Trade Liberalization among Major World Trading Areas

This book provides a much needed quantitative response to the classic question of who gains and who loses in trade liberalization and shows how important the process is for the global economy. It contributes significantly to the debate concerning trade between developed and developing countries.

John Whalley describes and uses a numerical general equilibrium model of world trade to explore issues in the area of trade liberalization among major world trading areas - the European Economic Community, the United States, Japan, and developing countries. His book is unique both in using this framework to analyze world trading patterns, and in considering a number of trading areas simultaneously within the same model. It is able to quantify the merits of alternative actions in international trade policy, the ways that the interests of the EEC, the United States, and Japan are similar and ways in which they differ, and show how the interests of less developed countries are affected by various trade liberalization initiatives.

Part I provides a description of the model, data sources and adjustments to basic data, and methods for specification and solution of the model. Part II presents results from model applications along with policy conclusions. Applications include analysis of tariff cutting formulae in the Tokyo Round, an evaluation of the Tokyo Round trade agreement, examination of incentives for a retaliatory trade protection 'war' between world trade blocs, and analysis of the impact of protectionist policies on North-South trade.

John Whalley is Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario, Research Associate at NBER, and Coordinator of the Global Economy Group at CESifo.