Trade-Offs? The Impact of WTO Accession on Intimate Partner Violence in Cambodia

We study the impact of trade-induced changes in labor market conditions on violence within the household. We exploit the local labor demand shocks generated by Cambodia's WTO accession to assess howchanges in the employment ofwomen relative to men affected the risk of intimate partner violence. We document that men in districts facing larger tariff reductions experienced a significant decline in paid employment, whereas women in harder-hit districts increased their entry into the labor force. These changes in employment patterns triggered backlash effects by increasing intimate partner violence, without changes in marriage, fertility, psychological distress, or household consumption.

Special Safeguard Mechanism for Agriculture: Implications for Developing Members at the World Trade Organization

With rising levels of food and livelihood insecurity among poor farmers, many developing members at the World Trade Organization (WTO) are demanding a special safeguard mechanism (SSM) for shielding their agriculture from import surges and price declines. Similar to special agricultural safeguards (SSGs) which are available only to some members, SSM seeks to provide flexibility to developing members to breach the bound tariff in special cases of import surges and price dips. In this context, this study identifies the agricultural products facing import surges in eight selected developing members. The study evaluates the policy space available to selected members in terms of tariff overhang under their existing schedules as well as proposed tariff reductions under agriculture negotiations. Besides this, it critically scrutinizes various issues such as cross-check conditions, triggers and remedies in order to highlight the sensitivities of developing members in accessibility, effectiveness, and other technical aspects of SSM.

Nafta and Mexico’s Economic Growth from a Gender Perspective

This paper investigates the dynamics of Mexico’s economy after the signing of the NAFTA treaty. It is reported that Mexico, the United States and Canada have experienced low rates of economic growth as a result of the deindustrialization processes they have undergone, which has been a consequence of the tariff reductions. Tariff reduction has also affected employment, especially female industrial employment, with adverse consequences on domestic savings, trade balance and economic growth. Additional analysis is related to cointegration tests of the employment ratios, as well as to the existence of principal components among the three countries’ employment to population ratios. The paper investigates the effects of declining employment to population ratios in the three countries, reporting that in Mexico female employment has increased to compensate the declining tendencies of labor productivity and male employment ratio. The paper ends with a proposal regarding the launching of the North American Social and Dignity Pact.

Health Effects of Trade Liberalization: Evidence from US Counties

This paper explores the potential externality of trade liberalization between the US and China on air pollution and infants’ health outcomes. Exploiting the differential impact of tariff reductions due to trade liberalization across industries combined with compositional variations of industry-specific employment across counties as the main source of identification strategy and using the universe of birth records in the US over the years 1990-2017 (over 97 million observations), we document substantial improvements in birth outcomes of mothers residing in counties with higher exposure to trade policy change. The exposed counties experienced sharp drops in employment specifically for manufacturing industries and revealed sharp reductions in a wide array of pollutants. A 1 percent reduction in tariff rates is associated with an 11.5 and 12.7 percentage point reduction in the likelihood of low birth weight and preterm birth, respectively.

Pengaruh Tingkat Pendapatan, Penurunan Tarif, Dan Perubahan Cara Pembayaran Terhadap Kepatuhan Wajib Pajak UMKM Masa Pandemi Covid-19

This study aims to determine the effect of income levels, tariff reductions and changes in payment methods on MSME taxpayer compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection techniques used questionnaires, observations, interviews, documentation and literature studies. The population in this study were all MSME taxpayers registered at KPP Pratama Tegal. The number of samples used as many as 50 respondents with the sampling method using purposive sampling method. The data analysis method used multiple linear regression analysis. The results of testing the first hypothesis show that the income level variable has an effect on MSME taxpayer compliance during the covid-19 pandemic. This shows that the higher the level of income received, the greater the compliance of MSME taxpayers. The results of testing the second hypothesis show that the rate reduction variable has no effect on MSME taxpayer compliance during the covid-19 pandemic. This shows that someone who does not comply with his obligations as a taxpayer, then even a low tax rate does not affect the level of compliance. The results of testing the third hypothesis show that the variable changes in payment methods affect MSME taxpayer compliance during the covid-19 pandemic. This means that changes in the method of paying taxes can improve MSME taxpayer compliance so that the easier the tax payment method used, the MSME taxpayer compliance will increase.

The GSP+ Status of Pakistan in the European Union: Challenges and Prospects

The EU granted GSP+ status of Pakistan aimed to foster economic stability and good governance in the country. However, Pakistan's progress vis-a-vis both objectives remains far below the potential. It could not significantly take advantage of enhanced tariff reductions under GSP+ to realize the diversification and value-addition of its exports. Meanwhile, Pakistan's performance in implementing 27 UN conventions�mandatory for a GSP+ beneficiary�needs improvement. The EU assessed the country's overall performance, in this regard, as satisfactory but noted certain human rights violations. In this connection, it has recently started a process for possible 'temporary withdrawal' of Pakistan's GSP+ status. Drawing on the theory of Discursive Institutionalism, this paper analyses challenges and prospects for the GSP+ status of Pakistan. The paper argues that the GSP+ withdrawal will aggravate the economic vulnerability of Pakistan; however, the EU will possibly not exercise this option in view of various economic and political factors.

An Empirical Evaluation of Egg Demand in the United States

We adopt an EASI model to estimate demand for omega-3, organic, cage-free, and conventional eggs in the United States. Our empirical framework accounts for demand inter-dependencies among these egg types, while allowing for unrestricted Engel curves, unobserved consumer heterogeneity, and a broader product and geographic coverage. We further address endogeneity of prices and expenditures and left-censoring induced by disaggregate data. Our results indicate that the demand for organic and cage-free eggs is price-elastic, while the demand for omega-3 and conventional eggs is price-inelastic. Additionally, we establish strong substitutability relationships between the eggs. Finally, we measure consumer welfare consequences of rising domestic egg prices brought by Japan’s egg import tariff reductions.

The Impact of Tariff Reduction on Poverty in Indonesia: Regional Level Analysis

The study examines the effect of trade liberalization on poverty reduction across districts in Indonesia during the period from 2000 to 2016 using the fixed effect approach. Tariff exposure is used to measure trade liberalization, which is computed at the district level by combining information on sector composition of the economy in each district and tariff lines by sectors. This study also distinguishes between tariff exposure for output products and intermediate inputs. This produces a measure indicating how changes in exposure to tariff reductions in outputs and inputs vary by region over the period. Due to the available multi-district and 17-year dataset, the study includes a set of fixed effects: the district-fixed effects and the time-fixed effects, which controls for aggregate time trend. The results indicate that the impact of output and input tariff on regional poverty headcount index (P0) is different. Output tariff has a negative correlation with poverty, while input tariff has a positive correlation with poverty. This suggests that trade liberalization in input sectors could reduce poverty in Indonesia. It is also found that GRDP per capita, literacy rates, and road length are negatively associated with poverty. Also, the effect of reducing input tariffs on poverty reduction will be larger if the districts have higher GRDP per capita and higher literacy rates.

Environmental Air Quality and Health: Evidence from Trade Liberalization

This paper explores the potential externality of trade liberalization between the US and China on air pollution and infants’ health outcomes. Exploiting the differential impact of tariff reductions due to trade liberalization across industries combined with compositional variations of industry-specific employment across counties as the main source of identification strategy and using the universe of birth records in the US over the years 1990-2017 (over 97 million observations), we document substantial improvements in birth outcomes of mothers residing in counties with higher exposure to trade policy change. The exposed counties experienced sharp drops in employment specifically for manufacturing industries and revealed sharp reductions in a wide array of pollutants. A 1 percent reduction in tariff rates is associated with an 11.5 and 12.7 percentage point reduction in the likelihood of low birth weight and preterm birth, respectively.

Tariff Elimination and the Competitiveness of Wine-Exporting Countries in Japan

Bilateral trade agreements between Japan and major wine-exporting countries have resulted in tariff eliminations in Japan. This raises questions about how tariffs affect the competitiveness of wine-exporting countries. The generalized dynamic Rotterdam model was used in estimating Japanese wine demand by source. Estimates were then used to project the impact of tariffs on imports of Australian, Chilean, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and U.S. wine. Tariff reductions primarily benefit affected countries, with limited adverse effects on competing countries. The elimination of tariffs on U.S. wine should offset any losses from competing trade agreements.