The world trade system is at a fork in history's road; WTO members cannot avoid Making a choice. / Take the politically expedient path by putting Doha talks on hold, or / Take the leadership path of engaging constructively and creatively in breaking the deadlock. Published ahead of the 29 April 2011 meeting of WTO members in Geneva, this book argues that if the current deadlock - mainly between the US and China - cannot be broken in 2011, no resolution is likely before 2020. US Congressional politics will be much rougher in 2013 - scared by divisive debates over spending and taxes - and the new Chinese government can hardly afford to start off with major tariff concessions to the US. Think of 2013 as 2011 with less goodwill Internationally, more poisonous politics inside the US, and a Chinese leadership that must prove its toughness. Breaking the deadlock would require an expanded negotiating agenda, but this would add years to the talks. The false promise that it would be harmless to allow Doha to languish for years is deeply dangerous, at best. The authors in this volume - trade experts from across the world - identify the perils of allowing Doha to flounder, and the hard choices governments must make to break the deadlock.

Although the dispute over China's exchange rate regime intensified in the run up to the Seoul G20 Summit, pressures for across-the-board protectionist measures have been contained, for now. The latest data on protectionism, summarised in this Report, show that the countries with large current account surpluses have not been targeted unduly in recent months. In addition to presenting statistics on the resort to protectionism by each G20 member, this Report highlights three other systemic developments: - An acceleration since the summer in tariff-cutting on machinery, parts, and components by numerous developing countries. - Even though the G20 countries have avoided a trade war to date, they continue to impose protectionist measures at 2009's heightened rates. - G20 countries account for 101 of the 141 protectionist measures that have harmed the commercial interests of the most vulnerable nations, namely, the Least Developed Countries. Most of that harm is done by the developing country members of the G20. This Report, the eighth produced by the Global Trade Alert team, will be of interest to analysts, government and international officials, and scholars in the run up to the Seoul G20 summit and beyond.

The Seventh Report of Global Trade Alert, drawing upon over 1200 investigations of state measures, reveals that while 2010 has seen a substantial recovery in world trade, governments have continued to discriminate against foreign commercial interests. Moreover, recovery does not seem to have affected the rate at which governments resort to protectionist measures. One reaction to this finding is to argue that the discrimination cannot be that significant if world trade is recovering so quickly. This Report shows that such a reaction overlooks the fact that many of the largest trading nations have implemented export promotion schemes over the past 12-18 months and that the rebound in world trade has been underwritten by subsidies, cheap access to credit, and tax rebates and exemptions for exporters. These findings highlight that contemporary discrimination against foreign commercial interests need not be commerce-reducing, like the across-the-board tariff increases of the 1930s. The composition of contemporary protectionism is very different from its counterpart in the Great Depression. This Report also has a regional focus on developments in Latin America. Governments in this region have differed markedly in their resort to protectionism and several country studies shed light on the factors responsible. Detailed reports of each nation's resort to protectionism and the harm done by the protectionism of others will further facilitate comparisons within the region.

E-Commerce - A Southern African Perspective approaches the theory and practice of e-commerce from a developing-world perspective. It covers theory, business models, case studies and practical issues such as the digital divide and the law governing e-commerce transactions. State of the art technology such as mobile commerce and its potential in the developing world are also included.

The authors are experienced lecturers on e-commerce and are well qualified to trace developments in this fast-paced field of inquiry. This book is essential reading, for students and practitioners.

This lively book takes Oklahoma history into the world of Wild West capitalism. It begins with a useful survey of banking from the early days of the American republic until commercial patterns coalesced in the East. It then follows the course of American expansion westward, tracing the evolution of commerce and banking in Oklahoma from their genesis to the eve of statehood in 1907.
"Banking in Oklahoma before Statehood "is not just a story of men sitting behind desks. Author Michael J. Hightower describes the riverboat trade in the Arkansas and Red River valleys and freighting on the Santa Fe Trail. Shortages of both currency and credit posed major impediments to regional commerce until storekeepers solved these problems by moving beyond barter to open ad hoc establishments known as merchant banks.
Banking went through a wild adolescence during the territorial period. The era saw robberies and insider shenanigans, rivalries between banks with territorial and national charters, speculation in land and natural resources, and land fraud in the Indian Territory. But as banking matured, the better-capitalized institutions became the nucleus of commercial culture in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories.
To tell this story, the author blends documentary historical research in both public and corporate archives with his own interviews and those that WPA field-workers conducted with old-timers during the New Deal. Bankers were never far from the action during the territorial period, and the institutions they built were both cause and effect of Oklahoma's inclusion in national networks of banking and commerce. The no-holds-barred brand of capitalism that breathed life into the Oklahoma frontier has remained alive and well since the days of the fur traders. As one knowledgable observer said in the 1980s, "You've always had the gambling spirit in Oklahoma."

In this book, leading experts in the field examine the effects of the recent growth in concentration in the European food retailing sector. In particular, the book develops a number of buyer power propositions and builds on the previous work of several of the authors, to consider how the growth of large supermarket chains affects competition in food retailing. The authors outline the theoretical and policy analysis underpinning the work and assess evidence on the size and growth of supermarket chains across the EU. Whilst not entirely critical, they suggest that there is strong evidence in some countries that supermarkets use their buying power to impose unfair terms and conditions on suppliers, particularly affecting small suppliers. The authors use case studies, to provide an in-depth analysis of four European countries, namely France, Germany, Spain and the UK. The book ends with a discussion of policy issues against a backdrop of likely future trends in concentration in this area. Academics working in the areas of microeconomics and industrial economics as well as those involved in European competition policy more generally, such as lawyers, civil servants and consultancy groups, will find this volume enlightening.

This outstanding collection charts the work of Jan Fagerberg on the relationship between technology, growth and international competitiveness. With an original introduction and a mix of previously published and unpublished material, the book covers all the main issues including: the technology gap and differences of growth and welfare; structural factors in the growth of exports and production, and the relationship between growth of GDP and trade performance. The final chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the theoretical and applied work on technology and competitiveness.

The 2021 International Trade Statistics Yearbook, Volume I -Trade by Country - provides a condensed and integrated analytical view of the international merchandise trade, and trade in services up to the year 2021 by means of brief descriptive text, concise data tables and charts. The information presented in the publication give an insight into the latest trends of trade in goods and services of around 175 countries (and areas) in the world. The yearbook is also made available online at https://comtrade.un.org/pb/. For more detailed data, users are requested to go to UN Comtrade (http://comtrade.un.org) which is the source of the information presented in the Yearbook, and is continuously updated. The publication is aimed at both specialist trade data users and common audience at large. The presented data, charts and analyses will benefit policy makers, government agencies, non-government organizations, civil society organizations, journalists, academics, researchers, students, businesses and anyone who is interested in trade issues. The information and analyses are presented in a way which can be comprehended by non-expert users of statistics.

A cantankerously funny view of books and the people who love them. It does take all kinds and through the misanthropic eyes of a very grumpy bookseller, we see them all--from the "Person Who Doesn't Know What They Want (But Thinks It Might Have a Blue Cover)" to the "Parents Secretly After Free Childcare." From behind the counter, Shaun Bythell catalogs the customers who roam his shop in Wigtown, Scotland. There's the Expert (divided into subspecies from the Bore to the Helpful Person), the Young Family (ranging from the Exhausted to the Aspirational), Occultists (from Conspiracy Theorist to Craft Woman). Then there's the Loiterer (including the Erotica Browser and the Self-Published Author), the Bearded Pensioner (including the Lyrca Clad), and the The Not-So-Silent Traveller (the Whistler, Sniffer, Hummer, Farter, and Tutter). Two bonus sections include Staff and, finally, Perfect Customer--all add up to one of the funniest book about books you'll ever find. Shaun Bythell (author of Confessions of a Bookseller) and his mordantly unique observational eye make this perfect for anyone who loves books and bookshops. "Bythell is having fun and it's infectious."--Scotsman "Virtuosic venting ... misanthropy with bursts of sweetness." Guardian "All the ingredients for a gentle human comedy are here, as soothing as a bag of boiled sweets and just as tempting to dip into."--Literary Review "Any reader finding this book in their stocking on Christmas morning should feel lucky...contains plenty to amuse--an excellent diversion"--Bookmunch

First Published in 1972. The London Discount Market is unique, and its existence has contributed more than any other single factor to the elaboration of what may legitimately be called the Anglo-Saxon tradition in Central Banking technique. The bill of exchange has existed for centuries in its classical late Victorian form by many decades. This book assesses how in no other country in the world did the same relationships evolve between the Central institution and the Money Market.

The apparel industry has the scale, reach, and technical expertise to deliver on-target sustainable development goals within the industry's sphere of influence in its interconnected global and local value chains. From the farm to the consumer, the textile, retail, and apparel production industry has an array of economic, environmental, social, and governance impacts. In order to meet sustainable goals, the industry is challenged to buy and produce goods and services that do not harm the environment, society, and the economy. Circular Economy and Re-Commerce in the Fashion Industry is a pivotal reference source that explores and proposes solutions for best practices to meet sustainable development goals in the fashion industry and provides guidelines for assessing the technological landscape and modeling sustainable business practices. Highlighting a wide range of topics including digital marking, consumer behavior, and social and legal perspectives, this book is ideally designed for suppliers, brand managers, retailers, multinational investors, marketers, executives, designers, manufacturers, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.

M-commerce (mobile-commerce) refers to e-commerce activities carried out via a mobile terminal such as a phone or PDA. M-commerce applications for both individuals and organizations are expected to grow considerably over the next few years. Mobile Commerce: Technology, Theory and Applications addresses issues pertaining to the development, deployment, and use of these applications. The objective of this book is to provide a single source of up-to-date information about mobile commerce including the technology (hardware and software) involved, research on the expected impact of this technology on businesses and consumers, and case studies describing state-of-the-art m-commerce applications and lessons learned.