This dissertation examines the effects of trade liberalization policies (represented by membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization on selected Least Developed Countries' (LDCs) human development (represented by the Human Development Index). In this dissertation, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) policies are theorized to have two distinct types of effects: their direct effect and their indirect effect. Two questions are focused on: first, what is the effect (total, direct and indirect) of WTO policies on human development for selected LDCs? Second, what is the effect (total, direct and indirect) of WTO policies on human development for selected developing/developed countries (i.e. non-LDCs) holding economic development constant? Using the dependency theory of development as a theoretical basis, this dissertation examines the assumptions of modernization-theory-based policies as expressed in trade liberalization policies (i.e. the implementation of comparative advantage and now market fundamentalism) with world-system analysis techniques. To examine these questions, four panel regression models are constructed to measure the total, direct and indirect effects of WTO policies during the near-term (1998-2003) and during a longer historical term (1975-2000). The data for the analyses are taken from seven different sources of international data. The analyses seemingly demonstrate that there are quantifiable negative effects of GATT/WTO membership (trade liberalization policies) on human development in selected LDCs. The current implementation of trade liberalization policies does not benefit the well-being of all concerned as promoted by the WTO.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc5440 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Ray, Elizabeth Thompson |
| Contributors | Rodeheaver, Daniel, Cready, Cynthia M., Luker, William, Seward, Rudy Ray, Yang, Philip Q. |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Copyright, Ray, Elizabeth Thompson, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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