Is the WTO Passe?
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 t...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Working Paper |
Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2015
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/06/24628212/wto-passe http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22177 |
Summary: | 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? This paper surveys a growing economics
literature on international trade agreements and argues on
this basis that the WTO is not passé. Rather, and subject to
some caveats, this survey of research to date suggests that
the WTO warrants strong support while a more cautious view
of PTAs seems appropriate. |
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