Throughout the period of neoliberal globalisation the ability of nation states to shape economic outcomes has been significantly diminished. Not only the number of policy tools at their disposal has been reduced, but the pressures of global integration have decreased the effectiveness of those remaining. This dissertation discusses how the state can increase the effectiveness of these remaining policy tools and promote more desirable economic outcomes by shaping corporate governance arrangements and by making use of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Chapter 2 provides a brief analysis of the global economy since the end of World War II (WWII). It examines the major ideological underpinnings and economic features of two distinct periods – the embedded liberal and the neoliberal. In addition, this chapter also discusses the impact of neoliberal globalisation on national economic sovereignty. Chapter 3 critically examines the Anglo-Saxon model of corporate governance, which is considered as the ‘best practice’ by the neoliberal doctrine with regards to this matter. It is argued that the theories that legitimise this model are fundamentally flawed, and an alternative framework for analysing corporate governance is proposed. Chapter 4 examines the evolution of corporate governance arrangements in three advanced economies – the United States, Japan and Germany – since the end of WWII. In addition, this chapter also addresses the relationship between corporate governance arrangements, national competitiveness, and the effectiveness of policy tools. Chapter 5 analyses the ‘rise’ of SOEs in the early post-WWII period and their subsequent ‘fall’, from empirical and theoretical standpoints. Some important recent developments regarding SOEs are also discussed. Chapter 6 is devoted to examining the Singaporean development experience with special reference to SOEs. The peculiarities of Singaporean SOEs and the role played by them at different stages of Singapore’s economic development are analysed. In addition, different aspects concerning the relevance of SOEs in the contemporary Singaporean economy are assessed.

A participação do Brasil no mercado externo sofreu nas últimas décadas uma influência muito grande do Agronegócio, impulsionada principalmente pelo aumento da exportação de commodities agrícolas. O presente estudo se propôs a entender como esse processo impactou o desenvolvimento econômico nacional. Para isto, considerou-se a totalidade das exportações em volume e valor das diferentes categorias de produtos comercializados no Agronegócio no período de janeiro de 2008 a julho de 2016. Analisou-se uma base com mais de 8 milhões de registros e 1.314 categorias. Utilizou-se a ótica da classificação setorial por intensidade tecnológica de Keith Pavitt (1984) e Laplane (2001) para identificar os diversos setores. Esta dissertação é composta por dois artigos científicos. No primeiro deles, mensurou-se o grau de correlação entre o dólar e as exportações brasileiras de maneira a verificar se a hipótese inicial de que um aumento da taxa de cambio promove um aumento proporcional do total faturado nas exportações. Conclui-se que, ao contrário do esperado, os resultados sugerem que o grau de correlação de Pearson entre o valor exportado e a taxa de câmbio possuem resultados de intensidade média e fraca segundo a escala de Cohen (1988). Além disso, identifica-se que produtos classificados como “Intensivos em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento” e “Intensivos em Economias de Escala” possuem forças de correlação mais fortes com a taxa de cambio que “Produtos Primários”, “Intensivos em Trabalho” e “Intensivos em Recursos Naturais”. No segundo artigo é apresentado o grau de concentração dos destinos de exportação do agronegócio no período de janeiro de 2008 a julho de 2016.Para analisar os dados utilizou-se o método do Market-Share e o índice de Herfindahl- Hirschman. Os resultados sugerem que existe um elevado índice de concentração por destino de exportação. Os “Produtos Intensivos em P&D” registram os mais altos índices de concentração de mercado nos 5 maiores importadores do Brasil (Estados Unidos, Índia, Holanda, China e Alemanha). Os “Produtos de Economia de Escala”, tiveram um aumento no faturamento das exportações provocadas por uma maior concentração dos dois maiores importadores (Estados Unidos e China). Os resultados da “Indústria Intensiva em Trabalho” e “ Intensiva em Recursos Naturais” foram muito similares ao analisar o nível de concentração destes mercados e não tiveram variações ao longo do tempo analisado. Os resultados dos “Produtos Primários” são fortemente impactados pelo poder do mercado Chinês. A perspectiva apontada na literatura sobre a característica dos itens de maior intensidade tecnológica está diretamente relacionada com a possibilidade de comercializar produtos mais sofisticados e, consequentemente, menos dependentes de aspectos relativos ao preço. Os resultados da correlação de Pearson obtidos neste estudo sugerem que a diferenciação proposta na categoria de alta intensidade não está sendo efetiva. Além disso, ocorreu uma maior concentração dos destinos de exportação no período analisado. / In recent decades, Brazilian participation in the foreign market has been largely influenced by agribusiness, mainly driven by the increase of agricultural commodity exports. This study aimed to understand how this process affected national economic development. For this, we considered the total export volume and the value of different product categories in agribusiness trade, from January 2008 to July 2016. We analyzed a database of over 8 million records and 1,314 categories. We used the sector classification outlook according to technological intensity, by Keith Pavitt (1984) and Laplane (2001), to identify the various sectors. This study consists of two scientific articles. In the first, we measured the degree of correlation between the dollar and Brazilian exports in order to verify if the initial hypothesis that an increase in the exchange rate promotes a proportional increase of total export revenue. We concluded that, contrary to expectations, the results suggest that the degree of Pearson correlation between the value of exports and the exchange rate have medium and low intensity results, according to the Cohen scale (1988). We also identified that products classified as "Research and Development Intensive" and "Economies of Scale Intensive" are more strongly correlated with the exchange rate than "Primary Products", "Labor Intensive," and "Natural Resources Intensive" products. The second article shows the degree of agribusiness export destination concentration from January 2008 to July 2016. To analyze the data, we used the Market Share method and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. The results suggest that there is a high level of export destination concentration. The "R & D Intensive Products" recorded the highest market concentration rates among the 5 largest importers of Brazilian products (United States, India, the Netherlands, China, and Germany). The "Economy of Scale Products", had an increase in export revenues, caused by increased concentration of the two largest importers (United States and China). The results of the "Labor Intensive Industry" and "Natural Resource Intensive" were very similar when analyzing the level of concentration for these markets, and showed no changes over the analyzed time period. The results of the "Primary Products" are strongly impacted by the power of the Chinese market. The outlook about the characteristics of the more technology-intensive items is reported in the literature, and is directly related to the possibility of selling products that are more sophisticated, and thus less dependent of price related aspects. The Pearson correlation results from this study suggest that the proposed differentiation in the high-intensity category is not being effective. Also, there was a greater concentration of export destinations during the analyzed period.

At last, this study examines the welfare effects of export share requirement in a less developed country (LDC) with foreign investment, labour unemployment (or underemployment) and imperfect competition in its importable sector. In the quota case, introducing export share requirement always benefits a Harris-Todaro or Lewis' economy irrespective of free or restricted entry of local rivals. The policy unambiguously dampens the domestic price of imported goods, expands the importable sector, reduces labour unemployment (or underemployment) and improves national welfare. When free entry and exit of domestic players are allowed, the policy also induces emergence of local rivals. The LDC should always impose 100% export share requirement on foreign investment for attaining maximal welfare. / This dissertation consists of three independent essays on international trade policies. First of all, this dissertation provides a general equilibrium model on a small economy for examining the individual as well as the joint effects of pollution tax and equity share restrictions on the investment from multinational corporations (MNCs). The results show that free trade, free capital flow and the Pigouvian tax (i.e. at a rate equal to the marginal damage of pollution) is the first-best policy for the host country. Should imports be subject to irremovable tariff, the second-best policy is 100% foreign ownership of MNC subsidiaries, coupled with pollution tax higher than the Pigouvian rate. Allowing wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries and taxing pollution less than the Pigouvian rate is the second-best option for an economy adopting quantitative restriction policies. In particular, if quota is adopted by the host country, who retains all the trade restriction rent, the second best policy mix will be the Pigouvian tax and allowing full foreign ownership of MNC subsidiaries. / We then proceed to a game theoretic model to investigate how an industrialized country serves the market of a host country by transferring its technology to the host country's importable sector, and how the host country government reacts by means of export share requirement to optimize its national welfare. The interaction between the host country and the technology-exporting country has been modeled as a non-cooperative game. In the simultaneous-move framework, we have derived the existence of Nash equilibrium. The export of technology should earn a positive royalty, and the host country mandates some portion of importable good produced by foreign firms for export. The effects of raising tariff on importable good and importing more capital-intensive technology are also investigated. In addition, the sub-game perfect equilibria of two possible sequential-move frameworks have also been formulated. / Tai Chi-hung. / "December 1999." / Adviser: Eden S. H. Yu. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 61-08, Section: A, page: 3296. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

The dissertation follows the trajectory of one of the commodities of the transpacific trade, Chinese porcelain, from the city of Jingdezhen where it was produced, to Manila where it was sold to Spanish merchants, on to Mexico, where it was adopted by the colonial society. The study ends in the city of Puebla where potters drew inspiration from Chinese porcelain for the invention of a new ceramic style known as loza poblana. The methodology of following the trajectory of Chinese porcelains through various sites reveals a new kind of history, one where the tactile aspects of the circulation of goods become salient. The places, contexts, and transactions that the commodities passed through are more prominent--the trade is no longer an abstract exchange between different parties or an endeavor driven purely by imperial greed. Instead it emerges as a process that developed from an interaction between global material forces and local histories and contingencies. Such a tactile history also provides details about the movement and transfer of aesthetics in the early modern period, as seen in the case of the design of the Chinese guan, a jar form, that was adapted to make the Mexican chocolatero.

The field of International Trade aims to study the consequences of the spatial disconnection between the activities of production and consumption, which has been allowed by the increasing opening of the economies. However, while most of the history of the field has focused on the role played by production in shaping trade patterns, only recently researchers have emphasized the importance of demand characteristics. This dissertation follows these recent works by containing three essays that specifically study the importance of demand characteristics on export patterns at the microeconomic level. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I explore the importance of the dynamic aspects of demand on the export decisions made by firms. Standard dynamic models of trade identify sunk entry costs as the main export barrier faced by firms. However, these large entry costs are inconsistent with the existence of many small new exporters with low survival rates in foreign markets. In this chapter, I study the role of destination-specific demand dynamics by introducing, in a dynamic model of trade, the idea that firms gradually accumulate consumers in foreign markets. Estimating the model using export data from individual French firms, I show that this consumer margin is consistent with the dynamics of sales, prices and survival of exporters, but also leads to much lower estimates of the entry costs of exporting - about one third of those estimated in the standard model. Moreover, this change in the nature of trade barriers has important implications at the aggregate level. In contrast to the standard model, this model correctly replicates the slow response of trade to shocks and the increasing contribution of the extensive margin in this response. Finally, I demonstrate using out-of-sample predictions that the model better predicts actual trade responses to an observed shock than the standard model. The second chapter presents a novel instrumental variable strategy to estimate product quality at the micro level using trade data. Written with Gabriel Smagghue from University Carlos III of Madrid, this work develops a new firm-specific instrument, based on variations in exchange rates combined with firm-specific import shares, that delivers, under weak assumptions, consistent estimates of demand elasticity and firm product quality. Implementing our method using French customs data, we document the reliability of these measures through correlations with firm characteristics and alternative measures of quality. Finally, we use our estimates to document the quality response of French firms when facing low-wage competition on foreign markets. Finally, in the third chapter of this dissertation, I document the positive correlation between the size of a firm and its advertising intensity - measured by the amount spent in advertising as percentages of sales. Taking advantage of firm-level information about advertising expenditures from the Chilean manufacturing census, I show that this correlation holds between firms operating within a similar industry, and is stronger in industries with a larger scope for vertical differentiation. Building on these findings, I develop a model of advertising with heterogeneous firms, based on Arkolakis (2010). In addition to using advertising to inform consumers about the existence of their good, firms can use advertising to affect consumers' valuation of their products. Consistent with the empirical findings, this latter feature of advertising leads to a positive link between the advertising intensity of a firm and its size. Moreover, this link is amplified by a parameter describing the degree of vertical differentiation of the product.

I study bailout policy in open economies and the relationship between openness and institutions. Chapter 1 studies jointly optimal bailout policy and monetary policy in open economies. I document that countries with larger foreign currency liability/GDP ratio before financial crises underwent larger currency devaluation, inflation and bailout in crises. I build a quantitative open economy model with both nominal rigidities and financial frictions. Using the model, I show that in a world without bailout while currency mismatch effect is present, larger foreign currency liability before crises calls for smaller currency devaluation in crises, embracing the notion of ``fear of floating''. The incorporation of optimal government bailout, whose cost needs to be financed by inflation tax, can overturn the above negative relationship between foreign currency liability and currency devaluation, delivering results consistent with the empirical findings. Finally, I use firm level data to show that whether firms suffer from currency mismatch effect or not during crises hinges on their chance of obtaining bailout. Chapter 2 examines the joint dynamics of private and public external debt for countries. We develop a model with the co-occurrence of banking crisis and sovereign debt crisis in open economies, formalizing Reinhart and Rogoff (2011) findings ``from financial crash to debt crisis". External interest rate spikes or sudden stop shocks force banks to cut down debt position and fire-sale capital. The existence of frictions in bank equity market creates incentives for the government to initiate a bailout. The government bails out banks by increasing external borrowing and implementing fiscal austerity to undo inefficiencies in the private sector. Under optimal bailout scheme, the model generates diverging external debt dynamics for the private sector and the government during a crisis, as we document in the European data. Finally, we investigate two rationales for ex-ante macro-prudential regulations on private external debt: fire-sale externalities between banks and moral hazard by banks.Chapter 3 (joint with Shang-Jin Wei) explores the relationship between openness and institutions. Quality of public institutions has been recognized as a crucial determinant of macroeconomic outcomes. We propose that a country's intrinsic level of openness (due to population size, geography, or exogenous trade opportunities) affects its incentives in investing in better institutions. We present a simple theory and extensive empirical evidence validating the role of intrinsic openness in determining institutional quality. This suggests an indirect but important channel for globalization to improve welfare by raising the quality of institutions.

Orientador: Agnaldo dos Santos / Resumo: O comércio internacional pode ser dividido entre as categorias de bens e serviços, sendo que a maior parte dos fluxos de comércio sempre foi basicamente movimentada pela circulação de bens materiais. O setor de serviços, em especial, possui características básicas muito diferentes das que normalmente são observadas na produção de mercadorias. Por consistirem em trabalho humano em movimento, serviços são impossíveis de serem estocados, são intangíveis, imateriais e intransportáveis, de forma que sua prestação apenas se concretiza quando há demanda, ou seja, oferta e demanda ocorrem de maneira simultânea no comércio de serviços. Além da grande importância em situar o comércio de serviços com a devida relevância para economia contemporânea mundial, esta proposta de estudo pretende também considerar a relação entre a participação do Brasil, como economia de industrialização recente, no comércio internacional de serviços e seu nível de desenvolvimento econômico. Para este fim, tomaremos os conceitos de Celso Furtado e Ha-Joon Chang sobre desenvolvimento, no intuito de compreendermos como a dependência desses países em relação aos países desenvolvidos pode se repetir com o setor de serviço e ainda se intensificar. De modo que sua participação nas CGV permaneça condicionada às determinações estabelecidas por países desenvolvidos e continue distante de um movimento autônomo que vise os interesses econômicos próprios. As hipóteses, portanto, que aqui se pretende avaliar são: a) o seto... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: International trade can be divided into categories of goods and services, and most trade flows have always been basically driven by the circulation of material goods. The service sector, in particular, has very different basic characteristics from those normally observed in the production of goods. Because they consist of human labor in movement, services are impossible to store, they are intangible, immaterial and untransferable, so that their delivery only materializes when there is demand, that is, supply and demand occur simultaneously in the service trade. In addition to the great importance of placing trade in services with relevance for the contemporary world economy, this study proposal also intends to consider the relationship between the participation of newly industrialized economies in international trade in services and their level of economic development. To this end, we will take the concepts of Celso Furtado and Ha-Joon Chang on development, in order to understand how their dependence on developed countries can be repeated with the service sector and even intensified. So that their participation in the Global Value Chains remains conditional on the determinations established by developed countries and remains distant from an autonomous movement that targets their own economic interests. The hypotheses, therefore, that we want to evaluate here are: a) the services sector is a consequence of the maturation of the industry and not a residual sector of the activit... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

It is a well-known fact that international trade contracts bear inherently more risk than the trade contracts entered by the parties from the same country. This is due to the differences in business methods and practices used, trade cultures of the parties involved, laws and regulations in the respective jurisdictions. Under these circumstances, it is very important for the seller to have the assurance of that he receives the payment for the goods dispatched and for the buyer to receive the goods what has been ordered. One effective way of having such an assurance is to rely on a letter of credit as an international payment method. But for exporters in particular, this payment method has presented difficulties in meeting the compliance requirements necessary for the payment to be triggered. The UCP 600 published by the International Chamber of Commerce provide the rules that govern letters of credit transactions. At the introduction of the UCP 600, it was aimed to remove wording that could lead to inconsistent application and interpretation, as against the language and style used in the previous version, namely the UCP 500. Highlighting the experiences under UCP 500, the ultimate focus of the revision of the UCP was to minimise the level of litigations that had arisen under the rules provided in the UCP. In several surveys, it has been reported that, nearly 50% of the first presentation for payment under letters of credit are rejected by the banks. This situation implies the fact that the provisions which cover letters of credit transactions are not either clear enough or well understood by the parties involved. Similarly, the decisions made by Courts around the world on issues related to letters of credit have taken different approaches when applying and interpreting the rules. This can clearly be seen by a myriad of controversial judicial standards which have been applied to similar mistakes in documents presented to the bank for payment. This thesis is an investigation into those issues to find out the optimal standards that could be applied to solve the said problems. In doing so, this thesis will strive to ascertain what remedial measures could be taken to address the issues related to examination of documents, the rejection of payment and fraud exception. Key words: International Trade, International Trade Law, Law of Letters of Credit, Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credit 600, Examination of Documents and communicating the decision.

The paper explores the impact of the September 11 events on the U.S. politics of homeland security, examines the consequences of the after-9-11 measures taken up by the U.S. Government for international trade, and evaluates the role of these measures in contemporary world.

Conventional wisdom suggests that weak international actors should avoid concluding ambiguous agreements with much stronger partners because this increases their vulnerability to subsequent exploitation. Why then do we observe so many instances of just such agreements signed under conditions of extreme power asymmetry? I answer this question by emphasising an underappreciated factor shaping the agreement design strategies of actors: Power trajectory. Focusing on international trade, I develop a three-part framework which demonstrates first, that powerful but rising states gain from securing narrow agreements because as the scope of these agreements is broadened, they are provided with more opportunities to use their growing power to secure increasingly favourable deals. Conversely, powerful but declining states are incentivised to conclude broad agreements as a way to lock-in an advantage that will decline over time. Second, I demonstrate that because of the particular vulnerabilities faced by weak states as a result of these narrow agreements, strong but rising powers are often required to make up-front concessions in order to secure their preferred contract and overcome the fears of their weaker counterparts. Third, I show that powerful but rising states can reap the benefits of subsequent rounds of bargaining because the initial agreement has induced the weaker party to make transaction specific investments which serve to drastically reduce its exit options. In developing this framework, I make three contributions; first, from a theoretical standpoint I specify more precisely the conditions under which powerful states choose to tie their hands and so qualify both the liberal claim that powerful states must always do so, and the realist suggestion that they strive to maintain freedom of action. Second, I make an empirical contribution by placing the trade policies of four major economic powers in detailed comparative perspective. Finally, I make a substantive contribution by demonstrating yet another mechanism by which the strong secure their preferences at the expense of the weak in international affairs.