Overview

The Economics of Regional Trading Arrangements provides a unified analysis of policies which discriminate among trading partners. With the European Union's 1992 programme, the formation of NAFTA, and attempts to form or strengthen regional trading arrangements in South America, southern Africa, and Southeast Asia regionalism became a major issue in international commercial diplomacy during the early 1990s. The proliferation of RTAs was viewed by some as a challenge, and by others as a complement, to the establishment of the World Trade Organization as the successor to GATT.Richard Pomfret analyses the new RTAs, situating them in the broader realm of discriminatory trade policies for which there is a well-defined body of theory and empirical studies, before asking whether the new regionalism requires new theoretical analysis. His approach is to combine in roughly equal proportions history, theory, and a review of empirical studies. This is appropriate given that the key theoretical result is the welfare ambiguity of discriminatory trade policy changes. Empirical studies can provide a sense of which of the potentially offsetting effects are more or less important. Since some effects may take a long time to have their full impact and may be systemic, it is also useful to observe how RTAs have evolved in practice.This new-in-paperback edition of The Economics of Regional Trading Arrangements includes a brand-new Preface in which Pomfret surveys three important developments that occurred during the second half of the 1990s: the onset of a third wave of regionalism, the reintegration of formerly centrally planned economies into the global trading system, and theoretical developments, including the significance of national boundaries. This up-to-date survey will appeal to trade theorists as well as to anyone involved in policy institutions.

Full Product Details

Author:   Richard Pomfret (, University of Adelaide)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 13.80cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.564kg
ISBN:  

9780199248872

ISBN 10:   0199248877
Pages:   466
Publication Date:   01 November 2001
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

List of tables. List of figures. Abbreviations. 1. Introduction. PART I: HISTORY Introduction to Part I 2: Evolution of the Most-Favoured Nation Principle up to 1929 3: Commercial Policies in the 1930s 4: Non-discrimination in the GATT 5: Discrimination in International Trade, 1947-1985 6: Regionalism versus Multilateralism during the Uruguay Round 7: Regionalism and the World Trade Organization PART II: THEORY Introduction to Part II 8: The Mainstream from Viner to the JCM Proposition 9: Extending the Model 10: The New Regionalism 11: Numbers and Geography PART III: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE 14. Other Free Trade Areas and Customs Unions. 15. Trade Preferences for Developing Countries. 16. Global Issues. Introduction to Part III 12: Western European Integration 13: North America 14: Other Free Trade Areas and Customs Unions 15: Trade Preferences for Developing Countries 16: Global Issues PART IV: POLITICAL ECONOMY Introduction to Part IV 17: Why do Discriminatory Trading Arrangements Exist? 18: Consequences for the International Trading System 19: Summary and Prospects Appendix: Discriminatory Trading Arrangements between the USA and Canada before CUSTA

Reviews

Review from previous edition At a time when the world treaty system seems to be caught up in a burst of enthusiasm for preferential trading arrangements, Richard Pomfret's book is especially welcome. In my judgement, it provides the best analysis yet available of the economics of these arrangements. Anne O. Krueger, Stanford University. ...considers a wide range of aspects that are discussed and evaluated carefully. The book is a very useful and honest survey of a complex and controversial subject. Frank Dietler, Universitat Basel. A thorough, balanced, and wide-ranging summary and analysis of regional trading arrangements. This book is a tour de force. The index and extensive list of references further contribute to the usefulness of the book. R.L. Lucier, CHOICE, December 1998. Pomfret's study is one of the best available surveys of the varied issues that regionalism presents in its specifically trading aspects. [His] review of mainstream theory and its leading extensions is a model of penetration and clarity. Economic Journal

A thorough, balanced, and wide-ranging summary and analysis....The book is a tour de force; the author is a participant as well as an observer of efforts to measure and weigh the causes and consequences of movements away from global free trade. --Choice<br>

Author Information

Richard Pomfret is Professor of Economics at the University of Adelaide.

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