In this paper we analyze the impact of an increase in the local supply of immigrants on firms’ outcomes, allowing for heterogeneous effects across firms. Using micro-level data on French ...manufacturing firms spanning the period 1995–2005, we show that a supply-driven increase in the share of foreign-born workers in a French département (a small geographic area) increased the total factor productivity of firms in that département. We also find this effect to be significantly stronger for firms with low initial productivity and small size. The positive productivity effect of immigrants was also associated with faster growth of capital, larger exports, and higher wages for natives. Highly-skilled natives, in competition with immigrants, moved towards firms hiring fewer immigrants spreading positive productivity effects to those firms too.
We compute ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) for the regulation in three service sectors (i.e. fixed telecom, mobile telecom, distribution) applied by selected emerging countries. We start with ...qualitative information on the restrictions applied by each country in each sector; we apply a multivariate statistical approach to transform this qualitative data into a trade restrictiveness synthetic index (STRI). In a second stage, we estimate the average impact of STRI on price–cost margins. In the third stage, this impact is used to calculate the AVE of the STRI estimated in the first step. It is shown that the STRI has a significant effect on the price–cost margins of the individual firms only when controlled for Regional Trade Agreements and exception to the MFN clause in the considered sector. Lastly, we compute tariff equivalents for the STRIs previously calculated using the estimated impact. More than half our AVEs are larger than 50% and one AVE out of six is above 100%.
Given the highly concentrated distribution of agricultural protection, allowing in the negotiations too many exceptions through sensitive products puts at risk the objectives of World Trade ...Organization. This issue is difficult to analyze with the commonly used applied trade models, because they represent trade flows at an aggregate level, while sensitive products are picked at the product level and their protection, under the form of tariff-rate quotas, is contingent on the level of imports. This paper assesses the effect of these exceptions, based on the case of agricultural trade protection in Europe and Japan, two countries where tariff dismantling in the agricultural sector is a particularly sensitive issue. Since agricultural border protection is heterogeneous, we avoid aggregation bias by extending a multi-country computable general equilibrium model to the product level. This allows us to represent trade policies explicitly and to account for their interdependencies. The results suggest that consideration of sensitive products strongly limits the potential gains from a possible agriculture agreement at Doha. Moreover, there is no aggregate trade-off between decreasing tariffs and increasing/opening quotas. To achieve “substantial” market access improvements in the agricultural sector, the objective should be most favored nation tariff reduction.
► Extension of a CGE model to the HS6 level for trade and trade policy. ► Explicit modeling of trade policies and particularly of tariff-rate quotas. ► Sensitive products limit the potential gains from an agriculture agreement at Doha. ► No aggregate trade-off between decreasing tariffs and increasing quotas.
Regional trade is low in sub-saharan Africa. But a large share of regional trade is informal, i.e., not recorded in official data. This paper studies the relationship between trade barriers and ...informality of trade. We use an original survey of informal transactions across Benin's land borders, which provides the first direct and comprehensive account of trade volumes and product coverage for this type of trade. We combine this data with official trade records and exploit variation across products and countries to measure the impact of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade on informality. Increasing tariffs on a given product by 10% makes it about 12% more likely that this product is imported informally rather than formally. Non-tariff measures also increase informality. Our results also suggest that compliance costs, aside from tariffs and regulations, contribute to explain informality.
This article provides a detailed analysis of the trade-related aspects of economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations for the six Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) negotiation groups including ...ECOWAS, CEMAC+, COMESA, SADC, CARIFORUM and Pacific, focusing on the agricultural sectors and tariff revenue preservation. Research methodology and results are discussed.
The covid-19 crisis and the ensuing closure of borders has profoundly affected the mobility of migrant seasonal workers. As some European agricultural sectors highly depend on these workers, ...governments in EU countries have urgently adopted different strategies to avoid disruptions due to their absence. Alternatives seeking to cope without this experienced foreign seasonal labour force, pose two difficulties: their effectiveness is not guaranteed and/or they are accompanied by a significant increase in production costs and therefore in prices. As this large-scale temporary shock may lead to longer-term structural changes in the agricultural sectors concerned, we draw on the UK’s post-Brexit vote experience to discuss alternatives to foreign migrant seasonal workers. The covid-19 pandemic may well accelerate the adoption of robots for picking fruits and vegetables in the EU fields.
Le Viêt Nam est devenu en janvier 2007 le 150e membre de l’OMC (Organisation mondiale du commerce). Depuis le lancement du « Doi Moi » (Renouveau) intervenu fin 1986, ce pays connaît une croissance ...économique très rapide, parmi les plus élevées du monde. Le processus d’intégration accélérée du Viêt Nam à l’économie mondiale après plusieurs décennies de guerre et d’isolement, dont l’adhésion à l’OMC représente une étape supplémentaire, joue un rôle majeur dans le développement du pays. Grâce à la croissance, la pauvreté a reculé très rapidement. Même si le Viêt Nam fait partie des pays en développement les moins inégalitaires selon les comparaisons internationales, les inégalités sociales sont en augmentation depuis le début du processus d’ouverture. En quoi l’adhésion du Viêt Nam à l’OMC, qui intervient peu après celle de la Chine (2001), est-elle susceptible d’influer sur le sentier de croissance de l’économie vietnamienne et sur son intégration à l’économie mondiale ? Quel peut être son impact sur l’emploi et sur le processus de restructuration de la population active ? Au-delà, quel impact sur les inégalités et la pauvreté ? Toutes ces questions sont au cœur des débats de politique économique au Viêt Nam. La Table ronde consacrée à « L’adhésion du Viêt Nam à l’OMC ; l’impact sur la croissance et l’emploi », co-organisée en janvier 2008 par l’Ambassade de France au Viêt Nam et l’Académie des Sciences Sociales du Viêt Nam dans le cadre du Fonds de Solidarité Prioritaire (FSP) en Sciences sociales, cherchait à apporter des premiers éléments de réponse à ces questions un an après l’adhésion du pays à l’OMC. Cette synthèse comprend les quatre articles présentés par des chercheurs vietnamiens et français lors de cette Table ronde. Pour enrichir l’analyse, les éléments de réflexion apportés par les deux discutants des communications lors de la Table ronde sont également publiés.
Tariff receipts are important for many countries but their collection is often problematic. To analyze why and to what extent this occurs we first model customs duty evasion as an interaction between ...customs officers considered to be corruptible law enforcers, and importing firms. In this context, higher tariffs generally lead to greater customs duty evasion but their marginal impact is decreasing, and may turn negative above a given threshold if customs officers adapt their inspection effort endogenously. While transparency (the probability of effective control) always limits evasion, we show that ease of enforcement (e.g. ease of establishing the shipment`s true value) matters only if customs officers do not collude with importers. Our empirical analysis spans 55 importing countries over the period 2001-2010 and confirms our predictions. This lends support to the assumptions of endogenous inspection effort and widespread collusion. World Trade Organization membership is found also to limit the extent of duty evasion.
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