Global Trade and Poor Nations
The Poverty Impacts and Policy Implications of Liberalization
Publication Year: 2007
This thoughtful volume assesses the likely impact of reformed trade policies on the poorest of the poor those on the bottom economic rungs in developing nations. The focus on a spectrum of poor nations across different regions provides some helpful and hopeful guidelines regarding the likely impacts of a global trade reform, agreed upon under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, as well as the impact of such reforms on economic development. In order to facilitate lesson-drawing across different regions, each country study utilizes a similar methodology. They combine information on trade policy at the product level with income and consumption data at the household level, thus capturing effects both on the macro level and in individual households where development policies ideally should improve day-to-day life. This uniformity of research approach across the country studies allows for a deeper and more robust comparison of results.
Published by: Brookings Institution Press
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
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pp. v-vi
Foreword
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pp. vii-viii
This book grew from what was originally conceived as a much smaller project to supplement the work of the United Nations Millennium Project Task Force on Trade, for which we had the pleasure to serve as co-coordinators. In its initial form, four research papers were commissioned to assess the impact of potential trade reforms ...
Introduction
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pp. 1-8
The biggest problem confronting the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the time of writing this—end 2006—is surviving the Doha Round. The Doha Round negotiating process generated some positive developments for the trading system, one of which is the focus of this book: ...
Part One: The Doha Agenda
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pp. 9-
Chapter 1: The Challenges to Reducing Poverty through Trade Reform: Overview
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pp. 11-30
In 2001 in Doha, Qatar, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to launch the Doha Development Agenda, a round of multilateral negotiations to reduce the use of trade-distorting policies and to bolster the development relevance of the WTO.1 The Doha agenda spans numerous issues, including reducing ...
Chapter 2: Estimating the Effects of Global Trade Reform
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pp. 31-50
The Doha Round has been termed the Doha Development Agenda. Much has been written by researchers and policy advocates on what would constitute a good outcome from a development perspective. Most would agree that deep trade liberalization would be beneficial for the world as a whole ...
Part Two: Country Studies
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pp. 51-
Chapter 3: Ethiopia
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pp. 53-76
This chapter analyzes how the changes in international prices consequent on the implementation of the Doha Development Agenda would affect household expenditures and incomes in Ethiopia. To explore the variance in the distribution of the effects and to identify potential winners and losers, ...
Chapter 4: Madagascar
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pp. 77-96
As shown in chapter 2 of this volume, the overall impact of multilateral trade liberalization is expected to be minor in Madagascar, as in most other least developed countries. However, a small overall effect might still mean a large impact for some parts of the population. This chapter analyzes the effects that multilateral trade liberalization ...
Chapter 5: Zambia
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pp. 97-118
The trade reforms that are on the so-called Doha Development Agenda would introduce new opportunities and new challenges for poor households in developing countries. These opportunities and challenges are multidimensional: as consumers, households will face changes in the prices of goods they buy, ...
Chapter 6: Cambodia
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pp. 119-144
Changes in trade policies can create opportunities as well as risks for the poor.1 This chapter assesses the likely impact of the implementation of the Doha Development Agenda on household income and expenditures in Cambodia. And, since rice plays a large role in both production and consumption for Cambodia’s poor, ...
Chapter 7: Vietnam
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pp. 145-173
Vietnam took big unilateral steps in trade liberalization during the last decade and is now one of the most open economies in Southeast Asia. It continues to emphasize trade reforms, as evidenced by the negotiations for its accession to the World Trade Organization, the ratification of the Bilateral Trade Agreement ...
Chapter 8: Bolivia
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pp. 174-198
Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and suffers from widespread income inequality and unemployment. This chapter evaluates how Bolivia’s households would be affected by multilateral trade reforms arising from the Doha Round. Besides the probable impacts on commodity prices and quantities, ...
Chapter 9: Nicaragua
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pp. 199-222
This chapter assesses the expected impact of a successful implementation of the Doha Development Agenda on households in Nicaragua, differentiating between urban and rural areas and presenting results by deciles of household per capita expenditure to identify effects on the distribution of income. ...
Part Three: Policy Implications
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pp. 223-
Chapter 10: Development and Trade Agreements: Beyond Market Access
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pp. 225-246
The foregoing chapters have assessed the impact of global trade liberalization on world prices and the consequences of relative price changes for outcomes at the household level, especially for the poor in the poorest countries. This type of analysis complements the much larger literature focusing on the overall ...
Contributors
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pp. 247-248
Index
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pp. 249-254
E-ISBN-13: 9780815736721
E-ISBN-10: 081573672X
Page Count: 254
Publication Year: 2007
