Book Description

The Secretariat report examines the country's trade-related policies and measures, covering tariffs and a wide range of non-tariff barriers, from an economic perspective.The report reviews the impact of these policies and measures on the country's recent overall economic performance, and on the development of major sectors.The government report describes the country's trade-related policies and the basic institutional and legal structure affecting the trade policy decision-making process.It examines these policies against the background of the wider economic and development needs of the country concerned. ... Read more

Book Description

The Secretariat report examines the country's trade-related policies and measures, covering tariffs and a wide range of non-tariff barriers, from an economic perspective.The report reviews the impact of these policies and measures on the country's recent overall economic performance, and on the development of major sectors.The government report describes the country's trade-related policies and the basic institutional and legal structure affecting the trade policy decision-making process.It examines these policies against the background of the wider economic and development needs of the country concerned. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive handbook analyzes global fishing production, disposition and import trade, and strategies for Indian exporters. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Why Free Trade Needs Fair Trade
Mastel crafts a carefully researched look at one of the most controversial issues in international trade: antidumping (AD) laws. After presenting a well-documented history of AD laws in the U.S., he invokes economic analysis to obliterate the arguments against fair trade.

I think Mastel could have added significantly to his book by a more in-depth treatment of AD laws' less publicized cousin, countervailing duty (CVD) laws. He mentions CVD laws briefly in his section on subsidies, but the purpose of this section is mainly to illustrate another possible cause of dumping. Perhaps he should write a separate book on subsidies and countervailing measures....

Also, I would have liked a more in-depth discussion of foreign AD/CVD laws. Mastel relegates his discussion of these to an appendix, which may be appropriate considering the scope of his book. Again, maybe a separate book is needed....

Mastel could have added to his book considerably if he had included more of the mathematical computations behind AD margins (perhaps in an appendix). Admittedly, though, this would have hampered the accessibility of the book to non-professionals.

Overall, his work is very accessible to any interested reader, and I recommend it especially to students and legal or research assistants embarking on a possible career in international trade. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is the result of a comparative investigation that contrasts micro-systems of innovation in several regions of China and Australia – two vastly different countries in terms of traditions, industry structures, political systems and economic organization. Six regional studies comprehensively document the experiences of firms engaged in product or process innovation. The book also examines the institutions that support research and development and the impact of government policies on innovation in each of the regions studied.

The case-studies present original and informative insights into the different ways in which local, national and transnational interests interact and influence regional development. These findings support the view that local innovation systems are emerging with quite different structural characteristics. The authors conclude that local, national and transnational dimensions are continually redefining and aligning themselves in novel and interesting ways. They highlight the importance of identifying these structural relationships in order to encourage dynamic innovation to occur. This, they argue, has important implications for policymakers concerned with the promotion of innovation in regional areas.

Innovation, Technology Policy and Regional Development will be of great interest to those involved in research and policy in the fields of economic growth and employment, industrial economics and innovation. ... Read more

Book Description

Drawing upon evolutionary economics and resource-based approaches, the author utilizes US patent data from 1930-1990 to examine the persistence of corporate technological competencies and their gradual erosion through diversifying incremental change. The book explores the changing nature of this diversification with respect to firm size, technological relatedness and technological complexity in 32 firms distributed across four broadly defined industrial sectors.

The findings suggest that industry and corporate technological profiles remain strong but are becoming blurred by the pervasiveness of general-purpose technologies. Although historically diversification is associated with an increase in firm size, the author argues that in recent times it results from technological relatedness and complexity.

This book will appeal to industrial and business economists, historians of business and technology, and students and scholars of technology management. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume contains a collection of the contributions to the German-Chinese conference "Impact of National Goals on Basic Research" which took place at Berlin in March 1999. Referees from both countries report about the importance of basic research, especially in the context of national goals. The articles cover a broad range of various aspects regarding these topics, like the role of universities in basic research, social acceptance of scientific progress, and interdisciplinary research. ... Read more

Book Description

Economic Behavior and Distributional Choice brings together, for the first time, Harold M. Hochman’s key papers on income redistribution and policy in one accessible volume.

The introduction describes the genesis and development of a new direction in thinking, and the papers that follow cover the evolutions of an idea: the alliance between distribution policy and distributional preference as developed through public choice theory.

This fine collection illustrates Harold M. Hochman’s major contributions to the discussion of the relationship between distributional preference, income transfer policy and economic justice, including the concept of Pareto Optimal Distribution. These contributions have significantly advanced our understanding of the ways in which economic analysis can inform income distribution policy.

This path-breaking selection of writings, including a set of innovative papers on fiscal design, urban policy and addictive behavior, will be of great interest to academics, students and researchers concerned with macroeconomics and economic behavior. ... Read more

Book Description

This Country Commercial Guide (CCG) presents a comprehensive look at Hong Kong’s commercial environment using economic, political and market analyses. The CCGs were established by recommendation of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), a multi-agency task force, to consolidate various reporting documents prepared for the U.S. business community. Country Commercial Guides are prepared annually at U.S. embassies and consulates through the combined efforts of several U.S. Government agencies.

After a very painful recession brought about by the financial and economic crisis that affected the entire Asian region, Hong Kong’s economy began to recover in the second quarter of 1999, and the recovery has continued to strengthen. Unemployment stood at a very high 6.2% for 1999, but has now fallen to 5.5%. GDP rose by 3% in 1999, after contracting by 5.1% in 1998, and grew by a very impressive 14.3% in the first quarter of 2000. Some economists are now calling for 10% real GDP growth for full-year 2000.

The stock market, after losing over 60% of its value from its peak in August 1997 to its nadir in August 1998, has recovered to pre-crisis levels. Inbound tourist arrivals, a key economic driver for the Hong Kong economy, have also recovered strongly, growing 11.5% in 1999, and by 15% through the first four months of 2000. Property prices, which also fell sharply during the crisis, have now stabilized. For office space in the prime “Central” business district, prices are currently 30-40% lower than at their peak in 1997.

According to U.S. Government statistics, U.S. exports to Hong Kong totaled US$12.6 billion in 1999, and two-way trade totaled US$23.2 billion, making Hong Kong the United States' thirteenth largest trading partner. US exports to Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2000 were up 5.5% over the year-earlier period.

The keys to Hong Kong’s economic success -- its free-market philosophy, entrepreneurial drive, absence of trade barriers, well-established rule of law, low and predictable taxes, transparent regulations, and complete freedom of capital movement -- remain as strong as ever. And Hong Kong’s attractiveness as a profitable commercial and financial center have been enhanced as the high cost of doing business, largely stemming from rising property and labor costs, has come down considerably because of the economic crisis. The rise in unemployment has eased wage pressure and dampened the high turnover that most companies faced here in the past, as a result of the extremely low unemployment rates that had prevailed traditionally (2.2% in 1997).

There are over 1,100 U.S. businesses represented in Hong Kong -- including over 400 regional operations -- and over 50,000 American citizens reside in Hong Kong. According to preliminary U.S. Government statistics, U.S. direct investment in Hong Kong totaled almost US$24 billion at year-end 1999 (based on historical cost), making the United States one of Hong Kong's largest investors, along with the U.K., China and Japan. ... Read more