International

This book explores the genesis and evolution of the Anti-dumping Agreement (ADA) from the perspective of the developing countries. It also outlines the evolution of the legal provisions in the existing agreement and the current ADA in a non-technical manner from a developing country viewpoint. The use of anti-dumping in developed and developing countries in a comparative framework is explained. It then deals with various economic and non-economic justifications of anti-dumping use. The wide-ranging proposals for the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) anti-dumping code are reported. It finally indicates the suggestions regarding the proposals that these countries need to focus on in the current round of negotiations. It is mentioned that the Agreement and its implementation both are heavily biased against the developing countries.

When taxes are introduced on carbon and energy, and the revenue is used to reduce other taxes, will a positive effect be achieved both for the environment and for the economy? In 1990, Finland was the first country that introduced a tax on CO₂. Later, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Slovenia, Germany, and the UK followed suit with tax reforms that shifted taxation from labour to carbon and energy. Over the years, CO₂ and energy taxes have gradually been raised, so that in Europe taxes of more than 25 billion EUR a year have been shifted. In this book, these experiences with carbon‐energy taxation, along with tax‐shifting programmes lowering other taxes, are examined in detail. Availability of unique and original data, including sector‐specific energy prices and taxes, as well as the use of advanced statistical techniques, such as co‐integration analysis and panel‐regression techniques along with the time‐series‐estimated macro‐economic model – Energy–Environment–Economy model for Europe (E3ME), makes this analysis truly comprehensive. Results of the analysis show that even though the taxes implemented have been relatively modest, they have, in the countries examined, contributed to a reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases of up to 7 per cent, while for five of the countries a small increase in economic activity is recorded as a result of the tax‐shifting, with other impacts separated out. Due to concerns for competitiveness, the largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases within Europe continue to benefit from exemptions from the carbon‐energy taxation schemes, as outside Europe there are major emitters without any economic penalties attached to greenhouse gas emissions. On basis of the lessons from carbon‐energy taxation learned in Europe, the editors of the book indicate how carbon‐energy taxation could usefully be combined with emissions trading, and they discuss how the recommendations from IPCC for a gradually escalating carbon price could be accomplished while preventing carbon leakage.

This book features case studies on national patterns of local production systems, focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. It is divided into three parts. Part I analyses the two cases that dominated the initial, 1980s industrial district literature: Emilia-Romagna and Baden Wurttemberg; and the machinery industry. Part II focuses on pre-crisis, large-firm, Fordist specialization. Part III presents examples of new industries where SME clusters are important: the biopharmaceutical industries around Oxford, the media sector in Cologne, information technology in Pisa, and computer technologies in Grenoble.

The book takes stock and looks ahead on the development and implementation of competition policy in the European Union (EU) fifty years after the Treaty of Rome. Competition policy has emerged as a key policy in the EU, since today there is consensus that competition is the driving force for economic efficiency and the welfare of citizens. In this period, merger control has been introduced (in 1989) and reformed (in 2004); case law has established Articles 81 and 82 as fundamental tools to control and prevent anti-competitive behavior; state aid control has consolidated and evolved towards a more economic approach; and the authority of the EC and the judicial review of the Court of First Instance (CFI) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) are firmly established. The book provides an account of the more economic approach to competition policy and reflects the main areas of interest, learning, open issues, and progress in the area: the design of competition policy institutions; the evolution of the implementation of competition policy and its convergence or divergence with US practice; restrictive practices, cartels, abuse of dominance, merger control, state aids, the interaction of competition policy, and regulation; and studies its application to telecoms, banking, and energy sectors. All the chapters are covered by top specialists combining theoretical with practical knowledge and discussing the economic underpinnings of the application of the law and the main cases.

This book gives an analytical account of the technology for the monetary policy implementation of the European Central Bank. The issue is looked at from different perspectives, corresponding to different chapters. The first chapter addresses the issue from a theoretical point of view, taking both a positive and a normative approach and considering both normal and stressed conditions. The stabilization of a short-term rate of interest in normal conditions and the countering of liquidity risk in a financial crisis are considered the objectives of monetary policy implementation. The approach in the second chapter is historical, presenting a narrative of the creation of the framework for the implementation of monetary policy in the euro area. The analysis turns to empirical tools in the third chapter, where the experience of actually working with the technology for monetary policy implementation is dealt with. Finally a forward-looking approach is taken in the last, short chapter, which attempts to identify the future challenges of monetary policy implementation. Each chapter, except for the fourth, is written by different authors but both the editors and the authors have strived to present an organic analysis of the issue in which the different approaches complement each other. The book is by no means an official account, but could definitely not have been written had the authors not been so closely associated with the implementation of monetary policy in the euro area.

The concepts of cultural diversity and cultural identity are at the forefront of the political debate in many western societies. In Europe, the discussion is stimulated by the political pressures associated with immigration flows, which are increasing in many European countries. The imperatives that current immigration trends impose on European democracies bring to light a number of issues that need to be addressed. What are the patterns and dynamics of cultural integration? How do they differ across immigrants of different ethnic groups and religious faiths? How do they differ across host societies? What are the implications and consequences for market outcomes and public policy? Which kind of institutional contexts are more or less likely to accommodate the cultural integration of immigrants? All these questions are crucial for policy makers and await answers. This book aims to provide a stepping stone to the debate. Taking an economic perspective, this edited book presents a current, comparative picture of the process of cultural integration of immigrants across Europe. It documents the main economic debates on the causes and consequences of cultural integration of immigrants, and provides detailed descriptions of the cultural and economic integration process in seven main European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It also compares the European context with the integration of immigrants in the United States.

This book presents a compilation of papers that explore the dollarization debate. The prevailing view is that all exchange rate regimes have benefits and costs, which will vary across countries. The book is divided into four parts. Part I presents a general analysis of the dollarization debate. Part II focuses on the political economy. Part III looks into the dollarization debate in North America. Part IV considers the case for dollarization in Latin America.

Latin America is attracting increasing interest due to the strong economic performance of the last decade and to the political changes that are taking place. This book gives a unique, comprehensive, and up to date view of Latin America economic development over the two centuries since Independence. It considers Latin American economies within the wider context of the international economy, and covers economic growth, international trade, capital flows, and trends in inequality and human development. With chapters that cover different eras, it traces the major developments of Latin American countries and offers a novel and coherent interpretation of the economic history of the region. It combines a wealth of original research, new perspectives, and empirical information to provide a synthesis of the growing literature that both complements and extends previous studies.

Regional trading arrangements have been a recurring, and often challenging, feature of the global trading system established after 1945. This book analyses the economic, historical, and political reasons behind these challenges, which arose even though the multilateral trading system was serving the world well over the second half of the twentieth century. The book's three main parts deal with the history, theory, and empirical evidence on the effects of discriminatory trade policies in general, and of regionalism in particular.