The Rise and Fall of India’s Relative Investment Price: A Tale of Policy Error and Reform

India’s relative price of investment rose 44 percent from 1981 to 1991 and fell 26 percent from 1991 to 2006. We build a simple DGE model, calibrated to Indian data, in order to explore the impact of capital import substitution policies and their reform post-1991 in accounting for this rise and fall. Our model delivers a 23 percent rise before reform and a 31 percent fall thereafter. GDP per effective labor was 3 percent lower in 1991 compared to 1981 due to import restrictions on capital goods. Their removal, and a 71 percentage point reduction in tariff rates, raised GDP per effective labor permanently by 20 percent. (JEL E22, E23, F13, O11, O16, O19)

The India–EU FTA and Its Potential Impact on India’s Dairy Sector: A Quantitative Analysis

The present study attempts to quantify ex-ante the impact on trade flows, revenue and welfare of the India–EU FTA on India’s dairy sector. In light of the fact that the EU is the world’s largest exporter of dairy products and India’s dairy sector is highly protected, it is important to assess the potential impact that an FTA with EU can have on this sector. Using a partial equilibrium set-up, our simulation results reveal that the estimated increase in India’s imports of dairy products is mainly driven by trade creation rather than trade diversion, implying that the FTA does not promote inefficient dairy trade at the cost of other countries outside the trade bloc. We augment our analysis using the gravity model to estimate the potential increase in dairy sector imports due to trade liberalisation. PPML estimates suggest that a 10% decline in tariff rates leads to a 3.4% increase in the value of imports. While the estimated increase in dairy imports is significant, our analysis indicates that the increased value of imports, expressed as a fraction of India’s domestic output of dairy products, would still be less than 1%. JEL Codes: F13, F14, F17

Informal Relationships Between New Zealand SMEs and Sub-National Officials in China

<p>The signing of a free trade agreement was a watershed moment in New Zealand-China relations and provided a number of advantages for New Zealand firms seeking to expand their presence in the Chinese market. However, it is well established that many businesses in China use informal relationships (guanxi) to create business opportunities and facilitate their way through bureaucratic obstacles. Doubts have also been raised in the past about local governments’ implementing China’s international agreements and about the current efficacy and reliability of China’s legal institutions. This thesis examines the informal relationships New Zealand SMEs based in China maintain with local officials and street-level bureaucrats and how they experienced the implementation of the FTA. Interviews with New Zealand businesspeople in Shanghai and Xiamen reveal that SMEs were encountering problems getting their goods across the border at the lower tariff rates provided in the FTA. They were very positive about the FTA, however, as the profile of New Zealand officials and firms had risen considerably. It is established that New Zealand firms are engaging in collaborative activities with New Zealand government representatives in an attempt to gain further competitive advantage and that the practice of guanxi is adapting in response to Beijing’s attempts to formalise officials’ interactions with private sector firms. It is suggested that a firm’s reputation (mingyu) with officials may be becoming established as an alternative to guanxi.</p>

Informal Relationships Between New Zealand SMEs and Sub-National Officials in China

<p>The signing of a free trade agreement was a watershed moment in New Zealand-China relations and provided a number of advantages for New Zealand firms seeking to expand their presence in the Chinese market. However, it is well established that many businesses in China use informal relationships (guanxi) to create business opportunities and facilitate their way through bureaucratic obstacles. Doubts have also been raised in the past about local governments’ implementing China’s international agreements and about the current efficacy and reliability of China’s legal institutions. This thesis examines the informal relationships New Zealand SMEs based in China maintain with local officials and street-level bureaucrats and how they experienced the implementation of the FTA. Interviews with New Zealand businesspeople in Shanghai and Xiamen reveal that SMEs were encountering problems getting their goods across the border at the lower tariff rates provided in the FTA. They were very positive about the FTA, however, as the profile of New Zealand officials and firms had risen considerably. It is established that New Zealand firms are engaging in collaborative activities with New Zealand government representatives in an attempt to gain further competitive advantage and that the practice of guanxi is adapting in response to Beijing’s attempts to formalise officials’ interactions with private sector firms. It is suggested that a firm’s reputation (mingyu) with officials may be becoming established as an alternative to guanxi.</p>

Health Effects of Trade Liberalization: Evidence from US Counties

This paper explores the potential externality of trade liberalization between the US and China on air pollution and infants’ health outcomes. Exploiting the differential impact of tariff reductions due to trade liberalization across industries combined with compositional variations of industry-specific employment across counties as the main source of identification strategy and using the universe of birth records in the US over the years 1990-2017 (over 97 million observations), we document substantial improvements in birth outcomes of mothers residing in counties with higher exposure to trade policy change. The exposed counties experienced sharp drops in employment specifically for manufacturing industries and revealed sharp reductions in a wide array of pollutants. A 1 percent reduction in tariff rates is associated with an 11.5 and 12.7 percentage point reduction in the likelihood of low birth weight and preterm birth, respectively.

Analysing the impact of trade agreements on national food environments: the case of Vanuatu

Background A large body of literature exists on trade liberalisation and the ways in which trade agreements can affect food systems. However, the systematic and objective monitoring of these and their impact on national food environments has been limited. Using a case study, this paper undertakes a systematic analysis of how Vanuatu’s obligations under WTO agreements has impacted its food environment. Results Data collection was guided by the INFORMAS trade monitoring framework’s minimal approach and seven selected indicators outlined in three domains: trade in goods, trade in services and FDI, and policy space. Strong associations between trade liberalisation and imported foods, especially ultra-processed foods were evident in measured indicators as follows: (i) food trade with 32 WTO countries showing high levels of import volumes; (ii) a marked increase in ‘less healthy’ focus food imports namely fatty and other selected meat products, sugar, savoury snacks, ice-cream and edible ices and energy-dense beverages; (iii) actual and bound tariff rates impacting import trends of ice-cream and edible ices, bakery products and confectionary; and in other instances, a sharp increase in import of crisps, snacks and noodles despite tariff rates remaining unchanged from 2008 to 2019; (iv) policies regulating food marketing, composition, labelling and trade in the domestic space with relatively limited safeguard measures; (v) 49 foreign-owned food-related companies involved in food manufacturing and processing and the production of coffee, bakery products, confectionary, food preservatives, fish, local food products and meat, and the manufacturing, processing and packaging of palm oil, coconut oil, cooking oil, water, cordial juice, flavoured juices, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. These were largely produced for local consumption; (vi) 32 domestic industries engaged in food and beverage production; and (vii) an assessment of WTO provisions relating to domestic policy space and governance showing that the current legal and regulatory environment for food in Vanuatu remains fragmented. Conclusions The analysis presented in this paper suggest that Vanuatu’s commitments to WTO agreements do play an important role in shaping their food environment and the availability, nutritional quality, and accessibility of foods.

ANALISIS TARIF ANGKUTAN UMUM BERDASARKAN BIAYA OPERASIONAL KENDARAAN DI KOTA AMBON (STUDI KASUS KONDISI PSBB)

Public transportation between the island seas is one of the economic backbones where Maluku Province is an archipelagic area. Ambon City as the capital of Maluku Province is a city with activities and interactions between communities using public transportation to support daily activities. However, due to the enactment of PSBB (Large-Scale Social Restrictions) from June 23 to November 22, 2020, the number of public transportations (Perwali No. 18) is limited, with odd-even implementations up to passenger restrictions (6 people per trip), resulting in operational costs. Vehicles will increase. This study aims to find out how much the upper and lower limit tariffs are used for the community and students. In this study, the calculation method was used according to the Standards of the Directorate General of Land Transportation (2002) SK 687/AJ.206/DRDJ/2002. The results of the study show that the upper and lower tariff rates for the community in Nusaniwe District are Rp. 16,592 – Rp. 11,061,-; Sirimau District IDR 5,138 – IDR 3,425,-; and Baguala and Teluk Ambon Districts Rp. 25,000 – Rp. 16,666,-. The upper and lower limit rates for students in Nusaniwe District are Rp. 8,296 – Rp. 5,531,-; Sirimau District IDR 2,569 – IDR 1,712,-; and Baguala and Teluk Ambon Districts Rp 12,500 – Rp 8,333,-. Tariffs based on the BOK during the PSBB period ranged from Rp. 25,000 – Rp. 5,138,-, while the real tariff was Rp. 3,000 – Rp. 5,000.

The Influencing Factors of Tobacco Trade Flow Between China and RCEP Countries

Against the background of the establishment of RCEP, and based on the trade data from 2002 to 2018, this paper studies the current situation of tobacco trade in China, builds a trade gravity model, and analyzes the correlation between China’s tobacco trade flows with its RCEP partners. Different factors include economic, demographic, geographical and tariff factors. According to the results of the research, RCEP member states can take advantage of population and geographical distance to strengthen mutual influence and penetration of tobacco culture, upgrade logistics infrastructure, and make targeted concessions on tobacco tariff rates to promote the development of tobacco trade within the region.

Import Tariffs and Informal Labour Market: A Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Analysis for Turkey

From the 1980s to onwards trade liberalization policies have been widely used in many countries. This process has significant impacts on many economic aspects one of which is on the labour market. However, the direction of the relationship between trade reforms and the labour market is controversial. This study aims to analyse the effects of a specific trade reform of import tariff changes on the formal and informal labour market for Turkey. For that purpose, we benefit from Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model that relies on nonlinear simultaneous equations. We construct an updated Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) which is compatible with our model. Our findings indicate that while there is a positive relationship between formal labour employment in total and import tariff rates, the negative relationship occurs between informal employment and tariff rates.

Analysis of the Influence of Service Quality, Facilities and Value Rates on Patient Interest through Inpatient Satisfaction at Islam Malahayati Hospital

This study aims to analyze the effect of service quality, facilities and tariff rates on patient interest through inpatient satisfaction at Islam Malahayati Hospital Medan. This research method uses a quantitative approach with path analysis and uses the assistance of the SPSS program version 20.0. This study used a questionnaire with a sample of 56 respondents with data collection. The results of the study based on a partial test show that the Service Quality variable has a positive and significant effect on Patient Satisfaction at Islam Malahayati Hospital Medan, and the tariff value variable has a positive and significant effect on patient satisfaction and the Facility variable has a positive and significant effect on Patient Satisfaction. Then service quality has a positive and significant effect on patient interest in Malahayati Hospital, and service facilities have a positive and significant effect on patient interest. The tariff value has a positive and significant effect on patient interest and patient satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on patient interest. While the results of the study based on the simultaneous test showed that the variables of Service Quality, Facilities and Value Rates had a positive and significant effect on patient satisfaction through patient interest. The implications of this study indicate that through good service to patients it will be able to increase patient satisfaction so that it has an impact on patient satisfaction and patient interest. Facilities that have been determined by the hospital can be reached by the patient and can increase patient visits as well as the value of the rate can be measured through benefits or from what has been provided by the hospital if the facilities provided by the hospital are complete and can fulfill the patient's wishes, it will have a good impact on the development and success of the hospital.