Book Description

This book provides a much needed quantitative response to the classic question of whogains and who loses in trade liberalization and shows how important the process is for the globaleconomy. It contributes significantly to the debate concerning trade between developed anddeveloping countries.John Whalley describes and uses a numerical general equilibrium model of worldtrade to explore issues in the area of trade liberalization among major world trading areas - theEuropean Economic Community, the United States, Japan, and developing countries. His book is uniqueboth in using this framework to analyze world trading patterns, and in considering a number oftrading areas simultaneously within the same model. It is able to quantify the merits of alternativeactions in international trade policy, the ways that the interests of the EEC, the United States,and Japan are similar and ways in which they differ, and show how the interests of less developedcountries are affected by various trade liberalization initiatives.Part I provides a description ofthe model, data sources and adjustments to basic data, and methods for specification and solution ofthe model. Part II presents results from model applications along with policy conclusions.Applications include analysis of tariff cutting formulae in the Toyko Round, an evaluation of theTokyo Round trade agreement, examination of incentives for a retaliatory trade protection 'war'between world trade blocs, and analysis of the impact of protectionist policies on North-Southtrade.John Whalley is Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario.