The topic of aid-for-trade, listed in the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Conference at February of 2006, becomes another important subject in the Trade and Development. It is in extensive range, but not an all-brand-new concept. This paper will not address all aid-for-trade plans, and will be only aimed at the supply problem of public goods reducing trade cost. This paper mainly adopts Ricardo¡¦s model, and plans to carry out the analysis of models in three stages. In the first stage, there are only one donor and one receiver. Given the existence of trading cost, we analyze how the donor voluntarily offer the aid-for-trade and its effect on welfare. In the second stage, the model is extended to a three-country case: one receiver and two donors. It is found that the supply of aid-for-trade is below the socially optimal level.. In the last stage, the model is further extended to a four-country case: two donors and two receivers. However, to the aid-for-trade is distributed by an international organization rather by the donors directly. Hence, we will discuss whether the involvement of the international organization contributes to solving the problem of insufficient suply of public goods. Inferring a conclusion from the models mentioned above, we know that¡G (1) In the bilateral trade model, the donor would voluntarily offer aid-for-trade at the socially optimal level. (2) In the three-country model,, the aid aimed at reducing the trade cost will benefit all trading partners and aid-for-trade becomes a public goods no matter whether the dornors are endowed with the same amount of factors or not.Given that both donors offer aid-for-trade simultaneously, the amount of aid-for-trade offered is proportional to the amount of factor endowed. As long as aid-for-trade becomes a public goods, the free-riding behavior will prevent the supply of aid-for-trade from the efficient level. (3) In the four-country mode, we discuss two aid-distributing mechanisms and draw the conclusion: if the international organization gets involved, and the donors consult the offer of aid-for-trade with each other and assign the burden in accordance with the proportion of factor endowment, the problem of insufficient supply of aid-for-trade will be solved.

The problem of poverty in LDCs has been the continuing concern to the world. International organizations and other countries provide aid to LDCs for poverty reduction. Since the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, aid for trade (A4T) became an issue of more importance. This paper is an empirical study on the nature of A4T as a public good. According to Wang (2010), the donor countries will provide more A4T as long as larger is the size of the economy, but the provision of the bilateral A4T will be insufficient to the social optimal level due to the spillover effect.. This paper will apply actual data to test the theory, using the hypothesis that, other things being equal, the lower is a partner¡¦s trade concentration; the lower is A4T received. We analyze the 22 OECD DAC members¡¦ bilateral A4T behavior from 2002 to 2007 using OECD Creditor-Reporting-System (CRS) data. Further, we also study how different types of A4T are determined. The main results of this study are:(1) Recipients¡¦ trade concentration is one determinant of the A4T received. (2) Trade concentration affects different types of A4T differently.

No description available.

If the developing countries want to participate on the international trade and draw the advantages it brings, it is necessary for them to have sufficiently developed infrastructure and stable financial system, that enables financial flows. Both embody considerable deficiencies in developing countries, which inhibit the producers and traders from these economies to fully integrate into the world trade and represents fundamental obstruction by their aspiration to import and export. To solve this problem the World Trade Organisation in support of important financial institutions has created the program Aid for Trade, which principal aim is the development of infrastructure and business skills. Main goal of this graduation theses is to map the functioning and contributions of this program in the area of financing the trade in Asia and Pacific region and consequently evaluate, whether Aid for Trade actually improves the infrastructure of developing countries and helps them to participate on the international trade more effectively, because that's the direction that could possibly lead to increment of wealth and repression of poverty.

Foreign aid is the subject in development economics that created controversies about its influences on the economy of the recipient countries. This study is an attempt to explain the effects that aid may have on trade, with a focus on the trade costs associated with the creation of business ties. Tied aid creates incentives for the developing countries to keep positive trading relationships with their donors, mainly because of the diminishing trad-ing costs associated with long term contacts. Subsequently, programs related to infra-structure and trade enforcement have been launched, that work towards the integration of the Least Developing Countries into the world economy.This study includes the analysis of the trade flows and foreign aid disbursement be-tween the “Group of Seven” countries (G7) and the Least Developing Countries, for a time span of 22 years (1988-2009). The results show that aid does have a significant ef-fect on the trade flows between the developed and developing countries. The explana-tion to this is related to the trading costs and the infrastructure development that tends to diminish the costs linked to distance- and border-related issues, and the sunk costs of market research and entry. In accordance, the distance coefficient is smaller after 1997, as result of decreased trade costs and increased export flows from recipients to donors.

No abstract available. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil

Cette thèse se compose de trois chapitres ayant en commun la question de la qualité des exportations dans un contexte de pays en voie de développement. La thèse s’intéresse plus particulièrement à différents aspects permettant d’améliorer le niveau de qualité des exportations. Le premier chapitre est consacré à l'impact de l'Aide au commerce (Aid for trade) sur la qualité des exportations des pays récipiendaires. Il suggère un effet positif de la politique d'aide au commerce sur la qualité des exportations. Le deuxième chapitre porte sur le rôle de vérification de la qualité joué par les intermédiaires dans le commerce international. Les résultats indiquent que seuls les intermédiaires spécialisés jouent ce rôle. Le troisième chapitre examine le lien entre l'orientation à l'exportation des entreprises et leur performance en matière d'innovation. L’analyse empirique met en évidence une réduction des investissements en R&D chez les exportateurs dont les ventes s’orientent principalement vers les exportations au détriment du marché intérieur et ce d’autant plus qu’ils font face à une incertitude élevée de la demande. Ces évolutions défavorables pourraient être surmontées néanmoins si l’entreprise a une riche expérience commerciale ou une productivité élevée. Les trois résultats principaux de cette thèse sont ainsi que l'aide au commerce ainsi que l’essor d’intermédiaires de type spécialisé contribuent à la montée en qualité des exportateurs tandis que l'incertitude de la demande extérieure tend à l’inverse à entraver l’innovation des firmes exportatrices. / This thesis is composed of three chapters that have in common the question of export quality in a developing country context. The thesis focuses on different aspects of improving the quality level of exports. The first chapter is devoted to the impact of Aid for Trade on the quality of exports from recipient countries. It suggests a positive effect of Aid for Trade policy on the quality of exports. The second chapter focuses on the quality assurance role played by intermediaries in international trade. The results indicate that only specialized intermediaries play this role. The third chapter examines the link between firms' export orientation and their innovation performance. The empirical analysis shows a reduction in R&D investment by exporters whose sales reorient towards exports to the detriment of the domestic market, especially as they face high demand uncertainty. These unfavourable developments could nevertheless be overcome if the company has a long trade experience or high productivity. The three main results of this thesis are that aid for trade and the rise of specialized intermediaries contribute to the rise in quality of exporters, while the uncertainty of external demand tends, on the other hand, to hinder innovation by exporting firms.

Magister Legum - LLM / The provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994) generally give favourable consideration to developing and least developed countries.1 Firstly, at the core of these provisions is the principle of special and differential treatment of these countries. As such developing countries are to meet their obligations under the WTO agreements as and when the special needs of their economies permit. The GATT 1994 provisions exempt least developed countries from participating in the obligations under the WTO agreements until such a time that they attain a reasonable level of development.Secondly, the Ministerial Meeting in Doha in November 2001 adopted a development agenda (that described capacity building activities as “core elements of the development dimension of the multilateral trading system”) and called for more co-ordinated delivery of trade related technical assistance and capacity building.2 In this regard, developed members of the WTO have committed to provide technical assistance to developing and least developed members in order to build their capacity to participate effectively under the WTO.The reality of the situation on the ground is that developing and least developed countries still face a lot of challenges which hinder their full participation and realization of the benefits under the multilateral trading system. It must be appreciated, at the same time that developing countries like China and India have been active and influential in the multilateral trading system, and additionally, their economies have and are experiencing overt growth. What lessons does Africa need to learn from China and India?This study examines the causes of the poor performance of Sub Saharan Africa’s developing and Least Developed Countries in the multilateral trading system. In this regard, examples are drawn from two countries, namely, Kenya and Zambia.Further, the study examines the initiatives the WTO provides to enhance the trade capacity of its developing and least developed members. In addition, the study examines African trade capacity building initiatives such the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) Initiatives, as well as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Initiative in order to establish how these initiatives can assist in enhancing the trade capacity of developing and least developed countries.The study further examines the role of regional trade integration in enhancing the trade capacity building of developing and least developed countries. In this case, examples are drawn from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa-Developing Countries (COMESA). In this regard, the study concludes that fully-fledged regional integration has the potential to promote economic growth and industrial development in Africa.The study also demonstrates the importance of the participation of governments and the private sector in improving a country’s participation in the multilateral trading system. This study particularly takes key interest in the crucial role of the public-private partnerships in enhancing competitive forces and competitiveness necessary to maximize trade opportunities, which in turn produces economic development.It is observed and concluded in this study that sustainably financed technical assistance and capacity building programmes have important roles to play in so far as integration of Sub Saharan Africa into the global trading system is concerned; and that developing countries in general and LDCs in particular are to be provided with enhanced Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) and capacity building to increase their effective participation in the negotiations, to facilitate their implementation of GATT/WTO rules and to enable them adjust and diversify their economies.

La question de l’efficacité de l’aide publique au développement est complexe et protéiforme. L’aide se présente sous de nombreuses formes et implique de nombreux instruments et acteurs, dont les objectifs et mêmes les philosophies diffèrent fortement entre les pays et les organisations. De cet enchevêtrement, les économistes ont jusqu’alors échoué dans leurs recherches de relations macroéconomiques robustes censées guider l’action publique. Ainsi, aucun consensus ne semble pour l’instant émerger de ce débat. Dès lors, l’orientation des politiques de développement a essentiellement été influencée par des hypothèses contestables reposant sur des fondements empiriques fragiles. Ce travail tente d’apporter de nouveaux éléments au débat sur l’efficacité de l’aide au travers de sept essais. Les trois premiers chapitres se consacrent à la question de la relation entre aide et croissance du point de vue statistique. Les nouvelles approches qui y sont proposées tentent de surmonter la plupart des défauts de la littérature empirique existante. Nous y montrons que la relation entre aide et croissance est extrêmement complexe et qu’il est difficile de l’appréhender à l’aide des méthodes économétriques usuelles. De plus, bien que l’aide semble globalement efficace en termes de croissance du PIB, son efficacité dépend de différents facteurs révélés par la présence de seuils aussi bien conditionnels que non-Conditionnels. Parmi ces facteurs, la vulnérabilité économique semble jouer un rôle primordial et sa prise en compte s’avère indispensable pour une compréhension globale du lien entre l’aide et la croissance économique. Dans une seconde partie, les deux chapitres suivants s’intéressent plus particulièrement à l’aide sectorielle, à travers l’étude de l’efficacité de deux initiatives largement reconnues que sont l’aide à la scolarisation primaire universelle et l’aide au commerce. Leur efficacité sera alors déterminée non plus en termes de croissance du PIB mais en termes de scolarisation et de performance à l’exportation. A l’instar des trois premiers chapitres, nos résultats semblent confirmer la présence d’une relation significative entre l’aide et les objectifs visés. Nos conclusions, notamment celles en termes d’éducation, vont clairement à l’encontre de l’idée selon laquelle l’aide aurait fait plus de mal que de bien. Enfin, en se basant sur les résultats précédents, les chapitres six et sept explorent, dans une troisième partie, les possibilités d’amélioration des stratégies actuelles d’allocation de l’aide mises en œuvre notamment par les grands bailleurs multilatéraux. Une de nos principales observations est que la vulnérabilité économique est un facteur important devant être pris en compte dans le design des méthodes d’allocation de l’aide. / Aid effectiveness is a complex issue. Aid comes in many instruments, has many targets and involves many stakeholders whose objectives, methods and philosophy greatly differ across countries and institutions. From this mixed bag, economists have struggled finding strong regularities at the macroeconomic level to guide the political debate and consensus have failed to emerge. Hence, political stances have often been influenced by strong assumptions based on weak or at least hotly debated evidence. This work is an attempt to provide new perspectives on the aid effectiveness debate through seven essays. The first three chapters address the technical question of the aid/growth relationship issue using new approaches and new statistical instruments in an attempt to overcome most of the caveats of the aid empirical literature. We show that the aid/growth relationship is complex and difficult to measure using common statistical methods. Moreover, while aid is globally effective, its effectiveness depends on different factors reflected by the existence of conditional and unconditional thresholds. Among those factors, economic vulnerability seems to be a key component that has to be taken into account in order to identify this relationship. In a second part, we try to assess the effectiveness of two flagship initiatives which are Aid for Trade and Universal Primary Education with regards to the outcomes they ultimately target, namely, export performance for the former and school enrolment, gender parity and repetition rate in primary school for the later. As in the first three chapters, our results support the existence of a significant relationship between aid and the targeted outcomes. Those results, notably for the education sector, clearly argue against the idea that aid has done more bad then good. Finally, based on previous results, in a third part, chapters six and seven explore the mean to improve the current aid allocation strategies used notably by the Multilateral Development Banks. One of the main conclusions is that economic vulnerability is a central factor to be taken into account in the design of aid allocation strategies.