Making ideas actionable in institutionalism: the case of trade liberalization in Kennedy's foreign economic policy

This article challenges exclusively rationalist accounts of and offers a complementary explanation for the emergence of liberal trade policy in the Kennedy administration. I draw on recent insights in constructivist institutionalism to emphasize the need to take agency seriously in institutionalist research. Using archival records, I analyze the decisive role Kennedy's advisers played as carriers of ideas in advocating for liberal trade policy by ‘constructing the national interest’, thus convincing a reticent president to support attempts aimed at achieving closer economic integration, culminating in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Insights from their role as advisers can help in specifying the role of agency in the ideas and institutional change literature, through strategic action which shaped a political leader's belief and put political issues on the agenda. By grasping agency in terms of making ideas actionable, an important step is taken in advancing endogenous approaches of institutional change.

The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Decent Work: The Case of the Philippine Sugar Mill Workers

<p>The impact of trade liberalisation on the structure and nature of work is a divisive topic. On the one hand, there are those who support trade liberalisation by pointing to the potential employment generation (Kelly & Prokhovnik, 2004) and the upward pressure on workers’ skills levels (Mander & Goldsmith, 1996). In contrast, there are those who remain critical and argue that trade liberalisation results in job losses, downward pressure on working conditions and limited opportunity for unskilled workers (Solidar, 2007c; 2007e). Impacts that indicate an improvement in decent work are often framed as ‘social upgrading’ while any deterioration in decent work is seen to result in ‘social downgrading’. Research in this field, while growing, tends to assess the impact of trade liberalisation from a national, sectoral or organisational perspective, while little is known of the workers’ perspective. Adopting a worker perspective, this thesis examines the impact of trade liberalisation on decent work among sugar mill workers in the Philippines. Using a qualitative single case study method, the study draws on the changes in employment and work conditions in a sugar mill when liberal trade policies were introduced. The study uses both primary and secondary data. Primary data were taken from representatives of the workers, the employer and the government sector at national and workplace levels. The study highlights the trade-offs between indicators of decent work and finds that decent work can be influenced by institutional frameworks in addition to employment strategies. Trade liberalisation resulted in numerical flexibility where permanent workers were reduced while contractual workers were hired as cost reduction measures and a way of avoiding labour laws that are protective of permanent workers. A shift of employment demand toward semi-skilled or skilled workers was also found. Thus, this research directs the attention of future research on trade liberalisation and decent work towards more vulnerable workers such as contractual workers. Furthermore, it highlights the need to increase the coverage of legislative protection to include non-permanent workers. Lastly, it challenges the Philippine government to increase the skill level of its workforce to facilitate employment generation.</p>

The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Decent Work: The Case of the Philippine Sugar Mill Workers

<p>The impact of trade liberalisation on the structure and nature of work is a divisive topic. On the one hand, there are those who support trade liberalisation by pointing to the potential employment generation (Kelly & Prokhovnik, 2004) and the upward pressure on workers’ skills levels (Mander & Goldsmith, 1996). In contrast, there are those who remain critical and argue that trade liberalisation results in job losses, downward pressure on working conditions and limited opportunity for unskilled workers (Solidar, 2007c; 2007e). Impacts that indicate an improvement in decent work are often framed as ‘social upgrading’ while any deterioration in decent work is seen to result in ‘social downgrading’. Research in this field, while growing, tends to assess the impact of trade liberalisation from a national, sectoral or organisational perspective, while little is known of the workers’ perspective. Adopting a worker perspective, this thesis examines the impact of trade liberalisation on decent work among sugar mill workers in the Philippines. Using a qualitative single case study method, the study draws on the changes in employment and work conditions in a sugar mill when liberal trade policies were introduced. The study uses both primary and secondary data. Primary data were taken from representatives of the workers, the employer and the government sector at national and workplace levels. The study highlights the trade-offs between indicators of decent work and finds that decent work can be influenced by institutional frameworks in addition to employment strategies. Trade liberalisation resulted in numerical flexibility where permanent workers were reduced while contractual workers were hired as cost reduction measures and a way of avoiding labour laws that are protective of permanent workers. A shift of employment demand toward semi-skilled or skilled workers was also found. Thus, this research directs the attention of future research on trade liberalisation and decent work towards more vulnerable workers such as contractual workers. Furthermore, it highlights the need to increase the coverage of legislative protection to include non-permanent workers. Lastly, it challenges the Philippine government to increase the skill level of its workforce to facilitate employment generation.</p>

WTO Crisis through the Lens of Hegemony Theories: When International Trade Law and Geopolitics Collide

The liberal trade order that prevailed after World War II is shifting to an order where major powers increasingly intervene to secure political, economic, and technological gains – in a dynamic that results in a deep crisis of the WTO and the retreat of globalization. Whereas International Trade Law-centred analysis points out that this phenomenon occurs due to faults in the WTO legal framework, the assessment of the issue through the lens of Hegemony Theories indicate that the roots of the crisis stand in the ongoing process of hegemonic transition since the U.S. – the traditional patron of free trade, perceive such order as beneficial to China, which is the emerging power that has been grasping huge advantages from international trade. International regimes and the institutions that govern it are forged by the hegemons’ leadership and largely reflect their preferences. Consequently, the emergence of a new challenger and the hegemon declining power tend to cause disruptions in the prevailing order. Policy recommendations to overcome the WTO crisis must benefit from the insights from Hegemony Theories.

Understanding the ‘crisis of the institution’ in the liberal trade order at the WTO

The liberal trade order is in crisis. I argue that the origins of the current crises lie in the underlying tension which exists in the World Trade Organization (WTO), magnified by a churning in global power dynamics. A dilemma at the heart of the WTO between two important goals of representativeness and effectiveness means that both goals cannot be pursued at the same time. Now, this inherent tension is being magnified by power shifts in the global economy most evident in the rise of emerging powers within the WTO, who demand more representation, and the retreat by the US towards a more inward-looking orientation; both together damage effectiveness. Simultaneously, new powers such as China and India are defending a ‘reformed multilateralism’ combined with selective protectionism with varying capacity. These shifts are transforming previous ‘crises within institutions’ into a ‘crisis of institutions’ at the WTO, wherein the rules of the game, ideas of free trade and the legitimacy of the WTO are under threat. Global trade politics is seeing new coalitions at the WTO, as emerging powers craft their own rise, US defends sovereignty and trade protections, and launches a challenge to China's rise, and some established powers (the EU for example) seek to reform it. The new global trade politics is walking on two uneven legs and creating winners and losers and new ways of managing the transitional trading order as did the creation of the post-world war order.

Uncertainty, Trade and Growth: An Indian Experience

Over the years, emerging economies have extensively followed a liberal trade regime and witnessed unprecedented economic growth. At the same time, global uncertainty has also reached to the pinnacle and has gripped almost every country within its ambit. Trade openness though seems to be channelising negative spillover effects of global uncertainty, yet continues to flourish. Therefore, the economic implications of uncertainty in presence of unprecedented trade openness remain a moot question which lays the basis of this study. Using autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) approach, the empirical estimates suggest that macroeconomic effects of uncertainty are effectively mitigated by trade openness. JEL Codes: C22, F14, C22

Transmission of global wheat prices to domestic markets in Kenya: A cointegration approach

This paper evaluates the extent to which changes in international wheat prices are transmitted to domestic markets in Kenya using an error correction model (ECM) that employs monthly producer price data for the period 2002 to 2020. Domestic wheat markets in Kenya were found to be strongly integrated while, international wheat markets were cointegrated with domestic prices at the port of Mombasa. The long-run elasticity of price transmission was estimated at 0.91, which implies that 91% of the changes in international wheat prices are transmitted to domestic markets in Kenya. The speed of adjustment was estimated at -0.069, which implies that it takes about 14 months for the changes in the international wheat price to be fully transmitted to the Kenyan domestic market. Wheat farmers in Kenya seem to be insulated from international price shocks given the long period of time it takes for domestic markets to adjust to international price changes. Even though not explicitly analysed, government border policies, market and infrastructure impediments seem to be underlying causes of the incomplete price pass-through, along with the low speeds of adjustments. Our analysis suggests that the main constraint to a complete pass-through is the existence of price-setting power at the producer level of the wheat market in Kenya. Investments in infrastructure development and the promotion of liberal trade policies can improve the transmission of international wheat price signals to domestic markets in Kenya.

Domestic pressures will affect UK trade relations

Significance Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government signalled that London will pursue a proactive, liberal trade policy globally. However, the capacity to pursue such a policy could be reduced by domestic political pressure. Impacts The United Kingdom’s new post-Brexit immigration regime should attract workers from non-EU countries, in particular from India. Negotiating several trade deals in tandem will stretch UK trade policy resources and ability to compromise with the other side. Rising protectionism and geopolitical rivalry will undermine UK efforts to influence the regulatory landscape abroad.

Arms transfers and international relations theory: Situating military aircraft sales in the broader IR context

Quantitative research on arms transfers has not adequately accounted for broader theories of international relations. We review the specialized literature on arms transfers and examine how arms transfers fit with the broad international relations theories. We derive and test seven hypotheses based on realist, liberal and constructivist theories using a dataset of all non-US/Russian aircraft transfers between 1990 and 2010. We find limited support for realist hypotheses. We find little support for hypotheses derived from the Democratic Peace literature, but some support for liberal trade arguments. We also find some support for constructivist arguments based on shared identity and prestige measures.

Nexus between Foreign Direct Investment Inflow and EPI Score in Brazil

Before 1990, foreign investors could not extensively invest in Brazil because of its stringent and conservative trade policy. However, in 1990 Brazil took a remarkable shift in its trade policy from its previous trends by taking a liberal stance in terms of FDI inflow. The liberal trade policy that Brazil took in 1990 remove all the trade barriers that previously hindered the free flow of FDI in Brazil, the sign of which had been reflected in the steady and gradual incremental FDI inflow in the country after that. This New opening of trade atmosphere had brought with it two very different repercussions. In one hand, it accelerated the economic growth by bringing in investment in the needed sectors; on the other hand this acceleration spurred industrial activities that are accompanied by air and water pollution and deforestation as a byproduct. Since then, environmental health and ecosystem of Brazil have been facing tremendous threat owing to these pollution problems which may indirectly distress the EPI score of Brazil. Keeping these issues in mind, the present study investigates the relationship between FDI inflow and EPI score in Brazil. With the help of descriptive statistical tools as well as Pearson correlation test, this study finds the negative relationship between FDI inflow and EPI score in Brazil.