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76
maintain association with former colonies (e.g., France and West Africa). To what
extent these associations inform trade policy decisions is not clear but the empirical
component of this examination of the proliferation of RTAs attempts to explore
cultural factors that may contribute to the adoption process.
Burt (1987) applies the contagion concepts in a paper that reconsiders a
classic study examining the diffusion of a technological innovation, specifically a
new antibiotic, tetracycline, by medical physicians in four Midwestern cities during
the 1950s.18 Burt’s analysis reveals that personal predisposition explains the
adoption of tetracycline by physicians, not contagion as concluded in the earlier
study. Moreover, whatever contagion effect that existed was best explained by
structural equivalence rather than cohesion as previously concluded. The distinction
between cohesion and structural equivalence enhanced the analysis of the adoption
process.
Diffusion Application in Economics
In a notable application of a diffusion model by an economist, Zvi Griliches
(1957) examines the adoption of a technological innovation, hybrid corn. Grileches
argues that the innovation is not a singular innovation but rather a series of
innovations developed specifically to accommodate the unique conditions (soil,
precipitation, temperature) of farming localities. The adoption process of hybrid
corn parallels the proliferation of RTAs as unique RTAs are required to meet the
18 James Coleman, Elihu Katz, and Hebert Menzel (1966). Medical Innovation. New York: Bobbs
Merrill.
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 85 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 76 maintain association with former colonies (e.g., France and West Africa). To what extent these associations inform trade policy decisions is not clear but the empirical component of this examination of the proliferation of RTAs attempts to explore cultural factors that may contribute to the adoption process. Burt (1987) applies the contagion concepts in a paper that reconsiders a classic study examining the diffusion of a technological innovation, specifically a new antibiotic, tetracycline, by medical physicians in four Midwestern cities during the 1950s.18 Burt’s analysis reveals that personal predisposition explains the adoption of tetracycline by physicians, not contagion as concluded in the earlier study. Moreover, whatever contagion effect that existed was best explained by structural equivalence rather than cohesion as previously concluded. The distinction between cohesion and structural equivalence enhanced the analysis of the adoption process. Diffusion Application in Economics In a notable application of a diffusion model by an economist, Zvi Griliches (1957) examines the adoption of a technological innovation, hybrid corn. Grileches argues that the innovation is not a singular innovation but rather a series of innovations developed specifically to accommodate the unique conditions (soil, precipitation, temperature) of farming localities. The adoption process of hybrid corn parallels the proliferation of RTAs as unique RTAs are required to meet the 18 James Coleman, Elihu Katz, and Hebert Menzel (1966). Medical Innovation. New York: Bobbs Merrill. |
