This paper develops a new model of a trade agreement that puts at center stage the competing interests between firms within a sector. Larger firms favor trade liberalization whereas smaller firms favor protection. Lobbying by firms for or against the agreement is modelled as an all-pay auction, thus incorporating the feature that binding contracts over contributions for policies cannot be writt...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the participation in global textile and apparel value chain with special attention, first, case three dynamic interrelated economies (Mexico, United States, China); second, a general approach larger sample countries through analysis trade added. From descriptive analysis, high domestic share each country’s exports found. However, China leading exporter indust...

Over the past two decades, the role of intellectual property rights in all areas of science and technology has exploded globally– primarily due to the rules prescribed by the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS and by bilateral/regional trade agreements. The TRIPS agreement obligates all WTO member countries to adopt and enforce minimum standards of intellectual property rights. The TRIPS agreemen...

Median voter theory applied to trade policy predicts positive tariffs in capital-abundant countries and negative tariffs in labor-abundant countries. Negative tariffs are rare, and this paper reconciles the median voter theory with observed protectionism across countries. By considering large countries, I show the optimal tariff is a sum of the median voter component and a positive in terms of ...

to achieve a breakthrough in the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round. Their goal is to get an agreement by the end of 2008. Developing countries should pull the plug on this moribund round until rich countries can agree to a new framework that lives up to Doha’s promise to be a “Development Round” that favours poorer countries. As rich country leaders try to rally negotiators for yet another ...