<p>This research paper pays particular attention to the EAC because of its unique composition of four LDCs46 and 1 DC47 and the fact that three of these countries are landlocked least developed countries (LLDCs).48 The EAC was notified as a RTA to the WTO under the Enabling Clause on 9 October 2000 and registered as a Custom Union49 under WT/COMTD/N/14.50 The notification of the EAC under the Enabling Clause is due to the nature of composition of members therein and to the fact that the Enabling Clause does not require regional trading arrangements to cover substantially all trade, or to achieve free trade in the bloc within ten years after notification. Additionally, it provides an avenue for giving special consideration to the LDCs through making concessions and contributions,51 allows automatic exemptions from MFN (non-discrimination) treatment in favour of DCs,52 and thus allows other WTO members to accord more favourable treatment to DCs in many cases without according the same treatment to other WTO members.53.</p>

<p>The Central African Monetary and Economic Community, known by its French acronym CEMAC (Communaut&eacute / Economique et Mon&eacute / taire de l&rsquo / Afrique Centrale), is one of the oldest regional economic blocs in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states. Its membership comprises of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. It has a population of over 32 million inhabitants in a three million (3 million) square kilometre expanse of land. The changes in the world economy, and especially between the ACP countries, on the one hand, and the European Economic Community-EEC (hereinafter referred to as European Union (EU)), on the other hand, did not leave the CEMAC region unaffected. CEMAC region, like any other regional economic blocs in Africa was faced with the need to readjust in the face of a New International Economic Order (NIEO). The region which had benefited from preferential access to the EU market including financial assistance through the European Development Fund (EDF) had to comply with the rules laid down in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This eventually led to a shift in the EU trade policy, in order to ensure that its trade preferences to developing countries were compatible to the rules and obligations of the WTO.</p>

No description available.

<p>The rapid growth in the number of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has led to concern about the weakening of the multilateral trading system. This thesis examines the spread of such agreement and the extent to which they pose a threat to the multilateral system. Regionalism and multilateralism are complimentary as shown in the case study of the East African Community. The current regional trade agreement management rules are weak and ambiguous and possible amendments for these rules are proposed</p>

International trade ties the world together and is hypothetically fair and equal. In reality, it is highly asymmetrical and poses a significant challenge for developing countries. A massive sea change occurred in the international trade regime during the Uruguay Round of negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) from 1986 to 1994. Developing countries as a whole began to embrace liberal trade policies which seemed to be the only alternative to failing import substitution industrialization (ISI). An historical comparative account describing and explaining this transformation of developing countries’ attitudes toward the GATT is used in this dissertation to provide an alternative explanation for the transition of developing countries from having little interest in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations to sharply changing course and adopting neo-liberal policies which supported the conclusion of the Round. Three theoretical approaches seek to explain why this change occurred, including: liberal trade theory (economic reforms), dependency theory (external forces) and constructivism (the role epistemic communities). The Uruguay Round negotiations were dynamic and heavily influenced by two power-house developing economies, India and Brazil, who were initially opposed to the Round itself. Kenya found itself in a starkly different situation with minimal ability to participate or influence negotiations. These three countries constitute the study’s illustrative case studies. As negotiations progressed, India and Brazil changed course and agreed to the Round’s ‘single-undertaking’ and the ‘inequitable Grand Bargain’ between the developed and developing economies. This subsequently led to other developing countries following suit through a powerful demonstration effect in a trade-off between the inclusion of trade in services and intellectual property for reforms in agriculture and textiles & clothing. While economic reforms began to occur and attitudes began to change during the Uruguay Round itself, assessing developing countries during the Round found that no single theoretical approach can explain developing countries’ transformation; rather each had their own trajectory for their economic reforms. A multi-dimensional conclusion provides the most comprehensive account of this transformation of the global trade regime.

The object of this research is the Personal Income Tax Research aim – to analyze of personal income tax, its administration in theory and practical activity, formulate proposals for a further personal income tax improvement. Objectives: - to exhibit tax essentiality, taxation principle; - to give shot overview of personal income tax history and personal income tax in foreign countries; - to analyze of personal income tax, to present its merits and demerits; - to analyze administration of personal income tax; - formulate proposals for a further personal income tax improvement Research methods: logical and comparative analysis and synthesis by specialized, Lithuanian and foreign authors, methods of logical and graphic modeling.

The reduction of the impact of energy consumption is a priority issue and a major challenge that concerns every country in the world. This is a complex task that needs to be tackled from several angles in the search for areas where optimizations and savings can be made. In Sweden an electricity meter reading reform was fully implemented by 1st July 2009, including 5.2 million customers, and this created new set of circumstances in the Swedish electricity market. The main purpose of this thesis work has been to investigate the possibilities of increasing the use of remote meter readings. Two research questions have been: “How can the electricity market benefit from remote collected meter readings?” and “Where do barriers appear when utilizing meter readings?”. The work started in 2000/2001 to study Internet based applications that visualize electricity consumption patterns. Over these years the daily internet users have increased from approximately 40 % to 73 % and new markets for web-based applications have evolved. These solutions can be important in the forthcoming years as energy portals that hold new energy services. Experiences from new installations indicate that at least interested customers do submit information concerning building and household properties through internet. Still, it is challenging to enable the majority of customers to take part in these new solutions. It may therefore be important to remind customers on a regular basis in order maintain the frequency using the application and to make it habitual. Further the introduction of demand-based pricing allows electricity distribution utilities to achieve a stronger correlation between peak loads in the distribution network area and their revenues.

This thesis deals with the integration of firms into export markets when trade barriers decrease. It consists in three chapters.The first chapter focuses on how cross-industry differences in factor intensities and within-industry differences in firm productivity shape the response of the extensive (the decision to export) and the intensive (the exported volumes) margin of export. The context of the analysis is the entry of Turkey into the European Customs Union in 1996. Results suggest that the extensive margin reacted more in labor-intensive sectors.In the second chapter we use a gravity approach to analyze how the decrease in tariffs promoted during the '90s by the Uruguay Round multilateral agreement affected trade margins for French firms. We find that the tariffs significantly affect trade only through the extensive margin. The third chapter describes the dynamic of firms' export to different countries and uncovers eleven new stylized facts on firm-level trade. / Esta tesis trata de la integración de las impresas en los mercados internacionales cuando las barreras al comercio bajan. El primer capitulo analiza como las diferencias de la intensidad de los factores entre las industrias y de la productividad de las impresas en cada industria determinan la respuesta del margen extenso (la decisión de exportar) y intensivo (los volúmenes exportados) de cada impresa. El contexto de este análisis es la entrada de la Turquía en la Unión Aduanera Europea en el 1996. Los resultados indican que el margen extenso reacciona más en los sectores más intensivos en mano de obra.En el segundo capitulo utilizamos una ecuación gravitacional para analizar como el decrecimiento de las tarifas obtenida en los '90s gracias al "Uruguay Round" ha afectado los márgenes del comercio de las impresas Francesas. Descubrimos que las tarifas afectan de una manera significativa solo el margen extenso.El tercero capitulo describe la dinámica del exporte de las impresas en distintos Piases y revela once nuevos hechos estilizados sobre el comercio de las empresas.

Univ., Diss--Köln, 2003.

Submitted by Amanda Schutze (amanda.m.schutze@gmail.com) on 2010-08-26T23:12:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Efeitos da regulação no custo de aquisição de energia eletrica no brasil - Amanda.pdf: 910935 bytes, checksum: 612d6d8521fa05c9c9291ff453f6f8c8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vitor Souza(vitor.souza@fgv.br) on 2010-08-27T14:24:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Efeitos da regulação no custo de aquisição de energia eletrica no brasil - Amanda.pdf: 910935 bytes, checksum: 612d6d8521fa05c9c9291ff453f6f8c8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2010-08-30T12:41:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Efeitos da regulação no custo de aquisição de energia eletrica no brasil - Amanda.pdf: 910935 bytes, checksum: 612d6d8521fa05c9c9291ff453f6f8c8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-27 / Over the past twenty years, the Brazilian Electric Sector (SEB) went through profound changes including two structural changes. The first, in 1995, made the transition from a centralized model with state-owned companies operating under a monopoly model to a free market model emphasizing the privatization of the sector. The second, in 2004, recovers the state's role in planning the sector expansion, establishes the coexistence of state and private companies and seeks to promote affordable tariffs. The main reason for the changes is the need for investment to expand the electric power supply. This paper aims to present these structural changes, to display the current operation of the electric power sector and to consider the issue of the end of the generation concessions from 2015 on. The federal government vagueness between bidding or extending these concessions creates uncertainties thus postponing the investments and causing losses to the country. / Nos últimos vinte anos, o Setor Elétrico Brasileiro (SEB) vem passando por profundas transformações incluindo duas reestruturações. A primeira, em 1995, faz a transição de um modelo centralizado com empresas estatais operando no regime de monopólio para um modelo de livre mercado com ênfase na privatização do setor. A segunda, em 2004, retoma o papel do Estado no planejamento da expansão do setor, estabelece a convivência entre empresas estatais e privadas e busca promover a modicidade tarifária. A principal razão para as mudanças é a necessidade de investimento para expansão da oferta de energia elétrica. Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar estas reformas, descrever o funcionamento atual do setor elétrico e analisar a questão do término das concessões de geração a partir de 2015. A indefinição do governo federal entre prorrogar ou licitar estas concessões cria incertezas, adiando investimentos e provocando perdas ao país.