Page 106 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 106 of 229 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large (1000x1000 max)
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
97
that central European states transition into the EC/EU through the Central European
Free Trade Area, CEFTA.
Although the GATT/WTO welcomes all states to negotiate membership
consistent with its mission to advance trade liberalization, if viewed as a club, the
GATT/WTO requirements for membership may be unattractive to states and
motivate formation of an RTA more reflective of idiosyncratic state preferences.26
This discriminatory mechanism of clubs accommodates variation in mission,
breadth, and depth and helps to explain the variation in type and form of RTAs. The
GATT/WTO mission to facilitate trade liberalization necessarily warrants a less
discriminatory admission policy than perhaps instituted by clubs seeking objectives
less ambitious than global free trade or motivated by regional politics.
Europe offers an example of variation in mission motivating distinct RTAs.
The European Free Trade Area, EFTA, formed in direct response to creation of the
European Economic Community, EEC, when some European states; most notably,
Switzerland elected not to join the EEC in observance of its commitment to
neutrality, and the UK balked given the focus on Europe which conflicted with its
focus on Commonwealth countries and the US.27
26 Stephan Haggard (1997) argues essentially that that variation in type and form of RTAs makes a
general theory of RTAs meaningless if idiosyncratic differences in preferences are not considered. In
contrast, the economics literature is strongly influence by Stigler-Becker (1977) which argues that
variation in preferences does not negate the value of theoretical explanations because preferences are
applied to opportunity sets. For example, apples, pears, and grapes offer certain identical traits or
desirable benefits, variation in preferences determine which is chosen for consumption. Accordingly,
Haggard’s assertion can be challenged.
27 It is important to note that some EFTA charter members desired EEC membership but were denied
participation.
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 106 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 97 that central European states transition into the EC/EU through the Central European Free Trade Area, CEFTA. Although the GATT/WTO welcomes all states to negotiate membership consistent with its mission to advance trade liberalization, if viewed as a club, the GATT/WTO requirements for membership may be unattractive to states and motivate formation of an RTA more reflective of idiosyncratic state preferences.26 This discriminatory mechanism of clubs accommodates variation in mission, breadth, and depth and helps to explain the variation in type and form of RTAs. The GATT/WTO mission to facilitate trade liberalization necessarily warrants a less discriminatory admission policy than perhaps instituted by clubs seeking objectives less ambitious than global free trade or motivated by regional politics. Europe offers an example of variation in mission motivating distinct RTAs. The European Free Trade Area, EFTA, formed in direct response to creation of the European Economic Community, EEC, when some European states; most notably, Switzerland elected not to join the EEC in observance of its commitment to neutrality, and the UK balked given the focus on Europe which conflicted with its focus on Commonwealth countries and the US.27 26 Stephan Haggard (1997) argues essentially that that variation in type and form of RTAs makes a general theory of RTAs meaningless if idiosyncratic differences in preferences are not considered. In contrast, the economics literature is strongly influence by Stigler-Becker (1977) which argues that variation in preferences does not negate the value of theoretical explanations because preferences are applied to opportunity sets. For example, apples, pears, and grapes offer certain identical traits or desirable benefits, variation in preferences determine which is chosen for consumption. Accordingly, Haggard’s assertion can be challenged. 27 It is important to note that some EFTA charter members desired EEC membership but were denied participation. |
