Academic Research and Canadian Manufacturing Productivity since the Formation of NAFTA

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-158
Author(s):  
James Brox

Does academic research have a positive impact on productivity? To examine this question, the paper focuses on national Canadian manufacturing data, using a variable-cost CES-translog cost system. Changes in the elasticities calculated from the estimation results allow the study of the impact of the free-trade agreements on Canadian production and the effects of academic R&D expenditures. The principal finding is that academic research expenditures have had a positive effect on Canadian manufacturing productivity and that this effect of R&D expenditures has become stronger since the formation of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA).

2004 ◽  
Vol 43 (4II) ◽  
pp. 943-958
Author(s):  
Indra Nath Mukherji

Preferential trading is one of the mildest forms of an integrative arrangement. Under the arrangement, the Contracting States (CS) offer a preferential margin with respect to trade barriers in relation to their MFN rates. CS having disparate levels of development as well as trade regimes, find this an acceptable instrument for initiating regional trade liberalisation. Such an arrangement nevertheless provides the building blocks towards accelerated regional trade liberalisation culminating in a free trade area within a defined time frame. Under a free trade area the CS eliminate all trade restrictions on their mutual trade, while maintaining restrictions in their trade with non-CS at a level they deem appropriate. When all CS decide on a common external tariff, then the arrangement translates itself in a more cohesive customs union. The arrangement translates to a common market when all CS agree not only to allow free movement of goods and services, but all the factors of production including capital and labour. Finally, the most comprehensive form of an integrative arrangement results from an economic union, which integrates national economic policies of CS and leads to the adoption of a common currency. The Agreement on South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA), which became operational since December 7th, 1995 thus, symbolises the beginnings of the very first stage of an integrative arrangement among the member countries of SAARC. The decision made at the Twelfth SAARC Summit at Islamabad in January 2004 to launch South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) from January 2006 would mark the second stage of the process of integration in the region. The main focus of this paper is to assess the impact of SAPTA on Indo-Pak trade.


2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-102
Author(s):  
Bagus Arya Wirapati ◽  
Niken Astria Sakina Kusumawardhani

The outcome of Regional Free Trade Area (R-FTA) still remains a conundrum. Regional free trade area (R-FTA) is one of the manifestations of the economy integration phenomenon. R-FTA brings many pros and cons to the economists. It allows better allocation of resources especially by eliminating tariffs, thus making people have higher purchasing power for goods. While the increase of purchasing power is good for growth engine and poverty alleviation progress, this paper proves that there is potency for the agreement to be detrimental in the long run.The main focus in this paper is the potential impact of ACFTA to the saving rate as the shock buffer for the poor in time of recessions and crises, where purchasing power decreases significantly. We view the ACFTA impact through the series of net import, defined as the difference between imports from export. We use Dynamic Panel Data (DPD) to estimate the impact of net import to the saving rate, assuming that there is a dynamic relationship between saving rate and its lagged value. The estimation result proves that there is a negative relationship between import and the saving per capita, which indicates the consumptive behavior of ASEAN people under high import. Moreover, the dynamic relationship shows that saving per capita is not persistent, meaning that the saving rate will be decreased gradually.Therefore, we can expect that in the long rung, the savings will be depleted into nothing if we keep letting the import flooded domestic market without imposing any pre-emptive and reactive policies. This paper provides a set of historical estimation of the potential impact of ACFTA on saving rate and its policy implication to endure the impact.JEL Classification Code: E38, F15Keywords: Free Trade, Poverty Alleviation, Saving Behavior


Author(s):  
Gustavo A. Flores-Macías ◽  
Mariano Sánchez-Talanquer

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force on January 1st, 1994, it created the largest free trade area in the world, and the one with the largest gaps in development between member countries. It has since served as a framework for trilateral commercial exchange and investment between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. NAFTA’s consequences have been mixed. On the positive side, the total value of trade in the region reached $1.1 trillion in 2016, more than three times the amount in 1994, and total foreign direct investment among member countries also grew significantly. However, the distribution of benefits has been very uneven, with exposure to international competition reducing economic opportunity and increasing insecurity for certain sectors in all three countries. Twenty-four years later, the three countries renegotiated the terms of NAFTA and renamed it the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). The negotiation responded in part to the need to modernize the agreement, but mostly to President Donald Trump’s concerns about NAFTA’s effect on the U.S. economy and the fairness of its terms. Although the revised agreement incorporated rules that modernize certain aspects of the institutional framework, some new provisions also make trade and investment relations in North America more uncertain.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1850122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Cabalu ◽  
Cristina Alfonso

In this article the changes in trade patterns introduced by the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) are examined. Variation in growth trends and the shift-and-share methodology are used to identify the impact of trade liberalization under AFTA on intra- and extra-regional commodity trade. Data at the commodity level are used and the results indicate that AFTA had trade creation effects, with little evidence of trade diversion.


2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Turner ◽  
Joseph Buongiorno ◽  
Shushuai Zhu

The effects of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement on the forest sectors and resources of member countries are investigated. A model of wood supply within the spatial partial-equilibrium Global Forest Products Model is developed to link international trade and deforestation. The direct effects of tariff changes and the indirect effects of income changes induced by trade liberalization are considered. The FTAA has a small positive impact on the region's forest resources. Higher harvests of industrial roundwood in most countries are offset by increased afforestation due to the income effect of trade liberalization (captured by the environmental Kuznets curve).


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