trade liberalization Archives

Gender, Poverty, Social development and protection

How can trade liberalization boost women’s employment and well-being? An analysis of the Thai labor market

Upalat Korwatanasakul / August 17, 2020

As the economy is a gendered structure, trade liberalization affects women and men differently in various dimensions and through different channels. Trade liberalization causes structural transformation in terms of production and, therefore, leads to changes in employment patterns and income. However, the effect of trade is heterogenous across different sectors.

Economics, Industry and trade, Regional cooperation and integration

The upgraded ASEAN-People’s Republic of China Free Trade Agreement could matter, big time

Jayant Menon / August 2, 2019

In 2015, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) signed an Upgrade Protocol to improve the original Framework Agreement for the ASEAN-People’s Republic of China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) as well as their Agreement on Trade in Goods, Services, and Investment. The Upgrade Protocol entered into force in July 2016, and implementation will start from August 2019.

Economics, Poverty

The impact of trade opening on developing Asia: Evidence and policy implications

Devashish Mitra / February 26, 2019

Even though in aggregate, trade leads to economic gains, it almost always creates winners and losers. To design appropriate social protection policies, it is important to know the identities of these winners and losers. These policies need to be in place for equity reasons as well as to build and sustain support for free trade.

Industry and trade

Services policies and manufacturing exports

Ben Shepherd / February 6, 2019

Services and manufacturing are closely intertwined. Manufacturers use services as inputs into their production process. It is difficult to imagine a modern global value chain working without efficient transport services, financial services, logistics, and business services.

Industry and trade, Regional cooperation and integration

TPP and RCEP – friends not foes

Ganeshan Wignaraja / July 4, 2016

Talks just concluded in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday show that plans for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are advancing. Just as both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the next potential leaders of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s (TPP) biggest partner—the US—have distanced themselves from the agreement. Some even suggest that the US Congress won’t ratify the TPP agreement, and warn that the world economy risks US isolationism.

Industry and trade, Regional cooperation and integration

RCEP – a life raft for trade liberalization in Asia

Ganeshan Wignaraja / April 21, 2016

There seems to be a pushback against trade agreements in the post global financial crisis era. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was signed in early 2016, but US presidential candidates have spared no effort criticizing it so near-term ratification is highly uncertain. The WTO Doha Round is in the deep freeze after 14 years of negotiations. Unilateral trade liberalization has virtually come to a standstill.