Agricultural trade liberalization, regional trade agreements and agricultural technical efficiency in Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regret Sunge ◽  
Nicholas Ngepah
Keyword(s):  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Agricultural Trade ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Agricultural Trade Liberalization

Despite increased agricultural trade liberalization, high productive inefficiency in agriculture has kept Africa as a net importer of agriculture products. Empirical studies have focused on the trade liberalization–productivity growth nexus and overlooked the efficiency linkage. Also the role of regional trade agreements (RTAs) and institutions in reducing inefficiency in agriculture have been sidelined. We use a stochastic frontier approach and single-stage maximum likelihood estimation of a true fixed-effects panel data model for our analysis. Using maize and rice data, we provide evidence that through technology transfer, agricultural trade statistically improves technical efficiency. Moreover, results suggest that RTAs provide favourable technical efficiency effects, which varies across products and membership. Furthermore, we document that while regulatory quality reduces technical inefficiency, control of corruption increases it. Our findings call for increased role of RTAs in promoting agricultural trade liberalization. This should be complemented by further strengthening of institutions involved in the agriculture value chain.

Regionalism as a Building Block for Multilateralism

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1850217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Herz ◽  
Marco Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
Impulse Response Functions ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Multilateral Trade Liberalization

The well-known question whether regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the multilateral trading system (MTS) are “strangers, friends, or foes” (Bhagwati and Panagariya, 1996) has gained new importance with the widespread proliferation of RTAs in recent years. Based on an extensive data set which covers most of world trade over the past 60 years and about 240 regional trade agreements, we analyze the relationship between RTAs and the MTS by combining the gravity model framework with vector auto-regression analysis. Impulse-response-functions robustly suggest that multilateral trade liberalization responds in a significantly positive way to regional trade liberalization. We also find robust evidence that RTA liberalization Granger-causes GATT/WTO liberalization. Thus, our results indicate that RTAs do not undermine the MTS but serve as building blocks to multilateral trade liberalization.

WTO legality of discriminatory liberalization of internal regulations: role of RTA national treatment

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONG BUM KIM
Keyword(s):  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
National Treatment ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
Reasonable Alternative

AbstractIn this paper, we study the interaction between regionalism and multilateralism by examining the role of national treatment clauses in regional trade agreements (RTAs). We ask whether discriminatory liberalization of internal regulations under RTAs can fulfill the requirements of the GATT Article XXIV defense. In the presence of pre-existing RTAs with RTA national treatment clauses, the GATT Article XXIV defenses for violations of GATT Article I and GATT Article III resulting from preferential liberalization of internal regulations may not succeed because the ‘necessity’ requirement under the Turkey–Textiles Appellate Body test is not likely to be met. The necessity requirement would fail because the RTA party may adopt ‘a reasonable alternative’ of applying the measure non-discriminatorily to all WTO members. RTA national treatment clauses in the pre-existing RTAs may have the effect of binding the RTA parties to liberalize trade-restrictive internal regulations on a non-discriminatory basis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document