This thesis analyzes the trade liberalization implemented in the form of FTA between Peru and USA in 2009 and its effect on the welfare of different clusters of individuals. In the ambient of economy with high income inequities it evaluates the liberalization separately for different income-level samples. The research is based on the comparison of groups of individuals occupied in sectors that were already liberalized by other market opening tools before 2009 and groups recently affected by the FTA. The analysis is than accomplished on the household survey panel data covering the period between 2007 and 2010. The findings suggest the trade liberalization positively affected not only the wealthier population but also the poor, both from the category of individuals working in sectors producing for domestic consumption. The positive effect on export-oriented producers hasn't been approved.

Pasaulyje vyksta aktyvūs procesai dėl eksporto politikos skatinimo, investicijų, didesnio prekių ir paslaugų mainų balanso, inovacijų pritraukimo, t.y. veiksnių sąlygojančių ekonominio vystymosi tempus, vis svarbesnį vaidmenį priskiriant tarptautinei prekybai paslaugomis. Darbo aktualumas siejamas su neišnaudotu paslaugų augimo potencialu tarptautinėje prekyboje, kuris suteikia galimybes paslaugų sektoriui gauti didesnę pelno normą ir pritraukia kapitalą bei darbo jėgą iš tradicinių veiklų įmonių, todėl paslaugų plėtra turėtų išlikti pagrindiniu ekonominių ir socialinių permainų katalizatoriumi. Tyrimo tikslas– išryškinti tarptautinės prekybos paslaugomis teorinius aspektus ir pagrįsti plėtros tendencijas Lietuvoje. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti pagrindinius paslaugų klasifikavimo principus, atskleidžiant paslaugų plėtros tendencijas, barjerus ir ES Paslaugų direktyvos svarbą plėtros procesams; 2. Remiantis sudarytu tiriamuoju tarptautinės prekybos paslaugomis modeliu, atlikti tarptautinės prekybos paslaugomis plėtros Lietuvos atžvilgiu, tyrimą ir pristatyti ekspertų nuomonių apklausos rezultatus; 3. Parengti tarptautinės prekybos paslaugomis plėtros Lietuvoje prognozės, apibrėžiant galimybes, kliūtis ir pagrindžiant plėtros tendencijas. Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė, statistinių duomenų analizė, lyginamoji analizė, anketinė apklausa, prognozavimas. Tyrimu atskleista, kad tarptautinės prekybos paslaugomis tendencijas tikslinga vertinti pagal suteikiamų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / International trade in services grown significantly, yet little research has been undertaken to understand international services. Major features of services have much in common with other services, being, however, more closely related to country’s economy. The actuality of the study is related to the potential of increase of services in domestic market in hand which gives possibilities to service sector get higher rate of profit and attracts capital and labour force from enterprises of traditional activity, therefore the development of services should remain the main catalyst of economical and social changes. The goal of the work – to highlight the theoretical aspects of international trade in services and foresee the main tendencies of Lithuanian international trade in services. Tasks are presented: 1. Analyze the main types of International services classification and exploring tendencies of development, to set barriers and instruments of regulation EU Services Directive. 2. According to holistic model of evaluation of development of international trade in services, to make research of Lithuanian International trade in services and set the results form experts’ survey. 3. Forecasts the development tendencies of Lithuanian International trade in services, barriers and propose possibilities. Methods of investigation: referring to the studies of foreign and Lithuanian scientists, analysis and synthesis of literature, survey of experts, forecasting methods. The study... [to full text]

The main goal of the thesis was an analysis of the current situation in the international market place. In particular, the situation of developing countries. What kind of help is provided to them by the other countries and especially what extant of participation has Czech republic in Fair Trade. There was studied what influence is the liberalization of international trade on developing countries. In the second part of thesis were czech towns and retail shops studied via questionnaire in order to find out what awareness have czech consumers about Fair Trade.

Sino-African relations have recently become a hot topic. Chinese cooperation with the African continent is becoming more and more important not only in the field of politics but also within the economic relations. This thesis deals with two five-years long periods in the 60s and at the beginning of the 21st century. It analyses the dynamics of modern Sino-African relations in a variety of aspects.

Le principe de spécialité des organisations internationales est-il un obstacle à la protection de l’environnement par le droit de l’OMC ? Dans ce mémoire, nous examinons l’impact du principe de spécialité sur les volontés de protection de l’environnement des Membres, via les textes de l’OMC et les décisions de l’Organe de Règlement des Différends. Le postulat de base de cette recherche vient du constat de l’opposition a priori des sphères économiques et environnementales. Toutefois, l’OMC semble vouloir orienter son activité normative vers le développement durable. Tandis que le droit international de l’environnement se développe, l’OMC tente de plus en plus d’intégrer les valeurs non-marchandes à ses réflexions. Toutefois, les principes fondamentaux du droit de l’OMC recherchent la libéralisation des échanges alors que les mesures environnementales sont souvent des obstacles au commerce. De ce fait, le principe de spécialité semble s’opposer à une réelle intégration des considérations environnementales dans le droit de l’OMC. La prise de conscience scientifique, civile et politique sur les dangers du changement climatique, poussent alors les Membres à adopter de nouvelles façons d’aborder la question. La coopération internationale se renforce entre les organes de droit international et le droit de l’OMC. L’adoption de réglementations favorables à l’environnement semble alors envisageable. Ce mémoire cherche donc à observer, dans les textes et la jurisprudence, l’évolution de la prise en compte de l’environnement au sein du droit de l’OMC sous le prisme du principe de spécialité. / Is the principle of specialty of international organizations an obstacle to the protection of the environment by WTO law? In this research, we observe the impact of the specialty principle on environmental protection wills, in both WTO texts and in decisions of the Dispute Settlement Body. The first approach of this research comes from the observation of a priori opposition of the economic and environmental spheres. However, the WTO seems want to direct its standard-setting activity towards sustainable development. As the international environmental law develops, the WTO is trying to integrate non-economic values into its thinking. However, the fundamental principles of WTO law seek the liberalization of international trades while environmental measures are often barriers to trade. As a result, the principle of specialty seems to avoid a real integration of environmental considerations into WTO law. Scientific, civil and political awareness of the dangers of climate change is therefore pushing Members to adopt new ways of approaching the issue. International cooperation is strengthening between the bodies of international law and the law of the WTO seems able, thanks to negotiations, to adopt new regulations favorable to the environment. This research therefore seeks to observe, in the texts and the jurisprudence, the evolution of the taking into account of the environment within the law of the WTO through the prism of the specialty principle.

“What drives firms' performance?” remains one of the most intriguing topics in the economic literature. The myriad determinants identified so far include both internal and external factors. While the internal factors tend to relate to either firms' characteristics or the business decision-making process determined by managers/owners, the external factors tend to relate to the business environment and any possible stimulus for the conditions in which firms are located and operate. This thesis follows the strand of literature that continues the quest for relevant firm-performance-driving factors, taking an applied approach. The thesis, consisting in three essays, provides empirical evidence of how trade liberalization, together with local business environment features, affects firms' performance in the context of a transitional country, Vietnam. The main focus centres particularly on firms' productivity (the first and second essays). As firms use labour as an indispensable input of production, interest, in the third essay, shifts to firm-level demand for skills so as to understand also potential consequences of trade reform policies for the labour market. Highlights of the three essays are as follows: The first essay (Chapter 2) investigates the interplay of trade liberalization and local business environment features in affecting firms’ productivity. Particular interest lies in how frictions in the local business environment where firms operate alter the productivity gains from trade. Making use of a large panel dataset of Vietnamese manufacturing firms from 2006 to 2012, the analysis provides robust evidence of a positive effect of trade liberalization on firms’ total factor productivity. However, distortions in the local business environment such as unenforceable property rights, an ineffective land-titling system, bureaucratic hurdles and labour market frictions play a crucial role in the transmission of trade liberalization shocks. It is recommended, from the results obtained, that complementary business environment reforms addressing local market constraints need to be implemented alongside trade liberalization. The second essay (Chapter 3) investigates first the impact on firms’ productivity of trade liberalization and second how corruption interacts with trade policies. Particular interest centres on how firms’ productivity improvement induced by trade openness is reduced by corruption. Using firm-level data on Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises from 2000 to 2012, the period of which spans the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the analysis provides robust causal evidence that trade openness increases firms’ productivity, the higher so if firms export. However, the productivity gains expected by firms from trade liberalization are reduced by corruption, which has important implications for aggregate productivity. The findings suggest that complementary policies addressing either export constraints or corruption need to be implemented in company with trade reform policies. The third essay (Chapter 4) investigates the firm-level employment consequences of trade liberalization. Particular interest is given to how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adjust their labour demand in response to different types of trade shocks. Using a unique dataset of private manufacturing SMEs over the 2003--2014 period that captures the 2007–2008 drastic reduction in both output and input tariffs, that analysis shows that the effects on firms' labour demand of output and input tariff liberalization are non-identical. While output tariff liberalization has a labour-friendly effect on unskilled workers, a reduction in input tariffs has an “absolute” skill-biased effect, shifting firms’ demand from unskilled workers to skilled labour. The findings suggest important consequences of trade openness for the labour market evolution. A cautious view on the employment consequences of trade openness is strongly suggested, coupled with the implementation of coherent education and training policies to guide the labour supply under trade liberalization. The contributions of this thesis to the literature are as follows. First, it helps to understand how firms adjust to trade liberalization policies in terms of both behaviour and performance in the context of a developing country in transition. Second, it shows that the effectiveness of trade liberalization policies significantly varies with the business environment conditions, explaining why gains from trade are unevenly distributed across locations. Third, in a movement towards free trade, benefits are shown to go hand in hand with drawbacks. In terms of policy implications, a thorough multi-dimensional view on the potential consequences of trade openness is highly recommended. Besides, the effective implementation of appropriate complementary policies in the wake of trade liberalization is of utmost importance in order to first achieve an overall optimal economic outcome and second make trade openness beneficial for everyone.