Multilateral Trade Liberalization and Terms of Trade Volatility

2018 ◽  
Vol 09 (03) ◽  
pp. 1850007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sèna Kimm Gnangnon

The world has experienced in recent years a rising anti-trade and anti-globalization sentiment, which would likely jeopardize recent efforts by the international trade community, in particular Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to promote multilateral trade liberalization (MTP). The current article investigates the impact of MTP on countries’ terms of trade volatility. Results based on a large panel dataset suggest that MTP exerts a significant reducing effect on countries’ terms of trade volatility. However, this impact appears to be dependent on countries’ development level. The take-home message is that greater cooperation on trade matters, including among WTO Members would help promote multilateral trade liberalization, which would surely contribute to reducing terms of trade volatility, for the benefits of all countries, in particular developing economies.

Economies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sena Gnangnon ◽  
Jean-François Brun

This paper investigates the impact of multilateral trade liberalization on resource revenue, using an unbalanced panel dataset comprising 57 countries, including both developed and developing countries, over the period 1995–2015. By means of the two-step system Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) estimator, the empirical analysis suggests that multilateral trade liberalization exerts a negative effect on resource revenue, probably at the benefit of non-resource revenue. However, this effect over the full sample hides a positive effect of multilateral trade liberalization on resource revenue in poorest countries, and a negative effect of multilateral trade liberalization on resource revenue in non-poorest countries of the sample. Additionally, the negative effect of multilateral trade liberalization on resource revenue over the full sample appears to be dependent on the degree of domestic trade liberalization. In fact, multilateral trade liberalization genuinely induces a reducing effect on resource revenue only if countries liberalize their domestic trade regime beyond a minimum level.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
pp. 32-40
Author(s):  
Papa Kojo Christopher CONDUAH ◽  
Tae Hwan YOO

This article examines the impact of terms of trade volatility on economic growth and the sources of terms of trade volatility for selected ASEAN countries. By adopting a panel cointegraion method, this study finds that fluctuations of oil price and non-fuel raw material price index have caused terms of trade volatility, which limits economic growth.


2017 ◽  
Vol 08 (03) ◽  
pp. 1750014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sèna Kimm Gnangnon

This paper adds to the existing literature on the macroeconomic determinants of Aid for Trade (AfT). It investigates the impact of both multilateral trade policy liberalization and the export share of AfT-recipient countries in global trade market on the AfT amounts that accrue to these countries. Using a panel dataset comprising 133 AfT-recipient-countries, over the period 1995–2015, the empirical analysis shows that both the impact of multilateral trade policy liberalization and of the recipient countries’ export share in the world trade market on AfT depend on recipient-countries’ level of development as well as on their domestic trade policy. Additionally, in the context of multilateral trade liberalization, donors tend to reward recipient-countries’ effort to secure a higher export share in the international trade market.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 496-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sena Kimm Gnangnon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of multilateral trade policy (MTP) liberalization on developing countries’ economic exposure to shocks. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is conducted on a panel data set comprising 120 countries over the period 1996–2013 and uses the within fixed effects estimator. Findings The empirical results suggest that over the entire sample as well as sub-samples of least developed countries (LDCs) and non-LDCs, multilateral trade liberalization have a negative and significant impact on economic exposure to shocks. Interestingly, LDCs appear to experience the highest magnitude of the reducing impact of multilateral trade liberalization on countries’ economic exposure to shocks. Research limitations/implications These findings suggest that a greater cooperation among countries in the world, including among WTO members to further liberalize trade would surely contribute to reducing developing countries’ economic exposure to shocks. Practical implications The current study shows that the current backlash against trade and the consequent strong appeal for domestic trade protectionist measures would likely to undermine the likelihood of further multilateral trade liberalization. One implication of this could be a rise in countries’ economic exposure to shocks. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is first the study on this matter.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 20170047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sèna Kimm Gnangnon

During recent years, the world has faced a growing anti-trade rhetoric, which has been translating in a strong appeal of domestic trade protectionist measures, situation that has been undermining trade multilateralization. The current paper examines the extent to which multilateral trade liberalization affects domestic trade policy liberalization. The analysis uses a panel dataset comprising 166 countries over the period 1995–2014. It suggests evidence that multilateral trade liberalization is strongly conducive to domestic trade policy liberalization. Moreover, as countries further develop, they experience a greater impact of multilateral trade liberalization on domestic trade policy liberalization. The take-home message of this analysis is that domestic protectionist trade policy measures would likely undermine the multilateralization of trade and prompt trading partners to react in the same way. This would ultimately result in trade wars, which would be damage for domestic economies and the world’s economic performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 1950001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sena Kimm Gnangnon

This paper examines the issue of fiscal space for trade, proxied by countries’ public expenditure for the trade sector. It provides empirical evidence that improvement in countries’ overall fiscal space results in higher public expenditure for trade. Furthermore, by promoting multilateral trade liberalization, the international trade community (including the World Trade Organization, WTO) could help enhance countries’ overall fiscal space, which would in turn translate into greater fiscal space for trade. Thus, rising restrictive trade measures in the world would likely undermine the promotion of multilateral trade liberalization and affect countries’ capacity to fund the development of their trade sector.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Tapiwa V. Warikandwa ◽  
Patrick C. Osode

The incorporation of a trade-labour (standards) linkage into the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been persistently opposed by developing countries, including those in Africa, on the grounds that it has the potential to weaken their competitive advantage. For that reason, low levels of compliance with core labour standards have been viewed as acceptable by African countries. However, with the impact of WTO agreements growing increasingly broader and deeper for the weaker and vulnerable economies of developing countries, the jurisprudence developed by the WTO Panels and Appellate Body regarding a trade-environment/public health linkage has the potential to address the concerns of developing countries regarding the potential negative effects of a trade-labour linkage. This article argues that the pertinent WTO Panel and Appellate Body decisions could advance the prospects of establishing a linkage of global trade participation to labour standards without any harm befalling developing countries.


2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 896-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuno Limão

Most countries are members of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). The effect of these agreements has attracted much interest and raised the question of whether PTAs promote or slow multilateral trade liberalization, i.e., whether they are a “building block” or “stumbling block” to multilateral liberalization. Despite this long-standing concern with PTAs and the lack of theoretical consensus, there is no systematic evidence on whether they are actually a stumbling block to multilateral liberalization. We use detailed data on U.S. multilateral tariffs to provide the first systematic evidence that the direct effect of PTAs was to generate a stumbling block to its MTL. We also provide evidence of reciprocity in multilateral tariff reductions.


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