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14
international developments and relations between presumably competing welfare
optimizing states. Given the anarchical nature of the international system of states,
maximizing benefits associated with interstate commerce requires institutions to
facilitate effective and mutually beneficial collective action. Under the auspices of
the GATT and WTO, discriminating RTAs have flourished in direct opposition to
the guiding principle of non-discrimination. The contradiction embodied in RTAs
vis à vis the non-discrimination principle initially awakened the scholarly interest
and examination of RTAs.
Article I of the Marrakesh Agreement, the legal document establishing the
WTO in April 1994, requires non-discrimination, most favored nation treatment
(MFN), among member countries of the WTO. The formation of RTAs directly
conflicts with the language and intent of Article I in that preferences awarded to
RTA members are not bestowed upon all WTO signatories. The non-discrimination
principle, upon which the GATT/WTO is founded, is at best violated, if not
disregarded, when states form or join RTAs. To be sure, provisions in the legal
documentation accommodate RTAs within the GATT/WTO framework. Under the
rules of the GATT/WTO outlined in Article XXIV states are required to submit for
review any plans for implementation of an RTA. During the entire time period under
examination for this study, the GATT/WTO did not challenge or reject an RTA in
violation of the provisions. Accordingly, it is likely that imprecise language and lack
of enforcement have resulted in the formation of RTAs inconsistent with the original
Object Description
| Title | Riding the wave: an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the popularity of RTA notifications to the GATT/WTO |
| Author | McClough, David Andrew |
| Author email | mcclough@usc.edu; dmcclou@bgsu.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Economy & Public Policy |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-07 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-18 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Katada, Saori N. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Nugent, Jeffrey B. Cartier, Carolyn |
| Abstract | The proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) notified to the GATT/WTO since the early 1980s deviates from the long-term trend and reflects participation of nearly every member of the United Nations. This dissertation seeks to explain the current wave of RTA notifications by supplementing the economic model of supply and demand with diffusion theory. Application of the supply and demand model is useful in distinguishing between changes in demand and changes insupply of RTAs. This distinction is seldom emphasized in the current literature examining RTAs. Recent applications of diffusion theory in the discipline of international relations offer a unique opportunity to include a dynamic force in the static analysis of the supply and demand model. Empirical analysis assesses the fit of the RTA diffusion pattern by comparing the RTA diffusion pattern to a cumulative standard normal distribution. The analysis indicates that the diffusion pattern of RTAs resembles the diffusion of an innovation through a social system.; The implication of this finding is that the adoption of an RTA as trade policy is not made independently of the decision by other states. Indeed, the analysis suggests interdependency between states. Further empirical analysis explores economic and political variables that may explain the decision to adopt the RTA as trade policy. The empirical analysis is unique in that survival analysis is utilized to assess the variation in duration to adopt an initial RTA since the early 1980s. A central discovery is that regional designation explains the variation in duration to adopt an initial RTA. Multiple regression analysis confirms the results generated using survival analysis and support the assertion that the proliferation of RTAs likely reflects changes in both the demand for RTAs and the supply of RTAs. This dissertation concludes by considering implications for the WTO resulting from the increase in RTA notifications. |
| Keyword | trade agreements |
| Coverage date | after 1980 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1675 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | McClough, David Andrew |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-McClough-2338 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume32/etd-McClough-2338.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 23 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 14 international developments and relations between presumably competing welfare optimizing states. Given the anarchical nature of the international system of states, maximizing benefits associated with interstate commerce requires institutions to facilitate effective and mutually beneficial collective action. Under the auspices of the GATT and WTO, discriminating RTAs have flourished in direct opposition to the guiding principle of non-discrimination. The contradiction embodied in RTAs vis à vis the non-discrimination principle initially awakened the scholarly interest and examination of RTAs. Article I of the Marrakesh Agreement, the legal document establishing the WTO in April 1994, requires non-discrimination, most favored nation treatment (MFN), among member countries of the WTO. The formation of RTAs directly conflicts with the language and intent of Article I in that preferences awarded to RTA members are not bestowed upon all WTO signatories. The non-discrimination principle, upon which the GATT/WTO is founded, is at best violated, if not disregarded, when states form or join RTAs. To be sure, provisions in the legal documentation accommodate RTAs within the GATT/WTO framework. Under the rules of the GATT/WTO outlined in Article XXIV states are required to submit for review any plans for implementation of an RTA. During the entire time period under examination for this study, the GATT/WTO did not challenge or reject an RTA in violation of the provisions. Accordingly, it is likely that imprecise language and lack of enforcement have resulted in the formation of RTAs inconsistent with the original |
