Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2377
Authors: Joseph Francois; Ian Wooton
Abstract: We are concerned with trade in transport services (not cabotage but rather international shipping, transport, and related logistical services) and the importance of competition and market structure in the sector. We examine implications of liberalization for profits, trade, and national gains from trade. Though past GATS maritime negotiations involved the maritime nations, we also flag interests of consuming nations (particularly poorer developing countries). We further illustrate issues raised in the analytical section through a computational example, to provide a rough sense of orders of magnitude and the importance of the issues raised for basic gains from improved market access.
Keywords: services; trade; trade liberalization; market access; imperfect competition
JEL Codes: F12; F13; F23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Trade Liberalization (F13) | Decrease in Consumer Prices (E31) |
| Trade Liberalization (F13) | Increase in Producer Prices (E31) |
| Competition in Shipping Industry (L87) | Full passthrough of Trade Liberalization benefits (F19) |
| Concentration in Shipping Industry (L99) | Higher Shipping Prices (L87) |
| Concentration in Shipping Industry (L99) | Lower Trade Volumes (F19) |
| Degree of Competition in Shipping Industry (L11) | Realized Gains from Trade (F11) |
| Competitive Shipping Sector (L87) | Full passthrough of Improvements in Terms of Trade to Producers (F16) |
| Collusive Shipping Environment (L12) | Loss of Gains from Market Access (F69) |
| Shipping Margins (F12) | Barriers to Trade (F14) |
| Increased Competition in Shipping Industry (L87) | Reduction in Shipping Margins (L87) |
| Reduction in Shipping Margins (L87) | Greater Benefits in Market Access (F14) |