The international trade in commodities forms a complex network of economic interdependencies. This network now plays a central role in promoting global economic development and security. However, significant asymmetries have been noted in terms of access to this network, and in the unequal distribution of the benefits and risks accrued from the system as a whole. Understanding the statistical properties and dynamics of the trade network have therefore, become important tools for investigating a multitude of real-world policy concerns relevant to economics, public policy, and international development. This thesis focuses on investigating three of these issues---market growth, price inequality, and supply risks. The first of these projects focuses on modelling the growth of commodity markets, and the resulting effect on network topology. The second, looks at how asymmetries in network can lead to varying prices for the same good, and explores the implications for developing more equitable market structures. The final project contributes to our understanding of how export restrictions affect the network structure of trade and how these risks can undermine global food security. Throughout, a network science approach is employed, whereby trade is modelled as a graph-like structure, with the topology of trade being the primary focus of analysis. To support this approach, we introduce several theoretical models, and apply simulations on both real-world, and artificially produced trade network data. The outcome of this research improves on our ability to identify and target key participants within a market, and predict policies that favour more stable and equitable structures that better facilitate trade.

This thesis analyses firm exporting behaviour and trade policy in China. China’s astonishing export growth is largely driven by pure exporting behaviour and low priced goods. Therefore this thesis focuses on the firm pure exporting behaviour and firm quality specialization between a poor country and a rich country. Moreover, this thesis explores the roles of trade policy in Chinese trade. A commonly used and frequently adjusted policy of value-added tax rebates (VATRs) for exporters is analysed. Chapter 2 introduces heterogeneity in productivity, entry cost and demand in both domestic and foreign markets to explain pure exporters. Pure exporters face lower demandadjusted foreign entry cost than demand-adjusted domestic entry cost. The presence of pure exporters makes the average productivity of exporters be lower or higher than nonexporters. The pure exporting products are analysed under a multiproduct firm framework in chapter 3. The study develops a general equilibrium model which allows for heterogeneity in productivity and fixed export cost across products. We find high productive firms can manage more products in export than in domestic market due to pure exporting products. Both chapters investigate the effects of trade and trade liberalization on pure exporting behaviour. Chapter 4 analyses the quality specialization pattern between a poor and a rich country in international trade. In the model, there is one to one relationship between income of consumers and quality they buy. The model shows a home market effect on quality specialization. When a poor country trades with a rich country, low (high) qualities are completely specialized in the poor (rich) country, while medium qualities are incompletely specialized, i.e. produced by both countries and exported to each other. Furthermore, this chapter also provides some empirical evidence. Chapter 5 assesses the trade policy of VATRs in China. Based on the correction for potential endogeneity of VATR adjustments, the estimation suggests one percentage point increase of VATR does not affect export price significantly while increasing export quantity by 1.15%. 1.43% more firms are induced to export the adjusted product while the number of destinations the product exported is raised by 0.77%. Furthermore, firm welfare measured as the net profit is increased by 2.15%, which translates into $2.14 in revenue for a $1 additional rebate from government.

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The dissertation investigates the effect of changes in trade policy in Kazakhstan due to establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The study provides new evidence on the effects of Customs Union (CU) on its members. EEU started as Customs Union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus which was established in 2010. Customs union became EEU in January 2012, when new international agreements, which allowed free movement of capital and work force between three countries, were put into force. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined EEU in 2015. According to theory, the main consequences of entry to the CU are an increase in tariff barriers and a decrease of non-tariff barriers between countries of the CU. The decrease of non-tariff barriers between countries of the CU might lead to trade creation between CU members, and could make Kazakhstan’s market more attractive for FDI inflows. The increase in the common external tariffs (CET) with non-members of CU might lead to trade diversion with suppliers outside the CU; however, it might also lead to investment creation of horizontal FDI as it might motivate firms that supplied market through export to “jump” the high CET through establishing production in the host country. Sanction wars of one of the member of the CU could either increase the trade between neighbours and sanctioning countries, (trade might fall due to the increase transportation costs), or trade might increase as neighbour of sanctioned country may become a transport hub of supplies to target country for products banned by sending countries. The dissertation focuses on applying econometric methods to analyse the effect of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on the economy of Kazakhstan. In the empirical work, time series and panel data techniques are used. The results suggest that the increase of tariff rates after the establishment of EEU decreases imports to Kazakhstan from non-EEU countries and attract FDI inflows in non-extractive industries; and that decrease of non-tariff barriers between EEU countries does not make Kazakhstan’s market more attractive for FDI inflows, but increases exports from Kazakhstan to other ECU countries. In addition, sanction wars between Russian and Western countries moderately affected imports to Kazakhstan from Western countries.

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International trade has brought tremendous choice to consumers and expanded markets for producers. Cross-border exchange also brings import risks such as food contaminants and invasive species. Balancing legitimate concerns to protect health and the environment with avoiding protectionist use of risk-based measures is highly important to the integrity of the multilateral trading system. This research studies three aspects of the relation between domestic regulations and international trade. Firstly, this thesis provides evidence addressing an ongoing international policy debate. This thesis is the first to show that the 8,487 new risk-based regulations under the Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement and 4,745 regulations under Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement notified from 1996-2010 are driven in part by loss of tariff protection and country-level environmental governance factors. Declining tariffs, however, do not make the implementation of 'suspect' SPS (i.e. measures later subject to a trade concern) more likely. This suggests policymakers may be systematically choosing to work on products that have lost tariff protection, but not systemically putting in illegitimate, non-tariff barriers to compensate. Secondly, this thesis investigates the patterns of Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) raised against 292 suspect SPS policies and 282 suspect TBT policies by members of the WTO from 1996-2010. It was found that developing countries struggle to resolve concerns they raise against developed economies. From work on 79 plant health concerns, it was clear that countries raise STCs using science-based and economics-based arguments of illegitimacy. Lastly, SPS measures are implemented to reduce risks transmitted via trade, but the effectiveness of risk reduction depends as well on actions of supply chain actors before export. A case study on coffee pests and diseases from a survey of 119 growers and 89 traders in Uganda is presented to scrutinize the decision-making process of growers in a high pest/disease prevalence environment.

This study is designed to examine Vietnam's attempts to reform its economic and legal system in order to accelerate its economic development and the challenges it is facing as a result of its membership of the WTO. The thesis revolves around the following central research question: How has the Vietnamese legal system responded to the challenges brought about by modernisation driven by this country's membership of the WTO and what improvements are needed in its legal system to ensure that this agenda of modernisation is reconciled with the needs of its people as well as with the demands of the international trade and the intellectual property protection agenda. After a long period of negotiations Vietnam became the 150th WTO member on 11th January 2007. Like China, Vietnam has also been pursuing a policy of economic liberalization since 1986 while maintaining a socialist political system. On the road to economic development and prosperity for the people, Vietnam accepted many new obligations resulting from its WTO membership. Consequently, the country is now going through a period of breathtaking changes not only in transforming the economy but also all aspects of its legal system. By joining the WTO, Vietnam represents a unique case of an attempt to reform a centrally planned economy in order to transform itself into a system which was supposed to be compliant with the multi-lateral trading system led by the WTO, and based on the values of capitalism. The economic and legal transformation that Vietnam is going through as a result of membership to the WTO, and the nature and scope of obligations that Vietnam was required to undertake to become a member of this world trade body, makes a fascinating case for study. While still maintaining a single party political system, a huge transformation has been carried out in the legal framework of Vietnam in the past 20 to 25 years to bring the Vietnamese legal system up to the international legal standards expected by foreign trades and investors interested in doing business with and in Vietnam. Vietnam has finished its first few years with the WTO "machine" in operation and this country is now trying to progress with the same speed as with other WTO members. In order to deal with the challenges and to gain from the opportunities arising from its WTO membership appropriately, Vietnam is launching plenty of new initiatives in socio-economic policies and in the national legal system as well. However, the country is still facing many challenges concerning the integration of the main principles of international trade and economic law into a socialist legal system. It is in this context that this thesis examines the process of reform, its weaknesses and strengths, the merits and demerits of Vietnam's membership of the WTO with particular reference to the obligations arising from the international intellectual property regime, and proposes a set of recommendations designed to better equip Vietnam to deal with the challenges ahead. The focus is on the strengths and weaknesses of various reform programmes undertaken by the country and the lacunae that still exist in its legal system.

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