The study I chose is a 2003 72-page World Trade Organization (WTO) Publication by Marc Bachetta and Marion Jansen. Although its age is in the outer limits of the class requirement (2003 to 2008), its significance is hard to let go when one thinks of the Philippines. Its title is “Adjusting to Trade Liberalization – The Role of Policy, Institutions and WTO Disciplines”.
Objectives of the Study
1. The study examines in detail the process immediately following a change in trade policy and analyzes what this process entails for the economy as a whole and for individual workers and companies.
2. The study aims to assist policy makers in pinpointing those aspects of an economy that hamper adjustment.
3. It seeks to identify tools at the disposal of governments to smooth adjustment, to minimize an economy’s adjustment costs and to alleviate the burden of those who suffer most.
Methodology
Study of empirical evidence on the pace and pattern of economic change in past decades
Survey of empirical estimates of adjustment costs
Analysis of adjustment process by looking how trade liberalization affects individual workers and companies
Considered characteristics of an economy that affect adjustment costs faced by individuals and the economy after trade liberalization
Discussed WTO provisions on the ability of governments to intervene in the adjustment process
Organization / Brief Introduction / Summary of the Study
• Section II of the study presents empirical evidence on the pace and pattern of economic change in past decades. It also discusses evidence on the impact of trade liberalization.
• Section III briefly considers what economic theory has to say about the likely relationship between the long-term gains from trade and adjustment costs. It then presents a survey of empirical estimates of adjustment costs and examines evidence concerning the effects of trade liberalization on the level of unemployment, one of the...