Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10672
Authors: Kyle Bagwell; Chad P. Bown; Robert W. Staiger
Abstract: The WTO has delivered policy outcomes that are very different from those likely to emerge out of the recent wave of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Should economists see this as an efficient institutional hand-off, where the WTO has carried trade liberalization as far as it can manage, and is now passing the baton to PTAs to finish the job? We survey a growing economics literature on international trade agreements and argue on this basis that the WTO is not passé. Rather, and subject to some caveats, our survey of research to date suggests that the WTO warrants strong support while a more cautious view of PTAs seems appropriate.
Keywords: dispute settlement; preferential trade agreements; terms of trade; trade agreements; WTO
JEL Codes: F13; F14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| WTO's Role in Trade Liberalization (F13) | Trade Liberalization (F13) |
| Emergence of PTAs (P30) | Trade Liberalization (F13) |
| Effectiveness of PTAs in Dispute Resolution (J52) | WTO Mechanisms (F13) |
| Trade Agreements (F13) | Correction of Inefficiencies in Unilateral Policies (D61) |