Publications

02 Mar 2017
What Do You Think?

Is China About to Overtake the US for World Trade Leadership?

renegotiated trade agreements (with an emphasis on bilateral agreements) mentioned by the new administration is still subject to debate. But the tone of utterances by those now in position to influence US View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2006
Chapter

My Policies or Yours: Do OECD Agricultural Policies Affect Poverty in Developing Countries?

By: Nava Ashraf, Margaret McMillan and Alix Peterson-Zwane

Keywords: Agribusiness; Policy; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Trade; Poverty; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

01 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

Are Free Trade and Free Markets Quaint Ideas From the Past?

US domestic policy choices and political priorities.” GeorgeO teed up the issue of the relative power of various constituencies by asking about the purpose of international trade. “At its core the trade... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

24 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

Charting the US-China Trade War: What Does 'Made in Vietnam' Mean?

Exports from Vietnam to the United States have grown significantly since America’s trade war with China began in 2018. At the same time, Vietnam has been importing more Chinese goods. This has led many to question: is “Made in Vietnam”... View Details

Keywords: by Ana Elena Azpúrua; Manufacturing; Shipping

2016
Chapter

Trade Associations, State Building, and the Sherman Act: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1912–25

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

From its founding in 1912 through the interwar years, the Chamber’s history shows a persistent preoccupation with progressive economics and policy making. Rather than flouting the new ideas of institutional economics, which favored federal regulators overseeing data... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Fairness; Supply and Industry; Policy; Business and Government Relations; United States

February 2001
Case

Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate

By: David A. Moss, Kevin P. Brennan, Matthew B. Gorin and Marian Lee

Examines the extended conflict between free traders and protectionists in nineteenth-century Britain. It culminates with Prime Minister Robert Peel's decision at the end of 1845 about whether to repeal the Corn Laws, a series of acts that had protected British... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government Legislation; Change Management; Competitive Advantage; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Market Entry and Exit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Great Britain

Research Summary

Overview

I am currently working on a series of projects that focus on three questions: (1) how currency fluctuations affect different types of firms across countries; (2) how various macroeconomic policies affect manufacturing growth in developing countries; (3) the... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Africa; Development Economics; International Trade; Industrial Policy; India; Indonesia; Ethiopia

02 Dec 2009
What Do You Think?

Should Immigration Policies Be More Welcoming to Low-Skilled Workers?

Cato Institute Center for Trade Policy Studies Free Trade Bulletin No. 40, August 13, 2009. Daniel T. Griswold, "As Immigrants Move In, Americans Move Up," Cato... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

March 2013
Case

Currency Wars

By: Laura Alfaro and Hilary White

In February 2013, the G-20 finance ministers met in Moscow, Russia to discuss the rising anxieties over a potential international currency war. It was speculated that certain countries were purposely devaluing their currencies in order to improve their competitiveness... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Competitiveness; Trade Policy; Devaluation; Exchange Rate; Monetary Policy; Quantitative Easing; Inflation Targeting; Capital Flows; Central Banking; Currency Exchange Rate; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Policy; Trade; Conflict and Resolution; Banking Industry; Public Administration Industry; Moscow

23 Jul 2024
In Practice

The New Rules of Trade with China: Navigating Tariffs, Turmoil, and Opportunities

upending longstanding principles of free trade established when China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Today, multinational firms must adapt, both in terms of trade... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Manufacturing; Retail; Fashion; Industrial Products; Consumer Products; Steel; Transportation; Telecommunications

2010
Working Paper

Report on the State of Available Data for the Study of International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment

By: Robert C. Feenstra, Robert E. Lipsey, Lee G. Branstetter, C. Fritz Foley, James Harrigan, J. Bradford Jensen, Lori Kletzer, Catherine Mann, Peter K. Schott and Greg C. Wright

This report, prepared for the Committee on Economic Statistics of the American Economic Association, examines the state of available data for the study of international trade and foreign direct investment. Data on values of imports and exports of goods are of high... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Price; Globalization; Policy; Information; Intellectual Property

May 2001
Case

Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged)

By: David A. Moss

Examines the extended conflict between free traders and protectionists in 19th century Britain. It culminates with Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel's decision at the end of 1845 about whether to repeal the Corn Laws, a series of acts that had protected British... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Change Management; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government Legislation; Market Entry and Exit; Conflict of Interests; Competitive Advantage; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Great Britain

Article

California Fair Trade: Antitrust and the Politics of 'Fairness' in U.S. Competition Policy

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

In the decades before World War II, U.S. antitrust law was anything but settled. Considerable pressure for antitrust revision came from the states. A perhaps unlikely leader, Edna Gleason, organized California's retail pharmacists and coordinated trade networks to... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Fairness; Laws and Statutes; Policy; United States

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2021
Working Paper

Trade and the Single Car Market: The EC-Japan Elements of Consensus, 1985–1999

By: Grace Ballor

In 1991, in the midst of the program to create a liberal Single European Market and in the context of a new Joint Declaration for cooperation with Japan, the European Commission brokered a private deal to restrict Japanese imports into the European Community for nearly... View Details

Keywords: Market; Protectionism; Liberalization; Trade; Markets; International Relations; Auto Industry; Europe; European Union; Japan

December 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Common Agricultural Policy and the Future of French Farming

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull, Vincent Marie Dessain and Elena Corsi

Presents the history and evolution of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, from early price supports to the 2003 decision to "decouple" payments to European farmers. Explores the logic behind agricultural supports, with a focus on the economic, political, and cultural... View Details

Keywords: History; Agreements and Arrangements; Price; Policy; Trade; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France; European Union

2015
Working Paper

The U.S. Experiment with Fair Trade Laws: State Police Powers, Federal Antitrust, and the Politics of 'Fairness,' 1890-1938

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

Prior to the Great Depression and President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs, considerable pressure for antitrust revision came from trade associations of independent proprietors. A perhaps unlikely leader, Edna Gleason, organized California's retail pharmacists... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Fairness; Laws and Statutes; Supply and Industry; Business and Government Relations

September 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: Trade and Genocide in U.S.-China Relations

By: Jeremy Friedman and David Lane

On June 21, 2022, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) went into effect, requiring companies to prove that goods imported from the People’s Republic of China were not made with forced labor. The bill was a reaction to reports of products being made with... View Details

September 2014
Article

Colonial Institutions, Trade Stocks, and the Diffusion of Elementary Education in Brazil, 1889–1930

By: Aldo Musacchio, Andre C. Martinez Fritscher and Martina Viarengo

We show how the decentralization of fiscal responsibility among Brazilian states between 1889 and 1930 promoted an unequal expansion of public schooling. We document how the variation in state export tax revenues, product of commodity booms, explains improvements in... View Details

Keywords: Institutions; Economic History; Education; Development Economics; Policy; Brazil

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2012
Working Paper

Conflict Policy and Advertising Agency-Client Relations: The Problem of Competing Clients Sharing a Common Agency

By: Alvin J. Silk

What restrictions should be placed on advertising agencies with respect to serving accounts or clients that are competitors of one another in order to avoid conflicts in interest? In recent decades, the advertising and marketing services industry has undergone a number... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Service Delivery; Competition; Conflict of Interests; Policy; Practice; Advertising Industry; United States