to meet their GHG commitments. The paper includes the following elements: (1) an overview of the different flexibility mechanisms (i.e. GHG emissions trading and PBMs), including a brief description and comparisons between the mechanisms (Section 3); (2) an exploration of the issues that emerge when project-based mechanisms link with domestic emissions trading schemes, as well as possible solutions to address some of the challenges raised (Section 4); (3) a case study examining the EU-ETS and the EU Linking Directive on project-based mechanisms, in particular on how the EU is addressing in a practical context relevant linking issues (Section 5); (4) a

  11. Is the Classification of International Trade in Horizontal and Vertical Intra-Industry Trade Usable?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller; Lüthje, Teit

    2001-01-01

    with vertical intra-industry trade (between Germany and France) making up 50-60%. The high level of vertical intra-industry trade probably covers up many products shifting between e.g. vertical and horizontal intra-industry. The statement from the literature that the European integration process involves heavy......Abstract On the basis of OECD trade statistics at SITC 5 digit level for the period 1961-1999 we show the classification of international trade in (a) inter-industry trade and (b) horizontal intra-industry and (c) vertical intra-industry trade used in the empirical trade literature to be non stable...... at the individual product level. This indicates that this type of statistical classification based on unit-values is probably not very useful. On the other hand, we also show in accordance with the literature that the aggregate distribution of trade into the three categories apparently is rather stable...

  12. Modeling climate change impacts on water trading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Bin; Maqsood, Imran; Gong, Yazhen

    2010-04-01

    This paper presents a new method of evaluating the impacts of climate change on the long-term performance of water trading programs, through designing an indicator to measure the mean of periodic water volume that can be released by trading through a water-use system. The indicator is computed with a stochastic optimization model which can reflect the random uncertainty of water availability. The developed method was demonstrated in the Swift Current Creek watershed of Prairie Canada under two future scenarios simulated by a Canadian Regional Climate Model, in which total water availabilities under future scenarios were estimated using a monthly water balance model. Frequency analysis was performed to obtain the best probability distributions for both observed and simulated water quantity data. Results from the case study indicate that the performance of a trading system is highly scenario-dependent in future climate, with trading effectiveness highly optimistic or undesirable under different future scenarios. Trading effectiveness also largely depends on trading costs, with high costs resulting in failure of the trading program. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. The effects of competing trade regimes on bilateral trade flows: case of Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Predrag Bjelić

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of competing trade regimes on Serbian trade with its most significant (traditional partners, like European Union and CEFTA 2006 signatories, and other untraditional trade partners with favourable trade regime, like the USA. To this end, gravity model with bilateral and time effects is estimated by Hausman-Taylor AR(1 instrumental variable estimator, using panel data on bilateral trade between Serbia and its main trade partners during the period 2001-2010. The results indicate that overall level of development and difference in factor endowments stimulate Serbia’s exports, which is in accordance with theoretical foundation that inter-industry trade is predominant in exports of less developed countries. Moreover, competing trade regimes appear as important determinant of Serbia’s trade relations, whereas additional liberalization of trade regime with the USA as untraditional trade partner, even asymmetrical to Serbia’s favour, cannot divert trade flows from traditional partners in the long-run. This could mean that distance plays more prominent role in bilateral trade than the degree of liberalization of trade regimes in case of Serbia. The result could be due to the contemporaneous effects of trade preferences granted to Serbia by the EU and other CEFTA 2006 signatories, main trading partners of Serbia.

  14. Past, Present and Future: GATT, Free Trade Areas and... the World Trade Organization?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalo Bernardos

    1995-07-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this article are, on the one hand, to carry out a reconsideration of the workings of the commercial system since the Bretton Woods agreements and, on the other hand, to make some reflections regarding the function that the World Trade Organizationmust carry out in the future in a world divided, probably just like now, in regional areas of free trade. In order to achieve these aims the following are specified: the bases on which the liberalization of trade has been founded after the Second World War, the causes whichprovoked the wave of protectionism in the Eighties, the reasons which have brought about the division of the world into trading blocks as well as the need for an organization which encourages inter-regional trade and reduces the commercial wars between these blocks.

  15. Design and research on the platform of network manufacture product electronic trading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zude; Liu, Quan; Jiang, Xuemei

    2003-09-01

    With the rapid globalization of market and business, E-trading affects every manufacture enterprise. However, the security of network manufacturing products of transmission on Internet is very important. In this paper we discussed the protocol of fair exchange and platform for network manufacture products E-trading based on fair exchange protocol and digital watermarking techniques. The platform realized reliable and copyright protection.

  16. Proceedings of the Emissions trading conference : effective strategies for successful emissions trading in a global market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    There is growing interest everywhere in the topic of emissions trading in order to meet the commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol. During this conference, most aspects of emissions trading were discussed, ranging from the need to establish credible emission reduction estimates to the means of achieving those goals, to the trading activities of Ontario Power Generation in the field of emissions trading both at the domestic and the international level. There were presentations that focussed on greenhouse gas policies, markets and strategic plays, and the preparation for the regulation of greenhouse gas. An emissions trading regime for Canada was examined by one of the presenters. This conference provided a useful venue for all stakeholders to discuss various strategies and ideas related to emissions trading. Speakers represented governments, the private sector and utilities, as well as the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. tabs., figs

  17. Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006 - Opportunities, Trade Relation and Evolution of Macedonian Economic Diplomacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krum Efremov

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Main activity in the foreign trade policy of the Republic of Macedonia during the past 10 years was the integration of the country on the Central European Free Trade Agreement – (CEFTA. The reason for this is the expectation that the membership of the Republic of Macedonia in CEFTA will significantly contribute to the continual efforts for strengthening the regional trade cooperation, further liberalisation of foreign trade exchange, and continuation of activities for harmonisation of trade rules with international standards. Additionally, CEFTA 2006 provides a much more comprehensive framework for development of mutual relations and economic cooperation among the countries of South Easte Europe. We will explain the concept of development of economic diplomacy in the Republic of Macedonia as a tool for supporting Macedonian economy. The purpose of these activities is to present the Republic of Macedonia as an attractive destination for foreign investments through the promotion of business advantages, and giving incentive to Macedonian export, as well as through strengthening of the country’s position as a attractive touristic destination.

  18. IMPACT OF TRADE OPENNESS ON OUTPUT GROWTH: CO INTEGRATION AND ERROR CORRECTION MODEL APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asma Arif

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzed the long run relationship between trade openness and output growth for Pakistan using annual time series data for 1972-2010. This study follows the Engle and Granger co integration analysis and error correction approach to analyze the long run relationship between the two variables. The Error Correction Term (ECT for output growth and trade openness is significant at 5% level of significance and indicates a positive long run relation between the variables. This study has also analyzed the causality between trade openness and output growth by using granger causality test. The results of granger causality show that there is a bi-directional significant relationship between trade openness and economic growth.

  19. Analysis of virtual water flows associated with the trade of maize in the SADC region: importance of scale

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dabrowski, James M

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The concept of virtual water encourages a country to view agricultural crops in terms of the amount of water required to produce those crops, with a view to implementing trading policies that promote the saving of scarce water resources. Recently...

  20. Trade-Off and Synergy among Ecosystem Services in the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Region of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Keyu; Li, Jing; Yang, Xiaonan

    2015-11-03

    Natural ecosystems provide society with important goods and services. With rapidly increasing populations and excessive utilization of natural resources, humans have been enhancing the production of some services at the expense of others. Although the need for certain trade-offs between conservation and development is urgent, having only a small number of efficient methods to assess such trade-offs has impeded progress. This study focuses on the evaluation of ecosystem services under different land use schemes. It reveals the spatial and temporal distributions of and changes in ecosystem services. Based on a correlation rate model and distribution mapping, the trade-offs and synergies of these ecosystem services can be found. Here, we also describe a new simple approach to quantify the relationships of every trade-off and synergy. The results show that all ecosystem services possess trade-offs and synergies in the study area. The trend of improving carbon sequestration and water interception indicate that these key ecosystem services have the strongest synergy. And the decrease in regional agricultural production and other services, except water yield, may be considered as trade-offs. The synergy between water yield and agricultural production was the most significant, while the trade-off between water interception and carbon sequestration was the most apparent, according to our interaction quantification model. The results of this study have implications for planning and monitoring the future management of natural capital and ecosystem services, and can be integrated into land use decision-making.

  1. Trade-Off and Synergy among Ecosystem Services in the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Region of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keyu Qin

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Natural ecosystems provide society with important goods and services. With rapidly increasing populations and excessive utilization of natural resources, humans have been enhancing the production of some services at the expense of others. Although the need for certain trade-offs between conservation and development is urgent, having only a small number of efficient methods to assess such trade-offs has impeded progress. This study focuses on the evaluation of ecosystem services under different land use schemes. It reveals the spatial and temporal distributions of and changes in ecosystem services. Based on a correlation rate model and distribution mapping, the trade-offs and synergies of these ecosystem services can be found. Here, we also describe a new simple approach to quantify the relationships of every trade-off and synergy. The results show that all ecosystem services possess trade-offs and synergies in the study area. The trend of improving carbon sequestration and water interception indicate that these key ecosystem services have the strongest synergy. And the decrease in regional agricultural production and other services, except water yield, may be considered as trade-offs. The synergy between water yield and agricultural production was the most significant, while the trade-off between water interception and carbon sequestration was the most apparent, according to our interaction quantification model. The results of this study have implications for planning and monitoring the future management of natural capital and ecosystem services, and can be integrated into land use decision-making.

  2. REFLECTIONS ON PRODUCTION INTERNALIZATION AND ITS INTERNATIONAL TRADE IMPLICATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CLIPA RALUCA IRINA

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Vertically-integrated multinational companies place the different stages of production and marketing chain in different countries, looking for advantages such as low production costs, lower taxes, abundant resources and so on, while benefiting from the advantages of economies of scale, control of supplies or outlets. In fact, this vertical integration of multinational companies has led to the expansion of intra-firm trade and "internalized" operations, thus creating their own markets for the vertically-integrated production. Internationally active firms operate in a way that replaces the different functions of an open market with internal transactions, i.e. intra-firm transactions, whenever internal transaction costs are lower than the open-market ones. The direct consequence over international trade is the increase of intra-firm share of trade flows to one third of world trade, those companies making a suppression of international market segments that act in favour of an internal market. The creation of a multinational market and the enhancement of intra-firm trade have profound quantitative and qualitative implications on the composition, geographic orientation and dynamics of international trade. This paper deals with the issue of production internalization, with an overview of the main contributions made to the theory of internalization, while tackling its relative dimension. However, we intend to highlight the implications of this phenomenon on international trade. The work methodology falls within the range of qualitative approaches: logical argumentation, critical theoretical analysis.

  3. Market, Country and World Effects on Regional Equity Market Integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chee Wooi Hooy

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This study explores the fundamental driving forces of regional equity market integration in a trading bloc. The determinant factors are categorized into market attribute, economic fundamentals and world information. Our sample consists of 26 equity markets of ive regional trading blocs, namely AFTA, CER, EFTA, EU and NAFTA over the period of January 1999 to  August  2005.  We  measure  market  integration  based  on  pricing  errors  as  proposed  by Korajczyk (1996 and Levine and Zervos (1998. Using panel regressions, our results show that  equity  integration  in  these  trading  blocs  is  driven  internally,  where  only  individual-market  volatility  and  economic  fundamentals  play  a  signiicant  role  in  the  process.  Intra-bloc  trade  is  found  to  enhance  regional  equity  market  integration,  supporting  the  notion that  regional  convergence  extends  beyond  the  trade  sector  that  is  promoted  in  the  trade agreements.  We  also  document  regime  shifting  effects  during  stock  market  crises,  where most  of  these  markets  became  strongly  integrated  after  a  regional  crisis,  but  integration was signiicantly weakened during a crisis that affected the world markets. Also, the level of equity market integration differs across trading blocs, where the blocs with a smaller number of country members are relatively more integrated. ";} // -->activate javascript

  4. Anonymous electronic trading versus floor trading

    OpenAIRE

    Franke, Günter; Hess, Dieter

    1995-01-01

    This paper compares the attractiveness of floor trading and anonymous electronic trading systems. It is argued that in times of low information intensity the insight into the order book of the electronic trading system provides more valuable information than floor trading, but in times of high information intensity the reverse is true. Thus, the electronic system's market share in trading activity should decline in times of high information intensity. This hypothesis is tested by data on BUND...

  5. Influence of trade on national CO2 emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munksgaard, Jesper; Pade, Lise-Lotte; Minx, Jan; Lenzen, Manfred

    2005-01-01

    International trade has an impact on national CO 2 emissions and consequently on the ability to fulfil national CO 2 reduction targets. Through goods and services traded in a globally interdependent world, the consumption in each country is linked to greenhouse gas emissions in other countries. It has been argued that in order to achieve equitable reduction targets, international trade has to be taken into account when assessing nations' responsibility for abating climate change. Especially for open economies such as Denmark, greenhouse gases embodied in internationally traded commodities can have a considerable influence on the national 'greenhouse gas responsibility'. By using input-output modelling, we analyse the influence from international trade on national CO 2 emissions. The aim is to show that trade is the key to define CO 2 responsibility on a macroeconomic level and that imports should be founded in a multi-region model approach. Finally, the paper concludes on the need to consider the impact from foreign trade when negotiating reduction targets and base line scenarios. (Author)

  6. The determinants of intra-regional trade in the Western Balkans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jelena Trivić

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that have an influence on bilateral trade among the Western Balkan countries for the period from 1995 to 2012. Unlike a majority of works that have dealt with the subject of trade in the Balkans or the SEEs, not only geographical, economic or political factors are taken into account, but also factors constituting cultural, communicational and historical types of the so-called “distance” between countries. In order to assess their influence on trade values, an augmented version of the gravity model is employed. It was estimated threefold: as pooled data by OLS, as a random effects model and as a fixed effects model with an additional estimation of time-invariant variables following the method of Cheng and Wall (2005. The results of the research are surprising, as the strongest influence on trade values were exhibited by variables representing ease of a direct communication and similarity of religious structures. In addition, war and one-year-post-war effect showed a strong and statistically important influence. Thus, the main conclusion is that non-economic factors in the region of the Western Balkans play the most important role in determining trade values between countries.

  7. MOLDOVAN AGRI-FOOD TRADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTEGRATION PROCESSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru STRATAN

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims at the assessment of the main effects of signing the Association Agreement on the Moldovan agricultural sector, while examining its reaction, if the Republic of Moldova would have opted for its integration in the Customs Union - Russian Federation, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. During the period 2010-2013, Republic of Moldova launched a number of trade policy development initiatives in order to ensure a more facilitating legal framework for the economic and trade relations with the key external partners. An agreement on the establishment of a free trade area in the CIS was signed in this period. Similarly, Republic of Moldova started negotiating the Association Agreement with the European Union, which was signed in June this year and has as component part the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA. The paper reveals that the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU could serve as instrument to stimulate the agricultural sector, but the DCFTA establishment will present some challenges, which are to be properly addressed, in order to exclude their turning into risks.

  8. The trading game : emissions trading schemes offer pollution as a market commodity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bradbury, D.

    2005-07-01

    This paper discussed the market mechanisms for emissions trading. The concept emerged in signatory countries to the Kyoto Protocol in response to their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Emissions trading systems allow large polluters to buy and sell pollution credits in order to meet emission reduction targets. While member states in the European Union (EU) started trading in February 2005, Canada is still developing its own proposal that will be introduced in 2008 to correspond with the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol. In contrast to the European model that places absolute limits on GHG emissions, the Canadian system is intensity-based. Heavy polluters, known as large final emitters, will have to cut emissions of the 6 GHGs covered under the Kyoto Protocol as a percentage of their total industrial output. Companies that reduce their emissions more than their defined targets can trade the surplus as credits on the open domestic market. It was argued that this allows businesses to meet their own emissions targets while failing to contribute effectively to Canada's overall Kyoto target. In addition, in order to lessen the burden to industry, Canada has imposed a $15 cap on the price of credits, which is in contrast to the European system. It was argued that businesses in Europe will be more motivated to meet their targets because of the higher value on European pollution credits. With less onus on business in Canada to reduce absolute targets, the burden of reducing GHG emissions has shifted to federal taxpayers. The paper addressed some of the factors that led to Canada's decision to use an intensity-based system. One main factor was the refusal of the United States to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and the cost disadvantage this would create for Canadian firms. However, some argue that by paying more attention to energy use, companies can reduce emissions and increase shareholder value by achieving cost savings that are greater than the

  9. Trading volume and the number of trades

    OpenAIRE

    Marwan Izzeldin

    2007-01-01

    Trading volume and the number of trades are both used as proxies for market activity, with disagreement as to which is the better proxy for market activity. This paper investigates this issue using high frequency data for Cisco and Intel in 1997. A number of econometric methods are used, including GARCH augmented with lagged trading volume and number of trades, tests based on moment restrictions, regression analysis of volatility on volume and trades, normality of returns when standardized by...

  10. The U.S.-Brazil-China trade and transportation triangle : implications for the southwest region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    The advent of globalization and more integrated international trade has placed increased demands : on transportation infrastructure. This report assesses the impacts of triangular trade between and among : the United States, Brazil and China with an ...

  11. International climate policy and trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuik, O.

    2000-01-01

    If a country takes steps to counter the greenhouse effect, it could influence the country's foreign trade. If a large group of countries consider such measures, e.g. the signatories to the Kyoto Protocol, that could possibly have major consequences for global trading patterns. How will the measures work out for countries, industries, and climate policy itself? Can countries mitigate any negative consequences for their trade balance? The results of a study to answer those questions are discussed

  12. Emissions trading in international aviation. Possible design options for an emissions trading scheme and their impact on climate change and the aviation industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deuber, Odette; Cames, Martin

    2003-01-01

    According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the contribution of aviation to global warm-ing was 3.5 % in 1992. Considering the average growth rate of 4 % per year, the share might be more than doubled by the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2012). However, due to difficulties in allocating emissions from international aviation to individual countries, these emissions are exempt from commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, although in Article 2.2 the Parties to the Protocol are obliged to stabilize and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation. To comply with this obligation, the introduction of emissions trading in international aviation is being discussed within the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This paper analyses the design options of such an emissions trading scheme and its impact on climate change and the aviation industry. Among other matters, it discusses issues such as open and closed emissions trading schemes, coverage of gases, initial allocation of allowances and possible caps for the aviation industry. It is based on a re-search project that has been carried out on behalf of the German Federal Environmental Agency. The paper reveals that despite complex tropospheric and stratospheric interactions, as well as allocation problems, there are adequate structural options for the design of an emissions trading scheme. Given an adequate structure, emissions trading offers a great incentive to optimise flight routes not only according to economic but also to climatic factors. Consequently, the system would effectively reduce the contribution of aviation to climate change

  13. Is Pan-Asian Economic Integration Moving Forward?: Evidence from Pan-Asian Trade Statistics

    OpenAIRE

    Sapkota, Jeet Bahadur; Shuto, Motoko

    2016-01-01

    Asia is growing economically faster than any other region in the world; this led to the shift of the center of gravity of the global economy from the West to the East. However, it is not clear whether the Asian economy is integrating regionally or globally. In the context of the growing efforts of regional or sub-regional pan-Asian integration, it is worthwhile to explore the pan-Asian trade flows regionally as well as globally. Thus, this paper examines the trend and determinants of economic...

  14. Boosting trade finance in developing countries: What link with the WTO?

    OpenAIRE

    Auboin, Marc

    2007-01-01

    The paper discusses the efforts deployed by various players, mainly multilateral financial institutions, regional development banks, export credit agencies, to mobilize greater flows of trade finance for developing countries, with a view to help them integrate in world trade. As an institution geared towards the balanced expansion of world trade, the WTO is in the business of making trade possible. Its various functions include reducing trade barriers, negotiating and implementing global trad...

  15. A hybrid stock trading framework integrating technical analysis with machine learning techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajashree Dash

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel decision support system using a computational efficient functional link artificial neural network (CEFLANN and a set of rules is proposed to generate the trading decisions more effectively. Here the problem of stock trading decision prediction is articulated as a classification problem with three class values representing the buy, hold and sell signals. The CEFLANN network used in the decision support system produces a set of continuous trading signals within the range 0–1 by analyzing the nonlinear relationship exists between few popular technical indicators. Further the output trading signals are used to track the trend and to produce the trading decision based on that trend using some trading rules. The novelty of the approach is to engender the profitable stock trading decision points through integration of the learning ability of CEFLANN neural network with the technical analysis rules. For assessing the potential use of the proposed method, the model performance is also compared with some other machine learning techniques such as Support Vector Machine (SVM, Naive Bayesian model, K nearest neighbor model (KNN and Decision Tree (DT model.

  16. Synergies, Trade-offs, and Losses of Ecosystem Services in Urban Regions: an Integrated Multiscale Framework Applied to the Leipzig-Halle Region, Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dagmar Haase

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Because we have entered the 'millennium of the cities', urban ecological research needs to account for the provisions ecosystem services provide to urban regions. In urban areas, ecosystem service assessment studies need to account for the complex land use patterns, which change over relatively short periods of time. We discuss an analytical framework for the spatial and temporal integration of different ecosystem services in an urban region to determine synergies, trade-offs and losses, and we employ a case study in Leipzig-Halle, Germany. The following five ecosystem services, which are of special importance for urban areas, were selected: local climate regulation, recreation potential, biodiversity potential, food supply, and above-ground carbon storage. These services were analyzed from 1990 to 2006. Our results identified only slight increases in urbanization (1% or 3 km² and in mining restoration (-11 km². However, the detected land use changes led to synergies with biodiversity and climate regulation of > 50% of the total area, whereas trade-offs of approximately 60% were detected between variables such as climate regulation and recreation. Finally, we address both the opportunities and the challenges that were encountered in the integration study, specifically with respect to the application in land use planning.

  17. Trade and inter-group relations in the lower Niger 1830-1960 | Ali ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study focuses on trade and intergroup relations in the Lower Niger in the period 1830-1960. Trade constitutes an integral aspect of communal relationship in the Lower Niger region from 1830 to 1960. The objective of the study is to show how the people of the Lower Niger related with each other in trade and other ...

  18. The state of the international organ trade: a provisional picture based on integration of available information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimazono, Yosuke

    2007-12-01

    Organ transplantation is widely practised worldwide. The expansion of organ transplantation has led to a critical shortage of organs and the development of the organ trade. Many patients travel to areas where organs are obtainable through commercial transactions. Although the international organ trade is regarded as an important health policy issue, its current state remains obscure because of scarce data and the lack of efforts to synthesize available data. This paper is an attempt to integrate information about the current international organ trade and create a tentative global picture based on a systematic review of 309 media reports, journal articles and other documents. The international organ trade is described in terms of its forms, the organ-exporting countries, the organ-importing countries and its outcomes and consequences.

  19. THE EFFECT OF ILLICIT TRADE IN NARCOTICS ON GLOBAL ECONOMY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ALASMARI Khaled

    2013-07-01

    Illicit markets especially those dealing with narcotics constitute grievous issues to the world’s economies, putting to test global safety, economic progress as well as security and many other aspects. Seemingly, illicit narcotics trade in the last decade – that is 2000 to 2011 underwent a significant boom, resulting from a wide spectrum of illegal drugs such as cocaine as well as heroin among many other hard drugs. In today’s global society, several concerns are emerging on the rise of illicit narcotics trade accompanied with organized crime, chiefly as major hindrances to consistent global economic progress. Apparently, some of the effects of illicit narcotics trade are that; this trade gradually turns upside down business rules, opening way for new unruly market players besides reconfiguring influence in global economics as well as politics. Surprisingly, the revenue from illegal drugs in 2011 alone was roughly 10% of the global GDP. Hence, exaggerating local economies’ incomes and triggering ceaseless conflicts among market players, while at the same time reducing legal business activities likewise disintegrating socioeconomic conditions. An empirical research method was adopted for this study, analyzing illicit trade in narcotics on the global arena as from 2000 to 2011 and its resultant effects. The research findings indicate that, illegal drugs trade particularly on the world economy besides growing at a high rate, it endangers the overall welfare of humans likewise the business environment. This is ostensibly because this trade has high chances of engrossing regional economies into illegal drugs business activities, causing them to neglect sustainable ethical businesses. Now, to effectively address negative economic issues related to illegal drugs trade, there is apparent need for integrated efforts from local as well as international authorities. Such efforts are chiefly to control not only the harmful effects resulting from the use of illicit

  20. From cigarette smuggling to illicit tobacco trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joossens, Luk; Raw, Martin

    2012-03-01

    Tax policy is considered the most effective strategy to reduce tobacco consumption and prevalence. Tax avoidance and tax evasion therefore undermine the effectiveness of tax policies and result in less revenue for governments, cheaper prices for smokers and increased tobacco use. Tobacco smuggling and illicit tobacco trade have probably always existed, since tobacco's introduction as a valuable product from the New World, but the nature of the trade has changed. This article clarifies definitions, reviews the key issues related to illicit trade, describes the different ways taxes are circumvented and looks at the size of the problem, its changing nature and its causes. The difficulties of data collection and research are discussed. Finally, we look at the policy options to combat illicit trade and the negotiations for a WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) protocol on illicit tobacco trade. Twenty years ago the main type of illicit trade was large-scale cigarette smuggling of well known cigarette brands. A change occurred as some major international tobacco companies in Europe and the Americas reviewed their export practices due to tax regulations, investigations and lawsuits by the authorities. Other types of illicit trade emerged such as illegal manufacturing, including counterfeiting and the emergence of new cigarette brands, produced in a rather open manner at well known locations, which are only or mainly intended for the illegal market of another country. The global scope and multifaceted nature of the illicit tobacco trade requires a coordinated international response, so a strong protocol to the FCTC is essential. The illicit tobacco trade is a global problem which needs a global solution.

  1. Detecting wash trade in the financial market

    OpenAIRE

    Cao, Yi; Li, Yuhua; Coleman, Sonya; Belatreche, Ammar; McGinnity, T. M.

    2014-01-01

    Wash trade refers to the activities of traders who utilise deliberately designed collusive transactions to increase the trading volumes for creating active market impression. Wash trade can be damaging to the proper functioning and integrity of capital markets. Existing work focuses on collusive clique detections based on certain assumptions of trading behaviours. Effective approaches for analysing and detecting wash trade in a real-life market have yet to be developed. T...

  2. The SADC as a Security Community

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mandrup, Thomas

    2008-01-01

    Collaboration within the area of security was from the outset one of the cornerstones of integration in Africa at both the regional and continental levels. This fitted in well with the regional power in southern Africa, namely South Africa, and its overall foreign-policy ambitions to create...... the necessary peace and stability for economic growth and development. It was also important in the sense that the institutionalisation of relations is always a means of stabilising and disseminating a particular order. Such institutions depict the power relations prevailing at the time of their establishment...... and destabilisation that afflicted and still afflicts the continent. At the regional level, in the 1992 SADC treaty the fourteen members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had also stipulated that the organisation should include co-operation on security. In the Treaty it was stated that...

  3. African Regional Integration: Implications for Food Security

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, van M.

    2011-01-01

    This report looks at the African regional trade, regional integration agreements (RIAs) and the implications for food security. An overview is presented on the present state of African regional integration and the determinants of regional trade in agriculture and food commodities. In particular the

  4. Trade creation and trade diversion in the Canada - United States Free Trade Agreement

    OpenAIRE

    Kimberly A. Clausing

    2001-01-01

    In this paper the changes in trade patterns introduced by the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement are examined. Variation in the extent of tariff liberalization under the agreement is used to identify the impact of tariff liberalization on the growth of trade both with member countries and non-member countries. Data at the commodity level are used, and the results indicate that the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement had substantial trade creation effects, with little evidence of ...

  5. Integration, Trade Policy and European Footwear Trade

    OpenAIRE

    Winters, L. Alan

    1992-01-01

    This paper constructs a simulation model of the EC footwear market with which to consider the effects of EC trade policies. It examines the Southern enlargement of the EC, the quotas imposed on Korean and Taiwanese sales - initially in France and Italy and subsequently, in line with the `1992' programme, EC-wide - and the liberalization of imports from Eastern Europe. Import restrictions are shown to be costly - especially those against Eastern Europe.

  6. International provision of trade services, trade, and fragmentation

    OpenAIRE

    Deardorff, Alan V.

    2001-01-01

    The author examines the special role that trade liberalization in services industries can play in stimulating trade in both services, and goods. International trade in goods requires inputs from such trade services as transportation, insurance, and finance, for example. Restrictions on services across borders, and within foreign countries add costs, and barriers to international trade. Lib...

  7. Trade Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Murray Gibbs

    2007-01-01

    In an otherwise insightful and thoughtful article, Sebastian Pfotenhauer (Trade Policy Is Science Policy,” Issues, Fall 2013) might better have entitled his contribution “Trade Policy Needs to Be Reconciled with Science Policy.” The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the agreements administered by the World Trade Organization, particularly the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), were adopted to promote international trade and i...

  8. Output, renewable energy consumption and trade in Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ben Aïssa, Mohamed Safouane; Ben Jebli, Mehdi; Ben Youssef, Slim

    2014-01-01

    We use panel cointegration techniques to examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption, trade and output in a sample of 11 African countries covering the period 1980–2008. The results from panel error correction model reveal that there is evidence of a bidirectional causality between output and exports and between output and imports in both the short and long-run. However, in the short-run, there is no evidence of causality between output and renewable energy consumption and between trade (exports or imports) and renewable energy consumption. Also, in the long-run, there is no causality running from output or trade to renewable energy. In the long-run, our estimations show that renewable energy consumption and trade have a statistically significant and positive impact on output. Our energy policy recommendations are that national authorities should design appropriate fiscal incentives to encourage the use of renewable energies, create more regional economic integration for renewable energy technologies, and encourage trade openness because of its positive impact on technology transfer and on output. - Highlights: • We examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption, trade and output in African countries. • There is a bidirectional causality between output and trade in both the short and long-run. • In the short-run, there is no causality between renewable energy consumption and trade or output. • In the long-run, renewable energy consumption and trade have a statistically significant positive impact on output. • African authorities should encourage trade openness because of its positive impact on technology transfer and on output

  9. On the Role of Hyper-arid Regions within the Virtual Water Trade Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aggrey, James; Alshamsi, Aamena; Molini, Annalisa

    2016-04-01

    Climate change, economic development, and population growth are bound to increasingly impact global water resources, posing a significant threat to the sustainable development of arid regions, where water consumption highly exceeds the natural carrying capacity, population growth rate is high, and climate variability is going to impact both water consumption and availability. Virtual Water Trade (VWT) - i.e. the international trade network of water-intensive products - has been proposed as a possible solution to optimize the allocation of water resources on the global scale. By increasing food availability and lowering food prices it may in fact help the rapid development of water-scarce regions. The structure of the VWT network has been analyzed by a number of authors both in connection with trade policies, socioeconomic constrains and agricultural efficiency. However a systematic analysis of the structure and the dynamics of the VWT network conditional to aridity, climatic forcing and energy availability, is still missing. Our goal is hence to analyze the role of arid and hyper-arid regions within the VWN under diverse climatic, demographic, and energy constraints with an aim to contribute to the ongoing Energy-Water-Food nexus discussion. In particular, we focus on the hyper-arid lands of the Arabian Peninsula, the role they play in the global network and the assessment of their specific criticalities, as reflected in the VWN resilience.

  10. Airframe Integration Trade Studies for a Reusable Launch Vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorsey, John T.; Wu, Chauncey; Rivers, Kevin; Martin, Carl; Smith, Russell

    1999-01-01

    Future launch vehicles must be lightweight, fully reusable and easily maintained if low-cost access to space is to be achieved. The goal of achieving an economically viable Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is not easily achieved and success will depend to a large extent on having an integrated and optimized total system. A series of trade studies were performed to meet three objectives. First, to provide structural weights and parametric weight equations as inputs to configuration-level trade studies. Second, to identify, assess and quantify major weight drivers for the RLV airframe. Third, using information on major weight drivers, and considering the RLV as an integrated thermal structure (composed of thrust structures, tanks, thermal protection system, insulation and control surfaces), identify and assess new and innovative approaches or concepts that have the potential for either reducing airframe weight, improving operability, and/or reducing cost.

  11. European wood-fuel trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hillring, B.; Vinterbaeck, J.

    2001-01-01

    This paper discusses research carried out during the l990s on European wood fuel trade at the Department of Forest Management and Products, SLU, in Sweden. Utilisation of wood-fuels and other biofuels increased very rapidly in some regions during that period. Biofuels are replacing fossil fuels which is an effective way to reduce the future influence of green house gases on the climate. The results indicate a rapid increase in wood-fuel trade in Europe from low levels and with a limited number of countries involved. The chief products traded are wood pellets, wood chips and recycled wood. The main trading countries are, for export, Germany and the Baltic states and, for import, Sweden, Denmark and to some extent the Netherlands. In the future, the increased use of biofuel in European countries is expected to intensify activity in this trade. (orig.)

  12. The bilateral trade agreements and export performance of South Asian nations with special reference to India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suhail P

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The regional trade agreements (RTA have been one of the important developments in the world trading system in 1990s. There are number of studies on the effects trade agreements in different contexts. This study is an attempt to analyse the effects of bilateral trade agreements in the intraregional trade in the SAARC region with special reference to the Free Trade Agreements (FTA between India Sri Lanka. The study uses a panel regression analysis by using balance panel data. The study concludes that the FTA between India and Sri Lanka has brought positive results in the trade between these two nations by improving the bilateral trade in goods. The results of the study are important in the context of looking for the prospects of a free trade area in the region by member nations.

  13. Energy trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glachant, J.M.; Kimman, R.; Schweickardt, H.E.

    2001-05-01

    This document brings together 18 testimonies of experts about energy trading: 1 - the energy trading experience on European deregulated markets: structure of deregulated energy markets in Europe, case study: a two years experience of a power exchange in western Europe, case study: European energy exchanges (experience of spot and future trading), case study: risk management on energy deregulated markets; 2 - the trading activity environment and realities in France: the French electrical law and the purchase for resale, experience feedback: status after 3 months of trading in France (the first experience of a French producer), the access to the power transportation network, which legal constraints for trading in France, the access of eligible clients to the French power market, conditions of implementation of a power exchange market in France, which real trading possibilities in France for producers and self-producers in the legal frame, case study: the role of trading in the company (main part or link to process), convergence of gas and electricity markets, gas-electricity trading: which pricing models; 3 - risk management and use of new technologies potentiality, the results outside the French borders: case study: what differences between the European and US markets, prices volatility and commodity risk management: towards the on-line trading, role and developments of E-business in energy trading, how to simplify trade in a liberalized market. (J.S.)

  14. Revenue, welfare and trade effects of European Union Free Trade Agreement on South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kore M.A. Guei

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Using the partial equilibrium WITS-SMART Simulation model to assess the impact of liberalisation under the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA of a free trade area between the European Union and South Africa. The identification of the impact of such agreement allows for trade policy negotiation adjustment that can be beneficial for South Africa. Aim: The aim of the study is to estimate and discuss the impact of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA with the European Union and South Africa. More specifically, the study intends to estimate the impact of revenue, welfare, imports, exports, trade creation and to come up with policies options for South Africa that can be used in negotiations and policy formulations. Setting: The study used international trade data (2012 available in the WITS-SMART model to assess bilateral trade agreement between the European Union and South Africa. Methods: To identify the impact on revenue, welfare, imports, exports and trade creation, the study simulated an FTA (0% tariff rate for all goods exchanged between the European Union and South Africa. Also, the elasticity of substitution used for the simulation model was 99%. Results: The findings of the study reveal that total trade effects in South Africa are likely to surge by US$ 1.036 billion with a total welfare valued at US$ 134 million. Dismantling tariffs on all European Union (EU goods would be beneficial to consumers through net trade creation. Total trade creation would be US$ 782 million. However, South African producers are likely to contribute a trade diversion of US$ 254 million which has a negative impact on consumer welfare. The country might also experience a revenue loss amounting to US$ 562 million because of the removal of tariffs. In trade, the country’s exports and imports to the EU are expected to increase by US$ 12.419 million and US$ 1.266 million, respectively. Conclusion: The European Union–South Africa FTA would

  15. Trade Liberalization and Productivity-A Panel Study of the Mexican Manufacturing Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Talan Iscan

    1998-01-01

    In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the trade-growth nexus. A number of authors have suggested that regional economic integration and liberalization of international trade are likely to have positive effects not only on productivity levels but also on long-term productivity growth rates in developing countries. Using a panel of Mexican manufacturing industries, this paper examines several alternative mechanisms through which trade contributes positively to productivity lev...

  16. Climate policy and dependence on traded carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrew, Robbie M; Peters, Glen P; Davis, Steven J

    2013-01-01

    A growing number of countries regulate carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions occurring within their borders, but due to rapid growth in international trade, the products consumed in many of the same countries increasingly rely on coal, oil and gas extracted and burned in other countries where CO 2 is not regulated. As a consequence, existing national and regional climate policies may be growing less effective every year. Furthermore, countries that are dependent on imported products or fossil fuels are more exposed to energy and climate policies in other countries. We show that the combined international trade in carbon (as fossil fuels and also embodied in products) increased from 12.3 GtCO 2 (55% of global emissions) in 1997 to 17.6 GtCO 2 (60%) in 2007 (growing at 3.7% yr −1 ). Within this, trade in fossil fuels was larger (10.8 GtCO 2 in 2007) than trade in embodied carbon (6.9 GtCO 2 ), but the latter grew faster (4.6% yr −1 compared with 3.1% yr −1 for fuels). Most major economies demonstrate increased dependence on traded carbon, either as exports or as imports. Because energy is increasingly embodied in internationally traded products, both as fossil fuels and as products, energy and climate policies in other countries may weaken domestic climate policy via carbon leakage and mask energy security issues. (letter)

  17. Quantifying immediate price impact of trades based on the k-shell decomposition of stock trading networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Wen-Jie; Li, Ming-Xia; Xu, Hai-Chuan; Chen, Wei; Zhou, Wei-Xing; Stanley, H. Eugene

    2016-10-01

    Traders in a stock market exchange stock shares and form a stock trading network. Trades at different positions of the stock trading network may contain different information. We construct stock trading networks based on the limit order book data and classify traders into k classes using the k-shell decomposition method. We investigate the influences of trading behaviors on the price impact by comparing a closed national market (A-shares) with an international market (B-shares), individuals and institutions, partially filled and filled trades, buyer-initiated and seller-initiated trades, and trades at different positions of a trading network. Institutional traders professionally use some trading strategies to reduce the price impact and individuals at the same positions in the trading network have a higher price impact than institutions. We also find that trades in the core have higher price impacts than those in the peripheral shell.

  18. A simulation approach to reconciling customs and trade risk associated with cross-border freight movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoffman, Alwyn J.

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Southern Africa critically depends on increased exports to enable economic growth and job creation. Logistical inefficiencies, however, are hampering exports, with cross-border freight delays a key contributor that adds cost and unpredictability to the supply chain, making South Africa an unattractive participant in global just-in-time value chains. The detention of cargo consignments at border posts is intended to reduce the risk of customs duties not being paid and to prevent the smuggling of illegal contraband. These risks must be weighed against the risk to trade caused by unpredictable time delays, and the resulting harmful impact on the economy. The increased use of ICT technologies has been proposed to enable a more attractive compromise between customs and trade risks. This study investigates the impact of the proposed new measures, including the use of technology, on the efficiency of cross-border freight movements. The research approach will combine the analysis of historical electronic transaction data exchanged between customs and consignors, with the simulation of different scenarios for the ICT support of customs processes. The expected impact of the proposed measures on exports within and from the SADC region, and the direct impact on corridor users, are estimated and compared against the estimated cost of the proposed measures. It is shown that implementing the proposed improvements should represent an attractive investment for the regional economy.

  19. Integration of Stock Markets between Indonesia and Its Major Trading Partners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bakri Abdul Karim

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL and Vector Autoregressive (VAR frameworks, this study examines the integration between the emerging stock market of Indonesia and its major trading partners (i.e., Japan, the U.S., Singapore, and China. During the period of July 1998 to December 2007, the Indonesian stock market is found to be integrated with its major trading partners. Thus, this implies that there is a limited room available for investors to gain risk-reduction benefits through diversifying their portfolio in those markets. Meanwhile, in the short run, the Indonesian market responds more to shocks in the U.S. and Singapore than in Japan and China. In designing policies pertaining to its stock market, the Indonesian government should take into account any development in the stock markets of its major trading partners, particularly the U.S. and Singaporean markets.

  20. Reduction of greenhouse gas in power industry by emission trading system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Eun Myung; Lee, Kee Hoon [Korea Energy Economics Institute, Euiwang (Korea)

    1999-04-01

    The rules governing their implementation and operation for implementing the Kyoto Protocol including emissions permit trading, project-based credit trading and the Clean Development Mechanism are to be decided at future talks. How these policies are eventually designed will determine the effectiveness of the Protocol. However, it has been passive and insufficient to deal with the Kyoto Protocol since there is no obligation on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the issues on emissions permit trading are analyzed and the strategies for utilizing the Kyoto mechanism effectively are presented through reviewing the existing negotiation strategies. Moreover, how to use emissions permit trading in the power industry, the largest greenhouse gas emissions industry, is examined by dividing into two sections, domestic and abroad. (author). 62 refs., 2 figs., 42 tabs.

  1. Estimating the elasticity of trade: the trade share approach

    OpenAIRE

    Mauro Lanati

    2013-01-01

    Recent theoretical work on international trade emphasizes the importance of trade elasticity as the fundamental statistic needed to conduct welfare analysis. Eaton and Kortum (2002) proposed a two-step method to estimate this parameter, where exporter fixed effects are regressed on proxies for technology and wages. Within the same Ricardian model of trade, the trade share provides an alternative source of identication for the elasticity of trade. Following Santos Silva and Tenreyro (2006) bot...

  2. Foreign Direct Investment from China in the Regions of Russia: Are They Substitutes or Compliments of Foreign Trade?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Nikolaevna Novopashina

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The study summarizes theoretical approaches explaining the conditions under which foreign direct investment (FDI can complement or substitute foreign trade depending on investment incentives. The author examines the example of investment and trade cooperation between cross-border and internal regions of Russia and China. Using regression analysis of China’s FDI impact on the foreign trade of Russian regions with China the author concludes that cross-border regions can attract China’s FDI because of their comparative advantages. The paper also employs FDI localization ratios in cross-border and internal regions and the structure of China’s FDI by different activities. The study shows that FDI from China can complement foreign trade with China in cross-border regions. However internal regions attract FDI from China mostly because of access to their home markets, and in this case FDI are substitutes of foreign trade with China

  3. SADC renewable energy and energy efficiency status report 2015

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stiles, Geoff; Murove, Charles; Appavou, Fabiani; Ranalder, Lea; Williamson, Laura E.

    2015-01-01

    The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is one of the oldest regional economic communities on the African continent. It has developed into a progressive regional institution providing guidance to 15 member states, covering a wide range of economic, social and geographic characteristics. SADC is now becoming a key player in the international trend towards development of renewable energy resources as well as energy efficiency. The SADC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status Report supports SADC's efforts to increase the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Southern Africa by providing a comprehensive regional review of renewable energy and energy efficiency developments, evolving policy landscapes, market trends and related activities, achievements in renewable energy on- and off-grid, and opportunities for the financing of these activities. With an expanding population of 298 million, SADC accounted for approximately 32% of sub-Saharan Africa's total population of 926 million in 2014. Three countries - the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa and Tanzania - together account for more than 60% of the region's population. Country GDPs vary widely, from USD 1.3 billion (Seychelles) to USD 349 billion (South Africa), as does GDP per capita, ranging from USD 342 (Malawi) to USD 15,347 (Seychelles). There are also differences in levels of socio-economic development, as measured by the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI): from a low of 0.338 (the DRC) to a high of 0.771 (Mauritius), reflecting the huge disparities in income, education, social services and infrastructure among these countries. In the energy sector, SADC has focused on two areas: improving access to modern energy services for off-grid populations, and increasing the security and stability of energy supplies generally. To achieve its goals, SADC has developed a series of guiding documents, including the SADC Energy Protocol, the Regional Indicative

  4. International Trade, Pollution Accumulation and Sustainable Growth: A VAR Estimation from the Pearl River Delta Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuo, Hui; Tian, Lu

    2018-03-01

    In order to investigate international trade influence in the regional environment. This paper constructs a vector auto-regression (VAR) model and estimates the equations with the environment and trade data of the Pearl River Delta Region. The major mechanisms to the lag are discussed and the fit simulation of the environmental change by the international impulse is given. The result shows that impulse of pollution-intensive export deteriorates the environment continuously and impulse of such import improves it. These effects on the environment are insignificantly correlated with contemporary regional income but significantly correlative to early-stage trade feature. To a typical trade-dependent economy, both export and import have hysteresis influence in the regional environment. The lagged impulse will change environmental development in the turning point, maximal pollution level and convergence.

  5. Evaluating of foreign trade security

    OpenAIRE

    Vasyliev Andriy

    2015-01-01

    A method of evaluating foreign trade security is considered based on horizontally integrated approach to research security issues, taking into account the conditions of management, factors, components and levels of external security. The work was based theories of security, economics, management theory, practice of state regulation of foreign trade.

  6. The enlargement of the European Union. Effects on trade and emissions of greenhouse gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Xueqin; Van Ierland, Ekko

    2006-01-01

    With the gradual accession of various Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to the European Union (EU), international trade between the EU and the CEECs will change as a result of trade liberalisation and the mobility of production factors within the EU. The EU and most of the CEECs have already committed themselves to reduce by 2008-2012 their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 8% compared to the 1990 level. This paper reports on an investigation of the potential consequences of the enlargement of the EU and of the emission reduction target set by the Kyoto Protocol on the sectoral production patterns and international trade. A comparative-static general equilibrium model was developed to examine the impacts under different scenarios. For illustrative purposes, two regions (the EU and the CEECs) and three categories of goods and services (agricultural goods, industrial goods, and services) were included. The model was calibrated by the 1998 data. The model was subsequently applied to study the effects of free trade, the mobility of factors and the environmental constraints on production and international trade in light of the enlargement of the EU. We show that in this specific context, free trade is beneficial to economic welfare and does not necessarily increase emissions of greenhouse gases. The mobility of factors also increases economic welfare, but in the case of fixed production technology it may harm the environment through more emissions of GHGs. (author)

  7. Interjurisdictional trading rules and issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keizer, C.

    2001-01-01

    Rules and issues regarding financial transmission rights were presented in this power point presentation which focused on access to the Ontario electricity grid. Power generators submit offers to the independent market operator (IMO) to participate in the IMO dispatch. This presentation covered uniform pricing issues in Ontario, the congestion pricing theory, congestion management, and how congestion pricing can apply to inter-regional trades. Inter-regional trading examples of buying and selling electricity in Ontario were also presented. IMOs have the power to auction transmission rights, which are the financial instrument that protects against exposure to changes in price differences. Initially, this would apply only to price differences between the uniform Ontario price and prices in each zone. The holders of financial transmission rights receive a portion of the congestion surplus collected through the IMO settlements as a result of congestion pricing on the entities. The problem is that this provides no incentive for transmitters. Another problem is that there are different trading regimes in Ontario, but it is preferable to have seamless trading across jurisdictions to promote inter-jurisdictional trading

  8. Features of spatial and functional segregation and integration of the primate connectome revealed by trade-off between wiring cost and efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuhan; Wang, Shengjun; Hilgetag, Claus C; Zhou, Changsong

    2017-09-01

    The primate connectome, possessing a characteristic global topology and specific regional connectivity profiles, is well organized to support both segregated and integrated brain function. However, the organization mechanisms shaping the characteristic connectivity and its relationship to functional requirements remain unclear. The primate brain connectome is shaped by metabolic economy as well as functional values. Here, we explored the influence of two competing factors and additional advanced functional requirements on the primate connectome employing an optimal trade-off model between neural wiring cost and the representative functional requirement of processing efficiency. Moreover, we compared this model with a generative model combining spatial distance and topological similarity, with the objective of statistically reproducing multiple topological features of the network. The primate connectome indeed displays a cost-efficiency trade-off and that up to 67% of the connections were recovered by optimal combination of the two basic factors of wiring economy and processing efficiency, clearly higher than the proportion of connections (56%) explained by the generative model. While not explicitly aimed for, the trade-off model captured several key topological features of the real connectome as the generative model, yet better explained the connectivity of most regions. The majority of the remaining 33% of connections unexplained by the best trade-off model were long-distance links, which are concentrated on few cortical areas, termed long-distance connectors (LDCs). The LDCs are mainly non-hubs, but form a densely connected group overlapping on spatially segregated functional modalities. LDCs are crucial for both functional segregation and integration across different scales. These organization features revealed by the optimization analysis provide evidence that the demands of advanced functional segregation and integration among spatially distributed regions may

  9. Carbon trading: Literature overview

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kerste, M.; Weda, J.; Rosenboom, N.

    2010-01-01

    From Pigou and Coase to the Kyoto Protocol, carbon trading has resulted in pricing of the negative externalities emanating from pollution. At the request of Duisenberg school of finance, this report highlights leading literature and empirical findings on ‘carbon trading’, amongst others addressing

  10. Assessment of business activity of the organizations wholesale trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetlana Alekseevna Soroka

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper is devoted to the issues related to the assessment of business activity of the enterprises in public service sphere. The importance of this problem is in the fact that an assessment of business activity is the basis for optimal management decisions to improve the efficiency of economic activities, sustainable development both of businesses in general and wholesale trade enterprises in particular. Wholesale trade enterprises fulfill a function of sales divisions and departments for the purchase of resources. An assessment of business activity of wholesale trade organizations, circumspected fulfillment of its functions by an organization, formation of complex long-term competitive advantages lead to increased production, restoration of economic connections and inter-regional integration of the consumer market, improve the efficiency of the trading process and sustainable development of the region as a whole

  11. The Effect of Foreign Trade Policy Transparency on Integration of Ukraine in the World Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yakovchenko Victoria S.

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The article is concerned with the interdependence between dynamics of the international trade and economic relations development and the existing level of foreign trade policy transparency in accordance with the provisions of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The effect of observance of transparency principle in foreign trade policy on forming the transaction costs in foreign trade is analyzed. A comparative analysis of the influence of import duties and transaction costs on the formation of Ukraine’s foreign trade barriers is carried out. Prospects of the national export-import activity development under increasing transparency of foreign trade policy of Ukraine and other world countries are determined.

  12. Can Integration of Agriculture With International Trade Increase ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Human activity is greatly constituted by transactions and exchange that can impoverish primary producers while unfairly making others rich in an inequitable manner. Integration of agriculture into international trade is always thought and assumed to bring greater income benefit to farmers, but is this really the case, ...

  13. The World Trade Organization and the environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rao, P.K.

    2000-09-01

    This book explains the role and limitations of liberalized international trade on the global environment and sustainable development. A distinguishing feature of this book is an integration of trade, environment and development perspectives for operationally meaningful policy purposes. The topics explored include an analysis of the global trade regimes, their interrelationships with the existing multilateral environmental agreements, institutional mechanisms governed by the World Trade Organization, and a framework for pragmatic reforms. (author)

  14. Trade-FDI Linkages in a System of Gravity Equations for German Regional Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mitze, Timo; Alecke, Björn; Untiedt, Gerhard

    We analyse the nature of German trade-FDI linkages within the EU27 based on a simultaneous equation gravity approach for imports, exports, in- and outward FDI stocks.We adopt both a Hausman-Taylor (1981) IV approach (3SLS-GMM) and rival non-IV estimation (the system extension to the Fixed Effects...... substitutive links between trade flows and outward FDI in line with earlier empirical evidence for Germany. Building upon German state level data we are also able to analyse the sensitivity of the results for regional sub-samples. The latter disaggregation hints at structural differences among the trade...

  15. An emissions trading regime for Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, S.L.

    2001-01-01

    In 1998, over twelve papers were published on emissions trading regimes in Canada by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), a federal government agency whose members represent stakeholders as varied as business, environmental groups, academics, aboriginal groups and others. One of the recommendations that emerged was for the computer modelling of the possibilities that had been identified for a domestic trading regime in Canada for greenhouse gases. It is unclear whether the modelling was ever performed as the file was taken over by the Finance Department under the umbrella of a special emission trading table that examined Canada's commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. The author examined questions pertaining to whether a domestic trading regime is essential, and what its characteristics should be in case it was deemed essential or advisable to have one. The upstream versus downstream application was looked at, as well as grand-fathering versus auction. Provincial issues were then addressed, followed by meshing with a credit system. International systems were reviewed. Early action was discussed, whereby an emitter seeks credit for action taken toward reductions since the original reference year of 1990. The case of emitters having bought or sold permits since the original reference years will also want those trades recognized under a trading regime. The author indicated that it seems probable that an emission trading system will eventually be implemented and that a debate on the issue should be initiated early

  16. Managing dynamic epidemiological risks through trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horan, Richard D.; Fenichel, Eli P.; Finnoff, David; Wolf, Christopher A.

    2015-01-01

    There is growing concern that trade, by connecting geographically isolated regions, unintentionally facilitates the spread of invasive pathogens and pests – forms of biological pollution that pose significant risks to ecosystem and human health. We use a bioeconomic framework to examine whether trade always increases private risks, focusing specifically on pathogen risks from live animal trade. When the pathogens have already established and traders bear some private risk, we find two results that run counter to the conventional wisdom on trade. First, uncertainty about the disease status of individual animals held in inventory may increase the incentives to trade relative to the disease-free case. Second, trade may facilitate reduced long-run disease prevalence among buyers. These results arise because disease risks are endogenous due to dynamic feedback processes involving valuable inventories, and markets facilitate the management of private risks that producers face with or without trade. PMID:25914431

  17. Feeding humanity through global food trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Odorico, Paolo; Carr, Joel A.; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca; Vandoni, Stefano

    2014-09-01

    The recent intensification of international trade has led to a globalization of food commodities and to an increased disconnection between human populations and the land and water resources that support them through crop and livestock production. Several countries are not self-sufficient and depend on imports from other regions. Despite the recognized importance of the role of trade in global and regional food security, the societal reliance on domestic production and international trade remains poorly quantified. Here we investigate the global patterns of food trade and evaluate the dependency of food security on imports. We investigate the relationship existing between the trade of food calories and the virtual transfer of water used for their production. We show how the amount of food calories traded in the international market has more than doubled between 1986 and 2009, while the number of links in the trade network has increased by more than 50%. Likewise, global food production has increased by more than 50% in the same period, providing an amount of food that is overall sufficient to support the global population at a rate of 2700-3000 kcal per person per day. About 23% of the food produced for human consumption is traded internationally. The water use efficiency of food trade (i.e., food calories produced per unit volume of water used) has declined in the last few decades. The water use efficiency of food production overall increases with the countries' affluence; this trend is likely due to the use of more advanced technology.

  18. Do we really know that trade agreements increase trade?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kohl, T.

    This study surveys the empirical literature in which the gravity equation has been used to study the effect of economic integration agreements (EIAs) on international trade flows. We show that most studies either focus on improving the methodology to assess regionalism’s overall impact, or on a

  19. For Smooth Expansion of Coal Trade in the Asia-Pacific Region and the World:

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Honda, H.

    1996-01-01

    This document deals with issues related to the smooth expansion of coal trade in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Since the oil crises, the coal trade has significantly expanded and will further expand, but there remain barriers to this expansion. This paper describes the issues discussed during the first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Coal Flow Seminar which took place in Tokyo on October 4 to 6, 1994. With the expected increase in coal demand, there will be less barriers concerning its trade. (TEC)

  20. Phenotypic plasticity in the developmental integration of morphological trade-offs and secondary sexual trait compensation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomkins, Joseph L; Kotiaho, Janne S; Lebas, Natasha R

    2005-03-07

    Trait exaggeration through sexual selection will tale place alongside other changes in phenotype. Exaggerated morphology might be compensated by parallel changes in traits that support, enhance or facilitate exaggeration: 'secondary sexual trait compensation' (SSTC). Alternatively, exaggeration might be realized at the expense of other traits through morphological trade-offs. For the most part, SSTC has only been examined interspecifically. For these phenomena to be important intraspecifically, the sexual trait must be developmentally integrated with the compensatory or competing trait. We studied developmental integration in two species with different development: the holometabolous beetle Onthophagus taurus and the hemimetabolous earwig Forficula auricularia. Male-dimorphic variation in trait exaggeration was exploited to expose both trade-offs and SSTC. We found evidence for morphological trade-offs in O. taurus, but no F. auricularia, supporting the notion that trade-offs are more likely in closed developmetal systems. However, we found these trade-offs were not limited solely to traits growing close together. Developmental integration of structures involved in SSTC were detected in both species. The developmental integration of SSTC was phenotypically plastic, such that the compensation for relatively larger sexual traits was greater in the exasperated male morphs. Evidence of intraspecific SSTC demands studies of the selective, genetic and developmental architecture of phenotypic integration.

  1. Policy recommendations for Canadian municipal greenhouse gas trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seskus, A.

    2002-01-01

    The municipal policies regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading from municipalities in developed countries outside of Canada were examined in an effort to help establish a position on municipal carbon trading in Canada. The main uncertainty regarding this new concept of GHG emissions trading is the fate of the Kyoto Protocol, when or if it will be ratified. It is premature for municipalities to have well-established polices about emissions trading because the country in which a municipality is located determines the position towards GHG emissions trading. For this study, an extensive literature search of municipal policies was conducted for both GHG trading and domestic national GHG trading. This was followed by a survey on emissions trading which was distributed to more than 350 member cities (including the United States, Europe and Australia) of the International Council for Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Campaign. The literature search revealed that municipalities outside of Canada have not yet formulated policies to address the issue of emissions trading. Only 7 per cent of the cities felt that they were informed about emissions trading, even in Europe and Australia where domestic emissions trading is closer to becoming a reality. This paper demonstrated that it is evident that more training is needed for municipalities regarding this issue. For the very few cities that had developed a GHG trading policy, each municipal policy supported municipal participation in emissions trading under conditions that included an environmental retirement, a do-no-harm clause, or an obligation to meet voluntary commitments before excess emissions can be traded. refs., tabs., figs

  2. Ethnobotany and trade of medicinal plants in the Qaysari Market, Kurdish Autonomous Region, Iraq.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mati, Evan; de Boer, Hugo

    2011-01-27

    Marketplaces epitomize a region's culture and trade, and can give a rapid insight into traditions and salience of commercialized medicinal products. The Qaysari bazaar, bordering the citadel in Erbil city in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, Iraq, has 21 herbalist shops trading natural medicinal products, wild-crafted and cultivated from all over the Middle East and Asia Minor. Freelist surveys were conducted with 18 of these herbalists to determine diversity and salience of traded traditional medicinal plants. Interviews were conducted to document use, trade volume, origin, stock and value of the reported species. Plant species were identified using a combination of morphological identification and molecular barcoding using the ITS region. Vouchers were collected for a total of 158 samples, corresponding to 82 species of plants, 5 animal products, 8 types of stones, minerals or chemicals, as well as 16 mixtures of plant products. Consensus Analysis of the herbalist interviews shows strong support for a single culture of herbalist plant use. Most reported plant species are known to have been used since antiquity, and uses are identical or similar to previously documented uses. Herbalists report a steady year-on-year increase in trade due to the economic stability in recent times. A majority (64%) of medicinal plants is imported from outside Iraq, and the data shows that imported plants trade at a higher price than locally-sourced species, and that these species are stocked in higher volumes by the herbalists to ensure a steady supply to consumers. A strong tradition of herbal medicine exists in Kurdistan today exemplified by the diverse and vigorous trade in medicinal plants commercialized from the provinces around Erbil to countries as far away as India, Spain and Libya. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The emission trading E U system: Assessment and prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golini, G.

    2008-01-01

    The system of emission trading is a cap and trade mechanism aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in an economically efficient way. It draws on Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol and was established by directive 2003/87/CE amended by Directive 2004/101/EC. [it

  4. Integration, Disintegration and Trade in Europe : Evolution of Trade Relations during the 1990s

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fidrmuc, J.; Fidrmuc, J.

    2000-01-01

    The gravity model of trade is used to assess the economic consequences of new borders, which arose in the wake of break-ups of multinational federations in Eastern Europe. The intensity of trade relations among the constituent parts of Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union and the Baltics was very high

  5. Act locally, trade globally. Emissions trading for climate policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    none

    2005-07-01

    Climate policy raises a number of challenges for the energy sector, the most significant being the transition from a high to a low-CO2 energy path in a few decades. Emissions trading has become the instrument of choice to help manage the cost of this transition, whether used at international or at domestic level. Act Locally, Trade Globally, offers an overview of existing trading systems, their mechanisms, and looks into the future of the instrument for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Are current markets likely to be as efficient as the theory predicts? What is, if any, the role of governments in these markets? Can domestic emissions trading systems be broadened to activities other than large stationary energy uses? Can international emissions trading accommodate potentially diverse types of emissions targets and widely different energy realities across countries? Are there hurdles to linking emissions trading systems based on various design features? Can emissions trading carry the entire burden of climate policy, or will other policy instruments remain necessary? In answering these questions, Act Locally, Trade Globally seeks to provide a complete picture of the future role of emissions trading in climate policy and the energy sector.

  6. The Political Economy of International Emission Trading Scheme Choice: Empirical Evidence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boom, J.T.; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

    2000-01-01

    The Kyoto Protocol allows emissions trading. It does however not specify how this is to take place and the discussion on the design of an emissions trading scheme is ongoing. In this paper, we give some empirical evidence on the preference of industry and environmental organizations for internati...... for international emissions trading scheme. Since they may have an influence on decision makers, their opinion is important. Our conclusion is that both industry and environmental organizations prefer credit trading, although for widely different reasons....

  7. THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO FREE TRADE WITHIN FAIR TRADE CHALLENGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ya’kub Aiyub Kadir

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Free trade and fair trade are considered an ambiguous term with relative meanings of identification. Objectively, free and fair trade does not mean completely free and fair, but it means trade under binding rules obeyed by member countries as a consequence of their commitment after signing and ratification of the WTO agreements. Hence, this paper aims at exploring the issue and does an effort to harmonise between free trade and fair trade within the WTO system. Perdagangan bebas dan perdagangan yang adil adalah dua istilah yang ambigu maknanya. Secara obyektif, perdagangan bebas tidak bermakna bebas dan adil seluruhnya, tetapi bermakna sebuah perdagangan di bawah aturan-aturan mengikat setelah negara anggota menandatangani dan meratifikasi kesepakatan WTO. Tetapi dalam realitas kebanyakan Negara, terutama negara berkembang tidak mampu untuk membuka pasar dan menurunkan tarif secara keseluruhan. Persoalan tidak berimbangnya kekuatan, kurang demokrasi, krisis legitimasi dan dobel standar dalam WTO sistem merupakan sebuah tantangan yang masih berlanjut. Paper ini akan mengkaji persoalan ini dan berupaya mengharmonisasikan antara perdagangan bebas dan adil dalam sistem WTO.

  8. THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO FREE TRADE WITHIN FAIR TRADE CHALLENGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ya’kub Aiyub Kadir

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Free trade and fair trade are considered an ambiguous term with relative meanings of identification. Objectively, free and fair trade does not mean completely free and fair, but it means trade under binding rules obeyed by member countries as a consequence of their commitment after signing and ratification of the WTO agreements. Hence, this paper aims at exploring the issue and does an effort to harmonise between free trade and fair trade within the WTO system.   Perdagangan bebas dan perdagangan yang adil adalah dua istilah yang ambigu maknanya. Secara obyektif, perdagangan bebas tidak bermakna bebas dan adil seluruhnya, tetapi bermakna sebuah perdagangan di bawah aturan-aturan mengikat setelah negara anggota menandatangani dan meratifikasi kesepakatan WTO. Tetapi dalam realitas kebanyakan Negara, terutama negara berkembang tidak mampu untuk membuka pasar dan menurunkan tarif secara keseluruhan. Persoalan tidak berimbangnya kekuatan, kurang demokrasi, krisis legitimasi dan dobel standar dalam WTO sistem merupakan sebuah tantangan yang masih berlanjut. Paper ini akan mengkaji persoalan ini dan berupaya mengharmonisasikan antara perdagangan bebas dan adil dalam sistem WTO.

  9. Integrated control centre: Trading system for operation in a deregulated power market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nyland, S.; Reinertsen, T.; Gunnestad, J.; Botnan, G.O.

    1995-01-01

    The paper presents a trade system for operation in a deregulated power market. The trade system (ICC-Trade) is one of the application programs in the Integrated Control Centre (ICC). The Norwegian deregulated power market is briefly described in order to discuss the consequences of the new power market for the power utilities. The paper will also deal with the interconnection to other ICC application programs and how to make use of the communication with SCADA systems for support of managing market activities. Finally some future developments are presented. The trade system is developed in cooperation between a research institute, vendors of control centres, and power utilities, and is planned to be a commercial product during the spring of 1995. Before release the product will be tested in real life by a pilot customer. 4 figs

  10. E-commerce trade in invasive plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humair, Franziska; Humair, Luc; Kuhn, Fabian; Kueffer, Christoph

    2015-12-01

    Biological invasions are a major concern in conservation, especially because global transport of species is still increasing rapidly. Conservationists hope to anticipate and thus prevent future invasions by identifying and regulating potentially invasive species through species risk assessments and international trade regulations. Among many introduction pathways of non-native species, horticulture is a particularly important driver of plant invasions. In recent decades, the horticultural industry expanded globally and changed structurally through the emergence of new distribution channels, including internet trade (e-commerce). Using an automated search algorithm, we surveyed, on a daily basis, e-commerce trade on 10 major online auction sites (including eBay) of approximately three-fifths of the world's spermatophyte flora. Many recognized invasive plant species (>500 species) (i.e., species associated with ecological or socio-economic problems) were traded daily worldwide on the internet. A markedly higher proportion of invasive than non-invasive species were available online. Typically, for a particular plant family, 30-80% of recognized invasive species were detected on an auction site, but only a few percentages of all species in the plant family were detected on a site. Families that were more traded had a higher proportion of invasive species than families that were less traded. For woody species, there was a significant positive relationship between the number of regions where a species was sold and the number of regions where it was invasive. Our results indicate that biosecurity is not effectively regulating online plant trade. In the future, automated monitoring of e-commerce may help prevent the spread of invasive species, provide information on emerging trade connectivity across national borders, and be used in horizon scanning exercises for early detection of new species and their geographic source areas in international trade. © 2015 Society for

  11. Trading strategies in the overnight money market: Correlations and clustering on the e-MID trading platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fricke, Daniel

    2012-12-01

    We analyze the correlations in patterns of trading for members of the Italian interbank trading platform e-MID. The trading strategy of a particular member institution is defined as the sequence of (intra-) daily net trading volumes within a certain semester. Based on this definition, we show that there are significant and persistent bilateral correlations between institutions’ trading strategies. In most semesters we find two clusters, with positively (negatively) correlated trading strategies within (between) clusters. We show that the two clusters mostly contain continuous net buyers and net sellers of money, respectively, and that cluster memberships of individual banks are highly persistent. Additionally, we highlight some problems related to our definition of trading strategies. Our findings add further evidence on the fact that preferential lending relationships on the micro-level lead to community structure on the macro-level.

  12. On the Determinants of Intra-industry Trade: Specialization and Relative Factor Endowments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Young Song

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper derives a general relationship among intra-industry trade, specialization, and gravity. This relationship holds in any two-country trade model under assumptions that are frequently adopted in theoretical trade models. Using this general relationship, we can take an integrated approach to the theory of intra-industry trade. In two-good, two-factor models, this relationship implies that the intensity of intra-industry trade is decreasing in the difference in factor proportions and is increasing in the product of per-worker GDPs. Thus, the popular assertion that a negative correlation between the intensity of intra- industry trade and the difference in factor proportions supports monopolistic competition is groundless. Using panel data on bilateral trade flows, we estimate these relationships. We find that the negative correlation between intra-industry trade and specialization is quite robust. We also find a robust positive correlation between intra-industry trade and the product of per-capita GDPs.

  13. Development of Competitive Gas Trading in Continental Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2008-07-01

    In this publication the IEA examines the history of major gas markets' development in OECD Europe, and explores the possible expansion of trading through the mechanism of different hubs across the region. Lessons learned from North American markets on the benefits of regulatory convergence and investor-friendly legal framework are an important part of the analysis. Competitive trading based on transparent, non-discriminatory rules in a flexible and integrated European gas market will lead to more efficiency, timely investment, and greater market resilience, therefore ensuring more security for both customers and suppliers in the long term.

  14. International trade and employment: trade partner country effects on jobs and wages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fortanier, F.N.; Jaarsma, M.; Korvorst, M.

    2011-01-01

    Recent academic research has consistently identified trading firms - both exporters and importers - to be larger, and to pay higher wages than their non-trading counterparts. However, not all trade is equal: imports from low-wage countries may destroy employment, particularly among low-skilled

  15. The Logistics Performance Effect in International Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azmat Gani

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The continuous growth in world trade depends on the efficiency of trade support structures such as the logistics services. Despite logistics integral role in supporting commercial activities, there has generally been a low level of analysis and trade policy research focus from trade practitioners. This paper explores the effect of logistics performance in international trade. The analysis draws on overall logistics performance as well as disaggregated measures of logistics specificities data for a large sample of countries. The empirical analysis involved the estimation of standard export and import equations incorporating measures of logistics performance. The findings show that the overall logistics performance is positively and statistically significantly correlated with exports and imports. The analysis is also extended by investigating if logistics specificities mattered for international trade. The findings reveal that several dimensions capturing logistics performance have statistically significant and positive effect, mostly on exports. The main policy implication is that continuous investment in logistics infrastructure and services can positively impact international trade.

  16. The Integration of Trade Books into the Social Studies Curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuhler, Carol J.

    1992-01-01

    Safe, noncontroversial social studies textbooks are neither meaningful nor necessary according to many students. As an alternative, teachers can integrate well-written trade books into the social studies curriculum. Well-researched diaries, journals, biographies, and autobiographies should become an integral part of the curriculum. (28 references)…

  17. Making it work: Kyoto, trade and politics : Executive summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Urquhar, I.

    2002-11-01

    In this document, the author examines the constraints that would be placed on policy makers in the event of the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, and how it would affect trade agreements and federalism in Canada. A description of the Protocol and the concessions (carbon sinks and international emissions trading) gained by Canada are presented at the beginning of the document. The author offers several conclusions that could disturb both proponents and opponents of the Kyoto Protocol. It is said that the implementation of Kyoto can take a route other than that of drastic domestic emissions reductions, and this position is explored in the second section. The author indicates that corporate competitiveness could be boosted by strict environmental regulations. A range of policies that could be adopted by Canada, as proposed by numerous organizations, are highlighted in the third section of the document. The point of the World Trade Organization and the constraints imposed are not necessarily preventing all types of actions. However, the author is of the opinion that the North America Free Trade Agreement represents a real threat to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. Finally, it is indicated that Canada requires a national electricity policy, where big hydro utilities and public investment have major roles to play.

  18. ASEAN - China Free Trade Area : A quantitative study of Trade diversion and Trade creation effects on ASEAN - China trade flows

    OpenAIRE

    Duong Xuan, Vinh

    2011-01-01

    The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have a long history of trading with each other. They are economic partners as well as competitors for many years. In order to push their economic relationship to a higher level, in November 2002, ASEAN and China signed the initial framework agreement, determined on establishing the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) among the eleven countries by 2010 for the ASEAN-6 (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand)...

  19. A Global Maritime Emissions Trading System. Design and Impacts on the Shipping Sector, Countries and Regions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Faber, J.; Markowska, A.; Eyring, V.; Cionni, I.; Selstad, E. Shipping / Emissions trading / Economy / Costs / Effects / Developing countries Publication number:

    2010-01-15

    This report designs a global cap-and-trade scheme for maritime transport and assesses its impacts on the shipping sector, regions and groups of countries. It shows that it is feasible to implement a cap-and-trade scheme for greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime transport sector. Such a scheme ensures that the environmental target is met, while allowing the sector to grow and ensuring that the target is met in the most cost-effective way. An emissions trading scheme would result in an increase in the costs of shipping of less than 10%, depending on the price of allowances. The increase in import values is likely to be less than 1% for most commodity groups, and the impact on consumer prices even lower. Using new data on emissions of ships sailing to regions and country groups, this report demonstrates that the additional costs of imports for most regions and country groups are estimated to be less than 0.2% of GDP, with a few exceptions. This report demonstrates that it is possible to compensate developing countries for the increased costs of imports by using approximately two thirds of the revenues of the auction. The remainder of the revenues can be used for other aims, such as R and D into fuel-efficiency of ships.

  20. Canada-Mexico Trade: An Arranged Marriage Comes Of Age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Dawson

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available If Canada’s interest in the North American Free Trade Agreement was in deepening regional trade integration between our economy and the U.S. and Mexico, then we could say it certainly succeeded — at least for about five years. By 1999, however, Canada’s NAFTA trade had peaked, and it has since only declined as a share of its trade with the rest of the world: from 79 to 66 per cent. Truly free trade with the U.S. has proved elusive — the number of professions granted labour-mobility concessions under NAFTA has gone virtually unchanged for 20 years — and trade irritants continue to rankle on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border (think: country-oforigin labelling and “Buy America” rules. That has left Canada looking to strike more free-trade deals in new, farther-flung markets, as a way of diversifying its export markets. In the meantime, the low-cost labour advantages that Mexico 20 years ago offered its NAFTA partners were soon eroded by Asian emerging-market competitors, particularly China. But while Canada was scouring the globe for promising new bilateral trade partnerships, we overlooked the transformation happening on our doorstep in Mexico: it has become an especially promising emerging market itself. It has a growing consumer base, with its middle class alone exceeding the entire population of Canada. The number of Mexican students in higher education has tripled over the last three decades. Its recent economic growth rates have been 1.5 to two times higher than that of either Canada or the U.S. and its GDP is projected to quadruple by 2050, making it one of the world’s five-largest economies. Mexico has also become an enthusiastic trader, eagerly pursuing new global trade opportunities while persistently calling for the expansion of North American trade linkages, including direct bilateral deals with Canada. Meanwhile, global value chains are increasingly regional in nature, suggesting there exists a great deal of

  1. Regional trade and border markets between Niger, Benin and Nigeria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walther, Olivier; Tenikué, Michel; Kuepié, Mathias

    The objective of this methodological paper is to identify a number of products or sectors whose trade is relevant for border regions in West Africa. Focusing on Niger, Benin and Nigeria, we start with contextualising the importance of border markets by quantifying the changes in the relative values...... and volumes of imports and exports passing through border posts. In a second step, we determine which are the products most commonly found among the imports and exports of the border posts. The study shows that seven products are recognised as being heavily imported, subject to significant trade from large...... traders, and considered as re-export products: building materials, cereals and flour, textile, used clothing, used vehicles, cigarettes and oil....

  2. The impact of Romanian adhesion to European Union on exterior trade

    OpenAIRE

    Craciunas, Diana

    2009-01-01

    Analysis of the Romanian external trade policies in European integration context underlining the external trade policy of Romania which according with European Union policies after the joining to the European Union, the improvement and adaptation of external trade policy to the European standards through internal and external measures and the commercial effect of the extensions of the European Union over non member countries of Europe and on the European Union position in the international co...

  3. A Test of Endogenous Trade Bloc Formation Theory on EU Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Edward Baldwin

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper empirically confronts one explanation of spreading regionalism with the European experience. The domino theory asserts that forming a preferential trade area, or deepening an existing one, produces trade diversion that generates new political-economy forces in third nations as third-nation exporters seek to redress the new discrimination and profit from newly deepened preferences. The pressure increases with the bloc’s size, yet bloc size depends upon how many nations join, so a single incidence of regionalism may trigger several rounds of membership requests from nations that were previously happy to stay out. We estimate a time-series of EU trade creation and diversion over the last five decades and use these to estimate a model of EU membership demands. The results provide broad support for the model and show that trade diversion has a more powerful impact on membership than trade creation.

  4. The liability rules under international GHG emissions trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong Xiang Zhang

    2001-01-01

    Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol authorizes emissions trading, but the rules governing emissions trading have been deferred to subsequent conferences. In designing and implementing an international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading scheme, assigning liability rules has been considered to be one of the most challenging issues. In general, a seller-beware liability works well in a strong enforcement environment. In the Kyoto Protocol, however, it may not always work. By contrast, a buyer-beware liability could be an effective deterrent to non-compliance, but the costs of imposing it are expected to be very high. To strike a middle ground, we suggest a combination of preventive measures with strong but feasible end-of-period punishments to ensure compliance with the Kyoto emissions commitments. Such measures aim to maximize efficiency gains from emissions trading and at the same time, to minimize over-selling risks. (author)

  5. Managing the risks of disease transmission through trade: a commodities-based approach?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brückner, G K

    2011-04-01

    Since its founding in 1924, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has facilitated safe trade in animals and animal products by developing effective standards to prevent the spread of animal diseases across the globe. A protocol for recognising the disease-free status of countries is an integral part of this process and has been adopted and advanced through the years to assist OIE Member Countries in placing disease-free animals and their products on the international market. Options such as trade from disease-free zones and disease-free compartments are now available to Members and have proven to be a positive mechanism for facilitating trade. A further option is trading in safe commodities, i.e. animals and animal products that have been identified as safe to trade even in the presence of disease, either with or without applying risk mitigation measures before export. Although most Members have incorporated the acceptance of disease-free countries or zones into their animal health policies and sanitary measures, there still appears to be a reluctance to trade in commodities from infected countries, despite clear, scientifically based risk management standards that can be applied if needed. This paper offers some examples reflecting the apparent reluctance to trade in commodities and discusses how the standards in the OIE's Terrestrial Animal Health Code could be used to apply scientifically based risk management practices to review outdated policies.

  6. THE EFFECT OF PREFERENTIAL TRADE AREAS (PTAs IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF REGIONALISM: THE CASE OF ASEAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdurrahman Al-Faqiih

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The issue of regionalism particularly in the matter of preferential trade area is not an old fashion debate, but it becomes a prominent feature and a popular tool for global trading system. However, it does not mean that the regionalism might always bring benefit for any actor especially in terms of every national interest in the region. This paper would elaborate the effect of preferential trade area (PTAs establishment on the economic interest of ASEAN countries member. Through literature study, this paper concludes that the PTAs produce many positive benefits for the ASEAN countries member. The flexibility of partnerships and coverage selection under PTAs has helped ASEAN solve the crisis and increase efficiency as well as stimulate the main goal of global fair trade by expanding economic linkages. Thus, it could be said that PTAs enhance the multilateralism under the WTO system

  7. The role of trade agreements in regional and subregional integration in the caribbean

    OpenAIRE

    Serrano Caballero, Enriqueta

    2016-01-01

    Esta comunicación tiene como objetivo analizar el papel de los acuerdos comerciales que han firmado la Comunidad del Caribe (en adelante CARICOM) y la Organización de Estados del Caribe Oriental (en adelante OECO), y ver si han influido en el fortalecimiento y en la reconfiguración de los procesos de integración regional y subregional en el Caribe. This communication aims to analyze the role that trade agreements it has signed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Easte...

  8. Hindering the illegal trade in dog and cat furs through a DNA-based protocol for species identification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luisa Garofalo

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available In Western countries dogs and cats are the most popular pets, and people are increasingly opposed to their rearing for the fur industry. In 2007, a Regulation of the European Union (EU banned the use and trade of dog and cat furs, but an official analytical protocol to identify them as source species was not provided, and violations of law are still frequent in all Member States. In this paper we report on the development and validation of a simple and affordable DNA method for species detection in furs to use as an effective tool to combat illegal trade in fur products. A set of mitochondrial primers was designed for amplification of partial cytochrome b, control region and ND1 gene in highly degraded samples, like furs and pelts. Our amplification workflow involved the use of a non-specific primer pair to perform a first test to identify the species through sequencing, then the application of species-specific primer pairs to use in singleplex end-point PCRs as confirmation tests. The advantage of this two-step procedure is twofold: on the one hand it minimises the possibility of negative test results from degraded samples, since failure of amplification with a first set of primers can be offset by successful amplification of the second, and on the other it adds confidence and reliability to final authentication of species. All designed primers were validated on a reference collection of tissue samples, obtaining solid results in terms of specificity, sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility. Application of the protocol on real caseworks from seized furs yielded successful results also from old and dyed furs, suggesting that age and chemical staining do not necessarily affect positive amplifications. Major pros of this approach are: (1 sensitive and informative primer sets for detection of species; (2 short PCR amplicons for the analysis of poor quality DNA; (3 binding primers that avoid contamination from human DNA; (4 user

  9. What Prospects for the World Trading System?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available New developments and dramatic changes are under way in the world trading system. This paper aims to take stock of the latest and most relevant developments and highlight the prospects for global trade governance. The focus is on three major issues, i.e. : (1 the outcome of the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2013 in Bali (Indonesia and especially its significance for enhancing the multilateral trading system; (2 the accelerated pace and scale of negotiations on regional trade agreements (RTAs and their wider impact; and (3 the positive results of continued unilateral trade liberalization efforts, in contrast with the pervasiveness of crisis-related protectionist measures. The paper concludes that, despite improved prospects for multilateral trade liberalization following the last WTO Ministerial Conference, the world trading system is becoming more fragmented and less coherent, and also more uncertain, being increasingly driven by RTAs and a variable geometry approach to WTO trade agreements.

  10. Systemic trade risk of critical resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klimek, Peter; Obersteiner, Michael; Thurner, Stefan

    2015-11-01

    In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the role of strongly interconnected markets in causing systemic instability has been increasingly acknowledged. Trade networks of commodities are susceptible to cascades of supply shocks that increase systemic trade risks and pose a threat to geopolitical stability. We show that supply risk, scarcity, and price volatility of nonfuel mineral resources are intricately connected with the structure of the worldwide trade networks spanned by these resources. At the global level, we demonstrate that the scarcity of a resource is closely related to the susceptibility of the trade network with respect to cascading shocks. At the regional level, we find that, to some extent, region-specific price volatility and supply risk can be understood by centrality measures that capture systemic trade risk. The resources associated with the highest systemic trade risk indicators are often those that are produced as by-products of major metals. We identify significant strategic shortcomings in the management of systemic trade risk, in particular in the European Union.

  11. Implementing the Kyoto protocol : why JI and CDM show more promise than international emissions trading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woerdman, E.

    The Kyoto protocol allows developed countries to achieve cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions abroad by means of international emissions trading (IET), joint implementation (JI) and the clean development mechanism (CDM). The article argues that JI and CDM projects will be more

  12. Features of spatial and functional segregation and integration of the primate connectome revealed by trade-off between wiring cost and efficiency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuhan Chen

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The primate connectome, possessing a characteristic global topology and specific regional connectivity profiles, is well organized to support both segregated and integrated brain function. However, the organization mechanisms shaping the characteristic connectivity and its relationship to functional requirements remain unclear. The primate brain connectome is shaped by metabolic economy as well as functional values. Here, we explored the influence of two competing factors and additional advanced functional requirements on the primate connectome employing an optimal trade-off model between neural wiring cost and the representative functional requirement of processing efficiency. Moreover, we compared this model with a generative model combining spatial distance and topological similarity, with the objective of statistically reproducing multiple topological features of the network. The primate connectome indeed displays a cost-efficiency trade-off and that up to 67% of the connections were recovered by optimal combination of the two basic factors of wiring economy and processing efficiency, clearly higher than the proportion of connections (56% explained by the generative model. While not explicitly aimed for, the trade-off model captured several key topological features of the real connectome as the generative model, yet better explained the connectivity of most regions. The majority of the remaining 33% of connections unexplained by the best trade-off model were long-distance links, which are concentrated on few cortical areas, termed long-distance connectors (LDCs. The LDCs are mainly non-hubs, but form a densely connected group overlapping on spatially segregated functional modalities. LDCs are crucial for both functional segregation and integration across different scales. These organization features revealed by the optimization analysis provide evidence that the demands of advanced functional segregation and integration among spatially

  13. Canada - United States Natural Gas Trade - A Model for Expanding Regional Energy Trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D ArcyMcGee, T.

    1996-01-01

    This document deals with the expansion of Canadian natural gas exports to the United States. Over the past decade, these exports have more than tripled. The expansion of energy trade requires a growing market, a competitive supply source, deregulation of markets and free trade agreements, capital investment and eventually a transparent market with many buyers and sellers. Even if all these factors coexisted, there have been problems linked to this expansion of exports, such as the construction of transportation capacity. (TEC)

  14. Trading greenhouse gas emission benefits from biofuel use in US transportation: Challenges and opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumarappan, Subbu; Joshi, Satish

    2011-01-01

    Replacing petroleum fuels with biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel has been shown to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These GHG benefits can potentially be traded in the fledgling carbon markets, and methodologies for quantifying and trading are still being developed. We review the main challenges in developing such carbon trading frameworks and outline a proposed framework for the US, the main features of which include, lifecycle assessment of GHG benefits, a combination of project-specific and standard performance measures, and assigning GHG property rights to biofuel producers. At carbon prices of 10 $ t −1 , estimated monetary benefits from such trading can be 4.5 M$ hm −3 and 17 M$ hm −3 of corn ethanol and cellulosic ethanol respectively. -- Highlights: ▶ Develops a biofuel GHG trading protocol using life-cycle emissions. ▶ Discusses the differences in feedstock and impacts on GHG trading potential. ▶ Compares the developed protocol for biofuels with other existing protocols. ▶ Estimates the market potential, and challenges associated with trading GHG emissions.

  15. Canada-Korea Free Trade: A Watershed in Economic Integration with Asia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugene Beaulieu

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available If there is one thing to question about the recently signed free-trade deal between Canada and South Korea, it is this: What took us so long? South Korea is a long-time trading partner with Canada, with a democratic political system and a rapidly expanding free-market economy offering strong protections for commercial rights. The country is an excellent place for Canada to begin a deeper economic integration with the larger Asian market. The details of the deal itself are certainly worth celebrating. Certainly Canadian consumers will save money on Korean-made products, such as cars. But Canadian companies exporting to South Korea have also, in recent years, found themselves increasingly unable to compete with exporters from the E.U. and U.S., who have already established free-trade deals with Seoul. Since the Americans signed their deal, U.S. exports to South Korea have soared, while the value of Canada’s exports to the same market have dropped by 30 per cent, as Canadians were left facing tariffs as high as 269 per cent. The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement levels that playing field for Canada, something that will especially benefit firms exporting agricultural products (tariffs on Canadian beef, for example, were a punitive 72 per cent and professional services. Even automakers may find that whatever increased competition comes from cheaper Korean car imports are offset by the opportunity to more easily sell Canadian-made vehicles in the much-larger Asian marketplace. There is a wealth of economic opportunity waiting in that burgeoning market; this free-trade deal is a pivotal first step for Canada to start fully capitalizing on it.

  16. Applying systems thinking to inform studies of wildlife trade in primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blair, Mary E; Le, Minh D; Thạch, Hoàng M; Panariello, Anna; Vũ, Ngọc B; Birchette, Mark G; Sethi, Gautam; Sterling, Eleanor J

    2017-11-01

    Wildlife trade presents a major threat to primate populations, which are in demand from local to international scales for a variety of uses from food and traditional medicine to the exotic pet trade. We argue that an interdisciplinary framework to facilitate integration of socioeconomic, anthropological, and biological data across multiple spatial and temporal scales is essential to guide the study of wildlife trade dynamics and its impacts on primate populations. Here, we present a new way to design research on wildlife trade in primates using a systems thinking framework. We discuss how we constructed our framework, which follows a social-ecological system framework, to design an ongoing study of local, regional, and international slow loris (Nycticebus spp.) trade in Vietnam. We outline the process of iterative variable exploration and selection via this framework to inform study design. Our framework, guided by systems thinking, enables recognition of complexity in study design, from which the results can inform more holistic, site-appropriate, and effective trade management practices. We place our framework in the context of other approaches to studying wildlife trade and discuss options to address foreseeable challenges to implementing this new framework. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. The trade interchange between Latin America and South Korea: The impact of technological development in the trade integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Humberto Merritt Tapia

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Trade relations between Latin America and the Republic of Korea started in the early sixties, but only after the beginning of the new century have become more dynamic, especially for the Asian nation. Behind the Korean export boom is the governmental thrust to science and technology, which has resulted in the production of goods with higher added value. The pattern of trade specialization followed by South Korea has allowed it to become one of the leading exporting nations of high technology goods in the world. On the other hand, Latin American nations have also enjoyed a remarkable growth in exports in the last decade, although their exporting profile contrast with that of Korea because their exports tend to be mainly primary products with low added value and some semi-finished goods . The pattern of specialization in Latin America is explained by its provision of vast natural resources, giving it a comparative advantage in world commodity markets. Unfortunately these advantages have not translated into sustained industrial developments throughout the region. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate the trade trends between South Korea and Latin America in the last ten years in an attempt to understand the reasons behind the asymmetries in trade flows that have been set in this period. The underlying assumption is that the commercial relationship between both parties depends on the pattern of specialization emerged in recent times and responds to the institutional policies implemented by both South Korea and by Latin American nations. The case of Mexico is highlighted because it is getting historic deficits with the Asian nation.

  18. Impact of Trade Openness and Sector Trade on Embodied Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Air Pollutants

    OpenAIRE

    Islam, Moinul; Kanemoto, Keiichiro; Managi, Shunsuke

    2016-01-01

    The production of goods and services generates greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollution both directly and through the activities of the supply chains on which they depend. The analysis of the latter—called embodied emissions—in the cause of internationally traded goods and services is the subject of this paper. We find that trade openness increases embodied emissions in international trade (EET). We also examine the impact of sector trade on EET. By applying a fixed-effect model using large...

  19. The Growing Dependence of Britain on Trade during the Industrial Revolution

    OpenAIRE

    Gregory Clark; Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke; Alan M. Taylor

    2014-01-01

    Many previous studies of the role of trade during the British Industrial Revolution have found little or no role for trade in explaining British living standards or growth rates. We construct a three-region model of the world in which Britain trades with North America and the rest of the world, and calibrate the model to data from the 1760s and 1850s. We find that while trade had only a small impact on British welfare in the 1760s, it had a very large impact in the 1850s. This contrast is rob...

  20. Leading Trade Networks in the Context of Globalisation of the World Retail Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kavun Olha O.

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers main tendencies of development of trade networks during 2002 – 2012 and determines that the overwhelming majority of them increased their presence in foreign markets. It analyses specific features of manifestation of the expansion policy by trade structures depending on the region of their origin. It studies motives that make leading retailers go out of boundaries of the national markets. Main of them are sharpening of competition in domestic, more mature markets, due to increase of concentration of network structures and also application of the state policy of restrictions in the trading activity. It considers methods that were selected by major trade networks in 2011 – 2012 for entering foreign markets. It establishes that the most popular was franchising. It determines directions of manifestation of regulation barriers, faced by major trade networks of the world when entering markets of developing countries. It establishes that major national structures, which are the main competitors for international trade networks and which make them develop a more weighted approach to making decisions that are connected with entering a new market and adjustment of existing strategies of development, are represented in markets of individual countries, in particular, in Asia and South Africa.

  1. Trade-driven relocation of air pollution and health impacts in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Haikun; Zhang, Yanxu; Zhao, Hongyan; Lu, Xi; Zhang, Yanxia; Zhu, Weimo; Nielsen, Chris P; Li, Xin; Zhang, Qiang; Bi, Jun; McElroy, Michael B

    2017-09-29

    Recent studies show that international trade affects global distributions of air pollution and public health. Domestic interprovincial trade has similar effects within countries, but has not been comprehensively investigated previously. Here we link four models to evaluate the effects of both international exports and interprovincial trade on PM 2.5 pollution and public health across China. We show that 50-60% of China's air pollutant emissions in 2007 were associated with goods and services consumed outside of the provinces where they were produced. Of an estimated 1.10 million premature deaths caused by PM 2.5 pollution throughout China, nearly 19% (208,500 deaths) are attributable to international exports. In contrast, interprovincial trade leads to improved air quality in developed coastal provinces with a net effect of 78,500 avoided deaths nationwide. However, both international export and interprovincial trade exacerbate the health burdens of air pollution in China's less developed interior provinces. Our results reveal trade to be a critical but largely overlooked consideration in effective regional air quality planning for China.International and domestic interprovincial trade of China are entangled, but their health impacts have been treated separately in earlier studies. Here Wang. quantify the complex impacts of trade on public health across China within an integrative framework.

  2. Issues in the implementation of greenhouse gas emissions trading in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellerman, D.

    2001-01-01

    Ironically, emissions trading proposals to implement the Kyoto Protocol are being proposed in Europe, not among the nations usually associated with such measures. This article identifies and discusses very briefly the main issues that will have to be considered in adopting a national system of CO 2 emissions trading. These issues are: allocation of permits and monitoring, penalties and liability for non-compliance, comprehensiveness of the emissions cap, integration with renewable energy certificates, integration of sinks and other gases with carbon trading, and cost caps and escape valves. Assuming the current proposals are adopted, Europe bids fair to become the test-bed in which the rules of an eventual international system will be developed in process not unlike that characterizing the development of the European Union. The European challenge is then both inward, to Europe, to go beyond proposals and to resolve the issues identified here, and outward, to other nations, to take similar steps in matching deed with advocacy. (author)

  3. Trading Agents

    CERN Document Server

    Wellman, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Automated trading in electronic markets is one of the most common and consequential applications of autonomous software agents. Design of effective trading strategies requires thorough understanding of how market mechanisms operate, and appreciation of strategic issues that commonly manifest in trading scenarios. Drawing on research in auction theory and artificial intelligence, this book presents core principles of strategic reasoning that apply to market situations. The author illustrates trading strategy choices through examples of concrete market environments, such as eBay, as well as abst

  4. Growth in emission transfers via international trade from 1990 to 2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Glen P; Minx, Jan C; Weber, Christopher L; Edenhofer, Ottmar

    2011-05-24

    Despite the emergence of regional climate policies, growth in global CO(2) emissions has remained strong. From 1990 to 2008 CO(2) emissions in developed countries (defined as countries with emission-reduction commitments in the Kyoto Protocol, Annex B) have stabilized, but emissions in developing countries (non-Annex B) have doubled. Some studies suggest that the stabilization of emissions in developed countries was partially because of growing imports from developing countries. To quantify the growth in emission transfers via international trade, we developed a trade-linked global database for CO(2) emissions covering 113 countries and 57 economic sectors from 1990 to 2008. We find that the emissions from the production of traded goods and services have increased from 4.3 Gt CO(2) in 1990 (20% of global emissions) to 7.8 Gt CO(2) in 2008 (26%). Most developed countries have increased their consumption-based emissions faster than their territorial emissions, and non-energy-intensive manufacturing had a key role in the emission transfers. The net emission transfers via international trade from developing to developed countries increased from 0.4 Gt CO(2) in 1990 to 1.6 Gt CO(2) in 2008, which exceeds the Kyoto Protocol emission reductions. Our results indicate that international trade is a significant factor in explaining the change in emissions in many countries, from both a production and consumption perspective. We suggest that countries monitor emission transfers via international trade, in addition to territorial emissions, to ensure progress toward stabilization of global greenhouse gas emissions.

  5. African agricultural trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Hans Grinsted; Sandrey, Ron

    2015-01-01

    This article starts with a profile of African agricultural trade. Using the pre-release version 9.2 of the GTAP database, we then show that the results for tariff elimination on intra-African trade are promising, but these tariff barriers are not as significant as the various trade-related barriers...... outside of tariffs. Impressive results were forecast by simulating both a 50% reduction in what can be considered traditional non-tariff barriers and a modest 20% reduction in the costs associated with transit time delays at customs, terminals and internal land transportation. Gains from tariff...... elimination, non-tariff barrier reductions and time in transit cost reductions are likely to be cumulative and would generate very large gains to Africa. The policy implications are clear: while cooperation will enhance the gains, much of the benefits will result from unilateral actions and regional...

  6. Monitoring the impacts of trade agreements on food environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friel, S; Hattersley, L; Snowdon, W; Thow, A-M; Lobstein, T; Sanders, D; Barquera, S; Mohan, S; Hawkes, C; Kelly, B; Kumanyika, S; L'Abbe, M; Lee, A; Ma, J; Macmullan, J; Monteiro, C; Neal, B; Rayner, M; Sacks, G; Swinburn, B; Vandevijvere, S; Walker, C

    2013-10-01

    The liberalization of international trade and foreign direct investment through multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements has had profound implications for the structure and nature of food systems, and therefore, for the availability, nutritional quality, accessibility, price and promotion of foods in different locations. Public health attention has only relatively recently turned to the links between trade and investment agreements, diets and health, and there is currently no systematic monitoring of this area. This paper reviews the available evidence on the links between trade agreements, food environments and diets from an obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) perspective. Based on the key issues identified through the review, the paper outlines an approach for monitoring the potential impact of trade agreements on food environments and obesity/NCD risks. The proposed monitoring approach encompasses a set of guiding principles, recommended procedures for data collection and analysis, and quantifiable 'minimal', 'expanded' and 'optimal' measurement indicators to be tailored to national priorities, capacity and resources. Formal risk assessment processes of existing and evolving trade and investment agreements, which focus on their impacts on food environments will help inform the development of healthy trade policy, strengthen domestic nutrition and health policy space and ultimately protect population nutrition. © 2013 The Authors. Obesity Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

  7. China's international trade and air pollution: 2000 - 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Ruijing; Lin, Jintai; Pan, Da; Wang, Jingxu; Yan, Yingying; Zhang, Qiang

    2016-04-01

    As the world's top trading country, China is now the most polluted country. However, a large portion of pollution produced in China is associated with its production of goods for foreign consumption via international trade. Along with China's rapid economic growth in recent years, its economic-trade structure and volume has been changing all the time, resulting in large changes in total emissions and the shares of trade-related emissions. Here, we assess the influence of China's changing total and export-related emissions between 2000 and 2009 on its atmospheric pollution loadings and transport, by exploiting simulations of a global chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. We find that both air pollution related to Chinese exports (PRE) which including nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), black carbon (BC), and primary organic aerosol (POA), and its share in total Chinese pollution have experienced continuous rapid growth until 2007, exposing more and more people to severely polluted air. After 2007, PRE decreases due to strengthened emission controls accompanied by declined exports as a result of the global financial crisis. Although production for exports contribute less than 35% SO2 over China in any year, the increasing trend of trade-related SO2 contributes 51% of integral trend. The changing PRE of China also affects its downwind regions such as the western United States. The contribution of export-related Chinese pollution to surface sulfate concentrations over the western United States has increased from 3% in 2000 to 12% in 2007. Overall, we find that the interannual variation of trade and associated production is a critical factor driving the trend of pollution over China and its downwind regions.

  8. Action without frontiers. SADC meeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klouda, T

    1997-02-01

    The factors which affect AIDS and the transmission of HIV transcend national, racial, cultural, religious, political, and programmatic boundaries. The European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) jointly held a conference in Lilongwe, Malawi, during December 4-6 to bring together senior officials from a wide range of development sectors in the 12 countries of the SADC region to examine the potential for regional, comprehensive action on relevant issues. Conference outcomes will be reviewed and agreed upon at a future regional ministerial meeting. Origins of the conference, innovative aspects of the conference, and regional and sectoral involvement are discussed. Employment, mining, medical drugs, education, and tourism were discussed extensively at the conference as separate sectors.

  9. International trade in services: A scoping study of services trade and estimates of benefits from services trade liberalisation

    OpenAIRE

    Ballingall, John; Stephenson, John

    2005-01-01

    This is a scoping study. It summarises the dynamics of services trade in the world economy and discusses some of the benefits of services trade liberalisation from a qualitative and quantitative view point. We place particular emphasis on the role and interests of developing and least developed countries in world services trade. The study also provides an overview of services trade in the New Zealand economy, and, in places, highlights aspects of services trade where New Zealand’s interests m...

  10. Redirecting International Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kokko, Ari; Söderlund, Bengt; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson

    2014-01-01

    The global financial crisis has contributed to the redirection of trade towards new markets outside the OECD area, where both demand patterns and the institutional environment differ from those in the OECD. This study provides an empirical examination of the consequences of this shift, based......-specific investments are particularly difficult to redirect towards markets with weak institutions....... on Swedish firm-level trade data. Results suggest that weak institutions hamper trade and reduce the length of trade relations, especially for small firms. Trade in industries that are characterized by a high frequency of trade conflicts and where transactions require extensive relationship...

  11. Risk-trading in flood management: An economic model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chiung Ting

    2017-09-15

    Although flood management is no longer exclusively a topic of engineering, flood mitigation continues to be associated with hard engineering options. Flood adaptation or the capacity to adapt to flood risk, as well as a demand for internalizing externalities caused by flood risk between regions, complicate flood management activities. Even though integrated river basin management has long been recommended to resolve the above issues, it has proven difficult to apply widely, and sometimes even to bring into existence. This article explores how internalization of externalities as well as the realization of integrated river basin management can be encouraged via the use of a market-based approach, namely a flood risk trading program. In addition to maintaining efficiency of optimal resource allocation, a flood risk trading program may also provide a more equitable distribution of benefits by facilitating decentralization. This article employs a graphical analysis to show how flood risk trading can be implemented to encourage mitigation measures that increase infiltration and storage capacity. A theoretical model is presented to demonstrate the economic conditions necessary for flood risk trading. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Insider trading under trading ban regulation in China’s A-share market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chafen Zhu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the effects of China’s 2008 trading ban regulation on the insider trading of large shareholders in China’s A-share market. It finds no evidence of insider trading during the ban period (one month before the announcement of a financial report, due to high regulation risk. However, the ban only constrains the profitability of insider trades during the ban period, while trades outside it remain highly profitable. Informed insider trading before the ban period is 2.83 times more profitable than uninformed trading. The regulation has changed insider trading patterns, but has been ineffective in preventing insider trading by large shareholders due to rigid administrative supervision and a lack of civil litigation and flexible market monitoring. This study enhances understanding of large shareholders’ trading behavior and has important implications for regulators.

  13. The hidden hyperbolic geometry of international trade: World Trade Atlas 1870-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Pérez, Guillermo; Boguñá, Marián; Allard, Antoine; Serrano, M Ángeles

    2016-09-16

    Here, we present the World Trade Atlas 1870-2013, a collection of annual world trade maps in which distance combines economic size and the different dimensions that affect international trade beyond mere geography. Trade distances, based on a gravity model predicting the existence of significant trade channels, are such that the closer countries are in trade space, the greater their chance of becoming connected. The atlas provides us with information regarding the long-term evolution of the international trade system and demonstrates that, in terms of trade, the world is not flat but hyperbolic, as a reflection of its complex architecture. The departure from flatness has been increasing since World War I, meaning that differences in trade distances are growing and trade networks are becoming more hierarchical. Smaller-scale economies are moving away from other countries except for the largest economies; meanwhile those large economies are increasing their chances of becoming connected worldwide. At the same time, Preferential Trade Agreements do not fit in perfectly with natural communities within the trade space and have not necessarily reduced internal trade barriers. We discuss an interpretation in terms of globalization, hierarchization, and localization; three simultaneous forces that shape the international trade system.

  14. Learning about social-ecological trade-offs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Galafassi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Trade-offs are manifestations of the complex dynamics in interdependent social-ecological systems. Addressing trade-offs involves challenges of perception due to the dynamics of interdependence. We outline the challenges associated with addressing trade-offs and analyze knowledge coproduction as a practice that may contribute to tackling trade-offs in social-ecological systems. We discuss this through a case study in coastal Kenya in which an iterative knowledge coproduction process was facilitated to reveal social-ecological trade-offs in the face of ecological and socioeconomic change. Representatives of communities, government, and NGOs attended two integrative workshops in which methods derived from systems thinking, dialogue, participatory modeling, and scenarios were applied to encourage participants to engage and evaluate trade-offs. Based on process observation and interviews with participants and scientists, our analysis suggests that this process lead to increased appreciation of interdependences and the way in which trade-offs emerge from complex dynamics of interdependent factors. The process seemed to provoke a reflection of knowledge assumptions and narratives, and management goals for the social-ecological system. We also discuss how stakeholders link these insights to their practices.

  15. Five essays on emissions trading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Godal, Odd

    2005-03-01

    The thesis discusses energy, environmental and economic aspects of polluting emissions with emphasis on greenhouse gas trade and political measures. 5 papers are included with titles: 1) Carbon trading across sources and periods constrained by the Marrakesh Accords which examines examine the potential effects on permit prices and abatement costs of four compliance rules governing emissions trade across sources and periods in the Kyoto Protocol: The banking rule that allows excess permits to be used later; the restoration rate rule that penalizes borrowing; the commitment period reserve rule that limits sales; and finally, the suspension rule that restricts borrowing and sales. Our framework is a two-period model where parties may be out of compliance in the Kyoto period, but are assumed to comply at a later time. Under varying assumptions about market power and US participation, we find that the rules may have pronounced effects on individual costs, but overall efficiency is not severely affected. 2) Affine price expectations and equilibrium in strategic markets which considers equilibrium in imperfect markets, featuring agents who exchange property rights. Important cases include trade in emission permits of greenhouse gases, or exchange of catch quotas of fish. Some players act strategically while others are price-takers. The ''demand curve'' is endogenous, and it affects all parties. The resulting, reduced objectives need not be concave. Therefore, existence of equilibrium is a delicate matter. To simplify things, and to ensure availability of ''equilibria up to first order'', we presume that all strategic agents form affine price expectations. 3) Greenhouse gases, quota exchange and oligopolistic competition that discusses the problem how quotas can be shared in the ''emissions market'' and how can the agents reach as overall equilibrium in the product market. 4) Strategic markets in property rights

  16. Five essays on emissions trading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Godal, Odd

    2005-03-01

    The thesis discusses energy, environmental and economic aspects of polluting emissions with emphasis on greenhouse gas trade and political measures. 5 papers are included with titles: 1) Carbon trading across sources and periods constrained by the Marrakesh Accords which examines examine the potential effects on permit prices and abatement costs of four compliance rules governing emissions trade across sources and periods in the Kyoto Protocol: The banking rule that allows excess permits to be used later; the restoration rate rule that penalizes borrowing; the commitment period reserve rule that limits sales; and finally, the suspension rule that restricts borrowing and sales. Our framework is a two-period model where parties may be out of compliance in the Kyoto period, but are assumed to comply at a later time. Under varying assumptions about market power and US participation, we find that the rules may have pronounced effects on individual costs, but overall efficiency is not severely affected. 2) Affine price expectations and equilibrium in strategic markets which considers equilibrium in imperfect markets, featuring agents who exchange property rights. Important cases include trade in emission permits of greenhouse gases, or exchange of catch quotas of fish. Some players act strategically while others are price-takers. The ''demand curve'' is endogenous, and it affects all parties. The resulting, reduced objectives need not be concave. Therefore, existence of equilibrium is a delicate matter. To simplify things, and to ensure availability of ''equilibria up to first order'', we presume that all strategic agents form affine price expectations. 3) Greenhouse gases, quota exchange and oligopolistic competition that discusses the problem how quotas can be shared in the ''emissions market'' and how can the agents reach as overall equilibrium in the product market. 4) Strategic markets in property rights without price-takers that deals with Cournot-type models of

  17. Trade and health in Samoa: views from the insiders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fa'alili-Fidow, Jacinta; McCool, Judith; Percival, Teuila

    2014-04-04

    The purpose of this paper is to portray the views of key stakeholders on the potential impacts of Samoa's free trade negotiations and agreements, on health and wellbeing in Samoa. A series of key informant interviews were undertaken with identified stakeholders during June and July, 2011. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview protocol. They were conducted in-person, in New Zealand and in Samoa. Despite potential health and wellbeing gains arising from trade activities (employment, increase in income, health innovations and empowerment of women), key stakeholders expressed a growing concern about the effect of trade on the population's health, nutrition and the rates of non-communicable diseases. Unease about compromising the national policies due to international regulations was also conveyed. Business and trade representatives however, believed that trade benefits outweighed any health and wellbeing risks to the population of Samoa. Further investigation, using new methodologies are required to determine both the opportunities and threats for trade as a mechanism to improve the health of Samoa's population.

  18. Prospects for the EU-US Trade Relations in the Light of the TTIP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ružeková Viera

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available To success on international markets, individual economies are trying to take measures to increase their efficiency, flexibility and competitiveness. There is a liberalization of tariff and non-tariff barriers mainly due to trade based on regional integration. Among such agreements belong also the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP between the EU and the USA, which represent the largest economies in the world. The paper analyses developed scientific studies that assess the economic impact, advantages and disadvantages of closer economic cooperation. However, it reflects not only the economic but also foreign policy importance of this partnership. In the case of signing the TTIP, it would become the most important bilateral trade agreement ever, both in terms of international trade as well as in terms of the impact on international trade as a whole.

  19. Additive versus multiplicative trade costs and the gains from trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Allan

    This paper addresses welfare effects from trade liberalization in a heterogeneous-fi…rms trade model including the empirically important per-unit (i.e. additive) trade costs in addition to the conventional iceberg (i.e. multiplicative) and fi…xed trade costs. The novel contribution of the paper...... is the result that the welfare gain for a given increase in trade openness is higher for reductions in per-unit (additive) trade costs than for reductions in iceberg (multiplicative) trade costs. The ranking derives from differences in intra-industry reallocations and in particular from dissimilar impacts...

  20. The integrated North American electricity market : assuring an adequate supply of electricity through cross-border cooperation and trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egan, T.

    2005-03-01

    The purpose of this paper is to support cooperation and discussion of the long-term sufficiency of the electricity trading system between Canada and the United States. It discusses the integrated electricity market including details on exports and imports of electricity, major transmission interconnections, the economic and environmental benefits of an integrated market and electricity generation statistics by fuel source. The paper also discusses several areas of cooperation and presents several recommendations including: greater dialogue on regional supply requirements; mandatory reliability standards; coordinated regulatory approaches to new cross-border transmission; the role of emerging generation and transmission technologies; opportunities to exchange experience and learning on demand-side measures; coordinated strategies to manage greenhouse gas and other air pollutants; and, critical infrastructure protection. The paper concludes that the integration between Canada and the United States will only increase as energy demand and trade continue to grow, making close cooperation between the two countries a necessity. 6 figs

  1. Evolution of international trade and investment networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shuhong; Wang, Lin; Liu, Zhixin; Wang, Xiaofan

    2016-11-01

    In this paper, an evolving two-layer international economy network (IEN) consisting of international trade network (ITN) and international investment network (IIN) as layers, is constructed to investigate the world economy from 2001 to 2010. First, the structure analysis shows that the average partner numbers for both trade and investment are increasing year by year, and the average volume has a significant decrease in 2008 for investment and 2009 for trade. The IIN has longer average path length and dramatically lower edge density compared with the ITN, yet its clustering coefficient is larger in all years. Then, the regional relativity indicates that the longer the distance between two countries, the smaller trade and investment volumes they carry in are general, and the impact of the geographical distance gradually reduces as time goes on. Furthermore, the countries and regions are ranked by Pagerank in ITN, IIN and IEN to illustrate the roles they played. And finally, community structures are detected to visualize the global economic landscape, with countries and regions in the same community ranked according to the total volume of trade or investment.

  2. The Regulation of electronic money institutions in the SADC region ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It looks in particular at how the institutions that issue new electronic money products are regulated ... This development has become global and involves both developed and developing countries, including regions such as the SADC. ... regulatory challenges that came about with the development of electronic money and to ...

  3. Building a Collaborative Network for Education and Training in International Trade Facilitation Clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clendenin, John A.; Petrova, Nadya N.; Gill, Joshua K.

    The authors present the benefits of collaboration rather than competition in developing educational and training resources for international trade within a geographic region and explore the challenges for business partners, governments and educational institutions. The paper indicates that flexibility in the 21st Century is critical, particularly when striving for virtual implementations of the solution services. It is essential, say the authors, for educators, governments and business executives to focus on performance and the careful orchestration and integration of business, policy and information technology for “Networking” that successfully stimulates inter-governmental cooperation and innovative policies that foster Regional trade facilitation. An innovative way to enhance 21st Century Trade Facilitation is offered with Supply Chain Centers of Regional Excellence (SCcORE).

  4. Plurilateral Trade Deals: An Alternative for Multilateral Trade Agreements?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available While multilateral trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO continue to be in impasse, plurilateral trade negotiations – i.e. among a group of WTO members – have intensified in recent years, and also recorded a series of concrete results in liberalizing specific sectors of international trade. Hence, there is a widely shared view that plurilateral trade negotiations could be an alternative for the multilateral ones. This paper aims to answer the following questions: What are plurilateral trade agreements? Which are the reasons behind the surge in plurilateral negotiations in recent years? What are the main achievements in liberalizing trade at the plurilateral level? What are the advantages of plurilateral negotiations relative to multilateral ones, and why are they considered an attractive alternative for negotiations at the multilateral level?

  5. Trading behaviour on the continuous intraday market ELBAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scharff, Richard; Amelin, Mikael

    2016-01-01

    Intraday markets for electricity allow for trading of energy until shortly before the period of delivery. This offers market participants a possibility to reduce their expected imbalances and to offer own unused flexibility. Because this form of distributed balancing before the period of delivery can be profitable for market participants as well as beneficial for system operations, intraday trading is expected to gain more importance in future, especially with increasing shares of variable renewable energy sources in the generation mix. So far, intraday markets are still a research field with many open questions. This paper contributes by a first analysis of intraday trades on ELBAS, one of the European intraday markets. The analysis gives a detailed picture on trading activity and price development and is intended to improve understanding of continuous intraday trading. Findings include that trading activity differs significantly between price zones, that most trades occur in the last hours before gate closure and that market participants have to handle substantial price variations during the trading period. The paper also investigates the imbalance settlement rules in the Nordic countries and studies which effects one- and two-price imbalance settlement systems have on the market participants' profitability of intraday trading. - Highlights: • Insights into intraday trading: trading activity and price development. • Special focus is on characteristics of continuous trading. • Intrinsic problems in the Nordic imbalance pricing scheme are discussed. • Implications regarding balancing of generation from vRES.

  6. TRADE AND POLITICS IN THE PACIFIC AREA:TRENDS IN MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS

    OpenAIRE

    Florin Bonciu

    2014-01-01

    The paper analyzes the ongoing multilateral trade negotiations from the Asia – Pacific area in the larger context of the shift of the economic center of the world economy from the Atlantic to the Pacific area. The high economic dynamism of the region has been accompanied in the past two decades by the establishment of a large number of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements that included in many cases regulations on investments and other topics. In the wake of the Doha Round of nego...

  7. Scenario-based potential effects of carbon trading in China: An integrated approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Cheng; Wang, Qunwei; Shi, Dan; Li, Pengfei; Cai, Wanhuan

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Carbon dioxide shadow price shows a negative asymmetrical correlation with carbon dioxide emissions in China. • The implements of carbon trading can bring Porter Hypothesis effect significantly. • Provincial carbon trading can reduce carbon intensity by 19.79–25.24% in China. - Abstract: Using China’s provincial panel data and national panel data of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and BRICS (Five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), this paper simulates the scenario-based potential effect of carbon trading in China. Analysis methods included Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Difference-in-differences Model, and Nonlinear Programming Technique. Results indicated that in a theory-based view of carbon trading, the shadow price of carbon dioxide generally rises, with a non-linear negative correlation with carbon dioxide emissions. In different regions, the shadow price of carbon dioxide presents a digressive tendency among eastern, central, and western areas, with divergent gaps between and within areas. When the greatest goal is assumed to reduce national carbon intensity as much as possible at the given national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) (Scenario I), carbon trading has the effect of reducing carbon intensity by 19.79%, with the consideration of Porter Hypothesis effect. If the rigid constraint of national GDP is relaxed, and the dual constraint of both economic growth and environment protection in each region is introduced (Scenario II), the resulting effect is a reduced carbon intensity of 25.24%. China’s general carbon intensity in 2012 was higher than goals set at the Copenhagen Conference, but lagged behind the goal of Twelfth Five-Year Plan for National Economy. This study provides realistic and significant technical support for the government to use in designing and deploying a national carbon trading market.

  8. Energy efficiency and carbon trading potential in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Tick Hui; Chua, Shing Chyi

    2010-01-01

    The damage inflicted by global warming is happening far faster than any experts have predicted or anticipated. Since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 to fight global warming through reducing global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission, the world climate pattern has worsened at an accelerated rate beyond expectation. While developed countries sanctioned by the protocol are committed to achieve their GHG emission targets, developing nations play similar roles on a voluntary basis. Since almost all of the GHGs emissions come from energy sector, it is obvious that energy policy and related regulatory frameworks play imperative roles in realizing the Kyoto Protocol objectives. With carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) touted as the main remedy in the GHGs emissions, it is only reasonable that carbon trading becomes the essential element in the Protocol. Recently a milestone is marked in the Kyoto Protocol with the 2009 Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, with all participating countries further committed themselves in fulfilling the protocol's obligations before the commitment period due in 2012. It is worthwhile to review the various energy efficiency efforts and carbon trading potential in Malaysia, a country which although does not bear any obligation, has ratified and lauded the cause of the protocol. Malaysia as a developing nation is seen as a direct beneficiary from carbon trading and in this paper, how the country energy policies have evolved over the years with concerted efforts from the government to minimize its carbon footprint through numerous energy efficiency implementations are discussed in length. The impact from the 2009 Climate Summit on Malaysia is also briefed. (author)

  9. Trade and health: an agenda for action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Richard D; Lee, Kelley; Drager, Nick

    2009-01-01

    The processes of contemporary globalisation are creating ever-closer ties between individuals and populations across different countries. The health of a population, and the systems in place to deliver health care, are affected increasingly by factors beyond the population and health system. The Lancet’s Series on trade and health has provided an overview of these links between international trade, trade liberalisation, and health, and raised the key issues that face the health community. In this final paper in the Series, we call for a substantial and sustained effort by those within the health profession to engage with issues of trade, to strengthen institutional capacity in this area, and to place health higher on the agenda of trade negotiations. The rapid rise of trade agreements and treaties, as well as trade that occurs beyond these institutional boundaries, means that further action is required by a range of actors, including WHO, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization (WTO), regional agencies, foundations, national governments, civil society, non-governmental organisations, and academics. The stewardship of a domestic health system in the 21st century requires a sophisticated understanding of how trade affects, and will affect, a country’s health system and policy, to optimise opportunities to benefit health and health care while minimising the risks posed though the assertion of health goals in trade policy. To acheive this will place a premium on all those engaged in health to understand the importance of trade and to engage with their counterparts involved in trade and trade policy. We hope that this Series has prompted the reader to become involved in these efforts. PMID:19167056

  10. Trade and health: an agenda for action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Richard D; Lee, Kelley; Drager, Nick

    2009-02-28

    The processes of contemporary globalisation are creating ever-closer ties between individuals and populations across different countries. The health of a population, and the systems in place to deliver health care, are affected increasingly by factors beyond the population and health system. The Lancet's Series on trade and health has provided an overview of these links between international trade, trade liberalisation, and health, and raised the key issues that face the health community. In this final paper in the Series, we call for a substantial and sustained effort by those within the health profession to engage with issues of trade, to strengthen institutional capacity in this area, and to place health higher on the agenda of trade negotiations. The rapid rise of trade agreements and treaties, as well as trade that occurs beyond these institutional boundaries, means that further action is required by a range of actors, including WHO, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization (WTO), regional agencies, foundations, national governments, civil society, non-governmental organisations, and academics. The stewardship of a domestic health system in the 21st century requires a sophisticated understanding of how trade affects, and will affect, a country's health system and policy, to optimise opportunities to benefit health and health care while minimising the risks posed though the assertion of health goals in trade policy. To acheive this will place a premium on all those engaged in health to understand the importance of trade and to engage with their counterparts involved in trade and trade policy. We hope that this Series has prompted the reader to become involved in these efforts.

  11. Finding a pareto-optimal solution for multi-region models subject to capital trade and spillover externalities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leimbach, Marian [Potsdam-Institut fuer Klimafolgenforschung e.V., Potsdam (Germany); Eisenack, Klaus [Oldenburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Economics and Statistics

    2008-11-15

    In this paper we present an algorithm that deals with trade interactions within a multi-region model. In contrast to traditional approaches this algorithm is able to handle spillover externalities. Technological spillovers are expected to foster the diffusion of new technologies, which helps to lower the cost of climate change mitigation. We focus on technological spillovers which are due to capital trade. The algorithm of finding a pareto-optimal solution in an intertemporal framework is embedded in a decomposed optimization process. The paper analyzes convergence and equilibrium properties of this algorithm. In the final part of the paper, we apply the algorithm to investigate possible impacts of technological spillovers. While benefits of technological spillovers are significant for the capital-importing region, benefits for the capital-exporting region depend on the type of regional disparities and the resulting specialization and terms-of-trade effects. (orig.)

  12. The Effect of International Trade on Rule of Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junsok Yang

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we look at the relationship between international trade and the rule of law, using the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, which include index figures on human rights, limits on government powers, transparency and regulatory efficiency. Based on regression analyses using the rule of law index figures and international trade figures (merchandise trade, service trade, exports and importsIn this paper, we look at the relationship between international trade and the rule of law, using the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, which include index figures on human rights, limits on government powers, transparency and regulatory efficiency. Based on regression analyses using the rule of law index figures and international trade figures (merchandise trade, service trade, exports and imports as percentage of GDP, international trade and basic human rights seem to have little relationship; but trade has a close positive relationship with strong order and security. Somewhat surprisingly, regulatory transparency and effective implementation seems to have little or no effect on international trade and vice versa. International trade shows a clear positive relationship with the country’s criminal justice system, but the relationship with the civil justice system is not as clear as such. For regulatory implementation and civil justice, services trade positively affect these institutions, but these institutions in turn affect exports more strongly than services trade. Finally, the effect of trade on rule of law is stronger on a medium to long term (10-20 year time horizon.

  13. INDONESIAN TRADE UNDER CHINA FREE TRADE AREA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tavi Supriana

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the implementation of CAFTA (China-Asean Free Trade Area on the international trade flows across Indonesia, China and the rest of ASEAN using a gravitation model. It finds the evidence that the influence of diversion and creation effects on China are significant, while the influence of both effects on Indonesia are not significant. It also finds that the diversion effect, which leads to a decrease in society’s wealth, is greater than that of the creation effect. As a consequence, the gap across countries involved in the trade agreement is wider. Keywords: CAFTA, gravitation model, diversion effect, creation effectJEL classification numbers: F13, F14, F15

  14. Trade Finance during the 2008–9 Trade Collapse : Key Takeaways

    OpenAIRE

    Chauffour, Jean-Pierre; Malouche, Mariem

    2011-01-01

    Trade finance matters for trade, and when financial markets and world trade collapsed three years ago, a shortage in trade finance was hailed as a possible culprit. Because of the potential for global repercussions, world leaders called on the international community to act swiftly to avoid a depression. Governments and international institutions intervened to mitigate the impacts of the c...

  15. The cross-border opportunity on how to enhance Canada-US energy trade : Panel 1 : the prospects for increased trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LeCroy, J.; Power, R.; Pumphrey, D.; Flack, G.; McFadden, D.

    2006-01-01

    The electricity trade between Canada and the United States was discussed with reference to the integrated electricity networks and strong interdependence between the 2 countries on the uninterrupted flow of electricity. As Canada supplies electricity to more than 30 U.S. states, there is good reason to foster cooperation in energy efficiency, natural gas supplies, technology advancements and critical infrastructure protection. The first panel discussion on cross-border opportunities identified prospects for increased trade between Canada and the United States. It was noted that despite the proximity of the 2 countries, the regulatory environment and infrastructure are not well integrated. In addition to being difficult to achieve, a coherent energy policy would likely be driven by the United States rather than Canada. Although both countries rank high in energy production and consumption, United States ranks eleventh in oil reserves and sixth in natural gas, compared to Canada ranking second in oil reserves. Energy trade is essential to the economies of both countries and the infrastructure binds the 2 economies together. The partnership in developing the Electric Reliability Organization has resulted in regulatory transparency. Special working groups have been formed to help Mexico deal with natural gas challenges and investment needs. All 3 countries are looking at liquefied natural gas. The United States is also working with Canada in developing an infrastructure for the oil sands. The progress in developing the Mackenzie Delta gas fields was also discussed along with the division of opinion regarding nuclear power generation. It was noted that an increase in electricity demand will drive both new generation and transmission. It was also noted that effective reliability standards are essential to cross-border trade in a market-based trade approach. 5 figs

  16. 76 FR 1101 - Property Traded on an Established Market

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-07

    ... Property Traded on an Established Market AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice... regulations relating to determining when property is traded on an established market (that is, publicly traded... traded on an established securities market (often referred to as ``publicly traded''), the issue price of...

  17. Research on Standardization of Zhejiang Plastics City Online Trade Market

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Cen Guanjun

    2006-01-01

    @@ Since the establishment of the online trading market for Zhejiang Plastics City in Yuyao, by using leading information technology we consolidate the business, logistics, information, and capital with purchasing, transportation,warehousing, forwarding, and distribution into an integrated online trading system in terms of standardization of each process.

  18. The effect of inter-annual variability of consumption, production, trade and climate on crop-related green and blue water footprints and inter-regional virtual water trade: A study for China (1978-2008).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuo, La; Mekonnen, Mesfin M; Hoekstra, Arjen Y

    2016-05-01

    Previous studies into the relation between human consumption and indirect water resources use have unveiled the remote connections in virtual water (VW) trade networks, which show how communities externalize their water footprint (WF) to places far beyond their own region, but little has been done to understand variability in time. This study quantifies the effect of inter-annual variability of consumption, production, trade and climate on WF and VW trade, using China over the period 1978-2008 as a case study. Evapotranspiration, crop yields and green and blue WFs of crops are estimated at a 5 × 5 arc-minute resolution for 22 crops, for each year in the study period, thus accounting for climate variability. The results show that crop yield improvements during the study period helped to reduce the national average WF of crop consumption per capita by 23%, with a decreasing contribution to the total from cereals and increasing contribution from oil crops. The total consumptive WFs of national crop consumption and crop production, however, grew by 6% and 7%, respectively. By 2008, 28% of total water consumption in crop fields in China served the production of crops for export to other regions and, on average, 35% of the crop-related WF of a Chinese consumer was outside its own province. Historically, the net VW within China was from the water-rich South to the water-scarce North, but intensifying North-to-South crop trade reversed the net VW flow since 2000, which amounted 6% of North's WF of crop production in 2008. South China thus gradually became dependent on food supply from the water-scarce North. Besides, during the whole study period, China's domestic inter-regional VW flows went dominantly from areas with a relatively large to areas with a relatively small blue WF per unit of crop, which in 2008 resulted in a trade-related blue water loss of 7% of the national total blue WF of crop production. The case of China shows that domestic trade, as governed by

  19. A basis for greenhouse gas trading in agriculture : Final report of the emission reduction trading protocol team

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    A link has been established between increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the rise in global temperatures. The burning of fossil fuels, land use changes, agricultural and industrial activities play a large part in the increase of greenhouse gases and result in in changes to temperature, precipitation and weather patterns. The two methods that can be used to reduce the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are the reduction of the gases and the sequestration of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide is absorbed) into terrestrial processes. Several policy options are being considered to effect this reduction in buildup, and one of those includes the implementation of a tradable system of emission permits. Such a scenario would involve the agricultural sector removing and reducing on-farm emissions of greenhouse gases, thereby earning it credits that could then be sold to those industries that face tougher greenhouse gases control costs. The study led to several findings: (1) trades in carbon dioxide in the Albertan agricultural sector and changes in agricultural practices could lead to reductions of up to 5 million tonnes per year to 2008, (2) the sector is in a good position to trade carbon removals and credits into a large final emitter cap and trade system, (3) some uncertainties in the policy area remain, (4) the early years of trading are not risk-free, and (5) the risks are being hedged through a number of mechanisms and tools that have already been identified. 18 refs., 3 tabs., 3 figs

  20. Trade, development and sustainability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røpke, Inge

    1994-01-01

    Mainstream economic theory argues that trade, and especially free trade, is beneficial to everyone involved. This fundamental idea ? which has the character of a dogma ? still plays an important role in international discussions on trade issues, notably in relation to development and environment...... be defended in all cases. Especially, the developing countries' benefits from trade have been very dubious. Furthermore, the trading system has contributed to environmental problems in several ways, e.g. generating undervaluation of natural resources, stimulating economic growth with environmental....... The purpose of this article is to critically assess the "free trade dogma" and to investigate the validity of widely used arguments concerning the relations between trade and development and between trade and environment. It is argued that the trading system is not something inherently good, which should...

  1. Methodological aspects on international biofuels trade: International streams and trade of solid and liquid biofuels in Finland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinimoe, J.

    2008-01-01

    The use of biomass for fuel is increasing in industrialised countries. Rapidly developing biomass markets for energy purposes along with weak information on biofuels trade that statistics offer have been incentives for several recently published studies investigating the status of biofuels trade. The comparison of the studies is often challenging due particularly to the various approaches to the indirect trade of biofuels and the diverse data sources utilised. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the Finnish situation with respect to the status of the streams of international biofuels trade. Parallel to this, the study aimed to identify methodological and statistical challenges in observing international biofuels trade. The study analysed available statistical information and introduced a procedure to obtain a clear overview on import and export streams of biofuels. In Finland, the total direct import and export of biofuels, being mainly composed of wood pellets and tall oil, is tiny in comparison with the total consumption of biofuels. Instead, the indirect trade has remarkable importance. Large import volumes of industrial raw wood make Finland a net importer of biofuels. In 2004, approximately 22% (64 PJ) of wood-based energy in Finland originated from imported wood. The study showed that the indirect trade of biofuels may be a significant sector of global biofuels trade. In the case of Finland, a comprehensive compilation of statistics on energy and forestry enabled the determination of the trade status satisfactory. However, national and international statistics should be further developed to take better into consideration international trade and to support continuously developing biofuels markets. (author)

  2. Carbon Trading in the Policy mix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sijm, J.P.M.; Sorrell, S.

    2003-12-01

    The Kyoto Protocol is stimulating the development of emissions-trading schemes at the national and international levels. These are being introduced alongside existing policy instruments such as carbon taxes and negotiated agreements, leading to complex problems of policy interaction. But the topic of policy interaction remains under-researched. This paper aims to improve understanding of such interactions by examining the conditions under which a cap-and-trade scheme for carbon-dioxide emissions may usefully coexist with carbon/energy taxes, support mechanisms for renewable electricity, and policies to promote energy efficiency. The paper argues that each of these instrument combinations may be acceptable, provided they contribute to either improving the static or dynamic efficiency of the trading scheme, or delivering other valued policy objectives. But, since the coexisting instruments may raise overall abatement costs while contributing nothing further to emission reductions, the objectives and trade-offs within the policy mix must be explicit

  3. The hidden hyperbolic geometry of international trade: World Trade Atlas 1870–2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Pérez, Guillermo; Boguñá, Marián; Allard, Antoine; Serrano, M. Ángeles

    2016-01-01

    Here, we present the World Trade Atlas 1870–2013, a collection of annual world trade maps in which distance combines economic size and the different dimensions that affect international trade beyond mere geography. Trade distances, based on a gravity model predicting the existence of significant trade channels, are such that the closer countries are in trade space, the greater their chance of becoming connected. The atlas provides us with information regarding the long-term evolution of the international trade system and demonstrates that, in terms of trade, the world is not flat but hyperbolic, as a reflection of its complex architecture. The departure from flatness has been increasing since World War I, meaning that differences in trade distances are growing and trade networks are becoming more hierarchical. Smaller-scale economies are moving away from other countries except for the largest economies; meanwhile those large economies are increasing their chances of becoming connected worldwide. At the same time, Preferential Trade Agreements do not fit in perfectly with natural communities within the trade space and have not necessarily reduced internal trade barriers. We discuss an interpretation in terms of globalization, hierarchization, and localization; three simultaneous forces that shape the international trade system. PMID:27633649

  4. ASEAN economic growth, trade openness and banking-sector depth: The nexus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudra P. Pradhan

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigated the linkages between banking sector depth, trade openness, and economic growth using a panel data set covering the ASEAN regional forum countries for the period 1961–2012. Using our multivariate framework, we first found that all the variables were integrated of order one and were cointegrated. Our panel-data estimation procedures offered more robust estimates than previous studies by utilizing variations between countries as well as variations over time. The results of this study indicated a general long-run equilibrium relationship among trade openness, banking sector depth and economic growth as well as a short-run relationship between these variables. Policy recommendations include those that will promote greater banking sector development as well as increased trade openness. JEL classification: O16, O43, E44, E31, Keywords: Trade openness, Banking sector depth, Economic growth, Granger causality, ASEAN regional forum countries

  5. Electricity as a traded good

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srinivasan, Sunderasan

    2013-01-01

    Electric power has traditionally been classified as a non-traded good, produced and consumed within the country of origin. More recently, electricity has been traded across national borders and in certain cases, viz., Bhutan, has been the dominant export; in other situations, it is used to repay debts owed to neighboring countries. This paper investigates the role of electricity as the primary export, analyzes its valuation, and then goes on to evaluate the impact on the terms of trade. We conclude that in the medium-term, the electric power exporting economy would be better off developing its manufacturing sector to diversify its exposure and to protect its trade interests. The case of Bhutanese hydro-electricity exports to India is studied and the change in trade advantage with every increase in power tariff is ascertained. It is found that a 1.26% annual increase in (non-food) consumer prices is correlated with a 1% increase in electricity export tariff. While the causality from electric power tariff to Indian manufactures prices is not established statistically, a change in manufactures prices feeding back into consumer prices in Bhutan is statistically significant. Suggestions are offered for Bhutan to reduce dependence on Indian imports and to diversify its export market exposure. - Highlights: • Electricity as principal export of small economy. • Bilateral trade with large economy. • Tourism as major income generator for small economy. • Partial equilibrium model involving key variables. • Small economy would need to diversify. • Important subject for inter-temporal and inter-regional trade of power

  6. Implications of the cattle trade network in Cameroon for regional disease prevention and control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motta, Paolo; Porphyre, Thibaud; Handel, Ian; Hamman, Saidou M.; Ngu Ngwa, Victor; Tanya, Vincent; Morgan, Kenton; Christley, Rob; Bronsvoort, Barend M. Dec.

    2017-03-01

    Movement of live animals is a major risk factor for the spread of livestock diseases and zoonotic infections. Understanding contact patterns is key to informing cost-effective surveillance and control strategies. In West and Central Africa some of the most rapid urbanization globally is expected to increase the demand for animal-source foods and the need for safer and more efficient animal production. Livestock trading points represent a strategic contact node in the dissemination of multiple pathogens. From October 2014 to May 2015 official transaction records were collected and a questionnaire-based survey was carried out in cattle markets throughout Western and Central-Northern Cameroon. The data were used to analyse the cattle trade network including a total of 127 livestock markets within Cameroon and five neighboring countries. This study explores for the first time the influence of animal trade on infectious disease spread in the region. The investigations showed that national borders do not present a barrier against pathogen dissemination and that non-neighbouring countries are epidemiologically connected, highlighting the importance of a regional approach to disease surveillance, prevention and control. Furthermore, these findings provide evidence for the benefit of strategic risk-based approaches for disease monitoring, surveillance and control, as well as for communication and training purposes through targeting key regions, highly connected livestock markets and central trading links.

  7. EFFECTS OF TRADE FLOW LIBERALIZATION: CASE OF ASEAN, NAFTA & MERCOSUR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan Mahmutović

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available An important factor and the inescapable link of the globalization process are economic integrations, which by the liberalization of trade flows contributes significantly to the interconnection of countries, thus directly affecting the enhancement of the value of macroeconomic parameters at the level of the formed integration. The aim of this paper is to examine the effects of economic integration on the example of ASEAN, NAFTA and MERCOSUR integration, which, along with the European Union, represent the most relevant integrations in the world. The analysis showed, as a consequence of the integration, increased volume of trade exchange, increased FDI level and achieved real economic growth on the level of integration. However, the analysis has shown, in particular in the ASEAN area, that there is still a problem of uneven distribution of income and fairer implementation of regional policy, in order to integrate growth generated into the development of less developed areas.

  8. The Effects of International Trade on Water Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kagohashi, Kazuki; Tsurumi, Tetsuya; Managi, Shunsuke

    2015-01-01

    The growing scarcity of water resources worldwide is conditioned not only by precipitation changes but also by changes to water use patterns; the latter is driven by social contexts such as capital intensity, trade openness, and income. This study explores the determinants of water use by focusing on the effect of trade openness on the degree to which water is withdrawn and consumed. Previous studies have conducted analyses on the determinants of water use but have ignored the endogeneity of trade openness. To deal with this endogeneity problem, we adopt instrumental variable estimation and clarify the determinants of water use. The determinants of water use are divided into scale, technique, and composition effects. Calculating each trade-induced effect, we examine how trade openness affects the degree of water use. Our results show that while trade has a positive effect on water withdrawal/consumption through trade-induced scale effects and direct composition effects, the trade-induced technique and the indirect composition effect, both of which exhibit a negative sign, counteract the scale effect and the direct composition effect, resulting in reduced water withdrawal/consumption. The overall effect induced by trade is calculated as being in the range of -1.00 to -1.52; this means that the overall effect of a 1% increase in the intensity of trade openness reduces the degree of water withdrawal/consumption by roughly 1.0-1.5%, on average. This result indicates that international bilateral trade would promote efficient water use through the diffusion of water-saving technologies and the reformation of industry composition.

  9. Economic impact assessment of Turkey's post-Kyoto vision on emission trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akın Olçum, Gökçe; Yeldan, Erinç

    2013-01-01

    For the post-Kyoto period, Turkey strongly emphasizes the establishment of national emission trading system by 2015 and its integration with the EU ETS along its accession process to the EU. In this paper, we study the mechanisms of adjustment and economic welfare consequences of various ETS regimes that Turkey considers to apply by 2020, i.e. regional ETS and international trading within the EU ETS. We conduct our analysis under the current EU 20–20–20 emission target, 20%, and also under its revised version, 30%. We find that Turkey has economic gains from linking with the EU ETS under the 20% cap, in comparison to the domestic ETSs. Despite the EU's welfare loss under linkage in comparison to the case where Turkey has domestic abatement efforts, it still prefers linking as it increases economic well being compared to the case where Turkey does not abate. Under 30% cutback, Turkey has critical output loss under linkage due to high abatement burden on the EU, while the EU is better off as it passes some of its abatement burden to Turkey. Therefore, emission quotas and their allocation across the ETS and non ETS sectors become highly critical in distributing the overall economic gains from bilateral trading. - Highlights: • We conduct welfare analysis of Turkey's post-Kyoto vision on emission trading. • Welfare impacts of having Turkey in the EU ETS via EU accession are analyzed. • Analysis is done with the current EU target of 20%, and the revised target of 30%. • Welfare impacts of linkage on both regions highly depend on the emission targets. • The EU has welfare gains when Turkey engages in abatement actions

  10. The Evolution of the Romanian Trade Balance in the Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terzea Elena Ramona

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The present paper aims to analyse the evolution of the trade balance of Romania with the European Union Member States during the 22 years of transition from a centralised system to a democratic economic and social system and an efficient market economy. Nearly 25 years after the events of 1989, Romania has made great steps in order to resettle the entire economic system and to transform it into a functional one. However, the path was filled with inconsistent decisions and with a repositioning of the trajectory dictated by internal or external pressures. The research focuses on a brief analysis of the evolution of the trade between Romania and the EU Member States to determine the effect the integration had on the structural discrepancies between exports and imports.

  11. A Network of Networks Perspective on Global Trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maluck, Julian; Donner, Reik V

    2015-01-01

    Mutually intertwined supply chains in contemporary economy result in a complex network of trade relationships with a highly non-trivial topology that varies with time. In order to understand the complex interrelationships among different countries and economic sectors, as well as their dynamics, a holistic view on the underlying structural properties of this network is necessary. This study employs multi-regional input-output data to decompose 186 national economies into 26 industry sectors and utilizes the approach of interdependent networks to analyze the substructure of the resulting international trade network for the years 1990-2011. The partition of the network into national economies is observed to be compatible with the notion of communities in the sense of complex network theory. By studying internal versus cross-subgraph contributions to established complex network metrics, new insights into the architecture of global trade are obtained, which allow to identify key elements of global economy. Specifically, financial services and business activities dominate domestic trade whereas electrical and machinery industries dominate foreign trade. In order to further specify each national sector's role individually, (cross-)clustering coefficients and cross-betweenness are obtained for different pairs of subgraphs. The corresponding analysis reveals that specific industrial sectors tend to favor distinct directionality patterns and that the cross-clustering coefficient for geographically close country pairs is remarkably high, indicating that spatial factors are still of paramount importance for the organization of trade patterns in modern economy. Regarding the evolution of the trade network's substructure, globalization is well-expressed by trends of several structural characteristics (e.g., link density and node strength) in the interacting network framework. Extreme events, such as the financial crisis 2008/2009, are manifested as anomalies superimposed to

  12. A Network of Networks Perspective on Global Trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maluck, Julian; Donner, Reik V.

    2015-01-01

    Mutually intertwined supply chains in contemporary economy result in a complex network of trade relationships with a highly non-trivial topology that varies with time. In order to understand the complex interrelationships among different countries and economic sectors, as well as their dynamics, a holistic view on the underlying structural properties of this network is necessary. This study employs multi-regional input-output data to decompose 186 national economies into 26 industry sectors and utilizes the approach of interdependent networks to analyze the substructure of the resulting international trade network for the years 1990–2011. The partition of the network into national economies is observed to be compatible with the notion of communities in the sense of complex network theory. By studying internal versus cross-subgraph contributions to established complex network metrics, new insights into the architecture of global trade are obtained, which allow to identify key elements of global economy. Specifically, financial services and business activities dominate domestic trade whereas electrical and machinery industries dominate foreign trade. In order to further specify each national sector’s role individually, (cross-)clustering coefficients and cross-betweenness are obtained for different pairs of subgraphs. The corresponding analysis reveals that specific industrial sectors tend to favor distinct directionality patterns and that the cross-clustering coefficient for geographically close country pairs is remarkably high, indicating that spatial factors are still of paramount importance for the organization of trade patterns in modern economy. Regarding the evolution of the trade network’s substructure, globalization is well-expressed by trends of several structural characteristics (e.g., link density and node strength) in the interacting network framework. Extreme events, such as the financial crisis 2008/2009, are manifested as anomalies superimposed

  13. New Regionalism in Africa: Waves of Integration | Bachinger | Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The international trading environment is shaped by the so-called 'new regionalism', an increasingly complex phenomenon with a rapid proliferation of Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs), overlapping memberships, deeper integration efforts and trade blocs signed between developing and industrialised countries.

  14. The Supply of Trade Credit by Brazilian Publicly Traded Firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Felipe Schiozer

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the determinants of trade credit supply by Brazilian publicly traded companies between the years of 2005 and 2008. International literature (both theoretical and empirical documents that the main determinants of trade credit supply are the size of the firm and the size of its debt. Both indicate that the availability of resources to the firm is an important factor for the supply of trade credit. In addition, the literature confirms strategic uses of trade credit such as those for price discrimination purposes. The results obtained using a sample of 157 Brazilian companies do not support that size and indebtedness are relevant determinants for trade credit supply, but they confirm the supply of trade credit as a strategic tool for the firms. Additionally we observed a significant decrease in trade credit supply in 2008, the year in which a severe international financial crisis took place.

  15. Impacts of seaborne trade on coal importing countries: Atlantic market

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-15

    In recent years, there has been a convergence of international trade with traditional domestic markets. With imports increasing in many coal-producing regions, the influence of trade on domestic markets has been twofold: firstly, imported coal displaces domestic production, and in doing so, and secondly international price trends may drive prices of what remains of the indigenous market for coal.

  16. Carbon emission, energy consumption and intermediate goods trade: A regional study of East Asia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Jingjing

    2015-01-01

    Using country level panel data from East Asia over the period 1998–2011, this paper examines the implications of international production fragmentation-induced intermediate goods trade on the link between energy consumption and carbon pollution. The paper focuses on the interaction effect between energy consumption and trade in intermediate goods on carbon emission. The empirical results presented suggest that international trade in intermediate goods decreases the positive impact on carbon emission of energy consumption. When compared with the trade in final goods, intermediate goods trade contributes to a greater decrease in carbon pollution resulting from energy consumption. These results confirm that the link between energy consumption and carbon pollution in East Asia is significantly affected by international production fragmentation-induced trade in intermediate goods. The results presented in this paper have some important policy implications. - Highlights: • This paper tests the role of intermediates trade in energy-development nexus. • Empirical study is based on data of East Asia. • International trade can reduce the carbon pollution caused by energy use. • Intermediates trade has higher moderating effect than non-intermediate trade.

  17. What drives the formation of global oil trade patterns?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Hai-Ying; Ji, Qiang; Fan, Ying

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, the spatial characteristics of current global oil trade patterns are investigated by proposing a new indicator Moran-F. Meanwhile, the factors that influence the formation of oil trade patterns are identified by constructing four different kinds of spatial econometric models. The findings indicate that most oil exporters have an obvious export focus in North America and a relatively balanced export in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Besides supply and demand factors, technological progress and energy efficiency have also significantly influenced the oil trade. Moreover, there is a spillover effect of trade flow among different regions, but its impact is weak. In addition, oil importers in the same region have the potential to cooperate due to their similar import sources. Finally, promotion of oil importers' R&D investments can effectively reduce the demand for global oil trade. - Highlights: • A new spatial association Moran-F indicator that applies to trade flows is proposed. • Driving factors affecting the formation of oil trade patterns are identified. • Oil-exporting countries implement various export strategies in different regions. • Supply, demand and technological factors contribute to the oil trade patterns. • Spillover effect of each factor affecting oil trade flows does exist but is limited

  18. Multilateral trade measures in a post-2012 climate change regime? What can be taken from the Montreal Protocol and the WTO?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zhongxiang

    2009-01-01

    The climate-trade nexus gains increasing attention as governments are taking great efforts to forge a post-2012 climate change regime to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. This raises the issues of the scope of trade-related measures and of when and how they could be used. This paper discusses how far trade-related measures should be incorporated in that context. Drawing on an analogy to the Montreal Protocol and comparing developing country's climate mitigation and adaptation needs with the funding available, the paper argues that such measures should initially be applied only among Annex I or II countries. To discipline the use of unilateral trade measures at the international level, the paper emphasizes a need to define comparable climate efforts. Moreover, the Lieberman-Warner bill in the US Senate-taken as a proxy for future US climate legislation-is assessed, and found to be neither effective nor likely to be WTO-consistent. The paper is concluded by arguing that, in order to encourage developing countries to do more to combat climate change, developed countries should focus on carrots. Sticks can be incorporated, but only if they are credible and realistic and serve as a useful supplement to push developing countries to take actions or adopt policies and measures earlier than would otherwise have been the case.

  19. REGIONAL COOPERATION AND INTEGRATION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

    OpenAIRE

    Martina Metzger

    2008-01-01

    Africa has a long tradition of regional cooperation, its trade and monetary integration schemes being the oldest in the developing world. This paper analyses the state of regional integration with respect to trade and financial relations in selected regional schemes in Central, Southern and West Africa. The paper concludes that in particular regional monetary integration offers advantages in terms of monetary stability, growth, competitiveness, deepening of financial markets and ownership com...

  20. International gas trade: Potential major projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haamsoe, B.; Mashayekhi, A.; Razavi, H.

    1994-01-01

    The present paper reviews some key factors affecting continued expansion of the use and trade of natural gas, with a particular focus on a group of major gas trade and transport projects now in various stages of consideration. The paper begins by outlining the distribution of potential gas supplies, it also sketches the sectorial and regional structures of potential demand for natural gas. It continues by considering current and emerging trends in the international trade of natural gas by pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Within the context thus provided, the paper then details a number of significant potential gas trade and transportation projects individually. Finally, the paper comments on the challenges in financing and implementing gas projects, especially with regard to economic, political, and institutional issues in the producing, transit, and consuming countries

  1. Agreement on technology? Exploring the political feasibility of technology-oriented agreements and their compatibility with cap-and-trade approaches to address climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Coninck, H.C.; Bakker, S.; Van der Zwaan, B.; Junginger, M.; Kuik, O.; Massey, E.

    2007-11-01

    Climate change has been on the international policy agenda since the UNFCCC was agreed in 1992. The Kyoto Protocol was the UNFCCC's answer to the call for measures and has been effective in establishing an international carbon market and reducing emissions in some countries and regions. A follow-up of the Kyoto Protocol is currently under discussion. In theory, the economically most efficient form of a global agreement is a global cap-and-trade agreement. It remains highly uncertain whether an effective global climate regime fully founded on another cap-and-trade type of agreement is politically feasible. In addition, it has been suggested that a new agreement would have to be more effective in promoting technology development and diffusion. This report explores the compatibility of a cap-and trade regime with a different form of international agreements to address climate change: technology-oriented agreements (TOAs)

  2. SADC establishes a regional action plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klouda, T

    1997-02-01

    The regional meeting held on AIDS strategy in Lilongwe, Malawi, in December, 1996, made important advances. The 12 countries of the SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) joined the European Union to institute a regional action plan for the reduction of susceptibility of people to HIV because of social, cultural, and environmental factors; the vulnerability of people with HIV infection to social and other difficulties; and the vulnerability of institutions because of the foregoing impacts. At the conference the issues explored were employment, mining, medical drugs, education, and tourism. An employment charter was seen as crucial for the success of AIDS and workplace activities. Facilitation of travel across borders was important for the reduction of susceptibility to HIV infection. Enhancement of regional policies for essential drugs was vital for drugs for the treatment of AIDS. The clarification of the regional role was critical for regional support of national action (strengthening technical and institutional capacities) and for regional joint action such as studies on research, harmonization of data collection on HIV/AIDS; organization of training; development of information and education on HIV/AIDS; facilitation of manufacturing of drugs and condoms; and the development of a regional information and education program about HIV/AIDS. The conference also clarified HIV/AIDS programs in relation to other health and socioeconomic problems.

  3. Insider trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maslechko, W.S.

    1998-01-01

    The policy arguments for and against prohibiting insider trading within the petroleum industry are discussed. Legal definitions of all relevant terms (e.g. 'special relationship' 'tippees', 'material facts', material changes' 'generally disclosed' information', 'necessary course of business') are provided. Enforcement of insider trading/tipping prohibitions are also defined. The recommended practice is: do not trade; do not tell or advise; encourage timely disclosure; do not speculate; implement a corporate disclosure and trading policy

  4. The Direct Applicability of SADC Community Law in South Africa and Zimbabwe: A Call for Supranationality and the Uniform Application of SADC Community Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Retselisitsoe Phooko

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The Southern African Development Community Tribunal (SADC Tribunal became operational in 1992 and delivered several judgments against Zimbabwe. Some of those decisions are yet to be enforced. The attempt to enforce them contributed to the demise of the SADC Tribunal. This was due to the existence of various approaches to the reception of community law into domestic law. The tension between community law and domestic law, international law and domestic law, and community law and international law is as old as the hills. The monist and dualist theories of international law assist in attempting to clarify the nature of the relationship between international law and municipal law, but there is no guidance when it comes to community law and national law. This paper will explore how the SADC Community law can be applied uniformly by South Africa, Zimbabwe and all other SADC member states. This will be done by looking at decided cases with specific reference to South Africa and Zimbabwe. In order to establish the best practices in other jurisdictions, reference will be made to the East African Court of Justice, the European Union (EU and the European Court of Justice (ECJ. The discourse will conclude by advocating the adoption of a revised Protocol on the SADC Tribunal in order to clarify the nature of the relationship between the SADC Community law and the domestic laws of SADC member states.

  5. IBERINCO in the foreign trade: the integration experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, F. J.; Sanchez Mayoral, M. L.; Garcia, P. J.

    2002-01-01

    The universal tendencies show that nations integrate into large communities to strengthen each other and to share cultures and economies. The integration goes beyond free commerce treaties, opening of the import and export trade shaping unified policies on private sector and reaches into daily life and in the practice of organisations, generating substantial changes in the way of life of people. The companies that will survive in the X XI century will not operate in isolated mood but will have to be able to integrate products and services from other sources adding in the process the value obtained from their basic skills surrounding around their products others non specific of their business and offering to their customers products and services well defined that will make them more valuable and different from their competitions. (Author)

  6. Vulnerability to shocks in the global seafood trade network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gephart, Jessica A.; Rovenskaya, Elena; Dieckmann, Ulf; Pace, Michael L.; Brännström, Åke

    2016-03-01

    Trade can allow countries to overcome local or regional losses (shocks) to their food supply, but reliance on international food trade also exposes countries to risks from external perturbations. Countries that are nutritionally or economically dependent on international trade of a commodity may be adversely affected by such shocks. While exposure to shocks has been studied in financial markets, communication networks, and some infrastructure systems, it has received less attention in food-trade networks. Here, we develop a forward shock-propagation model to quantify how trade flows are redistributed under a range of shock scenarios and assess the food-security outcomes by comparing changes in national fish supplies to indices of each country’s nutritional fish dependency. Shock propagation and distribution among regions are modeled on a network of historical bilateral seafood trade data from UN Comtrade using 205 reporting territories grouped into 18 regions. In our model exposure to shocks increases with total imports and the number of import partners. We find that Central and West Africa are the most vulnerable to shocks, with their vulnerability increasing when a willingness-to-pay proxy is included. These findings suggest that countries can reduce their overall vulnerability to shocks by reducing reliance on imports and diversifying food sources. As international seafood trade grows, identifying these types of potential risks and vulnerabilities is important to build a more resilient food system.

  7. The Carbon Trading Game

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fouquet, Roger

    2003-12-01

    In response to the Kyoto Protocol, an international market for carbon dioxide tradable permits is likely to be created. Two of the key issues involved are explaining the concepts of tradable permits to industrialists, policy-makers and the man on the street, and anticipating how the market will evolve. A simple game of the market for carbon dioxide tradable permits has been developed and used that can help deal with both issues. As a pedagogical tool, this game benefits from simplicity (just a few pieces of paper are needed) and enables students to grasp the concepts and remember them through the intensity and fun of a trading 'pit'. The experiences also provide substantial insights into the evolution of the carbon dioxide permit market, particularly related to the evolution of trade volume, permit prices and country strategies

  8. ANALYSIS OF EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATION ON TRADE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GRIBINCEA Lilia;

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available On June 27, 2014 there was signed an Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova, on one hand and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and its Member States, on the other hand (hereinafter - the Association Agreement. The Association Agreement entered into force on 1 July 2016. The signing of the Association Agreement was as a result of the close ties between the parties established by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one hand, and the Republic of Moldova on the other hand, which develops within the European Neighborhood policy and the Eastern Partnership, as well as recognition of the shared desire of the parties to further develop, strengthen and expand their relationships. The Association Agreement contributes to the development of trade and economic relations between the parties. The Republic of Moldova is obliged to take necessary measures to ensure compliance with the objectives of Union's regulations and to follow the principles and practices set out in the relevant acquis of the Union. The Republic of Moldova will also gradually include relevant acquis of the Union in its legislation, in accordance with the provisions of the Association Agreement. The legislative background regulatory EU trade is subject studies only a small circle of researchers, approaches and sequential episodic in character, without being integrated into a systemic study, complex, integrated. The objectives of the research are to analyze the most important EU regulations on trade.

  9. Reconfiguring trade mark law

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elsmore, Matthew James

    2013-01-01

    -border setting, with a particular focus on small business and consumers. The article's overall message is to call for a rethink of received wisdom suggesting that trade marks are effective trade-enabling devices. The case is made for reassessing how we think about European trade mark law.......First, this article argues that trade mark law should be approached in a supplementary way, called reconfiguration. Second, the article investigates such a reconfiguration of trade mark law by exploring the interplay of trade marks and service transactions in the Single Market, in the cross...

  10. Trade liberalization in the south east Europe: Effects and controversial issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pjerotić Ljiljana

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Included in the regional cooperation of SEE countries, trade liberalization is considered the most important factor of a sustainable economic growth which should contribute to the mutual trade among SEE countries, growth of the foreign direct investments, further production specialization and export structure change. Countries of the region have accepted liberalization as one of the conditions of the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP, hoping, each of them individually, that in that way they would improve proper position. Creating a free trade area will contribute to a further increase of intra-regional trade flows, but it shouldn't be expected that the relative importance of mutual exchange will prevail the importance which EU has for the SEE countries, except Moldova. Paper is divided into five sections. After the introduction, the trade liberalization process in the SEE region is explained in the second part (section 2. The third section analyses actual intra-regional trade flows and SEE countries trade relations with the EU (section 3. Some controversial issues raised in recent debates on trade liberalization in SEE are also discussed (section 4. The main conclusions are given at the end (section 5. .

  11. Trade across frontiers: an overview of International trade before the advent of modern economic system in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aboyade Sunday Ariyo

    2015-03-01

    of the traditional economy, this paper examines inter-national trade in pre-colonial Nigeria and its impact on the economy. The paper concludes that the distortion of inter-regional trade arrangement and the structure of pre-colonial Nigerian economy began with the gradual penetration of Europeans into the hinterland to effect direct purchase of palm produced from producers after the abolition of slave trade. Keywords:Trade, International trade, Long distance trade, External trade, Nigerian economy

  12. Additive versus Multiplicative Trade Costs and the Gains from Trade Liberalizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Allan

    2014-01-01

    This paper addresses welfare e¤ects from trade liberalization in a Melitz (2003) heterogeneous-…rms trade model including the empirically important per-unit (i.e. additive) trade costs in addition to the conventional iceberg (i.e. multiplicative) and …xed trade costs. The novel contribution...... of the pa- per is the result that the welfare gain for a given increase in trade openness is higher for reductions in per-unit (additive) trade costs than for reductions in iceberg (multiplicative) trade costs. The ranking derives from di¤erences in intra-industry reallocations and in particular from...

  13. On the Conflict Mitigating Effects of Trade: The India-Pakistan Case

    OpenAIRE

    Mamoon, Dawood; S. Mansoob, Murshed

    2008-01-01

    We examine whether greater inter-state trade, democracy and reduced military spending lower belligerence between India and Pakistan. We begin with theoretical models covering the opportunity costs of conflict in terms of trade losses and security spending, as well as the costs of making concessions to rivals. Conflict between the two nations can be best understood in a multivariate framework where variables such as economic performance, integration with rest of the world, bilateral trade, mil...

  14. Virtual water trade and development in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konar, Megan; Caylor, Kelly

    2014-05-01

    A debate has long existed on the relationships between human population, natural resources, and development. Recent research has expanded this debate to include the impacts of trade; specifically, virtual water trade, or the water footprint of traded commodities. We conduct an empirical analysis of the relationships between virtual water trade, population, and development in Africa. We find that increases in virtual water imports do not lead to increases in population growth nor do they diminish human welfare. We establish a new index of virtual water trade openness and show that levels of undernourishment tend to fall with increased values of virtual water trade openness. Countries with small dam storage capacity obtain a higher fraction of their agricultural water requirements from external sources, which may indicate implicit `infrastructure sharing' across nations. Globally, increased crop exports tends to correlate with increased crop water use efficiency, though this relationship does not hold for Africa. However, internal African trade is much more efficient in terms of embodied water resources than any other region in the world. Thus, internal African trade patterns may be compensating for poor internal production systems.

  15. Virtual water trade and development in Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Konar

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available A debate has long existed on the relationships between human population, natural resources, and development. Recent research has expanded this debate to include the impacts of trade; specifically, virtual water trade, or the water footprint of traded commodities. We conduct an empirical analysis of the relationships between virtual water trade, population, and development in Africa. We find that increases in virtual water imports do not lead to increases in population growth nor do they diminish human welfare. We establish a new index of virtual water trade openness and show that levels of undernourishment tend to fall with increased values of virtual water trade openness. Countries with small dam storage capacity obtain a higher fraction of their agricultural water requirements from external sources, which may indicate implicit "infrastructure sharing" across nations. Globally, increased crop exports tend to correlate with increased crop water use efficiency, though this relationship does not hold for Africa. However, internal African trade is much more efficient in terms of embodied water resources than any other region in the world. Thus, internal African trade patterns may be compensating for poor internal production systems.

  16. The game of trading jobs for emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arto, I.; Rueda-Cantuche, J.M.; Andreoni, V.; Mongelli, I.; Genty, A.

    2014-01-01

    Following the debate on the implications of international trade for global climate policy, this paper introduces the topic of the economic benefits from trade obtained by exporting countries in relation to the emissions generated in the production of exports. In 2008, 24% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 20% of the employment around the world were linked to international trade. China “exported” 30% of emissions and hosted 37.5% of the jobs generated by trade worldwide. The European Union and the United States of America were the destination of 25% and 18.4% of the GHG emissions embodied in trade. The imports of these two regions contributed to the creation of 45% of the employment generated by international trade. This paper proposes the idea of including trade issues in international climate negotiations, taking into account not only the environmental burden generated by developed countries when displacing emissions to developing countries through their imports, but also the economic benefits of developing countries producing the goods exported to developed countries. - Highlights: • Employment and trade issues should be considered in GHG emission reduction policies. • In 2008 24% of global GHG emissions and 20% of the employment are linked to trade. • 43% of GHG and 45% of employment embedded in trade are due to EU and US imports. • China exports 30% of the GHG and hosts 38% of the jobs generated by trade worldwide

  17. Trade Policy Preferences and the Factor Content of Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jäkel, Ina Charlotte; Smolka, Marcel

    demonstrate that the factor price changes induced by trade policy are negatively correlated with the factor content of free trade (and therefore factor abundance). Using large-scale international survey data, we test whether these predicted distributional effects are reflected in the trade policy preferences...... of workers with different labor market skills. In order to isolate the effects of factor abundance from other skill-related confounding factors, we employ a within-skill-group estimator that exploits the cross-country variation in the factor content of free trade. In line with theory, the data show......This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of public opinion towards free trade, investigating cleavages both between and within countries. We study the distributional effects of trade policy in a neoclassical economy with not just two, but many input factors in production. We...

  18. Monitoring, Accounting and Enforcement in Emissions Trading Regimes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, S.

    2003-01-01

    Monitoring, accounting and enforcement have been addressed in quite a number of presentations, papers and discussions in the past four CATEP workshops. Besides drawing conclusions from the experiences with existing trading regimes, different aspects of compliance have been analysed in more detail and finally there has been a special focus on standardised accounting systems. This paper tries to summarise the diverse findings to get a comprehensive picture of what is needed to assure high compliance in emissions trading regimes and identify any specific problems. The first section focuses on real trading regimes that are all local or at most national. It describes the monitoring, accounting and enforcement systems in existing and planned trading regimes to get an idea of what such systems include and to draw conclusions from experience. One focus is on enforcement mechanisms, as different from monitoring and accounting, which are basically a question of regulation and technology, penalties and compliance are a question of choices by participants and can be analysed with analytic tools. Section 3 deals with specific monitoring, accounting and enforcement problems in international emissions trading. It describes the development of internationally standardised systems and discusses the commitment period reserve as one instrument to avoid overselling of permits in international emission trading under the Kyoto Protocol. Section 5 provides a summary and conclusion

  19. Free trade or just trade? The world trade organisation, human rights ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The author critically examines the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In recent years, it is noted, the organisation's agenda of trade liberalisation, its perceived lack of accountability and insensitivity to human rights have attracted intense criticism. It has been asserted that provisions of WTO agreements concerning ...

  20. Identification of global oil trade patterns: An empirical research based on complex network theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji, Qiang; Zhang, Hai-Ying; Fan, Ying

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A global oil trade core network is analyzed using complex network theory. • The global oil export core network displays a scale-free behaviour. • The current global oil trade network can be divided into three trading blocs. • The global oil trade network presents a ‘robust and yet fragile’ characteristic. - Abstract: The Global oil trade pattern becomes increasingly complex, which has become one of the most important factors affecting every country’s energy strategy and economic development. In this paper, a global oil trade core network is constructed to analyze the overall features, regional characteristics and stability of the oil trade using complex network theory. The results indicate that the global oil export core network displays a scale-free behaviour, in which the trade position of nodes presents obvious heterogeneity and the ‘hub nodes’ play a ‘bridge’ role in the formation process of the trade network. The current global oil trade network can be divided into three trading blocs, including the ‘South America-West Africa-North America’ trading bloc, the ‘Middle East–Asian–Pacific region’ trading bloc, and ‘the former Soviet Union–North Africa–Europe’ trading bloc. Geopolitics and diplomatic relations are the two main reasons for this regional oil trade structure. Moreover, the global oil trade network presents a ‘robust but yet fragile’ characteristic, and the impacts of trade interruption always tend to spread throughout the whole network even if the occurrence of export disruptions is localised

  1. Water on fire: Gains from electricity trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fehr, N.H. von der; Sandsbraaten, L.

    1997-01-01

    In light of the ongoing liberalization of electricity trade in the Nordic countries, and perhaps in Northern Europe, we argue that gains from electricity trade may be different from those traditionally associated with comparative advantages and economics of scale. In particular, we consider gains arising from the exploitation of technological complementaries between hydro and thermal systems. Our theoretical framework highlights essential features of the two systems and allows for an analysis of effects of trade. We study three trading regimes, which may arise either endogenously or because of trade regulations: day-night power exchange, seasonal energy banking and unbalanced trade. The analysis suggests that gradual trade liberalization may be costly. 13 refs, 7 figs

  2. Emissions trading with and without a cap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nentjes, A.; Boom, J.T.

    2000-01-01

    The authors try to reduce the confusion about all the proposals for the design of flexibility mechanisms with respect to the Kyoto Protocol and following Conventions of Parties (CoP) by sketching consistent views of International Emission Trading (IET) and Joint Implementation (JI). It is argued that environmentalists should change their views since it is feasible to design international emission trading in a way that should make it the favourite instrument of environmental organizations

  3. Optimal trading based on ideal coordination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egeland, H.

    1992-01-01

    The author places more emphasis on the technical than on the economical aspects of trading with electric power. Calculation models which can be used to study this trade taking place under the influence of unequal preconditions in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden are presented. It is suggested that trade between these countries is currently satisfactory and should be further developed. The advantages of standard contracts are mentioned. Forms of exchange of, for example, technology know-how between these Nordic countries in the process of connecting their distribution systems etc. would be most advantageous. (AB)

  4. THE DYNAMIC OF REGIONAL TRADE SPECIALISATION PATTERN IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oana Ancuţa Stângaciu

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the evolution of the regional trade specialization pattern in Romanian regions, by studying the dynamic of their comparative advantages over the period 2000 - 2009. The study finds that, in almost all regions (exceptions are North-East and South-East Region the international specialization has increased for products in which regions were initially relatively less specialized and has decreased for those in which they were initially highly specialized. Finally, most regions recorded large respectively small specialization improvements in products for which the internal respectively external demand expanded at the fastest rate over the time.

  5. The effect of counter-trading on competition in electricity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dijk, Justin; Willems, Bert

    2011-01-01

    In a competitive electricity market, nodal pricing is the most efficient way to manage congestion. Counter-trading is inefficient as it gives the wrong long term signals for entry and exit of power plants. However, in a non-competitive market, additional entry will improve the competitiveness of the market, and will increase social benefit by reducing price-cost margins. This paper studies whether the potential pro-competitive entry effects could make counter-trading more efficient than nodal pricing. We find that this is unlikely to be the case, and expect counter-trading to have a negative effect on overall welfare. The potential benefits of additional competition (more competitive prices and lower production cost) do not outweigh the distortions (additional investment cost for the entrant, and socialization of the congestion cost to final consumers). - Research highlights: → 'Counter-trading' and 'nodal pricing' manage congestion in electric grids. → Nodal pricing gives superior locational prices. → Counter-trading induces extra investments in regions with a production surplus. → Extra investments improve competition, but are expected to be socially inefficient.

  6. CARBON TRADING ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinta Wahyu Purnama Sari

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to describe the carbon trading according to international law and its implementation in Indonesia. It uses juridical-normative research methods. Climate change is one of the major environmental issues in the world, it causes an adverse effect to human life. Basically it comes from human activities. To follow up the issue, then countries try to solve it by taking an action to reduce the emissions. Through the first Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro-Brazil in 1992, which produces the Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC; one of the achievements of the UNFCCC is the Kyoto Protocol, wherein the Protocol contains two important things, namely the commitment of developed countries to reduce the rate of emissions compared to 1990, and the possibility of carbon trading mechanisms. Indonesia is one of the countries that have ratified both the UNFCCC through Law No. 6 of 1994, and the Kyoto Protocol through Law No. 17 of 2004. There are also some related regulations. However, of all existing laws, the government has not put out implementing regulations or instructions about carbon trading specifically. Keywords: Carbon Trading, International Law, Indonesia.

  7. World Trade Organisation (WTO): Trade rules/agreements and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs) rules of 1947 were seen as prejudicial to the economic and development concerns of developing countries. With the coming into effect of World Trade Organization (WTO), it was expected that some of the concerns of the developing countries will be addressed.

  8. Optimal allocation of physical water resources integrated with virtual water trade in water scarce regions: A case study for Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Quanliang; Li, Yi; Zhuo, La; Zhang, Wenlong; Xiong, Wei; Wang, Chao; Wang, Peifang

    2018-02-01

    This study provides an innovative application of virtual water trade in the traditional allocation of physical water resources in water scarce regions. A multi-objective optimization model was developed to optimize the allocation of physical water and virtual water resources to different water users in Beijing, China, considering the trade-offs between economic benefit and environmental impacts of water consumption. Surface water, groundwater, transferred water and reclaimed water constituted the physical resource of water supply side, while virtual water flow associated with the trade of five major crops (barley, corn, rice, soy and wheat) and three livestock products (beef, pork and poultry) in agricultural sector (calculated by the trade quantities of products and their virtual water contents). Urban (daily activities and public facilities), industry, environment and agriculture (products growing) were considered in water demand side. As for the traditional allocation of physical water resources, the results showed that agriculture and urban were the two predominant water users (accounting 54% and 28%, respectively), while groundwater and surface water satisfied around 70% water demands of different users (accounting 36% and 34%, respectively). When considered the virtual water trade of eight agricultural products in water allocation procedure, the proportion of agricultural consumption decreased to 45% in total water demand, while the groundwater consumption decreased to 24% in total water supply. Virtual water trade overturned the traditional components of water supplied from different sources for agricultural consumption, and became the largest water source in Beijing. Additionally, it was also found that environmental demand took a similar percentage of water consumption in each water source. Reclaimed water was the main water source for industrial and environmental users. The results suggest that physical water resources would mainly satisfy the consumption

  9. International emissions trading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boom, Jan Tjeerd

    This thesis discusses the design and political acceptability of international emissions trading. It is shown that there are several designs options for emissions trading at the national level that have a different impact on output and thereby related factors such as employment and consumer prices....... The differences in impact of the design make that governments may prefer different designs of emissions trading in different situations. The thesis furthermore establishes that international emissions trading may lead to higher overall emissions, which may make it a less attractive instrument....

  10. Trade as an indicator of social and economic development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. A. Serebryakova

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In modern conditions of trade in the Russian Federation became the most important type of entrepreneurship. It is, in a number of objective and subjective reasons, is the most rapidly developing sector of the national economy, affecting the interests of all subjects of market relations: population, manufacturers of commercial products, government and trade. Currently in the internal trade of the Russian Federation there have been significant changes occurring under the influence of growing tensions on the international market, in the economy of our country and within the trading industry. But despite the deteriorating economic situation in the world and strained relations between the Russian Federation and its European and American partners, the latest statistics indicate the translational dynamics of retail trade turnover in the whole country, and in the Voronezh region. Retail trade turnover is among the most important indicators of economic and social development of the Voronezh region and the country as a whole. Its structure and volume characterize the level of consumption of goods population, the increase or decrease of welfare of the people. Through retail sales is a constant influence on the development of the volume and structure of production of consumer goods. This article assessed the relationship between the economic development of the Voronezh region as one of average of region of our country, its trade and standard of living of Voronezh.

  11. Racial Trade Barriers?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerre, Jacob Halvas

    . This paper analyzes the racial policies pursued in the foreign trade and argues that we need to recognize Aryanization as a world-wide policy in order to fully understand its character and possible consequences. I focus on the pre-war period and analyze the case of Denmark from three different perspectives......: perpetrators, victims and bystanders. The analysis will show that race, economy and foreign trade were combined in an attempt to raise racial trade barriers. This forced the question of German racial policies on the Danish government, Danish-Jewish businesses, and German companies involved in foreign trade...

  12. Optimal trading quantity integration as a basis for optimal portfolio management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saša Žiković

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available The author in this paper points out the reason behind calculating and using optimal trading quantity in conjunction with Markowitz’s Modern portfolio theory. In the opening part the author presents an example of calculating optimal weights using Markowitz’s Mean-Variance approach, followed by an explanation of basic logic behind optimal trading quantity. The use of optimal trading quantity is not limited to systems with Bernoulli outcome, but can also be used when trading shares, futures, options etc. Optimal trading quantity points out two often-overlooked axioms: (1 a system with negative mathematical expectancy can never be transformed in a system with positive mathematical expectancy, (2 by missing the optimal trading quantity an investor can turn a system with positive expectancy into a negative one. Optimal trading quantity is that quantity which maximizes geometric mean (growth function of a particular system. To determine the optimal trading quantity for simpler systems, with a very limited number of outcomes, a set of Kelly’s formulas is appropriate. In the conclusion the summary of the paper is presented.

  13. Nutrition labelling is a trade policy issue: lessons from an analysis of specific trade concerns at the World Trade Organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thow, Anne Marie; Jones, Alexandra; Hawkes, Corinna; Ali, Iqra; Labonté, Ronald

    2017-01-12

    Interpretive nutrition labels provide simplified nutrient-specific text and/or symbols on the front of pre-packaged foods, to encourage and enable consumers to make healthier choices. This type of labelling has been proposed as part of a comprehensive policy response to the global epidemic of non-communicable diseases. However, regulation of nutrition labelling falls under the remit of not just the health sector but also trade. Specific Trade Concerns have been raised at the World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade Committee regarding interpretive nutrition labelling initiatives in Thailand, Chile, Indonesia, Peru and Ecuador. This paper presents an analysis of the discussions of these concerns. Although nutrition labelling was identified as a legitimate policy objective, queries were raised regarding the justification of the specific labelling measures proposed, and the scientific evidence for effectiveness of such measures. Concerns were also raised regarding the consistency of the measures with international standards. Drawing on policy learning theory, we identified four lessons for public health policy makers, including: strategic framing of nutrition labelling policy objectives; pro-active policy engagement between trade and health to identify potential trade issues; identifying ways to minimize potential 'practical' trade concerns; and engagement with the Codex Alimentarius Commission to develop international guidance on interpretative labelling. This analysis indicates that while there is potential for trade sector concerns to stifle innovation in nutrition labelling policy, care in how interpretive nutrition labelling measures are crafted in light of trade commitments can minimize such a risk and help ensure that trade policy is coherent with nutrition action. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Organ Trade

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.A.E. Ambagtsheer (Frederike)

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractOrgan trade constitutes the sale and purchase of organs for financial or material gain. Although prohibited since the 1980s, an increasing number of reports indicate its proliferation across the globe. Yet, many knowledge gaps exist on organ trade, in particular on the demand -and

  15. The Kyoto Protocol Emissions Trading Mechanisms - A Model for financing future nuclear development in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purica, Ionut; John Saroudis

    2001-01-01

    At the beginning of 2001 Romania ratified the Kyoto Protocol (Law 3/2001) thus becoming the first European country to do so. The mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol are now opening new ways to sponsor the financing of nuclear projects. In May 2001 Societatea Nationala Nuclearoelectrica S.S. (SNN) and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and ANSALDO of Italy signed a contract to complete the second CANDU unit at Cernavoda thus giving a new momentum to the nuclear program in Romania. The Government of Romania has indicated its desire to proceed with the completion of the other units on the Cernavoda site and is open to explore every potential financing mechanism to make this a reality. Although the Kyoto Protocol was not ratified by those countries that have the greatest need to reduce emissions, a market for emissions trading has developed, Canada being one of the important players in this market. Since the emission reduction per dollar invested in the Romanian nuclear program would bring much more reduction than the marginal reduction per dollar invested in environmental protection programs in Canada, where the saturation effect is already taking place, we consider that the application of the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms represents a realistic source for a sustainable cooperation of the two countries. This trend is in line with the latest activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This paper analyzes the impact that the use of emissions credits would have on a typical financing scheme for a future CANDU project in Romania given the present situation and also proposes a model for the structure of the emissions trade that would generate a source of funding for the project. The conclusion is that there is real potential in using Kyoto Protocol mechanisms for financing nuclear development with benefits for both Romania and Canada. (authors)

  16. Trade Union Organisers in Trade Union Organising Strategies: building workplace unionism or reinforcing bureaucracy

    OpenAIRE

    Looker, Gerard

    2015-01-01

    This thesis considers the role of union full time officers in union organising strategies. Two decades of promoting union organising influenced by models developed by the AFL-CIO, has failed to arrest the decline of UK trade unions let alone produce evidence of renewal. Focusing mainly on one region in the UKs largest public sector trade union, Unison, the research provides for a detailed account of how organising strategies affect union work, presenting thick and deep data from full time off...

  17. Did the economic crisis change V4 trade patterns? The case of intra-industry trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patryk Emanuel TOPOROWSKI

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study revisits knowledge about the post-EU accession intra-industry trade development in the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. These countries—through trade liberalisation, European integration and EU accession—strengthened their position in the global value chains, part of which were located in Western Europe. This paper points out that during the global financial crisis, the changes in intra-industry specialisation were not coherent in the Visegrad countries. Moreover, in some cases, the specialisation even intensified. This paper also applies the Arellano-Bover/Blundell-Bond estimator to assess whether EU accession and the later global financial crisis were driving forces of the changing trade patterns of these countries. The results of the estimation proved the positive effect of European integration (before and after EU enlargement and the negative effect of the crisis.

  18. Markets, trade and the role of institutions in African development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T Roe

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the interdependence between international trade and institutional reform and suggests that the trade barriers erected by advanced countries on the agricultural exports of poor countries, in particular sub-Saharan agriculture serve as an impediment to economic growth and development.  Drawing upon recent literature, the suggestion is that trade barriers inhibit institutional reform that is a major factor affecting economic growth. An empirical analysis of trade reform and economic growth shows that sub-Saharan economies can reciprocate potential gains from increased trade, which are larger when an integration with world markets induces institutional reform.

  19. Evolution of the global virtual water trade network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalin, Carole; Konar, Megan; Hanasaki, Naota; Rinaldo, Andrea; Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio

    2012-04-17

    Global freshwater resources are under increasing pressure from economic development, population growth, and climate change. The international trade of water-intensive products (e.g., agricultural commodities) or virtual water trade has been suggested as a way to save water globally. We focus on the virtual water trade network associated with international food trade built with annual trade data and annual modeled virtual water content. The evolution of this network from 1986 to 2007 is analyzed and linked to trade policies, socioeconomic circumstances, and agricultural efficiency. We find that the number of trade connections and the volume of water associated with global food trade more than doubled in 22 years. Despite this growth, constant organizational features were observed in the network. However, both regional and national virtual water trade patterns significantly changed. Indeed, Asia increased its virtual water imports by more than 170%, switching from North America to South America as its main partner, whereas North America oriented to a growing intraregional trade. A dramatic rise in China's virtual water imports is associated with its increased soy imports after a domestic policy shift in 2000. Significantly, this shift has led the global soy market to save water on a global scale, but it also relies on expanding soy production in Brazil, which contributes to deforestation in the Amazon. We find that the international food trade has led to enhanced savings in global water resources over time, indicating its growing efficiency in terms of global water use.

  20. Intra-Day Trading System Design Based on the Integrated Model of Wavelet De-Noise and Genetic Programming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongguang Liu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Technical analysis has been proved to be capable of exploiting short-term fluctuations in financial markets. Recent results indicate that the market timing approach beats many traditional buy-and-hold approaches in most of the short-term trading periods. Genetic programming (GP was used to generate short-term trade rules on the stock markets during the last few decades. However, few of the related studies on the analysis of financial time series with genetic programming considered the non-stationary and noisy characteristics of the time series. In this paper, to de-noise the original financial time series and to search profitable trading rules, an integrated method is proposed based on the Wavelet Threshold (WT method and GP. Since relevant information that affects the movement of the time series is assumed to be fully digested during the market closed periods, to avoid the jumping points of the daily or monthly data, in this paper, intra-day high-frequency time series are used to fully exploit the short-term forecasting advantage of technical analysis. To validate the proposed integrated approach, an empirical study is conducted based on the China Securities Index (CSI 300 futures in the emerging China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX market. The analysis outcomes show that the wavelet de-noise approach outperforms many comparative models.

  1. Understanding the poultry trade network in Kenya: Implications for regional disease prevention and control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarron, Margaret; Munyua, Peninah; Cheng, Po-Yung; Manga, Thomas; Wanjohi, Cathryn; Moen, Ann; Mounts, Anthony; Katz, Mark A

    2015-07-01

    Infectious diseases in poultry can spread quickly and lead to huge economic losses. In the past decade, on multiple continents, the accelerated spread of highly pathogenic avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus, often through informal trade networks, has led to the death and culling of hundreds of millions of poultry. Endemic poultry diseases like Newcastle disease and fowl typhoid can also be devastating in many parts of the world. Understanding trade networks in unregulated systems can inform policy decisions concerning disease prevention and containment. From June to December 2008 we conducted a cross-sectional survey of backyard farmers, market traders, and middlemen in 5/8 provinces in Kenya. We administered a standardized questionnaire to each type of actor using convenience, random, snowball, and systematic sampling. Questionnaires addressed frequency, volume, and geography of trade, as well as biosecurity practices. We created a network diagram identifying the most important locations for trade. Of 380 respondents, 51% were backyard farmers, 24% were middlemen and 25% were market traders. Half (50%) of backyard farmers said they raised poultry both for household consumption and for sale. Compared to market traders, middlemen bought their poultry from a greater number of villages (median 4.2 villages for middlemen vs. 1.9 for market traders). Traders were most likely to purchase poultry from backyard farmers. Of the backyard farmers who sold poultry, 51% [CI 40-63] reported selling poultry to market traders, and 54% [CI 44-63] sold to middlemen. Middlemen moved the largest volume of poultry on a weekly basis (median purchases: 187 birds/week [IQR 206]; median sales: 188 birds/week [IQR 412.5]). The highest numbers of birds were traded in Nairobi - Kenya's capital city. Nairobi was the most prominent trading node in the network (61 degrees of centrality). Many smaller sub-networks existed as a result of clustered local trade. Market traders were also integral to the

  2. Impact of Zimbabwe - South Africa Trade Relations: A Bilateral, Regional, or Multilateral Approach?

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Mayihlome, Levi

    1997-01-01

    .... Whereas a functional bilateral trade agreement or a regional customs union culminating in a common market might improve Zimbabwe's regional competitiveness in the short run' due to South Africa's...

  3. Trading scheme 'key' to low-carbon economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has emphasised the importance of getting the economics of environmental policy right by introducing market-based mechanisms for pricing emissions. 'Market-based mechanisms such as emissions trading are central to moving to a low-carbon economy,' he said in his latest blueprint. 'A functioning carbon market will deliver a price signal, so there is a long-term incentive to cut emissions further, and a mechanism for trading, so that energy can be allocated efficiently in the economy. It will also encourage greater private investment in clean energy technology.' Mr Beazley said the new market would also reward the many companies who were already adapting to a carbon-constrained world. 'This includes those global companies in Australia that already operate in emissions trading markets overseas. An effective price signal for carbon in Australia will allow these companies to benefit directly from their good corporate citizenship and long-term vision.' Mr Beazley has committed a federal Labor government to work with state governments and business to establish the national trading scheme. He also criticised the Federal Government for refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which he argued excluded Australian businesses from participating in the emerging global carbon trade. This made it harder for businesses to break into the market for cleaner production technologies overseas. While again admitting Kyoto was not perfect, Mr Beazley said ratification would see Australia part of what would potentially be 'the biggest market in the world by 2020'. He said the recent Asia Pacific Climate Change Pact was a positive step but was not an alternative to Kyoto. 'Above all, it has no economic mechanisms to drive further change. 'Without ratifying Kyoto some of our businesses are missing out on effective participation in international schemes that offer substantial financial rewards for greenhouse gas reductions. 'By ratifying Kyoto and adopting

  4. Spatial Characteristics of Art Trade in Hungary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibolya Várnai

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Century-long traditons of art trade in Hungary are strongly connected to the capital, famous, elite auction houses and galleries are concentrated in the downtown area of Budapest. Although art market in Hungary is capital-centered, remarkable amount of art trade takes place in the countryside too. This study aims to give insight into the presence of the different types of art trade (antique shops, second-hand book stores, art galleries and auction houses in rural settlements, compared to the characteristics of art trade in Budapest. The research – based on primary data collection – reveals the social, economic, and cultural factors which explain the regional differences in art trade. During the field work in Budapest, semi-structured interviews were conducted with art gallery owners, auctioners, and antiquarians. The penetration index (PEX which was applied in the case of researches in the countryside shows the rate in which the different types of art trade are present in settlements of different sizes. The results are demonstrated on the map with the help of the Mapinfo 12.5 software.

  5. Redirecting International Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kokko, Ari; Söderlund, Bengt; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson

    The global financial crisis has accelerated the redirection of trade towards new markets, outside the OECD area, where both demand patterns and the institutional environment differ from those in the OECD. This study provides an empirical examination of the consequences of this shift. Results...... difficult to redirect towards markets with weak institutions....... suggest that weak institutions hamper trade and reduces the length of trade relations, especially for small firms. Furthermore, trade in industries that are characterized by a high degree of trade conflicts and that requires extensive relationship specific investments for trade to occur are comparatively...

  6. The Current Status and Prospects for Development of International Trade in Goods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kovtun Tamara D.

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The article is aimed at analyzing the current status and determining prospects for international trade in goods. The dynamics of international trade in goods are characterized and the reasons for its slowdown are disclosed. A considerable attention is paid to the analysis of the commodity and geographical structure of the international trade in goods. On the basis of the conducted research the new tendencies and peculiarities of development of the international trade in goods in the contemporary conditions are disclosed. In particular, the authors consider the tendency of increasing the influence of non-tariff barriers on the dynamics of the international commodity exchange. Based on the calculation of the export quota as an indicator of the intensity of foreign trade in goods, conclusions have been drawn about the degree of openness of national economies in the current conditions. The authors have noted that in the coming years the growth of physical and value volumes of the world commodity exports is projected in the conditions of growth of the world prices for raw products. It has been determined that, most likely, further development of the international trade in goods will take place in conditions of deepening of trade integration at the mega-regional level. An increase in the number of participants in the international trade in goods is also expected in the context of further spread of e-commerce in the developing countries.

  7. The Impacts of U.S. Agricultural and Trade Policy on Trade Liberalization and Integation via a U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement

    OpenAIRE

    Dale E. Hathaway

    2003-01-01

    This study looks at several major legislative actions in 2002 that will substantially affect trade negotiations with the United States, and examines the US import protection for agricultural products that will be critical in trade negotiations with Central American countries. The two important legislative actions were the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill and the passage of Trade Promotion Authority, which provides for "fast track" treatment of trade agreements. The 2002 farm bill was widely deno...

  8. 78 FR 50481 - Request for Public Comments Regarding the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-19

    ... barriers to U.S. exports of goods, services, and U.S. foreign direct investment for inclusion in the NTE... affecting U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and protection of intellectual... National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade...

  9. International Trade and Protectionism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanford Univ., CA. Stanford Program on International and Cross Cultural Education.

    This unit is designed to investigate the reasons for international trade and the issue of trade protectionism by focusing on the case study of the U.S. trade relationship with Taiwan. The unit begins with a simulation that highlights the concepts of global interdependence, the need for international trade, and the distribution of the world's…

  10. EU's CO2 trade a high risk project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wellander, Dag

    2003-01-01

    The uncertainty about the planned CO 2 trade of the European Union (EU) is very great. For the possible buyers in this politically created market the risks may be great and difficult to assess. The most effective way of forcing a reduction of emissions is trading emission licences. But this requires taking a stand on issues of very unpleasant nature. And the Kyoto protocol evades these questions, it is a thin document right from the beginning. Trade in emission licences is one of the three so-called flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto agreement. The second mechanism is joint implementation in which one industrialized country carries out emission reduction actions in another industrialized country. The third is the mechanism of clean development, in which one industrialized country takes remedial actions in a developing country. It is unclear how these mechanisms are to act in accordance with each other, both in the Kyoto Protocol and on the level of the EU. The biggest and most fundamental uncertainty, both on the EU and global levels, relates to the fact that the partners have not decided how to define the right of ownership of emissions of a certain size

  11. Introduction To U.S. Free Trade Agreements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gantz David A.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This introduction explores the historical changes in the trade policies of the United States (U.S., namely, the shift from the support of multilateral rules to the embracement of regional trade agreements and provides an overview of the political and economic considerations behind the conclusion of the major U.S. free trade agreements.

  12. THE IMPACT OF TRADE ON CHILD LABOR: EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED SAARC AND ASEAN COUNTRIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rossazana Ab-Rahim

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Past studies have tended to investigate the relationship between trade and child labor under the traditional trade theories, while assuming that the trade in homogenous goods and the results show inconclusive evidence of a relationship. Hence, it would be interesting to investigate the trade effects of differentiated goods on child labor in the setting of the new trade theory. This study attempts to investigate the trade-induced child labor effects (selection, scale and technique effects in selected Asian countries over the period from 1999 to 2013. The countries consist of the major South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC countries, namely: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and selected ASEAN countries, namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, where child labor is most common. The results of this study confirm that the total impact of trade on child labor also needs to account for the selection effect, in addition to the scale and technique effects. The findings imply trade liberalization hampers the child labor market in the context of the trade in differentiated goods.

  13. Impacts of seaborne trade on coal importing countries: global summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-05-15

    In recent years, there has been a convergence of international trade with traditional domestic markets, with import increasing into many coal producing regions, the influence of trade on domestic markets has been twofold. Firstly, imported coal displaces domestic production, and in doing so, secondly international price trends may drive prices of what remains of the indigenous market for coal. While international trade does not provide any additional benefits in terms of reduced CO2 at a coal-fired power stations, importing coal provides many benefits, such as cost savings, improved coal quality, enhanced supply diversity, and often fills a gap which is left where domestic supply is unable to fulfil. This report examines the various factors that have led to rise in popularity of seaborne-traded coal, and seeks to discuss the future of domestically produced coal in some of the major coal markets of the world.

  14. How fair is fair trade?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maseland, Robbert; Vaal, Albert de

    2001-01-01

    This paper investigates to what extent fair trade programmes, are indeed ‘fair’. This is accomplished by comparing fair trade with free trade and protectionist trade regimes on their compliance of the criteria set by the fair trade movement itself. This comparison is made using comparative cost

  15. BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF ONLINE TRADING VERSUS TRADITIONAL TRADING. EDUCATIONAL FACTORS IN ONLINE TRADING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petric (Iancu Ioana Ancuta

    2015-07-01

    of interaction between the client and his stock broker. To analyze the extent to which the investor education level affects the decision to move from traditional to online trading trading, author started from the literature review, a questionnaire-based survey available on internet and personal experience. The study shows that investors will switch to online trading when they have a high level of knowledge in the stock market, higher education and knowledge of internet.

  16. SADC Gender and Development Protocol: An Evaluation of Equality ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The greatest challenge of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) continues to be the need to build a life for its people free from poverty, diseases, human rights abuses, gender inequality and environmental degradation. Gender activists played a lead role in influencing the development and adoption, on the ...

  17. The economic implications of greater global trade in livestock and livestock products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leslie, J; Upton, M

    1999-08-01

    The Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established the World Trade Organization to supervise the reduction of barriers to, and liberalisation of, world trade. The application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures will be standardised to avoid use for protectionist purposes by countries or regional trade blocks. Harmonisation of animal disease control measures within regional blocks is essential if benefits to freer trade are to occur, but this harmonisation must be balanced against potential disease risks and costs associated with disease outbreaks. World trade in livestock products is concentrated among developed countries, although developing countries are responsible for approximately a third of poultry meat imports and exports. Despite liberalisation, the share of global trade by developing countries is unlikely to increase greatly in the short term. The benefits of trade and of freer trade are emphasised. Examples are given of the impacts of trade barriers on developing countries and of the harmonisation of European Union animal health standards. Economic implications for the future of greater global trade are assessed.

  18. The Effects of International Trade on Resource Misallocation : Trade Partner Matters (Replaced by CentER DP 2012-046)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Curuk, M.

    2011-01-01

    This paper suggests that contingent on the productivity level of the trade partner; international trade may create resource misallocation in less productive countries. It theoretically shows how productivity spillovers induced by trade with more productive countries and heterogeneity in pro-

  19. Climate policy, emissions trading and hydrogen : Results of a Mannesmann Pilotentwicklung study and options for the hydrogen community

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geres, R.

    2002-01-01

    The use of emissions trading for the introduction of hydrogen technologies into the market was studied under the Mannesmann Pilotentwicklung. It was argued that the integration of environmental effects becomes part of the business planning on the revenue side, provided a scenario with environmental benefits like the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. New possibilities and opportunities are available for hydrogen technologies. It enables the definition of more detailed projects within the hydrogen community, considering factors such as economic, strategic, technological and political aims. The projects involve both mobile and stationary applications, and cover regional activities as well as international cooperation. Public institutions or the private sector can undertake them. As a result of the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, an emissions trading scheme is scheduled to begin in 2005 inside the European Union. 2 refs., 2 tabs., 2 figs

  20. Watershed-based point sources permitting strategy and dynamic permit-trading analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Shu-Kuang; Chang, Ni-Bin

    2007-09-01

    Permit-trading policy in a total maximum daily load (TMDL) program may provide an additional avenue to produce environmental benefit, which closely approximates what would be achieved through a command and control approach, with relatively lower costs. One of the important considerations that might affect the effective trading mechanism is to determine the dynamic transaction prices and trading ratios in response to seasonal changes of assimilative capacity in the river. Advanced studies associated with multi-temporal spatially varied trading ratios among point sources to manage water pollution hold considerable potential for industries and policy makers alike. This paper aims to present an integrated simulation and optimization analysis for generating spatially varied trading ratios and evaluating seasonal transaction prices accordingly. It is designed to configure a permit-trading structure basin-wide and provide decision makers with a wealth of cost-effective, technology-oriented, risk-informed, and community-based management strategies. The case study, seamlessly integrating a QUAL2E simulation model with an optimal waste load allocation (WLA) scheme in a designated TMDL study area, helps understand the complexity of varying environmental resources values over space and time. The pollutants of concern in this region, which are eligible for trading, mainly include both biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N). The problem solution, as a consequence, suggests an array of waste load reduction targets in a well-defined WLA scheme and exhibits a dynamic permit-trading framework among different sub-watersheds in the study area. Research findings gained in this paper may extend to any transferable dynamic-discharge permit (TDDP) program worldwide.

  1. How Can Economies in Transition Pursue Emissions Trading or Joint Implementation?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Missfeldt, F.; Villavicenco, A.

    2002-07-01

    Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, economies in transition are eligible for both emissions trading (Article 17) and joint implementation (Article 6). Guiding rules for implementing these mechanisms were decided through the Marrakech Accords in November 2001. These countries may benefit substantially from those mechanisms if they are implemented appropriately. However, with the departure of the USA from the Kyoto Protocol, the likely revenues from international emissions trading for the economies in transition are likely to be limited at least during the first commitment period. A key criterion on whether countries should undertake emissions trading is the comparison of projections of emissions until 2012 with the target under the Kyoto Protocol. For joint implementation, the investment climate and the emission reductions potential of a specific project are more important. Countries that are bound by the Kyoto Protocol need to implement a clear institutional structure, which includes a JI office or a position solely in charge of JI. Even if a country decides not to engage in JI, such an office could help guide possible foreign investors

  2. Can Trade Help Overcome Economic Crisis? Implications for Northeast Asia Creating Regional FTA between Korea, China, and Japan and Mega FTAs such as RCEP and TPP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sang-Chul Park

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Globalization processes have formed a triad of economic and trade systems in terms of GDP and trade volume. These are the European Union (EU, North America Free Trade Association (NAFTA, and Northeast Asia, the major actors in the global economic system and trade since 1990s. However, the global financial crisis in 2008 created a new global economic order and governance that consisted of existing global economic power such as the G7 as well as new emerging economic powers, such as G20 and BRICS. Under such rapidly changing global economic conditions, global trade has contributed to rapid economic growth in the world in the last half-century. Regarding FTAs, the European Union (EU is the frontrunner and has developed the most advanced system for regional economic integration. The EU’s single market provides several implications for Northeast Asian countries trying to build their own regional bilateral and multilateral FTAs and participate in different mega-FTAs such as RCEP and TPP. As a result, their economic interests are rather divided deeply and related to political and security issues in the context of Northeast Asia. Therefore, it is more difficult for Northeast Asian countries to economically integrate in a way that is comparable with the EU. This paper addresses a regional FTA between South Korea, China, and Japan that could be a starting point for their formal economic integration and create a reliable platform to strengthen their trade, boosting further economic growth. It also asks which of the three nations’ economic interests are served by participating in mega FTAs such as RCEP and TPP. Finally, it analyses the best scenario for participating in the multilateral FTA and mega FTAs for each nation.

  3. Estimating the Impact of the Indo-ASEAN FreeTrade Agreement on India’s Balance of Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prof. Ranajoy Bhattacharyya

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available India signed a Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN on 13th August, 2009. In this paper we analyze one aspect of the possible impacts of the FTA: that on India’s Balance of Trade. It is found that the impact of the agreement on India’s balance of trade is expected to be negative. India’s imports will rise significantly, however there will be no commensurate rise in India’s export to these countries except to Indonesia.

  4. Trade in the Atlantic Basin, 2000-2012: a panoramic view

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorena Ruano

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article offers a descriptive analysis of the goods trade in the Atlantic, and provides the following data: the largest trade volume can be found in the North Atlantic and the Americas, albeit with slower growth; Africa and South America trade mainly with the North, but with a tendency towards diversification; Europe depends less on Atlantic trade than other regions, South America being the most dependent of these; Africa mainly trades with extra-regional partners; the Atlantic’s role in world trade is diminishing owing to the rise of Asia (China; exports can be divided into those from the North (products with greater added value and the South (raw materials; imports are dominated by automobiles and oil; the main challenge is the economic crisis in Europe; with the Doha round havingstalled, the Atlantic free trade agreements under negotiation (Canada-EU; TTIP are gaining importance, with the aim of boosting the flow of goods, which represents one of the largest in the world.

  5. Stumbling Forward on Trade: The Doha Round, Free Trade Agreements, and Canada

    OpenAIRE

    Matthew B. Adler

    2008-01-01

    Before continuing a headlong rush to form free trade agreements with partners around the globe, Ottawa should pause to consider the effects of a web of FTAs. Matthew B. Adler argues that FTAs tend to interfere with multilateral trade negotiations, which potentially would deliver broader benefits.

  6. Greenhouse gas emission management in the US - current regional initiatives compared with international carbon trading programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rink, A.G.; Law, S.

    2009-01-01

    In the United States (US) there are currently voluntary reporting programs (EPA Climate Leaders, Carbon Disclosure Project and The Climate Registry), organized market-based trading platforms (Chicago Climate Exchange and The Green Exchange) and proposed regional mandatory cap and trade programs in California, the Northeast, the West and the Midwest. The past success of the US Acid Rain 'cap-and-trade' system market-based format together with the availability of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme to serve as a template for future greenhouse gas regulations is promising as the US can participate in the world wide carbon markets already established. (author)

  7. Preferential Trade Arrangements and the Pattern of Production and Trade when Inputs are Differentiated

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.F. François (Joseph)

    2005-01-01

    textabstractThis paper is concerned with rules of origin when intermediate goods are differentiated. An analytical model emphasizes trade patterns and the relative importance of trade in intermediates given trade preferences. Econometric evidence based on intra-OECD trade in motor vehicles and motor

  8. Trading volume and the number of trades : a comparative study using high frequency data

    OpenAIRE

    Izzeldin, Marwan

    2007-01-01

    Trading volume and the number of trades are both used as proxies for market activity, with disagreement as to which is the better proxy for market activity. This paper investigates this issue using high frequency data for Cisco and Intel in 1997. A number of econometric methods are used, including GARCH augmented with lagged trading volume and number of trades, tests based on moment restrictions, regression analysis of volatility on volume and trades, normality of returns when standardized by...

  9. Multidisciplinary studies of wildlife trade in primates: Challenges and priorities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blair, Mary E; Le, Minh D; Sterling, Eleanor J

    2017-11-01

    Wildlife trade is increasingly recognized as an unsustainable threat to primate populations and informing its management is a growing focus and application of primatological research. However, management policies based on ecological research alone cannot address complex socioeconomic or cultural contexts as drivers of wildlife trade. Multidisciplinary research is required to understand trade complexity and identify sustainable management strategies. Here, we define multidisciplinary research as research that combines more than one academic discipline, and highlight how the articles in this issue combine methods and approaches to fill key gaps and offer a more comprehensive understanding of underlying drivers of wildlife trade including consumer demand, enforcement patterns, source population status, and accessibility of targeted species. These articles also focus on how these drivers interact at different scales, how trade patterns relate to ethics, and the potential effectiveness of different policy interventions in reducing wildlife trade. We propose priorities for future research on primate trade including expanding from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary research questions and approaches co-created by research teams that integrate across different disciplines such as cultural anthropology, ecology, economics, and public policy. We also discuss challenges that limit the integration of information across disciplines to meet these priorities. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Africa-Asia trade versus Africa's trade with the North: Trends and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abstract. This study shows that Europe continues to be Africa's major trading partner given the historical relations and long standing trading arrangements between the two. However, evidence also shows that despite maintaining strong trade linkages with Europe, Africa's trade with Asia has been growing at a much faster ...

  11. CO2 embodied in international trade with implications for global climate policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Glen P; Hertwich, Edgar G

    2008-03-01

    The flow of pollution through international trade flows has the ability to undermine environmental policies, particularly for global pollutants. In this article we determine the CO2 emissions embodied in international trade among 87 countries for the year 2001. We find that globally there are over 5.3 Gt of CO2 embodied in trade and that Annex B countries are net importers of CO2 emissions. Depending on country characteristics--such as size variables and geographic location--there are considerable variations in the embodied emissions. We argue that emissions embodied in trade may have a significant impact on participation in and effectiveness of global climate policies such as the Kyoto Protocol. We discuss several policy options to reduce the impact of trade in global climate policy. If countries take binding commitments as a part of a coalition, instead of as individual countries, then the impacts of trade can be substantially reduced. Adjusting emission inventories for trade gives a more consistent description of a country's environmental pressures and circumvents many trade related issues. It also gives opportunities to exploit trade as a means of mitigating emissions. Not least, a better understanding of the role that trade plays in a country's economic and environmental development will help design more effective and participatory climate policy post-Kyoto.

  12. Entropy of international trades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Chang-Young; Lee, D.-S.

    2017-05-01

    The organization of international trades is highly complex under the collective efforts towards economic profits of participating countries given inhomogeneous resources for production. Considering the trade flux as the probability of exporting a product from a country to another, we evaluate the entropy of the world trades in the period 1950-2000. The trade entropy has increased with time, and we show that it is mainly due to the extension of trade partnership. For a given number of trade partners, the mean trade entropy is about 60% of the maximum possible entropy, independent of time, which can be regarded as a characteristic of the trade fluxes' heterogeneity and is shown to be derived from the scaling and functional behaviors of the universal trade-flux distribution. The correlation and time evolution of the individual countries' gross-domestic products and the number of trade partners show that most countries achieved their economic growth partly by extending their trade relationship.

  13. Assessing trade-offs in large marine protected areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Tammy E; Epstein, Graham; Aguilera, Stacy E; Brooks, Cassandra M; Cox, Michael; Evans, Louisa S; Maxwell, Sara M; Nenadovic, Mateja; Ban, Natalie C

    2018-01-01

    Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are increasingly being established and have a high profile in marine conservation. LMPAs are expected to achieve multiple objectives, and because of their size are postulated to avoid trade-offs that are common in smaller MPAs. However, evaluations across multiple outcomes are lacking. We used a systematic approach to code several social and ecological outcomes of 12 LMPAs. We found evidence of three types of trade-offs: trade-offs between different ecological resources (supply trade-offs); trade-offs between ecological resource conditions and the well-being of resource users (supply-demand trade-offs); and trade-offs between the well-being outcomes of different resource users (demand trade-offs). We also found several divergent outcomes that were attributed to influences beyond the scope of the LMPA. We suggest that despite their size, trade-offs can develop in LMPAs and should be considered in planning and design. LMPAs may improve their performance across multiple social and ecological objectives if integrated with larger-scale conservation efforts.

  14. THE DANGER OF PUTING ALL THE EGGS IN ONE BASKET. SOME CONCERNS REGARDING ROMANIA'S EXTERNAL TRADE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NEGREA Adrian

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Trade patterns across the globe vary in certain ways. For the EU27, the analyzed data suggests that approximately 70% of all Romania's imports, and the same amount of its exports, are intra-community oriented. The question that arises is what will happen to te Romania's external trade, if a crisis hits Europe? If countries like Germany, France, Italy, and United Kingdom are hit the hardest in this hypothetical European crisis, Romania will soon follow them. In order to decrease the impact of such possibility, it is necessary to tap new trade opportunities. For this purpose, first we have to analyze the present situation. Based on Eurostat, World Trade Organization, and the Romanian Statistics Institute data from 1999 to 2009, and on the works about trade creation (Balassa 1965, Jovanovic 2005, Molle 2006, the paper wants to point out the aspects of trade concentration in certain regions after the establishment of free trade agreements, and the danger posed by financial crises. This paper analyzes first the situation in the EU27, scanning each member state in order to see the degree of trade relations intra / extra EU. The data will be than compared to another set of analyzes of other four important regions, the Andean Community, ASEAN, MERCOSUR, and NAFTA, whose free trade agreements could support such of comparison with the EU trade relations. The paper follows the assumption that EU27 has the most integrated trade relations among all the analyzed regions. Based on this assumption and on statistical data that points out the percentage change of total imports and exports in the Romanian GDP, some conclusions will be drown out in order to establish some necessary measures to prevent a future crisis, measures that involve the political class, taping new trade opportunities such as Latin American countries, Middle Eastern countries, and South-East Asia, but not forgetting Russia, Romania's former main export partner, establishing clear objectives

  15. Trading network predicts stock price.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xiao-Qian; Shen, Hua-Wei; Cheng, Xue-Qi

    2014-01-16

    Stock price prediction is an important and challenging problem for studying financial markets. Existing studies are mainly based on the time series of stock price or the operation performance of listed company. In this paper, we propose to predict stock price based on investors' trading behavior. For each stock, we characterize the daily trading relationship among its investors using a trading network. We then classify the nodes of trading network into three roles according to their connectivity pattern. Strong Granger causality is found between stock price and trading relationship indices, i.e., the fraction of trading relationship among nodes with different roles. We further predict stock price by incorporating these trading relationship indices into a neural network based on time series of stock price. Experimental results on 51 stocks in two Chinese Stock Exchanges demonstrate the accuracy of stock price prediction is significantly improved by the inclusion of trading relationship indices.

  16. INTERACTION OF TRADE AND FINANCIAL LINKAGES IN THE FREE TRADE ZONES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Shevchenko

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Different models of free trade agreements (FTA and free trade zones (FTZ are considered in the article, argued the complex approach to their structures and results under unstable global economic environment. The typology of the free trade zones models and financial linkages types between countries have been developed. Approaches to the results of the free trade zones have been argued. It has been discovered that for the free trade zones of transitional countries the prevailing are tarde flows concentration whereas financial and investment linkages are acting with developed countries. The main directions of increasing of the financial linkages results in the free trade zones have been discovered.

  17. A Ricardian model of new trade and location theory

    OpenAIRE

    Ricci, Luca Antonio

    1996-01-01

    This paper provides a new model of firm's location choices. It integrates a Ricardian model of comparative advantage with the location effects deriving from trade costs, increasing returns to scale, product differentiation, and monopolistic competition. In a two-region, two-differentiated-good, one-factor framework, the regional degree of specialization depends positively on the extent of the comparative advantage in productivity and on the degree of returns to scale; it depends negatively on...

  18. Handbook of Carbon Offset Programs. Trading Systems, Funds, Protocols and Standards

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kollmuss, Anja; Lazarus, Michael; Lee, Carrie; Polycarp, Clifford (SEI-US (United States)); LeFranc, Maurice (US EPA (United States))

    2010-03-15

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets have long been promoted as an important element of a comprehensive climate policy approach. Offset programs can reduce the overall cost of achieving a given emission goal by enabling emission reductions to occur where costs are lower. Offsets have the potential to deliver sustainability co-benefits, through technology development and transfer. They can also develop human and institutional capacity for reducing emissions in sectors and locations not included in a cap and trade or a mandatory government policy. However, offsets can pose a risk to the environmental integrity of climate actions, especially if issues surrounding additionality, permanence, leakage, quantification and verification are not adequately addressed. The challenge is to design offset programs and policies that can maximize their potential benefits while minimizing their potential risks. This handbook provides a systematic and comprehensive review of existing offset programs. It looks are what offsets are, how offset mechanisms function, and the successes and pitfalls they have encountered. Coverage includes offset programs across the full swath of applications including mandatory and voluntary systems, government regulated and private markets, carbon offset funds, and accounting and reporting protocols such as the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol and ISO 14064. Learning from the successes and failures of these programs will be essential to crafting effective climate policy. A reference for regulators, policy makers, business leaders and NGOs concerned with the design and operation of GHG offset programs world-wide

  19. Deepening the economic integration in the Eastern Partnership: from a Free Trade Area to a Neighbourhood Economic Community?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela DRĂGAN

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Different forms of cooperation and regional integration, implying specific institutional agreements and instruments, have been developed in the last decades in the EU neighbourhood. The offer provided by the Eastern Partnership (EaP, which includes both economic and political objectives, has not proven attractive enough for the Eastern Neighbourhood. The region is currently divided between two global powers (EU and Russia and two competing regional integration areas, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area and the Eurasian Single Economic Space. The paper focuses on the main limits of the economic tools included in the EU’s current offer and proposes several directions for EaP’s reform.

  20. 78 FR 69438 - AGOA: Trade and Investment Performance Overview; AGOA: Economic Effects of Providing Duty-Free...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-19

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 332-542, Investigation No. 332-544, Investigation No. 332-545, Investigation No. 332-546] AGOA: Trade and Investment Performance Overview; AGOA... To Promote Regional Integration and Increase Exports to the United States; EU-South Africa FTA...

  1. Trade in health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanda, Rupa

    2002-01-01

    In light of the increasing globalization of the health sector, this article examines ways in which health services can be traded, using the mode-wise characterization of trade defined in the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The trade modes include cross- border delivery of health services via physical and electronic means, and cross-border movement of consumers, professionals, and capital. An examination of the positive and negative implications of trade in health services for equity, efficiency, quality, and access to health care indicates that health services trade has brought mixed benefits and that there is a clear role for policy measures to mitigate the adverse consequences and facilitate the gains. Some policy measures and priority areas for action are outlined, including steps to address the "brain drain"; increasing investment in the health sector and prioritizing this investment better; and promoting linkages between private and public health care services to ensure equity. Data collection, measures, and studies on health services trade all need to be improved, to assess better the magnitude and potential implications of this trade. In this context, the potential costs and benefits of trade in health services are shaped by the underlying structural conditions and existing regulatory, policy, and infrastructure in the health sector. Thus, appropriate policies and safeguard measures are required to take advantage of globalization in health services. PMID:11953795

  2. Greenhouse gas emissions trading: Cogen case studies in the early trading market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buerer, Mary Jean

    2001-01-01

    An increasing number of companies are interested in opportunities to trade their reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from cogeneration on the emerging greenhouse gas emissions market. Only the UK and Denmark currently have emissions trading schemes, but they are under development in other European countries. Two frameworks currently exist for trading. Baseline-and-credit trading is used in Canada where companies can take part in two voluntary schemes (Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading Pilot or Clean Air Canada Inc). An example project from the CHP unit at DuPont's Maitland chemical production facility is given, with details of the baselines and calculations used. The other option is company-wide emissions trading. The example given here features the CHP units at BP's refinery and chemicals operations in Texas. The potential revenue from emission reduction projects could help to boost the economics of cogeneration projects

  3. Testing the theory of emissions trading : Experimental evidence on alternative mechanisms for global carbon trading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klaassen, Ger; Nentjes, Andries; Smith, Mark

    2005-01-01

    Simulation models and theory prove that emission trading converges to market equilibrium. This paper sets out to test these results using experimental economics. Three experiments are conducted for the six largest carbon emitting industrialized regions. Two experiments use auctions, the first a

  4. How does trade-mediated technology transfer affect interregional and intersectoral competition? Exploring multi-sectoral effects in a global trade model

    OpenAIRE

    Das, Gouranga

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, all technology transfers are embodied in trade flows within a three-region, six-tradedcommodity version of the GTAP model. 4% Hicks-Neutral technical progress in heavy manufacturing in one region has uneven impacts on productivity elsewhere. Why? Destination regions’ ability to harness new technology depends on their absorptive capacity and on the structural congruence of the source and destination. Together with trade volume, these two factors determine the recipi...

  5. Integrated model of multiple kernel learning and differential evolution for EUR/USD trading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Shangkun; Sakurai, Akito

    2014-01-01

    Currency trading is an important area for individual investors, government policy decisions, and organization investments. In this study, we propose a hybrid approach referred to as MKL-DE, which combines multiple kernel learning (MKL) with differential evolution (DE) for trading a currency pair. MKL is used to learn a model that predicts changes in the target currency pair, whereas DE is used to generate the buy and sell signals for the target currency pair based on the relative strength index (RSI), while it is also combined with MKL as a trading signal. The new hybrid implementation is applied to EUR/USD trading, which is the most traded foreign exchange (FX) currency pair. MKL is essential for utilizing information from multiple information sources and DE is essential for formulating a trading rule based on a mixture of discrete structures and continuous parameters. Initially, the prediction model optimized by MKL predicts the returns based on a technical indicator called the moving average convergence and divergence. Next, a combined trading signal is optimized by DE using the inputs from the prediction model and technical indicator RSI obtained from multiple timeframes. The experimental results showed that trading using the prediction learned by MKL yielded consistent profits.

  6. Integrated Model of Multiple Kernel Learning and Differential Evolution for EUR/USD Trading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shangkun Deng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Currency trading is an important area for individual investors, government policy decisions, and organization investments. In this study, we propose a hybrid approach referred to as MKL-DE, which combines multiple kernel learning (MKL with differential evolution (DE for trading a currency pair. MKL is used to learn a model that predicts changes in the target currency pair, whereas DE is used to generate the buy and sell signals for the target currency pair based on the relative strength index (RSI, while it is also combined with MKL as a trading signal. The new hybrid implementation is applied to EUR/USD trading, which is the most traded foreign exchange (FX currency pair. MKL is essential for utilizing information from multiple information sources and DE is essential for formulating a trading rule based on a mixture of discrete structures and continuous parameters. Initially, the prediction model optimized by MKL predicts the returns based on a technical indicator called the moving average convergence and divergence. Next, a combined trading signal is optimized by DE using the inputs from the prediction model and technical indicator RSI obtained from multiple timeframes. The experimental results showed that trading using the prediction learned by MKL yielded consistent profits.

  7. Trade Remedies: A Primer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Jones, Vivian C

    2006-01-01

    The United States and many of its trading partners use laws known as trade remedies to mitigate the adverse impact of various trade practices on domestic industries and workers. U.S. antidumping laws (19 U.S.C. 1673 et seq...

  8. Trade Remedies: A Primer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Jones, Vivian C

    2007-01-01

    The United States and many of its trading partners use laws known as trade remedies to mitigate the adverse impact of various trade practices on domestic industries and workers. U.S. antidumping (AD) laws (19 U.S.C. 1673 et seq...

  9. Trade Remedies: A Primer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Jones, Vivian C

    2008-01-01

    The United States and many of its trading partners use laws known as trade remedies to mitigate the adverse impact of various trade practices on domestic industries and workers. U.S. antidumping (AD) laws (19 U.S.C. 1673 et seq...

  10. EU-Korea FTA and Its Impact on V4 Economies. A Comparative Analysis of Trade Sophistication and Intra-Industry Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michalski Bartosz

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates selected short- and mid-term effects in trade in goods between the Visegrad countries (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Korea under the framework of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea. This Agreement is described in the “Trade for All” (2015: 9 strategy as the most ambitious trade deal ever implemented by the EU. The primary purpose of our analysis is to identify, compare, and evaluate the evolution of the technological sophistication of bilateral exports and imports. Another dimension of the paper concentrates on the developments within intra-industry trade. Moreover, these objectives are approached taking into account the context of the South Korean direct investment inflow to the V4. The evaluation of technological sophistication is based on UNCTAD’s methodology, while the intensity of intra-industry trade is measured by the GL-index and identification of its subcategories (horizontal and vertical trade. The analysis covers the timespan 2001–2015. The novelty of the paper lies in the fact that the study of South Korean-V4 trade relations has not so far been carried out from this perspective. Thus this paper investigates interesting phenomena identified in the trade between the Republic of Korea (ROK and V4 economies. The main findings imply an impact of South Korean direct investments on trade. This is represented by the trade deficit of the V4 with ROK and the structure of bilateral trade in terms of its technological sophistication. South Korean investments might also have had positive consequences for the evolution of IIT, particularly in the machinery sector. The political interpretation indicates that they may strengthen common threats associated with the middle-income trap, particularly the technological gap and the emphasis placed on lower costs of production.

  11. The geography of international trade in services: Australia and the APEC region

    OpenAIRE

    Kevin O'Connor; Peter Daniels

    2001-01-01

    This paper develops a new perspective to describe and account for the geography of trade in advanced services. The authors begin by acknowledging the national and global significance of trade in advanced services within national economic change and also global trade policy. They find current approaches to this issue, based on firm decisionmaking, are narrow, and seek out a broader perspective. The foundation for that perspective incorporates established research on the preconditions necessary...

  12. Legal market abuse regulations of WpHG (law on stock trading) and the REMIT-VO in the electricity spot trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Retsch, Alexander T.

    2014-01-01

    The thesis on legal market abuse regulations of WpHG (law on stock trading) and the REMIT-VO in the electricity spot trading include the discussion of the following issues: market abuse, its forms of appearance (market manipulation, insider trade, insider information), electricity spot trading, relevant legislative frame, market abuse regulations (WpHG), interdiction of market manipulation and related regulations.

  13. Cultural similarity and international trade in a panel of nations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E-G Hwang

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Using a gravity model and the data of a panel of eight nations, we present evidence that supports the views that geographical influence on trade had increased from 1985 to 1997. In both years, linguistic influence on trade is found to exist in export but not in import. The estimated results show a positive relation between religious similarity and international trade for the year 1985 but not for the year 1997. However, there is an indication that, for 1997, the religious dissimilarity tends to discourage international trade with low-income countries and regions and to encourage international trade with high-income countries. We also find that, for low-income trade partners, religious dissimilarity retards imports more than exports; by contrast, for high-income trade partners, it encourages exports more than imports.

  14. Essays on investor behavior and trading activity

    OpenAIRE

    Kyröläinen, P. (Petri)

    2007-01-01

    Abstract This thesis investigates a set of equity market phenomena associated with investors' trading activity, using a comprehensive Finnish Central Securities Depository (FCSD) database that records practically all trades by Finnish investors. This database enables us to classify a large number of heterogeneous investors using both economic and institutional characteristics. The first essay classifies investors by trading activity. It analyzes trading styles of active and passive inv...

  15. Asset Prices and Trading Volume under Fixed Transactions Costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Andrew W.; Mamaysky, Harry; Wang, Jiang

    2004-01-01

    We propose a dynamic equilibrium model of asset prices and trading volume when agents face fixed transactions costs. We show that even small fixed costs can give rise to large "no-trade" regions for each agent's optimal trading policy. The inability to trade more frequently reduces the agents' asset demand and in equilibrium gives rise to a…

  16. Exchange Rate and the PRC Foreign Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izotov D. A.

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The stages of exchange rate regulation and foreign trade systems reforming in PRC during the period 1978-2008 are examined. A quantitative assessment of PRC foreign trade parameters reactions to the currency rate dynamics on the national and regional levels is made. Also the import and export impact of potential exchange rate changes is estimated

  17. A Review of Economic Analyses on the World Trade Organization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jee-Hyeong Park

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available The GATT, which later became the WTO, has contributed to the expansion and activation of world trade by assisting trading partners to establish and enforce international trade rules through multilateral trade negotiations. Currently negotiations for new trade rules are contironing by launching Doha Round. This review intends to promote understanding of a basic analytical framework, upon which constructive debates and research have been conducted about the role of the WTO in the world trade regime. To achieve this goal, we provide a review of recent theoretical developments in studies on the role of the WTO regarding trade negotiations and rule enforcement, based on a commonly used model of trade in the literature. With respect to trade negotiations, we review a study of the effect of the reciprocity principle and most favored nation clause of the WTO on the outcome of trade negotiations and analyze the race-to-the-bottom concerns that the exclusive focus of the WTO on tariff negotiations will promote deterioration of environmental and labor standards. Regarding the rule of enforcement, we introduce the repeated game framework that is often used in the analysis of international trade rule enforcement, then discuss the studies on the role of safeguard provisions and the dispute settlement procedure of the WTO.

  18. Trading emissions improve air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lents, J.M.

    1993-01-01

    While admitting sharply contrasting views exist, James M. Lents of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in southern California sees emissions trading open-quotes as a lifesaver for our troubled planet.close quotes He explains: open-quotes If political support for the environment is to be maintained, we must seek the most economical and flexible means of pursuing cleanup. At present, market incentives and emissions trading represent our best hope.close quotes Lents is putting his money where his pen is. The air quality management district he heads plans to use market incentives, including emissions trading, to reduce air pollution in the notoriously dirty southern California area. When the system goes into operation in 1994, he estimates it will save southern California businesses more than $400 million a year in compliance costs, while also making major improvements in the region's air quality. If the idea works there, why won't it work elsewhere, even on a global scale, Lents asks? He believes it will. But open-quotes the ultimate success of emissions-trading programs, whether regional, national, or international in scope, lies in the proof that they're actually achieving reductions in harmful emissions,close quotes he emphasizes. open-quotes These reductions must be real and verifiable to satisfy the Clean Air Act and a skeptical public.close quotes

  19. Liberalising trade in health services: constraints and prospects for South Asian countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatun, Fahmida; Ahamad, Mazbahul

    2015-01-01

    This paper attempts to examine the prospects and challenges associated with liberalising trade in health services in five South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Country-specific secondary information, a brief literature review of empirical studies and debriefing sessions with key stakeholders are employed to explore the issues related to liberalising health services trade. The health sectors in India, Nepal and Pakistan are scheduled under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) classification, whereas those in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are not. In Bangladesh, there is opportunity for investment in joint venture hospitals under Mode 3. Nonetheless, India is the largest trader in health services under all four modes. In Sri Lanka, cross-border trade in healthcare services is found to be insignificant. Moreover, expertise in eye treatment in Nepal could also attract foreign investment in medical services under Mode 3. In contrast, Pakistan exhibits no potential under Mode 4, because of a lack of healthcare professionals. In this view, the prospects of trade in health services within the South Asian region under the four GATS modes are constrained by infrastructural, regulatory, perception-related, logistical and cultural problems. Considering the level of development and commercial opportunities, regional integration in the health sector could be explored in such areas as telemedicine, medical tourism, cross-border investment and capacity building of health personnel. These developments call for stronger and pro-active government-to-government collaboration in the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region in a transparent and accountable manner. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Trade in goods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Karsten Engsig

    2006-01-01

    An analysis of the rules governing trade in goods under the GATT agreement and the Agreement on Safeguards......An analysis of the rules governing trade in goods under the GATT agreement and the Agreement on Safeguards...

  1. The Geometry of Nutrient Space-Based Life-History Trade-Offs: Sex-Specific Effects of Macronutrient Intake on the Trade-Off between Encapsulation Ability and Reproductive Effort in Decorated Crickets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapkin, James; Jensen, Kim; Archer, C Ruth; House, Clarissa M; Sakaluk, Scott K; Castillo, Enrique Del; Hunt, John

    2018-04-01

    Life-history theory assumes that traits compete for limited resources, resulting in trade-offs. The most commonly manipulated resource in empirical studies is the quantity or quality of diet. Recent studies using the geometric framework for nutrition, however, suggest that trade-offs are often regulated by the intake of specific nutrients, but a formal approach to identify and quantify the strength of such trade-offs is lacking. We posit that trade-offs occur whenever life-history traits are maximized in different regions of nutrient space, as evidenced by nonoverlapping 95% confidence regions of the global maximum for each trait and large angles (θ) between linear nutritional vectors and Euclidean distances (d) between global maxima. We then examined the effects of protein and carbohydrate intake on the trade-off between reproduction and aspects of immune function in male and female Gryllodes sigillatus. Female encapsulation ability and egg production increased with the intake of both nutrients, whereas male encapsulation ability increased with protein intake but calling effort increased with carbohydrate intake. The trade-offs between traits was therefore larger in males than in females, as demonstrated by significant negative correlations between the traits in males, nonoverlapping 95% confidence regions, and larger estimates of θ and d. Under dietary choice, the sexes had similar regulated intakes, but neither optimally regulated nutrient intake for maximal trait expression. We highlight the fact that greater consideration of specific nutrient intake is needed when examining nutrient space-based trade-offs.

  2. Determinants of Iran's BilateralIntra-industry Trade in Pharmaceutical Industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghlmand, Siamak; Rahimi, Bahlol; Farrokh-Eslamlou, Hamidreza; Nabilou, Bahram; Yusefzadeh, Hassan

    2018-01-01

    Among non-oil and in trade arena, drug has always been strategic importance and most government especially industrialized countries pay special attention to its production and trade issues. Thus, having a comprehensive view from economic perspective to this section is essential for suggesting intervention. This was a descriptive-analytical and panel study. In this study, gravity model is used to estimate Iran's bilateral intra-industry trade in pharmaceutical products in the 2001-2012 periods. To illustrate the extent of pharmaceutical's intra-industry trade between Iran and its major trading partners, the explanatory variables of market size, income, factor endowments, distance, cultural contributions, and similarities and also special trade arrangements have been applied. Analysis of factors affecting Iran's bilateral intra-industry trade in pharmaceutical industry showed that the average GDP and cultural similarities had a significant positive impact on Iran's bilateral IIT, while the difference in GDP has a negative and significant effect. Coefficients obtained for the geographical distance and the average ratio of total capital to the labor force is not consistent with theoretical expectations. Special trade arrangements did not have significant impact on the extent of bilateral intra-industry trade between Iran and its trading partners. The knowledge of the intra-industry trade between Iran and its trade partners make integration between the countries. Factors affecting this type of trade pattern underlie its development in trade relationship. Therefore, the findings of this study would be useful in helping to develop and implement policies for the expansion of the pharmaceutical trade.

  3. Draft Public Health Statement on the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-01-01

    The U.S. is rapidly negotiating a raft of new regional and bilateral trade agreements. The most recent agreement, with Central America, [was to] come before Congress for a vote as soon as late May. There is growing concern that international trade agreements threaten health care and the health of communities. . . . The Draft Public Health Statement on the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), developed by CPATH which planned a campaign around the issues, analyzes key provisions from the perspective of public health and suggests reframing the trade debate in terms of health.

  4. Canadian municipal carbon trading primer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seskus, A.

    2002-01-01

    The trading of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is being suggested as an effective economic way to meet Canada's Kyoto target. Emissions trading is a market-based instrument that can help achieve environmental improvements while using the market to absorb the economical and effective measures to achieve emissions reductions. Placing a value on emissions means that in order to minimize costs, companies will be motivated to apply the lowest-cost emission reductions possible for regulatory approval. The two main types of emissions trading that exist in Canada are the trading of emissions that lead to the formation of smog or acid rain, and the trading of greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change. Since carbon dioxide is the most prevalent GHG, making up approximately 75 per cent of Canadian GHG emissions, the trading of units of GHGs is often referred to as carbon trading. The impact that emissions trading will have on municipal operations was the focus of this primer. The trading of GHG involves buying and selling of allowances of GHGs between contracting parties, usually between one party that is short of GHG credits and another that has excess credits. The 3 common approaches to emissions trading include allowance trading (cap and trade), credit trading (baseline and credit), and a hybrid system which combines both credit and allowance trading systems. The issues that impact municipalities include the debate regarding who owns the credits from landfills, particularly if power is generated using landfill gas and the power is sold as green power. Other viable questions were also addressed, including who can claim emission reduction credits if a city implements energy efficiency projects, or fuel substitution programs. Also, will municipalities be allowed to trade internationally, for example, with municipalities in the United States, and how should they spend their money earned from selling credits. This report also presents highlights from 3 emissions

  5. Negotiating a Plurilateral Agreement on Trade in Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the ongoing plurilateral negotiations for a new Agreement on Trade in Services. Its aim is to answer to the following set of questions: (1 What are the motivations behind these negotiations as well as the objectives of the new plurilateral trade in services agreement? How will the architecture of the new agreement look like? (2 What are the interests involved in negotiating this new plurilateral agreement on trade in services? and (3 How will it fit into the multilateral trading system revolving around the WTO? According to the findings of the paper, the new deal that is promoted by 23 like-minded WTO Members, including the EU, is a policy response to disappointment over the protracted multilateral talks and the very impasse of the Doha Round. Yet, the stakes on negotiating an ambitious market opening for services are quite high, given the importance of services in international trade and particularly their crucial role in global production networks, that dominate nowadays global production, trade and investments.

  6. The Impact of Transport on International Trade Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlović Duško

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available International trade implies transport of specific quantity of goods to (frequently large distances, the success of which depends on the safety and speed of delivery. These are greatly conditioned by the quality of means of transport and infrastructure. This is why international trade development is affected by transport, and the development of means of transport and infrastructure is, to a great extent, influenced by demand for international delivery of various commodities. This paper looks at the interdependence of international trade and transport, showing how transport played a very significant role in international trade development in the past as it does today, commensurate to the role of international trade in the development of carriers and transport infrastructure.

  7. The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – A Challenge for the European Union?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oana–Antonia Colibășanu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Since the early 2000s, the United States and European Union have discussed the development of bilateral and regional trade agreements. The TTIP – Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was announced in February 2013 and is currently under negotiation. The initiative aims at establishing a trade agreement between the two blocs, removing all trade barriers, including the non-tariff ones, in a wide range of economic sectors. The paper looks at several key elements that the bilateral negotiations are set to challenge from the European Union perspective. We focus on the main causes for resistance within the EU towards establishing the agreement, seeking to understand the future framework for international trade for the European states. While the EU continues integration to establish a functioning internal market, still continuing the process of diminishing and eliminating non-tariff barriers among the member states, we examine whether liberalisation of trade and investment between the US and the EU will benefit the EU as a whole, considering the current socio-economic trends at the Union’s level.

  8. 78 FR 30269 - Foreign-Trade Zone 129-Bellingham, Washington; Authorization of Production Activity; T.C. Trading...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-22

    ... proposed production activity to the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board on behalf of T.C. Trading Company, Inc... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-8-2013] Foreign-Trade Zone 129--Bellingham, Washington; Authorization of Production Activity; T.C. Trading Company, Inc. (Eyeglass Assembly and Kitting...

  9. Heterogeneous trade agreements, WTO membership and international trade : an analysis using matching econometrics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kohl, Tristan; Trojanowska, Sofia

    2015-01-01

    This article explores the heterogeneous effects of trade agreements (TAs) and World Trade Organization (WTO) membership on the volume of international trade. We extend Baier and Bergstrand’s (2009a) application of matching econometrics by distinguishing between different types of TAs and WTO

  10. Biclustering Learning of Trading Rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Qinghua; Wang, Ting; Tao, Dacheng; Li, Xuelong

    2015-10-01

    Technical analysis with numerous indicators and patterns has been regarded as important evidence for making trading decisions in financial markets. However, it is extremely difficult for investors to find useful trading rules based on numerous technical indicators. This paper innovatively proposes the use of biclustering mining to discover effective technical trading patterns that contain a combination of indicators from historical financial data series. This is the first attempt to use biclustering algorithm on trading data. The mined patterns are regarded as trading rules and can be classified as three trading actions (i.e., the buy, the sell, and no-action signals) with respect to the maximum support. A modified K nearest neighborhood ( K -NN) method is applied to classification of trading days in the testing period. The proposed method [called biclustering algorithm and the K nearest neighbor (BIC- K -NN)] was implemented on four historical datasets and the average performance was compared with the conventional buy-and-hold strategy and three previously reported intelligent trading systems. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed trading system outperforms its counterparts and will be useful for investment in various financial markets.

  11. Trade Finance and Trade Collapse during the Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from the Republic of Korea

    OpenAIRE

    E. Young Song

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the role of trade finance in the trade collapse of 2008-09 from the perspective of the Korean economy. We use two approaches. Firstly, as background to a more formal analysis, we make a casual observation on the behavior of aggregate data on trade finance, on which Korea has relatively abundant data. Aggregate data do not convincingly support the view that trade finance played an active role in causing the trade collapse. The measures of trade finance and the value of trad...

  12. Reconsidering the origins of the Southern African regionalism thirty years later: towards a constructivist approach to the origins of SADC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Abel Moma

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The creation of SADCC has generated a debate over the real origins of the southern African model of regionalism. This paper develops the idea that the origins of SADC are both internal and external. Thus, southern African regionalism is understood as a constructivist articulation of internal and external inputs, which determined the creation of SADCC and its transformation into SADC.

  13. Trade Liberalization and Organizational Change

    OpenAIRE

    Paola Conconi; Patrick Legros; Andrew F. Newman

    2008-01-01

    We embed a simple incomplete-contracts model of organization design in a standard two-country perfectly-competitive trade model to examine how the liberalization of product and factor markets affects the ownership structure of firms. In our model, managers decide whether or not to integrate their firms, trading off the pecuniary benefits of coordinating production decisions with the private benefits of operating in their preferred ways. The price of output is a crucial determinant of this cho...

  14. Trade Policies in Central Asia after EU Enlargement and before Russian WTO accession: Regionalism and Integration into the world economy.

    OpenAIRE

    Richard Pomfret

    2005-01-01

    This paper analyses the choices between regionalism and multilateralism, and the impact of WTO membership on the five Central Asian countries. The two main sections analyse (1) why the large number of regional trade agreements which the Central Asian countries have signed have had little economic impact, and (2) the consequences for the Central Asian countries of Chinese and Russian WTO membership and the consequences of the current Central Asian applicants’ (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbeki...

  15. Trade tensions between EU and Russia: Possible effects on trade in agricultural commodities for Visegrad countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erokhin, V.; Heijman, W.J.M.; Ivolga, A.

    2014-01-01

    The paper includes overview of the current state of the EU-CIS and the EU-Russia trade flows with particular attention to trade in agricultural commodities, as well as contemporary tendencies in agricultural production and foreign trade in agricultural commodities and food in Russia. The paper

  16. Quantifying the Effect of Macroeconomic and Social Factors on Illegal E-Waste Trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efthymiou, Loukia; Mavragani, Amaryllis; Tsagarakis, Konstantinos P

    2016-08-05

    As illegal e-waste trade has been significantly growing over the course of the last few years, the consequences on human health and the environment demand immediate action on the part of the global community. Though it is argued that e-waste flows from developed to developing countries, this subject seems to be more complex than that, with a variety of studies suggesting that income per capita is not the only factor affecting the choice of regions that e-waste is illegally shipped to. How is a country's economic and social development associated with illegal e-waste trade? Is legislation an important factor? This paper aims at quantifying macroeconomic (per capita income and openness of economy) and social (human development and social progress) aspects, based on qualitative data on illegal e-waste trade routes, by examining the percentage differences in scorings in selected indicators for all known and suspected routes. The results show that illegal e-waste trade occurs from economically and socially developed regions to countries with significantly lower levels of overall development, with few exceptions, which could be attributed to the fact that several countries have loose regulations on e-waste trade, thus deeming them attractive for potential illegal activities.

  17. Framework for conducting environmental assessments of trade negotiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-02-01

    This document described the complex task of assessing the environmental impacts of trade negotiations with particular emphasis on the framework of the Strategic Environmental Assessment which the Government of Canada will conduct through a systematic process which can identify and evaluate possible and significant environmental impacts of an initiative. The objective of the assessment is to integrate environmental considerations into decision-making processes at the earliest possible stage. The first part of the framework identifies the importance of recognizing environmental considerations of trade and explains how the framework will contribute to environmental policy. The second part of the framework outlines the process and analytical requirements for conducting an environmental assessment of a trade negotiation. Environmental Assessment Committees will be formed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and will include representatives from federal government departments and agencies. All analyses will be conducted in four stages which will include identifying the economic effect of the negotiation, identifying the likely environmental impact of such changes, assessing the significance of the likely environmental impacts, and identifying enhancement/mitigation options to inform the negotiations. The framework is designed to be flexible enough to be used at current and future trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization, the Free Trade Area of the Americas and in bilateral Free Trade Agreements. An environmental assessment of trade negotiations is considered to be an important decision-making tool for promoting sustainable development. 16 refs., 1 tab

  18. Bitcoin trading system

    OpenAIRE

    Turšič, Samo

    2015-01-01

    In this thesis an information solution was developed that enables the implementation of different trading strategies and backtesting over cryptocurrency Bitcoin trading data. Supported exchanges are Bitstamp, BTC-e and MtGox. In the field of technical analysis there already exist various solutions for Bitcoin that help traders to trade and advise them on basis of technical indicators and patterns. However, each has its own drawbacks, which we are aiming to fix. A web application was developed...

  19. Bitcoin trading system

    OpenAIRE

    Turšič, Samo

    2014-01-01

    In this thesis an information solution was developed that enables the implementation of different trading strategies and backtesting over cryptocurrency Bitcoin trading data. Supported exchanges are Bitstamp, BTC-e and MtGox. In the field of technical analysis there already exist various solutions for Bitcoin that help traders to trade and advise them on basis of technical indicators and patterns. However, each has its own drawbacks, which we are aiming to fix. A web application was developed...

  20. 76 FR 71378 - Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy ACTION: Meeting notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory... Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: November 30, 2011; 2-4:30 p.m.; U.S...

  1. 77 FR 65581 - Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy ACTION: Meeting notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory... Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: November 13, 2012; 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m...

  2. Strategic trade between two regions with partial local consumer protection - General setup and nash equilibria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iordanov, Iordan V.; Vassilev, Andrey A.

    2017-12-01

    We construct a model of the trade relations between two regions for the case when the trading entities (consumers) compete for a scarce good and there is an element of strategic interdependence in the trading process. Additionally, local consumers enjoy partial protection in the form of guaranteed access to a part of the locally-supplied quantity of the good. The model is formulated for the general asymmetric case, where the two regions differ in terms of parameters such as income, size of the local market supply, degree of protection and transportation costs. For this general model we establish the existence of Nash equilibria and obtain their form as a function of the model parameters, producing a typology of the equilibria. This is a required step in order to rigorously study various types of price dynamics for the model.

  3. FAIR TRADE: ITS REAL IMPACT ON THE WORKING POOR

    OpenAIRE

    Leonid A. Krasnozhon; David Simpson; Walter E. Block

    2015-01-01

    Fair trade gains popularity, while free trade is undergoing more and more criticism. Since international free trade supposedly pollutes the environment, promotes the utilization of sweatshops, exploits child labor, and impoverishes developing countries, fair trade is a preferable alternative (World Fair Trade Organization, 2011). By reviewing empirical studies and examining regulations concerning fair trade practices, this paper provides a comparative analysis of both free and fair trade in l...

  4. Discourse on corruption counteraction in network trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonid A. Zhigun

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective to determine the specific forms of corruption and promising methods to counteract corruption in network trade. Methods the combination of inductive observations comparisons generalizations facts and trends of corruption in network trade with a logical analytical deduction of economic theories and the corruption concept are the basis of the study and provide an opportunity on the one hand to assess the level of compliance of theoretical concepts of corruption with the practice and on the other handnbsp to determine their applicability to organize opposition and create conditions to prevent its occurrence to summarize the features of corruption in the form of a kickback the discourse method was applied in this work. Results on the basis of theoretical provisions and facts of corruption in trade it is proved that it has typical characteristics of corruption in commercial and nonprofit organizations. The key reasons are identified why corruption occurs in trade. Among them supply of poor quality goods at inflated prices leading to bribery in the form of laquopersonal bonusraquo to administrator of the trading organization when selling goods by an unscrupulous supplier and also supply goods to the trade organizations which will not buy without kickback. Most of these corrupt deals are carried out by natural monopolies in the form of state and municipal procurement. In some cases the kickback is the argument stimulating the decision to introduce new and advanced technologies. The factors that lead to corruption in trade are listed and reasonable methods to counteract it are grounded allowing to create conditions for its eradication in other branches of business as well. Scientific novelty for the first time a generalization has been made about the deficit as the driving force in the mechanism when the bribegivers and bribetakers change places. Practical significance the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in the

  5. Electric power trading. The first study on stakes and consequences of power trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-06-01

    Power trading (purchase/sale of electricity on a stock exchange) is an emerging activity in continental Europe while it already came to maturity in the US, in the UK and in Scandinavia. Several stock exchanges have opened since 1988, in particular in Germany, Spain and in The Netherlands. New projects of creation are under study, except in France where public authorities remain reticent with respect to this evolution. Power trade is deeply overturning the organization of power markets with offering an alternative to the direct supply from producers and distributors. This study presents the functioning modes of the main stock exchanges in operation today. It analyzes the stakes of power trade for all intervening parties of the market (historical actors, newcomers and consumers). The situation and the strategic behaviour of 12 key-actors of the power sector are also examined. (J.S.)

  6. DETECTING VERTICAL INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE IN CULTURAL PRODUCTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Affortunato Francesca

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The European integration process has always since markedly characterized by the increasing incidence of Intra-Industry Trade. This has been theoretically justified on the grounds of the new approaches emerging in international trade literature, based on imperfect competition and differentiated products. In recent years another distinctive economic feature of European Union is the importance gained by the so called “cultural and creative sectors”, which are often studied and monitored by reports for their great growth potential. We provide here a systematic decomposition of world trade in “cultural/creative goods” for the year 2009 (using harmonised bilateral flows for some 213 products defined as “cultural products” by UNESCO, 2009 into three trade types: inter-industry, intra-industry (IIT in horizontally versus vertically differentiated products. We show that the world trade in cultural goods is significantly characterised by two-way trade of vertically differentiated products. Moreover we specifically focus on the Italian peculiarities in the “cultural trade”: therefore we first work out which ones of the world countries are the “top exporters” of these categories of products and then we compute an indicator of the Italian goods’ quality relative to each of these competitors. Not surprisingly, we find that the most important bilateral IIT intensities in cultural products are observed in Europe. However the presence of developing countries is not unimportant. This can be explained partly to as a consequence of the increasing level of trade integration among some Asian countries and as a consequence of an increasing despecialization of firstly industrialized countries in the production and trading of these products. Finally, with reference to the relative quality of Italian cultural products compared with that of the other top-exporters in these sectors, we find that Italian

  7. From climate change to emissions trading : a briefing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marcu, A.

    2002-01-01

    Global warming is caused by the presence of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the earth's atmosphere. These gases include, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxide and methane. GHGs trap heat between the earth's atmosphere and the earth's surface to cause an overall warming trend of the Earth. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was established to address the issue of climate change and to determine the anthropogenic impact on climate change. Evidence from ice cores suggest that global warming has occurred in the past. The current state of global warming was examined by comparing the climate of today with that of the past. It was determined that the current global warming trend surpasses that of any ever observed in the past. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 as a policy set to address the need for the world to reduce GHG emissions into the atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol puts forth 3 sets of mechanisms to help businesses reduce GHG emissions. Emissions trading is one of them: it is a financial flexibility mechanism that allows businesses that have emitted more than their allowed share of GHGs to buy allowances from business that have emitted fewer GHGs than they were allowed. Emissions trading does not create reductions, however, it identifies the most economical solution to reduce GHGs. TransAlta, Ontario Power Generation and Suncor have conducted a few transactions to see how the market will work. There will be a global register to keep track of all assigned allowances. The paper described government action in addressing the climate change issue with reference to actions in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland. Canada has initiated the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading Pilot (GERT) to test the effectiveness of emission reduction trading for GHGs in the Canadian context. GERT is a partnership between the federal government, some provinces, industry, labour and environmental groups. Ontario has established a

  8. Online stock trading platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion LUNGU

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The Internet is the perfect tool that can assure the market’s transparency for any user who wants to trade on the stock market. The investor can have access to the market news, financial calendar or the press releases of the issuers. A good online trading platform also provides real-time intraday quotes, trading history and technical analysis giving the investor a clearer view of the supply and demand in the market. All this information provides the investor a good image of the market and encourages him to trade. This paper wishes to draft the pieces of an online trading platform and to analyze the impact of developing and implementing one in a brokerage firm.

  9. Trade Finance and Trade Collapse during the Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from the Republic of Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Young Song

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the role of trade finance in the trade collapse of 2008-09 from the perspective of the Korean economy. We use two approaches. Firstly, as background to a more formal analysis, we make a casual observation on the behavior of aggregate data on trade finance, on which Korea has relatively abundant data. Aggregate data do not convincingly support the view that trade finance played an active role in causing the trade collapse. The measures of trade finance and the value of trade both dropped sharply, but the ratio of trade finance over trade was stable and in some cases increased during the crisis period. Secondly, using quarterly data on listed firms in Korea, we conduct panel estimations to test whether firms that are more dependent on external finance experienced greater export contraction during the crisis. Our regression analysis suggests that the financial vulnerability of firms, measured by various financial ratios, did not contribute to export contraction during the financial crisis. This observation largely applies even to smaller firms, who are usually thought of as being more vulnerable financially. However, we find that small exporters that relied heavily on cross-border trade payables or receivables suffered larger drops in export growth during the crisis.

  10. Green certificates: a new currency for trading the environmental benefits of renewable energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crookall-Fallon, C.; Crozier-Cole, T.

    2000-01-01

    This article examines the driving force of the Kyoto Protocol on the EU's proposed Directive to stimulate the use of renewable energy sources for generating electricity, and the forthcoming sixth conference of the Parties to the UN National Framework Convention on Climatic Change where it is hoped that the EU will ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol requiring the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. Details of the EU's Directive on the liberalisation of the internal market for electricity and targets for increasing renewable energy electricity consumption are given. Trading environmental benefits of renewable generation, the concept of trading green certificates, the challenges to creating a green certificate market, national green certificate systems such as the Dutch and Danish systems, and the progress towards Europe-wide green certificate trading are discussed

  11. A Trading Agent for a Multi-Issue Clearing House

    Science.gov (United States)

    Debenham, John

    The potential size of the electronic business market offers great incentives to trading agents that can bargain, bid in auctions and trade in exchanges. Much of business negotiation is multi-issue. A generic 'information-based' agent is proposed for multi-issue negotiation. Successful negotiation depends on shrewd strategies driven by the right information. This agent has machinery to value information and to manage its integrity. A multi-issue, many-to-many clearing house, and an agent to trade in it, are proposed.

  12. Liability rules for international trading of greenhouse gas emissions quotas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haites, E.; Missfeldt, F.

    2001-01-01

    To reduce the costs of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Kyoto protocol, international trades of emissions quotas are allowed. The revenue from the sale of quotas may exceed the sanctions for non-compliance if these penalties are weak or poorly enforced. Under...... these circumstances emissions trading enables a country to benefit financially through non-compliance. To counter non-compliance due to trading a range of liability proposals have been suggested. Using a simple global model, we analyze the economic and environmental performance of these proposals for the first...

  13. Pollution added credit trading (PACT). New dimensions in emissions trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaltegger, Stefan; Thomas, Tom

    1996-01-01

    To date, sources of hazardous, toxic, or otherwise harmful emissions have been regulated on a pollutant by pollutant basis. Environmental policies, even the more advanced 'incentive-based' programs, have focused on individual substances rather than on the overall environmental problem to which the substances contribute. This has produced results that are less economically efficient and ecologically effective than is desirable. A more comprehensive approach combines the principles of emission reduction credit trading with advances made recently in the field of environmental impact assessment, to yield an advanced form of inter-pollutant trading, which we refer to as pollution added credit trading (PACT). PACT incorporates a method for estimating the total environmental harm generated (pollution added) by a facility emitting a variety of pollutants. Weightings that reflect relative harm are used to calculate total pollution added. Each facility covered by PACT would receive annual allowances for total pollution added that they could discharge to the environment. As with existing emissions trading programs, surplus allowances could be sold and shortfalls would be covered by purchasing other facilities' surplus allowances. PACT is more efficient than single-pollutant emissions trading in that it captures differences in marginal reduction costs that exist between pollutants as well as between facilities. It is more ecologically effective because it focuses on the overall environmental problem, rather than on the individual pollutants that contribute to the problem

  14. Sustainable Trade Credit and Replenishment Policies under the Cap-And-Trade and Carbon Tax Regulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juanjuan Qin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers the sustainable trade credit and inventory policies with demand related to credit period and the environmental sensitivity of consumers under the carbon cap-and-trade and carbon tax regulations. First, the decision models are constructed under three cases: without regulation, carbon cap-and-trade regulation, and carbon tax regulation. The optimal solutions of the retailer in the three cases are then discussed under the exogenous and endogenous credit periods. Finally, numerical analysis is conducted to obtain conclusions. The retailer shortens the trade credit period as the environmental sensitivity of the consumer is enhanced. The cap has no effects on the credit period decisions under the carbon cap-and-trade regulation. Carbon trade price and carbon tax have negative effects on the credit period. The retailer under carbon cap-and-trade regulation is more motivated to obey regulations than that under carbon tax regulation when carbon trade price equals carbon tax. Carbon regulations have better effects on carbon emission reduction than with exogenous credit term when the retailer has the power to decide with regards credit policies.

  15. PHILIPPINE COCONUT INDUSTRY AND THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE

    OpenAIRE

    Oniki, Shunji

    1992-01-01

    This study explores effects of Philippines' coconut policies on the performance in the international market. Analysis of the coconut sector found that the Philippine government successfully changed the structure of the coconut industry during the 1970's using a fund collected as coconut levies. Since the Philippines dominated the international trade market of coconut products, it could exercise dominant market power in the world trade, by integrating the domestic sector. However, the industri...

  16. Navigating trade-offs in land-use planning: integrating human well-being into objective setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa M. Adams

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available There is an increasing demand for development of natural resources, which can be accompanied by environmental degradation. Planning for multiple land uses requires navigating trade-offs between social, economic, and environmental outcomes arising from different possible futures. To explore these trade-offs, we use the Daly River catchment, in Australia's Northern Territory, as a case study. The catchment contains areas of priority for both conservation and development. In response to the challenge of navigating the required trade-offs, the Daly River Management Advisory Committee (DRMAC initiated a land-use plan for the region. Both development and conservation of natural resources in the catchment will affect human well-being and the long-term provisioning of ecosystem services in diverse ways. To understand some of these impacts, an innovative engagement process was designed to elicit the relative importance of key factors to residents' well-being. The process identified 19 well-being factors grouped into four domains: biodiversity, socio-cultural, recreational, and commercial. Overall, the highest-ranked well-being factors were in the social-cultural and biodiversity domains while commercial values were ranked the least important. Respondents reported low satisfaction with commercial factors as well, noting concerns over environmental impacts from existing developments and sustainability of future developments. We identified differences in the reported importance values for several types of stakeholders, most notably between indigenous respondents and those employed in the agricultural sectors. Indigenous respondents placed greater importance on biodiversity and socio-cultural factors. Agricultural respondents placed greater importance on commercial factors. The outcomes of our engagement were integrated into DRMAC's process of objective-setting to ensure that objectives for each domain were included in land-use planning. Our results can also

  17. Prospects of international trade in irradiated foods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loaharanu, P.

    1990-01-01

    Irradiation is gaining recognition as a physical process for reducing food losses, enhancing hygienic quality of food and facilitating food trade. At present, 36 countries have approved the use of irradiation for processing collectively over 40 food items either on an unconditional or restricted basis. Commercial use of irradiated foods and food ingredients is being carried out in 22 countries. Technology transfer on food irradiation is being intensified to local industry in different regions. Worldwide, a total of 40 commercial/demonstration irradiators available for treating foods have been or are being constructed. Acceptance and control of international trade in irradiated foods were discussed at the International Conference on the Acceptance, Control of and Trade in Irradiated Food, jointly convened by FAO, IAEA, WHO and ITC-UNCTAD/GATT in Geneva, Switzerland, 12-16 December 1988. An ''International Document on Food Irradiation'' was adopted by consensus at this Conference which will facilitate wider acceptance and control of international trade in irradiated foods. (author)

  18. Trade, Labor, Legitimacy

    OpenAIRE

    Guzman, Andrew

    2003-01-01

    The relationship between international trade and labor standards is one of several controversial issues facing the WTO. Proponents of a trade-labor link argue that labor is a human rights issue and that trade sanctions represent a critical tool in the effort to improve international working conditions. Opponents argue that a link between trade and labor would open the door to protectionist measures that would target low wage countries and harm the very workers the policy is intended to help. ...

  19. China and India: Openness, Trade and Effects on Economic Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marelli, Enrico

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to analyse the economic growth of China and India in terms of their integration in the global economy. We begin with a discussion of some stylized facts concerning their recent economic growth, the most significant institutional reforms, with particular reference to trade relations, and their impact on their economic development. We then propose a descriptive analysis of economic growth, opening up of the economies and trade specialisation, by comparing the features and trends of the two countries (by considering trade and foreign direct investment data. We have also estimated some econometric relations between economic growth and trade/openness, with the addition of control variables (such as the gross fixed capital formation. We initially used a panel data model for the two countries, to be estimated with fixed effects; to test for reverse causality, we re-estimated the fixed effects model by 2SLS (with the inclusion of specific instrumental variables. The effect on economic growth (in terms of GDP per capita of our variables of interest - Openness and FDI - remains positive and statistically significant in all specifications, which confirms our findings even if we treat these variables as endogenous variables. The results prove the positive growth effects, for the two countries, of opening up and integrating in the world economy. Note that the robust growth of these two "giants" has contained the initial impact of the recent global crisis and is now sustaining the recovery of the entire world economy. Other policy relevant implications are discussed in the concluding section.

  20. International trade and inequality

    OpenAIRE

    Urata, Sh¯ujir¯o; Narjoko, Dionisius A.

    2017-01-01

    The impact of globalization on equality has become a serious concern for many countries. More evidence that challenges the theoretical prediction of positive impact of international trade on income distribution has increasingly become available recently. This paper addresses this subject, surveying the empirical findings on the impact of international trade on inequalities from various perspectives. The survey reveals that an increase in trade openness by developing countries appears to have ...

  1. Tariffs on power trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van de Water, C.J.

    1995-01-01

    For optimal use of power systems, transmission services must be independent from production. Moreover the costs of electrical energy transmission should be well known and be paid according to a tariff system approximating to the real network costs. These two conditions for power trading will lead to an optimal power system. In a competitive power production market, the transmission and distribution companies will remain monopolistic because they are the only facilitators of power trading. The pricing signals of the transmission and distribution costs determine the playing field for the competitors. These are production offers and bidders. The transmission pricing must for that reason be simple, correct and based on marginal costs to make optimal use of the system

  2. The Role of China in the UK Relative Imports from Three Selected Trading Regions: The Case of Textile Raw Material Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Junqian

    2017-01-01

    The UK textile industry was very prosperous in the past but in the 1970s Britain started to import textile materials from abroad. Since 1990, half of its textile materials have been imported from the EEA (European Economic Area), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and North America countries. Meanwhile, UK imports from China have increased dramatically. Through comparisons, this paper calculates the trade competitiveness index and relative competitive advantages of regions and investigates the impact of Chinese textiles on UK imports from three key free trade regions across the textile sectors in the period 1990–2016 on the basis of United Nation Comtrade Rev. 3. We find that China’s textile prices, product techniques, political trade barriers and even tax system have made a varied impact on the UK’s imports across related sectors in the context of green trade and the strengthening of barriers, which helps us recognize China’s competitiveness in international trading and also provides advice on China’s sustainable development of textile exports. PMID:29189756

  3. BP's emissions trading system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Victor, David G.; House, Joshua C.

    2006-01-01

    Between 1998 and 2001, BP reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than 10%. BP's success in cutting emissions is often equated with its use of an apparently market-based emissions trading program. However no independent study has ever examined the rules and operation of BP's system and the incentives acting on managers to reduce emissions. We use interviews with key managers and with traders in several critical business units to explore the bound of BP's success with emissions trading. No money actually changed hands when permits were traded, and the main effect of the program was to create awareness of money-saving emission controls rather than strong price incentives. We show that the trading system did not operate like a 'textbook' cap and trade scheme. Rather, the BP system operated much like a 'safety valve' trading system, where managers let the market function until the cost of doing so surpassed what the company was willing to tolerate

  4. Trade, Technology Diffusion and Misallocation : Trade Partner Matters (Replaces CentER DP 2011-125)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Curuk, M.

    2012-01-01

    Abstract: This paper suggests that contingent on the productivity level of the trade partner; international trade may create resource misallocation in less productive countries. It theoretically shows how the interaction between technology diffusion induced by trade and cross sectoral heterogeneity

  5. An integrated model for simulating nitrogen trading in an agricultural catchment with complex hydrogeology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, T J; Rutherford, J C; Kerr, S C; Smeaton, D C; Palliser, C C

    2013-09-30

    Nitrogen loads to several New Zealand lakes are dominated by nonpoint runoff from pastoral farmland which adversely affects lake water quality. A 'cap and trade' scheme is being considered to help meet targets set for nitrogen loads to Lake Rotorua, and a numerical model, NTRADER, has been developed to simulate and compare alternative schemes. NTRADER models both the geophysics of nitrogen generation and transport, including groundwater lag times, and the economics of 'cap and trade' schemes. It integrates the output from several existing models, including a farm-scale nitrogen leaching and abatement model, a farm-scale management economic model, and a catchment-scale nitrogen transport model. This paper details modeling methods and compares possible trading program design features for the Lake Rotorua catchment. Model simulations demonstrate how a cap and trade program could be used to effectively achieve challenging environmental goals in the targeted catchment. However, results also show that, due to complex hydrogeology, satisfactory environmental outcomes may be not achieved unless groundwater lag times are incorporated into the regulatory scheme. One way to do this, as demonstrated here, would be to explicitly include lag times in the cap and trade program. The utility of the model is further demonstrated by quantifying relative differences in abatement costs across potential regulatory schemes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Greenhouse gas credits trade versus biomass trade – weighing (Workshop Summary)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Junginger, H.M.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Robertson, K.; Woes-Gallasch, S.; Schlamadinger, B.

    2006-01-01

    A workshop entitled ‘Greenhouse gas credits trade versus biomass trade – weighing the benefits’, jointly organised by IEA Bioenergy Tasks 38 (GHG Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems) and 40 (Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade: Securing Supply and Demand), and ENOVA, took place in

  7. 78 FR 7395 - Foreign-Trade Zone 129-Bellingham, WA; Notification of Proposed Production Activity; T.C. Trading...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-01

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-8-2013] Foreign-Trade Zone 129--Bellingham, WA; Notification of Proposed Production Activity; T.C. Trading Company, Inc. (Eyeglass Assembly and Kitting... activity on behalf of T.C. Trading Company, Inc. (T.C. Trading), located in Blaine, Washington. The...

  8. Trading away what kind of jobs? Globalization, trade and tasks in the US economy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemeny, Thomas; Rigby, David

    2012-04-01

    Economists and other social scientists are calling for a reassessment of the impact of international trade on labor markets in developed and developing countries. Classical models of globalization and trade, based upon the international exchange of finished goods, fail to capture the fragmentation of much commodity production and the geographical separation of individual production tasks. This fragmentation, captured in the growing volume of intra-industry trade, prompts investigation of the effects of trade within, rather than between, sectors of the economy. In this paper we examine the relationship between international trade and the task structure of US employment. We link disaggregate US trade data from 1972 to 2006, the NBER manufacturing database, the Decennial Census, and occupational and task data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Within-industry shifts in task characteristics are linked to import competition and technological change. Our results suggest that trade has played a major role in the growth in relative demand for nonroutine tasks, particularly those requiring high levels of interpersonal interaction.

  9. Fishers, Fair Trade, and finding middle ground

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bailey, Megan; Bush, Simon; Oosterveer, Peter; Larastiti, Laksmi

    2016-01-01

    The goal of Fair Trade certification is to contribute to sustainable development by offering trading conditions that are transparent and equitable. One important condition is improved market access and strengthened producer organizations. In regions like Southeast Asia this goal can be hard to

  10. Banking and Trading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boot, A.W.A.; Ratnovski, L.

    2016-01-01

    We study the interaction between relationship banking and short-term arm’s length activities of banks, called trading. We show that a bank can use the franchise value of its relationships to expand the scale of trading, but may allocate too much capital to trading ex post , compromising its ability

  11. Trade reform in Iran for accession to the World Trade Organization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Farajzadeh, Zakariya; Zhu, Xueqin; Bakhshoodeh, Mohammad

    2017-01-01

    We developed a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to study the potential welfare and environmental impacts of Iran's trade reform for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Our results show that removing trade barriers not only results in higher welfare and GDP as well as lower

  12. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading for the Transport Sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holmgren, Kristina; Belhaj, Mohammed; Gode, Jenny; Saernholm, Erik; Zetterberg, Lars; Aahman, Markus

    2006-12-01

    In this study we have analysed different options to apply emissions trading for greenhouse gas emissions to the transport sector. The main focus has been on the EU transport sector and the possibility to include it in the current EU ETS in the trading period beginning in 2013. The purpose was to study how different alternatives will affect different actors. Focus has been on three sub-sectors; road transport, aviation and shipping. The railway sector has only been treated on a general level. The study includes the following three parts: 1. An economic analysis of the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions trading for the transport sector including an analysis of how the total cost for reaching an emission target will be affected by an integrated emissions trading system for the transport sector and the industry (currently included sectors) compared to separate systems for the sectors, 2. An analysis of design possibilities for the different sub-sectors. Discussion of positive and negative aspects with different choices of design parameters, such as trading entity, covered greenhouse gases, allocation of emission allowances and monitoring systems, 3. Examination of the acceptance among different actors for different options of using greenhouse gas emissions trading in the transport sector. When setting up an emissions trading scheme there are a number of design parameters that have to be analysed in order to find an appropriate system, with limited administrative and transaction costs and as small distortions as possible to competitiveness

  13. Illegal trade of tortoises (Testudinata) in Colombia: A network analysis approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arroyave Bermudez, Felber Jair; Romero Goyeneche, Oscar Yandy; Bonilla Gomez, Maria Argenis; Hurtado Heredia, Rafael German

    2014-01-01

    The use of wildlife is important for supporting the economic and demographic growth in emerging countries. Nevertheless, the products of wildlife usually come from illegal trade to supply fur, wild meat and pet markets. Illegal trade puts great pressure over wild populations and threats some endangered species. In Colombia, the trade of wildlife is important because of the volumes traded and the cultural and economic connotation of some products. We describe the spatial structure of illegal trade of wildlife at departmental level for the five most traded genera of Colombian tortoises (Trachemys, Chelonoidis, Kinosternon, Podocnemis and Rhinoclemmys). This study is based on the reports of seizures between 2005 and 2009 compiled by the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo of Colombia. We apply network analysis to study and evidence that the illegal trade network of tortoises includes international markets and supplies the Andean region. The Caribbean, Pacific and Orinoquia regions are the principal suppliers. Quindio, Santander, Antioquia and Putumayo are the biggest jobbers and consumers of wild tortoises. We propose sociocultural and cohercitive actions to fragment the trade network and their illegal market as well as promoting the conservation and sustainable use of tortoises.

  14. Trade and climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamiotti, L.; Teh, R.; Kulacoglu, V. (World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva (Switzerland)); Olhoff, A.; Simmons, B.; Abaza, H. (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (Denmark))

    2009-06-15

    The Report aims to improve understanding about the linkages between trade and climate change. It shows that trade intersects with climate change in a multitude of ways. For example, governments may introduce a variety of policies, such as regulatory measures and economic incentives, to address climate change. This complex web of measures may have an impact on international trade and the multilateral trading system. The Report begins with a summary of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change and on the options available for responding to the challenge of climate change. The scientific review is followed by a part on the economic aspects of the link between trade and climate change, and these two parts set the context for the subsequent parts of the Report, which looks at the policies introduced at both the international and national level to address climate change. The part on international policy responses to climate change describes multilateral efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the effects of climate change, and also discusses the role of the current trade and environment negotiations in promoting trade in technologies that aim to mitigate climate change. The final part of the Report gives an overview of a range of national policies and measures that have been used in a number of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase energy efficiency. It presents key features in the design and implementation of these policies, in order to draw a clearer picture of their overall effect and potential impact on environmental protection, sustainable development and trade. It also gives, where appropriate, an overview of the WTO rules that may be relevant to such measures. (author)

  15. Regional integration, improving women's economic situation, and ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Regional integration, improving women's economic situation, and ... of the West African Economic and Monetary Union on their economic development, the ... production sectors, and commercialization networks affected by regional trade, the ...

  16. Determinants of Iran’s Bilateral Intra-industry Trade in Pharmaceutical Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghlmand, Siamak; Rahimi, Bahlol; Farrokh-Eslamlou, Hamidreza; Nabilou, Bahram; Yusefzadeh, Hassan

    2018-01-01

    Among non-oil and in trade arena, drug has always been strategic importance and most government especially industrialized countries pay special attention to its production and trade issues. Thus, having a comprehensive view from economic perspective to this section is essential for suggesting intervention. This was a descriptive-analytical and panel study. In this study, gravity model is used to estimate Iran’s bilateral intra-industry trade in pharmaceutical products in the 2001-2012 periods. To illustrate the extent of pharmaceutical’s intra-industry trade between Iran and its major trading partners, the explanatory variables of market size, income, factor endowments, distance, cultural contributions, and similarities and also special trade arrangements have been applied. Analysis of factors affecting Iran’s bilateral intra-industry trade in pharmaceutical industry showed that the average GDP and cultural similarities had a significant positive impact on Iran’s bilateral IIT, while the difference in GDP has a negative and significant effect. Coefficients obtained for the geographical distance and the average ratio of total capital to the labor force is not consistent with theoretical expectations. Special trade arrangements did not have significant impact on the extent of bilateral intra-industry trade between Iran and its trading partners. The knowledge of the intra-industry trade between Iran and its trade partners make integration between the countries. Factors affecting this type of trade pattern underlie its development in trade relationship. Therefore, the findings of this study would be useful in helping to develop and implement policies for the expansion of the pharmaceutical trade. PMID:29881438

  17. International Trade of Biofuels (Brochure)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2013-05-01

    In recent years, the production and trade of biofuels has increased to meet global demand for renewable fuels. Ethanol and biodiesel contribute much of this trade because they are the most established biofuels. Their growth has been aided through a variety of policies, especially in the European Union, Brazil, and the United States, but ethanol trade and production have faced more targeted policies and tariffs than biodiesel. This fact sheet contains a summary of the trade of biofuels among nations, including historical data on production, consumption, and trade.

  18. Firms, Technology and Trade

    OpenAIRE

    Caldera Sanchez, Aida

    2010-01-01

    This doctoral dissertation studies the effect of economic integration on the performance of firms. The ongoing process of global economic integration has been characterized by dismantling of trade barriers and openness to foreign direct investments (FDI). These changes have not only brought opportunities to firms in terms of market access and the possibility to learn about foreign technologies brought in by foreign counterparts. The new economic environment has also posed new challenges throu...

  19. Benefits of trade facilitation as a simpler procedure for world trade growth

    OpenAIRE

    Miteva-Kacarski, Emilija; Gorgieva-Trajkovska, Olivera

    2011-01-01

    “The simplification and harmonisation of international trade procedures” where trade procedures are the “activities, practices and formalities involved in collecting, presenting, communicating and processing data required for the movement of goods in international trade” is trade facilitation according the WTO. Trade facilitation initiatives benefit both the business community and governments. The business community benefits by obtaining enhanced competitiveness in national and international ...

  20. Modern Integration Processes in the Asia-Pacific Region: the Formation of Trans-Regional Mega-Agreements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maliuta Iryna A.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In the 21st century, especially in the last decade, new intercontinental integration projects appear on the global stage with a high potential for influencing the regional economic structure and at the same time bearing certain challenges for the international geo-economic and geo-political map of the world. Comprehensive new-generation inter-regional agreements are being formed, such as the TTP, the TTIP, the RCEP, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the EU (CETA, the Japan-EU Economic Partnership. The Asia-Pacific region has been an active participant in the creation and promotion of mega-regional trade agreements. Mega-regional trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the TTP and the RCEP, are analyzed as mega-projects with an unprecedented scale of liberalization within the framework of the agreement that include provisions complementing the WTO framework or extending beyond it. There identified reasons for the emergence of mega-regional trade agreements and prospects for the implementation of these projects, as well as possible consequences for the international economic system. It is established that new trans-regional projects, providing certain advantages to the participating countries, simultaneously carry both opportunities and challenges for the world economy. The latter are associated with the threats of crowding the countries that do not take an active part in the integration processes out of the global chains of value creation as well as of the processes of international trade.

  1. Agricultural trade and the global phosphorus cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schipanski, M.; Bennett, E.; Riskin, S.; Porder, S.

    2012-12-01

    Trends of increasing agricultural trade, increased concentration of livestock production systems, and increased human consumption of livestock products influence the distribution of nutrients across the global landscape. Phosphorus (P) represents a unique management challenge as we are rapidly depleting mineable reserves of this essential and non-renewable resource. At the same time, its overuse can lead to pollution of aquatic ecosystems. We analyzed the relative contributions of food crop, feed crop, and livestock product trade to P flows through agricultural soils for twelve countries from 1961 to 2007. We then used case studies of P fertilizer use in the world's three major soybean export regions: Iowa (USA), Mato Grosso (Brazil), and Buenos Aires (Argentina) to examine the influence of historical P management and soil types on agriculture's environmental consequences. Due to the intensification of agricultural production, average soil surface P balances more than tripled from 6 to 21 kg P per ha between 1961 and 2007 for the twelve study countries. Consequently, countries that are primarily agricultural exporters carried increased risks for water pollution or, for Argentina, reduced soil fertility due to soil P mining to support exports. In 2007, nations imported food and feed from regions with higher apparent P fertilizer use efficiencies than if those crops were produced domestically. However, this was largely because imports were sourced from regions depleting soil P resources to support export crop production. In addition, the pattern of regional specialization and intensification of production systems also reduced the potential to recycle P resources, with greater implications for livestock production than crop production. In a globalizing world, it will be increasingly important to integrate biophysical constraints of our natural resources and environmental impacts of agricultural systems into trade policy and agreements and to develop mechanisms that

  2. 48 CFR 52.225-3 - Buy American Act-Free Trade Agreements-Israeli Trade Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Trade Agreements-Israeli Trade Act. 52.225-3 Section 52.225-3 Federal Acquisition Regulations System... Text of Provisions and Clauses 52.225-3 Buy American Act—Free Trade Agreements—Israeli Trade Act. As prescribed in 25.1101(b)(1)(i), insert the following clause: Buy American Act—Free Trade Agreements—Israeli...

  3. A trade balance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daugbjerg, Carsten; Kay, Adrian

    2014-01-01

    The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been widely accepted as representing the legalisation of world trading rules. However, it is important to reflect on the limits of this legalisation thesis in terms of the interface between international and domestic policy processes. By...

  4. The Carbon Trading Price and Trading Volume Forecast in Shanghai City by BP Neural Network

    OpenAIRE

    Liu Zhiyuan; Sun Zongdi

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, the BP neural network model is established to predict the carbon trading price and carbon trading volume in Shanghai City. First of all, we find the data of carbon trading price and carbon trading volume in Shanghai City from September 30, 2015 to December 23, 2016. The carbon trading price and trading volume data were processed to get the average value of each 5, 10, 20, 30, and 60 carbon trading price and trading volume. Then, these data are used as input of BP neural network...

  5. National Framework for GHG Emission Trading in Russia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kotov, V.; Nikitina, E.

    2003-01-01

    If Russia ratifies the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), domestic implementation of its international commitments under this international regime will require special national responses, i.e. institutional capacity building for application of its mechanisms. The Kyoto Protocol and its mechanisms, particularly, international emission trading (IET) and joint implementation (JI), mark a turning point, with opportunities for Russia to benefit from an economic and environmental standpoint from international cooperation. Russia might wish to sell to other parties a surplus in its assigned amount for the first commitment period in 2008-2012, as according to existing estimates its GHG emissions are expected to be below their 1990 base level. In order to participate in international emission trading, Russia has to meet several international requirements, including providing national inventory and reporting and establishing national registry compatible with the standard international format. It is to establish a domestic institutional regime defining laws and rules of behaviour for its participants, the administrative frameworks, and designing major schemes for domestic emission trading programme. Russia's emission trading system is not formed yet. This is a challenging innovation for Russia, as in its previous environmental management practices it did not have any experience in domestic emission trading with other air pollutants. The paper examines the key elements suggested in a number of existing proposals, assessments, and approaches of the government, parliamentarians and non-governmental experts for its institutional design which is at the core of ongoing climate policy debates in the country. These approaches and practical suggestions define the current state-of-the-art in domestic emission trading regime formation and channel the paths of its institutional development in the future. This paper analyses peculiarities

  6. Trade, Transparency, and Welfare in the Asia Pacific

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazutomo Abe

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the impact of reducing corruption and improving transparency to lower trade costs in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation region. The authors find, based on a computable general equilibrium model, significant potential trade and welfare gains for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation members, with increased transparency and lower levels of corruption. Results suggest that trade in the region would increase by 11 percent and global welfare would expand by USD 406 billion by raising transparency to the average in the region. Most of the increase in welfare would take place in member economies undertaking reform. Among the reformers, the gross domestic product (GDP of Vietnam, Thailand, Russia, and the Philippines would increase by approximately 20 percent. The benefits to Malaysia and China would also be substantial with increased transparency and lower levels of corruption.

  7. Are Preferential Trade Agreements with Non-trade Objectives a Stumbling Block for Multilateral Liberalization?

    OpenAIRE

    Nuno Limão

    2007-01-01

    In many preferential trade agreements (PTAs), countries exchange not only reductions in trade barriers but also cooperation in non-trade issues such as labour and environmental standards, intellectual property, etc. We provide a model of PTAs motivated by cooperation in non-trade issues and analyse its implications for global free trade and welfare. We find that such PTAs increase the cost of multilateral tariff reductions and thus cause a stumbling block to global free trade. This occurs bec...

  8. EU Emission Trading: Starting with Carbon Dioxide

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vesterdal, Morten; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

    2003-01-01

    The Commission of the European Union wants to start a limited emission trading scheme by 2005 within the Community to enable "learning-by-doing" prior to the Kyoto Protocol. This to accomplish the desired 8% target level for six different greenhouse gases. However, in the EU it is not clear whether...... all the six relevant greenhouse gases or only CO2 should be traded. What is the simplest and most practicable solution? We argue in favour of the latter option for three main reasons: the possible dominating global warming potential of CO2, expected future developments in CO2 emissions and the fact...

  9. Trade between China and the Netherlands: a case study of trade in tasks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    den Butter, F.A.G.; Hayat, R.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose - This paper argues that the recent rise in China Dutch trade is a typical example of two nations trading tasks rather than goods. Design/methodology/approach - China Dutch trade growth between 1996 and 2010 is compared with China’s trade growth with its main partners. In addition, the

  10. Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade. Evaluating the impact of sustainability criteria and policy on past and future bioenergy supply and trade

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lamers, Patrick

    2014-01-01

    Within a single decade, bioenergy has shifted from a largely local energy source with marginal trade volumes to a globally traded item. The primary objective of this thesis is to evaluate the links between national renewable energy support and trade policies and market forces on past global

  11. INTEGRATION OF TRADE AND DISINTEGRATION OF PRODUCTION IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

    OpenAIRE

    Robert Feenstra

    2003-01-01

    The last few decades have seen a spectacular integration of the global economy through trade. The rising integration of world markets has brought with it a disintegration of the production process, however, in which manufacturing or services activities done abroad are combined with those performed at home. The author compares several different measures of foreign outsourcing and argues that they have all increased since the 1970s. He also considers the implications of globalization for employ...

  12. The Influence of Low-carbon Economy on Global Trade Pattern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao-jing, Guo

    Since global warming has seriously endangered the living environment of human being and their health and safety, the development of low-carbon economy has become an irreversible global trend. Under the background of economic globalization, low-carbon economy will surely exert a significant impact on global trade pattern. Countries are paying more and more attention to the green trade. The emission permits trade of carbon between the developed countries and the developing countries has become more mature than ever. The carbon tariff caused by the distribution of the "big cake" will make the low-cost advantage in developing countries cease to exist, which will, in turn, affect the foreign trade, economic development, employment and people's living in developing countries. Therefore, under the background of this trend, we should perfect the relevant laws and regulations on trade and environment as soon as possible, optimize trade structure, promote greatly the development of service trade, transform thoroughly the mode of development in foreign trade, take advantage of the international carbon trading market by increasing the added value of export products resulted from technological innovation to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results and promote common development.

  13. To Trade or Not to Trade: Firm-Level Analysis of Emissions Trading in Santiago, Chile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coria, Jessica; Loefgren, Aasa; Sterner, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    Whether tradable permits are appropriate for use in transition and developing economies - given special social and cultural circumstances, such as the lack of institutions and lack of expertise with market-based policies - is much debated. We conducted interviews and surveyed a sample of firms subject to emissions trading programs in Santiago, Chile, one of the first cities outside the OECD that has implemented such trading. The information gathered allow us to study what factors affect the performance of the trading programs in practice and the challenges and advantages of applying tradable permits in less developed countries

  14. Emission trading in Europe with an exchange rate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klassen, G.A.J.; Amann, M.; Foersund, F.R.

    1994-01-01

    The analytical and empirical properties of a new method for emission trading according to a fixed exchange rate are explored. The exchange rate is based on the ratios of the marginal costs of abatement in the optimal solution in order to account for the impact of the location of emission sources on the deposition. It is shown that, generally, this system will not achieve the optimal solution and does not guarantee that environmental deposition constraints are not violated, although total abatement costs are always reduced. A routine was developed to mimic trading as a bilateral, sequential process, subject to an exchange rate. Use has been made of an adapted version of the optimization module in the RAINS (REgional Acidification INformation and Simulation) model. In the example used, results for SO 2 emissions in Europe show that, starting from a uniform reduction, exchange-rate trading achieves higher cost savings than one-to-one trading, without achieving the cost minimum. Sulfur deposition targets are not violated since the initial emission allocation overfulfilled targets at many places. The results are sensitive to: pre-trade emission levels, the transaction costs, the availability of information on potential cost savings and assumptions made on the behavior of trading partners. 6 figs., 3 tabs., 28 refs

  15. A Unified Trading Model Based on Robust Optimization for Day-Ahead and Real-Time Markets with Wind Power Integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuewen Jiang

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In a conventional electricity market, trading is conducted based on power forecasts in the day-ahead market, while the power imbalance is regulated in the real-time market, which is a separate trading scheme. With large-scale wind power connected into the power grid, power forecast errors increase in the day-ahead market which lowers the economic efficiency of the separate trading scheme. This paper proposes a robust unified trading model that includes the forecasts of real-time prices and imbalance power into the day-ahead trading scheme. The model is developed based on robust optimization in view of the undefined probability distribution of clearing prices of the real-time market. For the model to be used efficiently, an improved quantum-behaved particle swarm algorithm (IQPSO is presented in the paper based on an in-depth analysis of the limitations of the static character of quantum-behaved particle swarm algorithm (QPSO. Finally, the impacts of associated parameters on the separate trading and unified trading model are analyzed to verify the superiority of the proposed model and algorithm.

  16. North American free trade and the European situation compared.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weintraub, S

    1992-01-01

    The author analyzes and compares the trade situation in the European Community (EC) with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He finds that "while both the EC and NAFTA are designed to provide trade preferences to the member countries, the two groupings differ markedly in other respects. The Treaty of Rome, establishing what is now the EC, consciously used economic means to foster political cohesion in Western Europe; whereas, the NAFTA negotiations seek free trade rather than more comprehensive economic integration precisely to minimize political content. The EC contains many social provisions absent from the NAFTA discussions, the most important of which is the right of migration from one EC country to another." The effects of NAFTA on the economy of Mexico and on Mexican migration to the United States are also assessed. excerpt

  17. SCRUB versus trade: Enemies or allies?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Platt, J.B.

    1992-01-01

    Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), scrubbing and emission allowance trading will play complementary roles. This paper reviews Phase I announced strategies and presents projections of technology controls, coal switching and industry-wide SO 2 removal costs under different assumptions about trading. The principal uncertainties characterizing today's planning environment are discussed -- ranging from changing expectations for fuel costs to swings in allowance prices and questions about regulation and new operating procedures. Economic forecasting is difficult. A clearer picture of Phase 2 strategies is emerging from EPRI's integrated analysis of fuel, technology and allowance markets -- based on collaboration between A. Van Horn and K. White (management consultants) and T. Hewson (Energy Ventures Analysis). About half the SO 2 reductions required in Phase 2 are likely to come from technology controls and half from coal switching. With trading, the highest cost open-quotes scrubsclose quotes and open-quotes switchesclose quotes can be avoided, more upgrading of low-cost scrubbing is expected, and the role of switching grows to a small extent. Additional benefits from trading, averaging and banking allowances are: better sequencing of technology controls, less stringent specs for equipment, and added flexibility/risk-sharing opportunities in contract arrangements

  18. Emissions Trading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woerdman, Edwin; Backhaus, Juergen

    2014-01-01

    Emissions trading is a market-based instrument to achieve environmental targets in a cost-effective way by allowing legal entities to buy and sell emission rights. The current international dissemination and intended linking of emissions trading schemes underlines the growing relevance of this

  19. Modelling Energy Systems and International Trade in CO2 Emission Quotas - The Kyoto Protocol and Beyond

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Persson, Tobias A.

    2002-01-01

    A transformation of the energy system in the 21st century is required if the CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere should be stabilized at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The industrialized countries have emitted most of the anthropogenic CO 2 released to the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial era and still account for roughly two thirds of global fossil fuel related CO 2 emissions. Industrial country CO 2 emissions on a per capita basis are roughly five to ten times higher than those of developing countries. However, a global atmospheric CO 2 concentration target of 450 ppm, if adopted would require that global average per capita CO 2 emissions by the end of this century have to be comparable to those of developing countries today. The industrialized countries would have to reduce their emissions substantially and the emissions in developing countries could not follow a business-as-usual scenario. The transformation of the energy system and abatement of CO 2 emissions would need to occur in industrialized and developing countries. Energy-economy models have been developed to analyze of international trading in CO 2 emission permits. The thesis consists of three papers. The cost of meeting the Kyoto Protocol is estimated in the first paper. The Kyoto Protocol, which defines quantitative greenhouse gas emission commitments for industrialized countries over the period 2008-2012, is the first international agreement setting quantitative goals for abatement of CO 2 emissions from energy systems. The Protocol allows the creation of systems for trade in emission permits whereby countries exceeding their target levels can remain in compliance by purchasing surplus permits from other developed countries. However, a huge carbon surplus, which has been christened hot air, has been created in Russia and Ukraine since 1990 primarily because of the contraction of their economies. The current Unites States

  20. FORMAL TRADE BETWEEN INDIA AND BANGLADESH: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. K.S. YADAV

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The importance of improving trade flows between India and Bangladesh is not only beneficial to them, but for the whole SAARC region, given that Bhutan and Nepal utilise Bangladesh ports as gateways to trade outside the region. Bangladesh’s overall exports are dominated by labour-intensive manufacturing and its imports to India by primary commodities. The shares of manufactured goods in country’s overall export were about 92 and 91 percent in 2001 and 2011 respectively. However, the composition of bilateral trade between these two countries has been changing over time. Addition and removal in the list of products of trade basket is a usual process. Consistent products in the trade basket of Bangladesh are ready made garments and sea food, whereas those of India are raw cotton, cereals and products and machinery of iron and steel. Expansion of trade of these countries with outside world, but not with each other confirms the prevalence of certain barriers, physical or non-physical in nature, rendering many potential products remain untraded. India and Bangladesh being geographically proximate to each other possess huge scope to trade. Specifically as both the countries are rich in natural resources and are competent in the production of small-scale manufacturing and agrarian supplies, mostly from the eastern parts of India and Bangladesh, both possess huge potential for bilateral trade. Many items having high trade potential are still not able to get market exposure in the neighbouring country because of various non-tariff barriers prevailing in current trade scenario, which have hiked up the cost of doing business to unacceptable proportions and as most of the highly tradable products are still kept under the sensitive lists of Bangladesh. There are numerous bottlenecks in the current trade infrastructure which turns out to be physical barrier to trade. The present paper highlights the import export and Exchange Rate change and prospects of

  1. Improving efficiency in bilateral emission trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burtraw, D.; Harrison, K.W.; Turner, P.

    1998-01-01

    When environmental damages from emissions are spatially nonuniform, permit trading has been modeled most often as a 'pollution offset program' in which emission permits are traded between agents, subject to constraints on ambient air quality. To date the institution envisioned to implement such a program involves trading on a bilateral and sequential basis. However, simulation studies indicate that the sequence of trades may alter the outcome and undermine the cost savings from a pollution offset program. This paper identifies a design for the trading institution that tends to overcome this phenomenon and improve the efficiency of equilibria obtained in a simulation model. We model a bilateral trading process for the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions with a stochastic description of the sequence of trades within groups of nations in Europe. When trading takes place between disaggregated, stylistic representations of economic enterprises, rather than between national governments, a significantly greater portion of potential savings is achieved. In fact, under most sets of assumptions, approximate first order stochastic dominance is achieved wherein the more decentralized the trading agents, the greater the expected savings from a trading program. 4 figs., 2 tabs., 31 refs

  2. Emission trading: A discussion paper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-05-01

    Emission trading is a market-based incentive program designed to control air emissions in which a cap is placed on the total quantity of pollutants allowed to be emitted in an airshed. Appropriate shares of this amount are allocated among participating emission sources, and participants can buy or sell their shares. Advantages of emission trading include its potential to achieve air emission targets at a lower cost than the traditional command and control approach, and its ability to accommodate economic growth without compromising environmental quality. A study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of emission trading programs to achieve emission reduction goals set for nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and sulfur oxides. Emission trading programs in the USA are reviewed and a set of factors important for the success of emission trading are identified. Key policy and design issues related to an emission trading program are identified, explained, and discussed. Administrative issues are then analyzed, such as legislative authority, monitoring and enforcement requirements, and trading between jurisdictions. A preliminary assessment of emission trading for control of NOx and VOC in the Lower Fraser Valley indicates that emission trading would be feasible, but legislative authority to implement such a program would have to be introduced

  3. Assessing the extent and nature of wildlife trade on the dark web.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Joseph R; Roberts, David L; Hernandez-Castro, Julio

    2016-08-01

    Use of the internet as a trade platform has resulted in a shift in the illegal wildlife trade. Increased scrutiny of illegal wildlife trade has led to concerns that online trade of wildlife will move onto the dark web. To provide a baseline of illegal wildlife trade on the dark web, we downloaded and archived 9852 items (individual posts) from the dark web, then searched these based on a list of 121 keywords associated with illegal online wildlife trade, including 30 keywords associated with illegally traded elephant ivory on the surface web. Results were compared with items known to be illegally traded on the dark web, specifically cannabis, cocaine, and heroin, to compare the extent of the trade. Of these 121 keywords, 4 resulted in hits, of which only one was potentially linked to illegal wildlife trade. This sole case was the sale and discussion of Echinopsis pachanoi (San Pedro cactus), which has hallucinogenic properties. This negligible level of activity related to the illegal trade of wildlife on the dark web relative to the open and increasing trade on the surface web may indicate a lack of successful enforcement against illegal wildlife trade on the surface web. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

  4. Question marks concerning CO2 trade after 2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wellander, Dag

    2006-01-01

    Different aspects of the Kyoto protocol are discussed, from the (in)significance of the Kyoto protocol, the inefficiency of the CO 2 trade system, to questions about how electricity prices will be affected in the EU, and what will be the solution in the future when the Kyoto agreement ends in 2012

  5. Firm Based Trade Models and Turkish Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nilüfer ARGIN

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Among all international trade models, only The Firm Based Trade Models explains firm’s action and behavior in the world trade. The Firm Based Trade Models focuses on the trade behavior of individual firms that actually make intra industry trade. Firm Based Trade Models can explain globalization process truly. These approaches include multinational cooperation, supply chain and outsourcing also. Our paper aims to explain and analyze Turkish export with Firm Based Trade Models’ context. We use UNCTAD data on exports by SITC Rev 3 categorization to explain total export and 255 products and calculate intensive-extensive margins of Turkish firms.

  6. Commentary: Moving towards policy coherence in trade and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walls, Helen; Baker, Phillip; Smith, Richard

    2015-11-01

    International trade has brought economic benefits to many countries, but the association of trade and investment liberalisation with poor health outcomes concerns the public health community. The need to secure more 'healthy' trade is a recognised priority, especially as countries move from global to regional/bilateral trade agreements - with greater public health risks. However, a transition towards 'healthier trade' may be hindered by worldview differences between the trade and health communities. There is a tendency for health actors to perceive trade as a threat to population health, and for trade actors to view health as a constraint to trade objectives of reducing barriers to cross-border commercial flows and economic growth. Unless such differing worldviews can be aligned, finding ways forward for addressing public health in trade policy is likely to be difficult. Moving forward will involve understanding the values and drivers of the respective groups, and developing solutions palatable to their various interests. Given the power imbalances between the two areas, it is likely that the health community will have to make the first moves in this respect. This article outlines the key issues involved and suggests areas where such moves have been, and may be made.

  7. Agricultural Trade Barriers 10 years later Uruguay Round Trade Agreement Signature

    OpenAIRE

    Mahia, R.; Arce, Rafael de; Escribano, Gonzalo

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, an analysis of current state of agricultural trade barriers is carried out alter ten years of Uruguay Round Agricultural Trade Agreement Signature The descriptive analysis showed that small advances in trade barriers removing have been taken out. About the heterogeneity in tariff applications, tariff progresivity and peak tariffs, the same situation is pointed out.

  8. Does AFTA Create More Trade for Thailand? An Investigation of Some Key Trade Indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piriya Pholphirul

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines whether the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA creates trade for Thailand or actually diverts it away from the country. It does this by analyzing various trade indicators: the Export Similarity Index, the Intra-Industry Trade Index, and Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA rank correlation. By examining the patterns of trade between Thailand and other members of ASEAN, it reveals a high degree of similarity regarding the trade structure between Thailand and AFTA, which indicates that there will be fewer trade-creation benefits from AFTA and a greater likelihood of trade diversion once the AFTA scheme has been fully implemented. This similarity pattern explains the reasons for future collaboration among member countries and supportive arguments for the future extension of ASEAN ("ASEAN+". Market-penetration and development strategies should be employed by Thai exporters when accessing the ASEAN market.

  9. REFERENCES OF THE NEW THEORY OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spiridon Pralea

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper shows that the dynamization of the traditional theory of international trade through the study of growth effects on the foreign trade in the framework of neoclassical analysis, alongsidethe approach with the Keynesian toolkit of the role of foreign trade as a factor of growth, have constituted the main aspects of the new theory of trade and economic growth. The “new theory” basically represents a set of theories and models of the type “growth-led export” or “export-led growth”, which explain the complex role of foreign trade in the dynamic of development, the new segments of international trade, and also provides base for trade strategies for development. Their typology includes: “import-substitutionstrategy”, “export-promotion strategy”, and more recently “outward oriented strategy”. In the context of regionalization and globalization of competition the author believes most appropriate the states’ option for a “outward - oriented competitive development strategy”.

  10. Strategic analysis on establishing a natural gas trading hub in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoguang Tong

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Since 2010, the LNG importing price premium in the Asia–Pacific markets has become increasingly high, generating great effects on the economic development in China. In addition, the natural gas dependence degree is expanding continuously, making it extremely urgent to establish a natural gas trading hub in China, with the aim to ensure national energy security, to gain the pricing power, and to build the regional benchmark prices. Through a comparative analysis of internal strength/weakness and external competitiveness, we concluded that with intensively-issued supporting policies on the natural gas sector, the initiation of spot and futures markets, the rapid growth of gas production and highly-improved infrastructures, as well as Shanghai's advantageous location, China has more advantages in establishing an Asian Natural Gas Trading Hub than other counties like Singapore, Japan and Malaysia. Moreover, based on the SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat and the marketization process analysis, the following strategies were presented: to impel the establishment of a natural gas trading hub depending on the gas supply condition, to follow the policies to complete the gas storage system, to form regional communities by taking comparative advantages, and to reinforce the marketization reform and regulation system establishment with foreign experiences for reference. This study rationalized the necessity and practicality of establishing a natural gas trading hub in China and will help China make a proper decision and find a periodical strategic path in this sector.

  11. Analysis of Ukraine’s foreign trade turnover in context of free trade zone with European Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    К.Shymanska

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The implementation of the free trade zone between Ukraine and the European Union has many advantages and disadvantages for our country. The changes in Ukraine’s economic integration vector cause much dispute about its prospects and profitability. Nevertheless, the strengthening of economic and political crisis leads to the reduction in foreign trade of Ukraine with the EU. Although in recent years, many institutional limitations for the Ukrainian producers’ entrance to European markets have been removed. The analysis of Ukraine's foreign trade turnover with EU countries showed the indicators of exports and imports structure in the partner countries and allowed to reveal decreasing of intensity of these operations. This can be a negative indicator of activities for the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU. The study has formulated the perspective directions of foreign trade policy of Ukraine, in particular with respect to the modernization of informational and technical support of the customs clearance of the goods movement, increasing control over the quality of Ukrainian goods and opportunities for the small and mediumsized entities entrance to the European markets.

  12. Extension of EU Emissions Trading Scheme to Other Sectors and Gases: Consequences for Uncertainty of Total Tradable Amount

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monni, S.; Syri, S.; Pipatti, R.; Savolainen, I.

    2007-01-01

    Emissions trading in the European Union (EU), covering the least uncertain emission sources of greenhouse gas emission inventories (CO 2 from combustion and selected industrial processes in large installations), began in 2005. During the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012), the emissions trading between Parties to the Protocol will cover all greenhouse gases (CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF 6 ) and sectors (energy, industry, agriculture, waste, and selected land-use activities) included in the Protocol. In this paper, we estimate the uncertainties in different emissions trading schemes based on uncertainties in corresponding inventories. According to the results, uncertainty in emissions from the EU15 and the EU25 included in the first phase of the EU emissions trading scheme (2005-2007) is ±3% (at 95% confidence interval relative to the mean value). If the trading were extended to CH 4 and N 2 O, in addition to CO 2 , but no new emissions sectors were included, the tradable amount of emissions would increase by only 2% and the uncertainty in the emissions would range from -4 to +8%. Finally, uncertainty in emissions included in emissions trading under the Kyoto Protocol was estimated to vary from -6 to +21%. Inclusion of removals from forest-related activities under the Kyoto Protocol did not notably affect uncertainty, as the volume of these removals is estimated to be small

  13. Protectionism, free trade and preferential trade: the Mexican experience 1970-2005

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a theoretical and applied analysis of free trade policies and protectionism. First, the evolution of free trade theories, vis-à-vis protectionist ideas, is described, starting from the classical economists, their assumptions and implications for attaining welfare Pareto optimality, full employment and growth. Secondly, a structural analysis of the Mexican economy’s performance in three successive but different periods, regarding trade policies for the last thirty-five years is presented. I conclude that extreme free-trade policies have not been good for economic stability, growth and employment creation in Mexico.

  14. Trade policy governance: What health policymakers and advocates need to know.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarman, Holly

    2017-11-01

    Trade policies affect determinants of health as well as the options and resources available to health policymakers. There is therefore a need for health policymakers and related stakeholders in all contexts to understand and connect with the trade policymaking process. This paper uses the TAPIC (transparency, accountability, participation, integrity, capacity) governance framework to analyze how trade policy is commonly governed. I conclude that the health sector is likely to benefit when transparency in trade policymaking is increased, since trade negotiations to date have often left out health advocates and policymakers. Trade policymakers and negotiators also tend to be accountable to economic and trade ministries, which are in turn accountable to economic and business interests. Neither tend to appreciate the health consequences of trade and trade policies. Greater accountability to health ministries and interests, and greater participation by them, could improve the health effects of trade negotiations. Trade policies are complex, requiring considerable policy capacity to understand and influence. Nevertheless, investing in understanding trade can pay off in terms of managing future legal risks. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. Trade of Solid Biofuels, and Fuel Prices in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alakangas, E.; Hillring, B.; Nikolaisen, L.S.

    2002-01-01

    Traditionally, biomass fuels are used in the same geographical region, in which they are produced. In more recent years, this pattern has been changed in Northern Europe by large-scale use of biomass for district heating and a vast supply of recycled wood and forest residues. The trade situation has come about as a result of means of control on waste and energy. Sea shipments allow bulk transports of biomass over long distances at low cost. In most countries, the customs statistics do not record trade in such a detail that the international trade of different biomass types could be identified. Today, solid biofuels like wood residues, pellets and wood chips are already traded in Europe and have reached a level of almost 50 PJ/a. In some countries, there is a growing interest in the international biomass trade, because the trade can provide biofuels at lower prices. The largest volumes of biomass are traded from the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) to the Nordic countries (especially Sweden and Denmark, but also Finland). Some volumes are also traded from Finland to other Nordic countries, and between neighbouring countries in Central Europe, especially the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Italy. The traded biofuel is most often of refined wood fuels (pellets and briquettes) and industrial by-products (sawdust, chips), in Central Europe also wood waste

  16. Trade of Solid Biofuels, and Fuel Prices in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alakangas, E. [VTT Processes, Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Hillring, B. [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden); Nikolaisen, L.S. [Danish Technological Inst. (DTI), Aarhus (Denmark). Centre for Biomass Technology

    2002-07-01

    Traditionally, biomass fuels are used in the same geographical region, in which they are produced. In more recent years, this pattern has been changed in Northern Europe by large-scale use of biomass for district heating and a vast supply of recycled wood and forest residues. The trade situation has come about as a result of means of control on waste and energy. Sea shipments allow bulk transports of biomass over long distances at low cost. In most countries, the customs statistics do not record trade in such a detail that the international trade of different biomass types could be identified. Today, solid biofuels like wood residues, pellets and wood chips are already traded in Europe and have reached a level of almost 50 PJ/a. In some countries, there is a growing interest in the international biomass trade, because the trade can provide biofuels at lower prices. The largest volumes of biomass are traded from the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) to the Nordic countries (especially Sweden and Denmark, but also Finland). Some volumes are also traded from Finland to other Nordic countries, and between neighbouring countries in Central Europe, especially the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Italy. The traded biofuel is most often of refined wood fuels (pellets and briquettes) and industrial by-products (sawdust, chips), in Central Europe also wood waste.

  17. 40 CFR 90.206 - Trading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Trading. 90.206 Section 90.206... Trading Provisions § 90.206 Trading. (a) An engine manufacturer may exchange emission credits with other engine manufacturers in trading, subject to the trading restriction specified in § 90.207(c)(2). (b...

  18. Crossing the roof of the world: Trade in medicinal plants from Nepal to China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Jun; Yang, Bin; Dong, Min; Wang, Yunshang

    2018-04-26

    Trade in medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) between Nepal and China has taken place for centuries along the Tibetan border. While there is anecdotal evidence that economic development in China over the past decades, coupled with regional infrastructure development and increasing market integration, has substantially changed this trade, there are no current published studies investigating this, e.g. in terms of species and market structure. This knowledge gap impedes the development of public interventions, e.g. in support of sustainable trade. The primary objective of this study is to provide the first informative insights into the Nepal-China trade in MAPs, with particular emphasis on the value chain in Tibet. Data was collected from December 2015 to August 2016 in Nepal and Tibet. The data collection included standardized questionnaires to understand and map the value chain of MAPs, including the actors involved and key governance issues. Data was collected from Katmandu-based MAPs wholesalers exporting from Nepal to China, (n = 6) and with regional wholesalers (n = 40) based in Tibet. The questionnaires contained quantitative and qualitative components focusing on key elements of the MAPs value chain, e.g. the traded species and their values. This was augmented with qualitative interviews with Lhasa-based processors (n = 4) and government officials (n = 12) working in border controls, customs, and/or drug administration. We also collected official statistics on the Nepal-China MAPs trade and conducted a workshop in Lhasa with traders and government officials to discuss the nature of the Nepal-China MAPs trade. The Nepal-China MAPs trade boomed after 2011 when the value of traded plants increased more than nine-fold. This rapid increase reflected both a broader species composition and higher unit prices in response to increasing demand from China. The trade expansion was also driven by increasing demand in China and facilitated by improved

  19. Monitoring the Efficiency of Budget Management of Trade Enterprises in Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frolova Larysa V

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The article justifies the actuality of carrying out the monitoring of budget management efficiency at trade enterprises in Ukraine. It has been found that the efficiency of each trade enterprise management system, in particular the efficiency of budget management system, is determined by several factors, among which there considered the enterprise business profile, the competitive situation in the market and the standard of living of the population. The efficiency of budget management and, as a result, the efficiency of trade enterprises’ activity is reflected in the results of the effectiveness of the main indicators of the financial budgets of enterprises. Therefore, using the method of fuzzy sets, there carried out an integral evaluation of the efficiency of budget management based on the efficiency of financial budgets: the budget revenues and expenditures, cash flow budget and budgeted balance sheet. The study is carried out for Ukraine as a whole, and its most developed regions.

  20. Upon a Message-Oriented Trading API

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudiu VINTE

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we introduce the premises for a trading system application-programming interface (API based on a message-oriented middleware (MOM, and present the results of our research regarding the design and the implementation of a simulation-trading system employing a service-oriented architecture (SOA and messaging. Our research has been conducted with the aim of creating a simulation-trading platform, within the academic environment, that will provide both the foundation for future experiments with trading systems architectures, components, APIs, and the framework for research on trading strategies, trading algorithm design, and equity markets analysis tools. Mathematics Subject Classification: 68M14 (distributed systems.