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1502. The WTO and its Institutional Future - Evaluating the Lessons of Seattle
- Author:
- Isabella Falautano
- Publication Date:
- 06-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- There has been a lot of talk in the last months about the results of the third ministerial meeting of the WTO, held in Seattle from November 30th to December 3rd, 1999. In Seattle, the WTO was expected to adopt a proposal for the launching of a comprehensive new Round – the so-called Millennium Round – encompassing a broad and ambitious range of topics, from the more traditional challenges to the new trade issues. Instead, the meeting finished in a dramatic failure and the risk now is that the trading system of the twenty-first century will drift into a fog of uncertainty. One should point out that, at the end of the Uruguay Round a renegotiation was foreseen in the two key sectors of agriculture and services, the so-called "built-in" or progressive agenda. While the scenario for a global round, as I will try to clarify, is improbable to say the least in the short term, sectoral negotiations in agriculture and services will be starting in the year 2000. Nevertheless, the general context in which such negotiations are being launched, and in which the pro-Round coalition is trying to built consensus, is undoubtedly difficult.
- Topic:
- Globalization, International Organization, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
1503. Euro Spectator 2000 - Italy
- Author:
- Silvia Nenci and Marina Mancini
- Publication Date:
- 01-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- According to the “Eurobarometer” survey (Eurobarometer No 54), conducted in November and December 2000 among more than 16,000 citizens of the European Union, 55% (-3% in comparison with spring 2000) of Europeans support the single currency, whilst 37% do not. The Member States in which support is strongest are Italy (79%), Luxembourg (75%), Belgium (72%), Greece (70%), Ireland (69%), Spain (68%) and the Netherlands (64%). The majority of public opinion is against the Euro in Sweden (26%), the United Kingdom (21%), Denmark (41%) and Finland (45%). Looking at Italy, results show that 79% of citizens are in favour of the Euro (-2% in comparison with previous six months), 17% are against it (+ 3%) and the remaining 4% are indifferent.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom, Europe, Finland, Greece, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, and Luxembourg
1504. The Saviour and Other Europes—Identity, Interests, and Geopolitical Images of Europe in Estonia
- Author:
- Pami Aalto
- Publication Date:
- 04-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- It is no secret that research on integration within the European Union (EU) is not any more limited to the traditional dispute between intergovernmentalism and neo-functionalism. The debate between these two branches of research is now joined by International Relations (IR) constructivism, comparative politics approaches, and approaches treating the EU as “new governance” (Christiansen et al. 1999: 537). The issue of EU enlargement, moreover, enforces us to enlarge the research agenda horizontally, too, in order to make EU integration comprehensible. One of the metaphors depicting this enlarged research agenda is the “Europe of concentric circles”, with Brussels and EU institutions as the centre (Joenniemi 1993: 209- 12). For Ola Tunander (1997: 32), the emerging perception in the EU centre is that it represents a “Cosmos” of order and peace. This “Cosmos” is surrounded by a concentric circle of less integrated EU members, then a circle of relatively stable states eager for joining the EU, an outer circle of states less prepared to do so, and finally, a periphery representing “Chaos”; a final frontier of Europe which is definitely not about to join the EU in the foreseeable future. Ole Wæver (1997), for his part, speaks of a “Europe of three empires”. The EU is the most important empire, but it is accompanied by the “empire of the Tsars” -- Russia and its sphere of interests -- and the “empire of the Ottomans” -- Turkey with its sphere of interests.
- Topic:
- Globalization, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Israel
1505. Exploding the Value Chain: The Changing Nature of the Global Production Structure and Implications for International Political Economy
- Author:
- Thomas C. Lawton and Kevin P. Michaels
- Publication Date:
- 03-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- Contrary to recent critical thought, something has changed between the globalisation process of the late 19th and late 20th Centuries. There has been a fundamental change in what Strange (1988) defined as 'the production structure'. We begin this paper by examining Strange's notion of the production structure and its place in structural power. We then proceed to discuss the changing process of globalisation and the growth in intermediate products, deconstructing Michael Porter's value chain concept in the process. We argue that, in addition to developments in communications, the 'new globalism' is characterised in large part by changes in the production structure. These changes are facilitated by the advent of e-commerce. For governments to adapt to this new environment, they need to think in terms of how to gain or maintain comparative advantage in a particular part of the value chain.
- Topic:
- Globalization, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
1506. Beyond the Basle Accord: Banking Regulation in a System of Multilevel Governance
- Author:
- Susanne Lutz
- Publication Date:
- 03-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- In the 1980s, international banking regulation was thought to exemplify a case of successful regime development. Negotiations at the international level produced a multilateral agreement that established a uniform standard of capital adequacy to safeguard against financial risks. In the following decade, however, a multilevel-model of regulation evolved that accorded greater significance to the cooperation between private and public actors and to the interplay between the international and national levels. In this article, I shall examine the reasons for the transition from the first model to the second. I will argue that the choice of any regulatory approach depends on the conflict situation at hand in which those responsible for regulation find themselves because of the nature of the problem that needs to be solved. Whereas in the 1980s, the problem was a conflict over distribution, which could be resolved through multilateral negotiation, actors today are confronted with more complex forms of financial risk resembling a ‚'game against nature', so to speak . In order to regulate these, actors have replaced negotiation by communication-based learning processes.
- Topic:
- Globalization, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
1507. Domestic Politics and International Relations in Trade Policymaking: The United States and Japan in the GATT Uruguay Round Agriculture Negotiations
- Author:
- Christopher C. Meyerson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- This paper is circulated for discussion and comment only and should not be quoted without permission of the author. Linked to efforts to promote trade liberalization through trade negotiations has been the recognition of the need not only to better understand the relationship between domestic politics and international relations in American trade policymaking, but also to analyze more effectively the relationship between domestic politics and international relations in other countries' trade policymaking processes.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, America, and Israel
1508. Creating a Global Economy
- Author:
- Joan E. Spero
- Publication Date:
- 04-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues
- Abstract:
- Headlines in recent weeks have been filled with news of earthquakes. From Turkey to Taiwan, tectonic plates have been shifting leaving toppled buildings, trapped victims, and homeless survivors in their wake. In the last decade of the twentieth century, other less visible but equally powerful seismic shifts have also taken place. The tectonic plates of the world's political, security and economic systems have shifted dramatically. The end of the Cold War, the creation of a global, capitalist economy, and the emergence of the United States as the world's only superpower—these and other seismic shifts have toppled the dangerous but stable bipolar international system that had endured for nearly fifty years. Power structures, relations among states, international institutions, and international norms have changed in fundamental ways.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States
1509. Prospects for WTO Trade Negotiations After Seattle: Foreign Strategies and Perspectives
- Publication Date:
- 05-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- In a recent conference, trade experts identified three primary reasons the World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to launch a new trade Round at its December 1999 Ministerial. First, leading members were unable to resolve differences on critical issues prior to the gathering. In addition, many developing countries and nongovernmental organizations were more assertive than they had been at previous conferences. Finally, in recent years, the WTO has expanded the range of issues it addresses, which has made efforts to reach a consensus on any point more difficult. According to the speakers, as a result of the acrimonious Ministerial, the WTO has suffered a substantial loss of credibility, which will impair efforts to launch a new Round in the near term. There is no immediate alternative to strong US leadership, and WTO negotiations will be more complicated because developing countries and nongovernmental organizations will be more inclined to resist trade liberalization efforts that they believe do not advance their interests. Experts at the conference offered a variety of assessments regarding the course the WTO might choose to follow this year. The majority argued that if the trade body is seeking to rebuild confidence, it could continue with scheduled meetings on agriculture and services and use the time to rebuild confidence. A minority, however, held that the forum is too fractured to make progress, thus talks would only undermine the already declining prestige of the trade body. The experts identified several long-run challenges that the WTO will probably need to address to be an effective decisionmaking institution, including: Bridging the developed-developing country gap Costa Rica, Mexico, and South Africa generally support trade liberalization and have credibility among developed and developing states; thus they are in a position to meld the interests of the two sides. Enacting institutional reforms The organization's expansive agenda and large membership require that it adopt policies that facilitate decisionmaking, especially before new members such as China and Russia join. The trade body may try to increase transparency to promote greater trust in its procedures. Also, to avoid protracted and bitter selections such as the forum suffered last year, the WTO could review its procedures for electing a new director general. Managing the backlash against globalization Supporters of freer trade could launch a massive educational program to highlight the gains for all countries from expanded trade and to counter the dire assertions made by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Russia and China
1510. Does FDI Increase Firm Value in Emerging Markets?
- Author:
- Wi Saeng Kim
- Publication Date:
- 05-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This paper conducts an event study for a sample of firms listed on the Korean Stock Exchange. The study finds that positive and statistically significant abnormal returns occur around the announcement date of foreign direct investments. This finding suggests that security prices in the Korean stock market do reflect firm-specific information, and that FDI by Korean MNCs are, on average, value increasing investment decisions. The finding is consistent with the studies of Doukas and Travlos (1988) and Fatemi (1984) which found similar results for U.S. MNCs.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Israel, and Korea