Trading across borders, export intermediaries are specialized service firms that connect domestic manufacturers with overseas buyers. How do they do it? What determines their success or failure? Have they really lowered transaction costs for their clients, minimized agency costs, and possessed competitive resources and capabilities in world trade? Surprisingly, no study until now has answered these questions or has explored the underlying issues as thoroughly as Peng does here.

Peng develops an integrated model of export intermediary performance. He focuses on the nature of export transactions and manufacturer-intermediary relationships which may lead to agency problems, and underlines the importance of valuable, unique, and hard-to-imitate resources and capabilities for intermediaries' competitive advantages. Peng employs a distinct analytical approach that highlights three underlying themes--transactions, agents, and resources--then tests his model with six critical case studies and a 1,000-firm mail survey. Operators of export intermediaries seeking ways to improve their performance, aspiring entrepreneurs studying the export business for niche opportunities, manufacturing executives seeking top quality service from export intermediaries, and government officials in charge of export promotion and pertinent legislation--all will find Peng's book a useful examination of issues critical to their work.

This is a fully updated edition of the best-selling text on U.S. trade policy from colonial times to the current era of large trade imbalances. New coverage for this edition includes the WTO panels and conflicts, the battle in Seattle, struggles over Doha rounds and conflicts, growing tensions among major powers, splits between advanced and developing nations, increased terrorism, and risks of war.

Lovett (Tulane Law School), Eckes (a former commissioner of the U.S. International Commission during the Reagan and Bush I administrations), and Brinkman (international economics, Portland State U.) evaluate the evolution of U.S. trade policy, focusing on the period from the establishment of the Gen

Trade and investment liberalization under Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) looked to be going well in the mid 1990s. However, the subsequent Early Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) initiative, which was an ambitious attempt to stimulate comprehensive regional liberalization by accelerating tariff reduction in selected sectors, turned out to be a failure. This book analyses the attempted trade liberalizations under the APEC framework by conducting case studies on policy processes of six members. Using the 'two-level game' model as an analytical framework, the volume is an incredibly useful tool for understanding trade liberalization and its implementation. An impressive cohort of contributors come together in this wonderful collection to provide a book that will be of great use to students and academics involved with international trade and economic integration as well of being a useful reference tool for policy-makers across the world.

With the accession of Afghanistan in 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) numbered 164 members with nineteen other states in line to join. The WTO is certainly not alone in its growth though; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the European Union (EU) are all expanding with dozens of states continuing to negotiate their potential membership. What impact does membership in international organizations really have? Why do some states have a seemingly easy path to joining international organizations while others find the process nearly impossible? What implications do these difficult accession processes have on the domestic and international politics of the acceding states? The author presents the two-level theory of accession, which highlights factors at the domestic level and international organization level, to explain how accession processes in the WTO and EU vary from state to state and the impact of these variations. In so doing, this book provides a unique perspective on the topic of membership in international organizations.

Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Past Trends and Future Prospects for Growth
1. Dipak Dasgupta, Jennifer Keller and T. G. Srinivasan Reform and Elusive Growth in the Middle East - What Has Happened in the 1990s?
Part II: Integration Patterns, Trade Blocs and Regional Policy
2. Rania Miniesy, Jeffrey B. Nugent and Tarik M Yousef Globalize or Regionalize: How has MENA Performed?
3. Mustapha Nabli and Marie-Ange Veganzones Exchange Rate Regime and Competitiveness of Manufactured Exports: The Case of MENA Countries
4. Ghazi Ben-Ahmad and Ali Bayar The New WTO Trade Agenda, The Euro-Med Agreements and the Cap Reform: Implications for the Agricultural Trade of the MENA Region
Part III: Trade and Restructuring: Lessons and Outcomes
5. Sofiane Ghali and Pierre Mohnen Restructuring and Economic Performance: The Experience of the Tunisian Economy
6. Zelal Kotan and Serdar Sayan A Comparative Investigation of the Price Competitiveness of Turkish and South East Asian Exports in the European Union Market: 1990-1997
7. Zine Barka Economic Liberalisation and Trade Policy Reforms in Algeria
8. Behrouz Hady Zonooz Trade Strategy and Industrial Development in Iran during the 1979-1998 Period
Part IV: Resource Endowments, Factor Markets and Employment Issues
9. Jacques Charmes Trends in Informal Sector Employment in the Arab World and Middle East
10. Malika Martini, Elizabeth Bailey, Gwyn E. Jones and Patricia Goldey Female Labour Supply and Employment Patterns: The Organisation of Labour in Farm Production in Northwest Syria
11. Tony Allan and Hassan Hakimian Watersheds and Problemsheds: Solving MENA Water Scarcity in The Global Trading System
Part V: Economic Boundaries in Flux
12. Karen Preifer How Conflict Shifts Economic Boundaries in the Arab World: Case Study from Kuwait
13. Leila Farsakh Palestinian Labour Mobility and the Redefinition of Economic Boundaries between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip
14. Subidey Togan Turkey After Helsinki: Economic Challenges
15. Numan Kanafani Trade - A Catalyst for Peace?

This is the first in-depth study of the early trial-and-error experiences of contracting between Japanese and western merchants trading in the Japanese Treaty Ports in the eighteen year period immediately following the opening of the ports in 1859. Fundamental to the equation were the inevitable east-west cultural and legal ambiguities that impacted on the traders. The learning curve for both westerners and Japanese regarding the nature and application of western contracting law was predictably difficult, tortuous and open to constant misunderstanding. Nevertheless, it was within such a framework that the principal benchmarks for trade with Japan were set down and which, in essence, have lasted to the present day.

The Indian Ocean, used and travelled by humans for over 5000 years, is by far the 'oldest' sea in history. In this stimulating and authoritative overview, Michael Pearson reverses the traditional angle of maritime history and looks from the sea to its shores - its impact on the land through trade, naval power, travel and scientific exploration. This vast ocean, both connecting and separating nations, has shaped many countries' cultures and ideologies through the movement of goods, people, ideas and religions across the sea. The Indian Ocean moves from a discussion of physical elements, its shape, winds, currents and boundaries, to a history from pre-Islamic times to the modern period of |European dominance. Going far beyond pure maritime history, this compelling survey is an invaluable addition to political, cultural and economic world history.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203414136

This book examines the subtle ways in which rhetorics of sacrifice have been re-appropriated into the workings of the global political economy in the 21st century. It presents an in-depth analysis of the ways in which ritual practices are deployed, under a diverse set of political and legal contexts, as legitimation devices in rendering exploitative structures of the prevailing political-economic system to appear inescapable, or even palatable. To this end, this work explores the deeper rhetorical and legal basis of late-capitalist governmentality by critically interrogating its mythical and ritual dimensions. The analysis gives due consideration to the contemporary incarnations of ritual sacrifice in the transnational neoliberal discourse: from those exploitative yet inescapable contractual obligations, to calendrical multi-billion dollar 'offerings' to the insatiable needs of 'too-big-to-fail' corporations. The first part of the book provides a working interpretative framework for understanding the politics of ritual sacrifice - one that not only accommodates multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary knowledge of ritual practices, but that can also be employed in the integrated analysis of sacrificial rituals as political rhetoric under divergent historical and societal contexts. The second conducts a series of case studies that cut across the wide variability of ritual public takings in late-capitalism. The book concludes by highlighting several key common doctrines of public ritual sacrifice which have been broadly observed in its case studies. These common doctrines tend to reflect the rhetorical and legal foundations for public takings under hegemonic market-driven governance. They define 'appropriate and proper' occasions for suspending pre-existing legal protections to regularize otherwise transgressive transfers of rights and possessions for the 'greater good' of the economic order.

Transnational tendencies have led to a pluralistic legal environment in which emerging and established legal actors, regulatory levels and types of legal norms co-exist, compete and interact in complex ways. This challenges and changes not only how legal norms are created, applied and enforced but also when these actors, norms and processes are considered legitimate. The book investigates how states and non-state actors interact in transnational settings and pays attention to the understudied question of what effect transnational tendencies have on the legitimacy of legal actors, norms and processes. It seeks to confront three fundamental questions: Has legitimacy significantly changed? Who creates norms and with which consequences for legal procedures and norms? The book considers the question of legitimacy from a broad range of legal perspectives, including environmental law, human rights law and commercial law. It maps out the contours of legitimacy today with an emphasis on the reactions of central actors like states and courts to transnational tendencies. The book thereby provides a conceptually powerful structure within which to further debate the complexity of transnational tendencies in law and proposes innovative approaches to problem solving while designing pathways for further reflection on the development of law in a transnational context.

There are competing theories to explain the reasons behind the international competitiveness of manufacturing in Asia. Analysing these different theories will bring important lessons, not just for Asia, but for developing economies the world over.
This lucid book studies industries and firms in East Asia and examines the major determinants of their economic performance. With contributions from such leading thinkers as Ha-Joon Chang and Rajah Rasiah, the book covers such themes as:
*industrial policy and East Asia
*Taiwan's information technology industry
*The role of the government in technological capability building
Manufacturing Competitiveness in Asia touches on many important themes and issues and as such will be of great interest to students, academics and policy-makers involved in industrial economics, international trade and Asian studies.

The Arms Industry is an area that is of huge concern to many people around the world. The economics of this hugely important industry are a vital strand that needs to be understood.
This volume brings together contributors from all over the globe, such as Todd Sandler and Keith Hartley, and focuses on the important issues surrounding the Arms Trade such as:
*the determinants of US military expenditure
*alliance formation and expansion
*new challenges to export controls
This well-rounded, comprehensive book will be of huge interest to students and academics with involved in the economics of defence, as well as more general studies of the defence industry. The book will also be an invaluable read for those with an interest in the Arms Industry such as policy-makers and corporate managers.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203477162

The growth of world trade has been stagnant in recent times; trade liberalisation now has been challenged. The recent rise of anti-globalisation calls for a better integration in East Asia. How should East Asia manage its openness? This book provides profound analyses on rules of origins, non-tariff measures, restrictiveness in services and investment. It gives insight into how East Asian countries should shape its trade, investment and industrial policies. This book helps to answer what kind of a better integration it should be, and how East Asia can realise it. "The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/10.4324/9780429433603, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license."

From the time of Cook, the British and their Canadian successors were drawn to the Northwest coast of North America by possibilities of trade in sea otter and the wish to find a 'northwest passage'. The studies collected here trace how, under the influences of the Royal Navy and British statecraft, the British came to dominate the area, with expeditions sent from London, Bombay and Macau, and the Canadian quest from overland. The North West Company came to control the trade of the Columbia River, despite American opposition, and British sloop diplomacy helped overcome Russian and Spanish resistance to British aspirations. Elsewhere in the Americas, the British promoted trans-Pacific trade with China, harvested British Columbia forests, conveyed specie from western Mexico, and established the South America naval station. The flag followed trade and vice versa; empire was both formal (at Vancouver Island) and informal (as in California or Mexico). This book features individuals such as James Cook, William Bolts, Peter Pond, and Sir Alexander Mackenzie. It is also an account of the pressure that corporations placed on the British state in shaping the emerging world of trade and colonization in that distant ocean and its shores, and of the importance of sea-power in the creation of modern Canada.

The customary treatment of Mediterranean trade from the 11th to the mid-15th century emphasizes the predominance of western merchants and the commercial exchange of spices and eastern raw materials for western woollens and other finished products. The studies in this collection, the sixth by David Jacoby to be published in the Variorum series, adopt a different perspective. They underscore the economic vitality of various countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean, their industrial capacity, the importance of exchanges between them, and the important contribution of the merchants based in that region to trans-Mediterranean trade. They also illustrate the role of hitherto neglected commodities, such as timber, iron, silk and cheese, in that trade.

The history of the economic contacts between Asia and Europe dates back to at least the early years of the Common Era. But it was only after the overcoming of the transport technology barrier to the growth of trade between the two continents following the discovery by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century of the all-water route to the East Indies that these contacts became regular and quantitatively significant. The Portuguese were joined at the beginning of the 17th century by the Dutch and the English East India companies. The Europeans operated in the Indian Ocean alongside the Indian and other Asian merchants with no special privileges being available to them. The present collection of essays by Professor Om Prakash first deals with the Indian merchants' participation in the Indian Ocean trade on the eve of the Europeans' arrival in the Ocean. The subsequent essays include a discussion of the Portuguese involvement in the Euro-Asian and the Indian Ocean trade. Attention is then turned to the trading activities of the Dutch and the English East India companies. The volume also contains essays on textile manufacturing and trade as well as on coinage and wages in India. The concluding essay deals with trade and politics in the province of Bengal.

On December 11th 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). China and the Long March to Global Trade examines the prolonged negotiations leading up to this historic event.
This edited collection assumes little prior knowledge of the Chinese accession process yet provides an in-depth examination of the related issues. It is therefore suitable for both those who require an introduction to the field and those with an existing interest in China and the World Trade Organization.

As a participant in and negotiator of NAFTA and the World Trade Organization, Thomas A. Hockin provides a unique insider's look at the political challenges to free trade and U. S. trade policy. In this timely and important book, Hockin explores the fragile ecosystem of multinational trade alliances in the face of insurgent political protests from both the left and the right. The American Nightmare takes a close look at WTO obstacles such as the failure of member countries to follow dispute settlement arrangements; the conflict surrounding the membership of China; and, the mercurial administration of trade law in the U.S. Hockin makes a convincing case for the current incoherence of American trade policy, warning of a possible collapse of the world economy if the WTO's ability to settle disputes becomes further frustrated. With lucid analysis of the systemic problems involved in free trade and thoughtful possible solutions to them, The American Nightmare is a clarion call for policy makers and a thought provoking read for those of us on the sidelines.

First published in 1999, this volume applies Professor Michael Porter's diamond framework (1990) to the Turkish glass, construction, leather clothes, automobile and flat steel industries. OEzlam OEz aims primarily to contribute towards an improvement of this framework, and thus towards a better understanding of the sources of competitive advantage. Her research presents a new approach to evaluate the competitiveness of the Turkish economy, given that alternative studies usually focus on factors like exchange rates and the cost of labour and raw materials as the determinants of competitive advantage. The author begins her book by providing an evaluation of the diamond framework linked to the debate created by the publication of The Competitive Advantage of Nations. She then identifies the pattern of advantage in Turkey by specifying the internationally competitive industries and clusters. This is followed by a detailed examination of the five Turkish industry case studies - glass, construction, leather clothes, automobile and flat steel industries. The findings are generally supportive of Porter. The results suggest, however, several major areas in the framework - especially domestic rivalry and the role of government - where one or more of the Turkish cases question Porter's hypothesises. The book ends with the implications of the study for the sources of competitive advantage in general and for the Turkish economy in particular. Porter and his diamond framework are both unquestionably influential. Improvements upon it forwarded in this book will be of use to academic readers as well as strategic planners and policy makers.

First published in 1997, this volume contributes to the knowledge for the trade of vegetables, fruits and tubers (so-called horticultural commodities). As African policy makers try to keep pace with new developments in private food trade, they require knowledge of the structures of private trade systems and the factors that govern their long-term development. The study analyses the structure and development of horticultural marketing channels in Kenya. It is based primarily on surveys of some 500 farmers in four districts and 750 horticultural traders in 18 market places. Commercial horticultural farmers, domestic traders, export traders, agents, facilitators, marketing cooperatives and processors are all reviewed. The study devotes special attention to the efficiency of collecting wholesalers, and to the development of rural assembly markets. It develops a model which can elucidate vertical differentiation processes in the Kenyan horticultural channels. The analyses show that marketing channel theory can be of great relevance to the developing world. The proposed vertical differentiation model can aid in predicting future changes in horticultural marketing systems, in Kenya as well as in other African countries.

Published in 1997, this book is about the link between trade and the environment which has become a very important national issue for all countries, in particular, those countries which have been undergoing lengthy periods of trade and investment liberalization programmes recently. This has also become an international issue of tremendous current interest given its implications on the global environment and trading system. International organizations such as WTO, OECD, the UN and regional trading arrangements such as NAFTA, EEC and APEC have been actively involved in the policy debate. Despite the critical importance of trade-environment issues, less is known about the linkages between the two. This book presents a New Zealand perspective as a case-study of global interest for two reasons: firstly, many countries, both developed and developing, are taking the New Zealand economic reforms as a model for restructuring their economies. Secondly, New Zealand is going to become a member of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation), together with 17 other countries in the area by 2010 (developed countries) and 2020 (developing countries). The book is expected to contribute significantly to the current debate and to assist in the process of reconciliation of trade and environmental policies for sustainable development within the context of APEC integration.

David Ricardo's theories have been widely studied and discussed, including the prominent theory on comparative advantage. Ricardo and International Trade looks at the ongoing renaissance of the Ricardian international trade theory. The book's interpretation brings fresh insights into and new developments on the Ricardian international trade theory by examining the true meaning of the 'four magic numbers'. By putting together theories of comparative advantage and international money, the book attempts to elucidate Ricardo's international trade theory in the real world. This book also features contributions from the Japanese perspective and compares Ricardian theories with those of his contemporaries, such as Malthus, Torrens and J. S. Mill. This book will be a valuable reference for researchers and scholars with interests in history of economic thought and international economics.

Originally published in 1997, Issues in International Capital Mobility addresses a few of the ambiguities arising in empirical investigations of capital market openness. It does this by taking existing empirical approaches and adapting them to new markets and to new assets. It also examines the properties of one statistical method used to assess the extent of international capital mobility. This book will appeal to those working or studying in the field of economics and finance.

The concept of 'good governance' is of increasing importance, and is used by international organizations to ensure reasonable conformity to high standards in states which participate in the global trading regime and other international activities. This book examines the concept of good governance and how it is applied in the states of the Gulf Co-operation Council. These states are particularly important because of their strategic location and massive oil wealth. Moreover, as monarchies, in most cases without powerful democratic representative bodies, and as Islamic countries, with a different outlook from countries of the West, Western standards of good governance may need to be modified in order for them to be implemented effectively.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203220838

First published in 1999, this work of economic history explores the evolution of the single market and of economic and political integration in Europe since World War II. Beginning with European integration and the genesis of the Customs Union, Bill Lucarelli then proceeds through the Trans-Atlantic Rivalry, the European Monetary Union (EMU) the European Monetary System (EMS) and on to Maastricht. The study intends to be a critique of the prevailing theories of negative integration, weighting economic integration against political integration, with a particular focus on the concept of 'spill-over'. Lucarelli argues against prevailing functionalist and neo-liberal interpretations of the process of economic integration. The conclusion is critical of the strategy toward European Monetary Union. The book is informed by Marxian and Post-Keynesian Economic theories.