Applications of Negotiation Theory to Water Issues

The purpose of the paper is to review the applications of non-cooperative bargaining theory to water related issues – which fall in the category of formal models of negotiation. The ultimate aim is that to, on the one hand, identify the conditions under which agreements are likely to emerge, and their characteristics; and, on the other hand, to support policy makers in devising the “rules of the game” that could help obtain a desired result. Despite the fact that allocation of natural resources, especially of trans-boundary nature, has all the characteristics of a negotiation problem, there are not many applications of formal negotiation theory to the issue. Therefore, this paper first discusses the non-cooperative bargaining models applied to water allocation problems found in the literature. Particular attention will be given to those directly modelling the process of negotiation, although some attempts at finding strategies to maintain the efficient allocation solution will also be illustrated. In addition, this paper will focus on Negotiation Support Systems (NSS), developed to support the process of negotiation. This field of research is still relatively new, however, and NSS have not yet found much use in real life negotiation. The paper will conclude by highlighting the key remaining gaps in the literature.Negotiation theory, Water, Agreeements, Stochasticity, Stakeholders

Advances in Negotiation Theory: Bargaining, Coalitions and Fairness

Bargaining is ubiquitous in real-life. It is a major dimension of political and business activities. It appears at the international level, when governments negotiate on matters ranging from economic issues (such as the removal of trade barriers), to global security (such as fighting against terrorism) to environmental and related issues (e.g. climate change control). What factors determine the outcome of negotiations such as those mentioned above? What strategies can help reach an agreement? How should the parties involved divide the gains from cooperation? With whom will one make alliances? This paper addresses these questions by focusing on a non-cooperative approach to negotiations, which is particularly relevant for the study of international negotiations. By reviewing noncooperative bargaining theory, non-cooperative coalition theory, and the theory of fair division, this paper will try to identify the connection among these different facets of the same problem in an attempt to facilitate the progress towards a unified framework.Negotiation theory, Bragaining, Coalitions, Fairness, Agreements

Advances in negotiation theory : bargaining, coalitions, and fairness

Bargaining is ubiquitous in real life. It is a major dimension of political and business activities. It appears at the international level, when governments negotiate on matters ranging from economic issues (such as the removal of trade barriers), to global security (such as fighting against terrorism) to environmental and related issues (such as climate change control). What factors determinethe outcomes of such negotiations? What strategies can help reach an agreement? How should the parties involved divide the gains from cooperation? With whom will one make alliances? The authors address these questions by focusing on a noncooperative approach to negotiations, which is particularly relevant for the study of international negotiations. By reviewing noncooperative bargaining theory, noncooperative coalition theory, and the theory of fair division, they try to identify the connections among these different facets of the same problem in an attempt to facilitate progress toward a unified framework.Economic Theory&Research,Social Protections&Assistance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Science Education

Applications of negotiation theory to water issues

The authors review the applications of noncooperative bargaining theory to waterrelated issues-which fall in the category of formal models of negotiation. They aim to identify the conditions under which agreements are likely to emerge and their characteristics, to support policymakers in devising the"rules of the game"that could help obtain a desired result. Despite the fact that allocation of natural resources, especially trans-boundary allocation, has all the characteristics of a negotiation problem, there are not many applications of formal negotiation theory to the issue. Therefore, the authors first discuss the noncooperative bargaining models applied to water allocation problems found in the literature. Key findings include the important role noncooperative negotiations can play in cases where binding agreements cannot be signed; the value added of politically and socially acceptable compromises; and the need for a negotiated model that considers incomplete information over the negotiated resource.Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Water and Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Water Conservation

Applications of negotiation theory to water issues

The purpose of the paper is to review the applications of non-cooperative bargaining theory to water related issues – which fall in the category of formal models of negotiation. The ultimate aim is that of, on the one hand, identify the conditions under which agreements are likely to emerge, and their characteristics; and, on the other hand, to support policy makers in devising the “rules of the game” that could help obtain a desired result. Despite the fact that allocation of natural resources, especially of trans-boundary nature, has all the characteristics of a negotiation problem, there are not many applications of formal negotiation theory to the issue. Therefore, this paper first discusses the noncooperative bargaining models applied to water allocation problems found in the literature. Particular attention will be given to those directly modelling the process of negotiation, although some attempts at finding strategies to maintain the efficient allocation solution will also be illustrated. In addition, this paper will focus on Negotiation Support Systems (NSS), developed to support the process of negotiation. This field of research is still relatively new, however, and NSS have not yet found much use in real life negotiation. The paper will conclude by highlighting the key remaining gaps in the literature.Negotiation theory, Bragaining, Coalitions, Fairness, Agreements

The world trading system at the crossroads : multilateral trade negotiations in the era of regionalism

The multilateral trade negotiations in the Uruguay Round have stagnated for years. At the same time, the world economy has witnessed a strong revival of regional trade arrangements. This juxtaposition suggests that major trading partners are drifting away from the GATT. Systemic weaknesses in the GATT framework, particularly the lack of effective sanction mechanisms, and the overly ambitious agenda of the Uruguay Round have rendered it difficult to reach a multilateral trade accord. In the EC, the Internal Market programme has been given priority over the GATT negotiations. And the recent move by the United States towards regionalism also threatens to undermine the basis upon which multilateralism could rest in the future. The future of the world trading system depends critically on whether the trading partners realise that regionalism cannot be defeated successfully by forming countervailing protectionist blocs. To prevent a further erosion of the fundamental GATT principle of mostfavoured- nation treatment, sweeping decisions are required in three respects: — In concluding the Uruguay Round, swiftness is more important than completeness. An immediate agreement should comprise all tentative achievements reached so far. — Trade disputes left operf for the time being and new challenges such as ecologically motivated trade barriers should be tackled in follow-up negotiations to be started immediately after conclusion of the Uruguay Round. — The EC and the United States should commit themselves to open regionalism by relaxing restrictive accession procedures. Moreover, GATT obligations must be extended by a provision stipulating that third countries whose trade is negatively affected by regional integration schemes will be compensated. The responsibility to establish the conditions under which regional integration and multilateral trade liberalisation could reinforce each other rests with the world's leading trading partners. Open regionalism in a strong multilateral framework would not only break the vicious circle that is eroding the world trading system, but may even induce a virtuous circle of mutual trade liberalisation between regional groupings. --

Advances in Negotiation Theory: Bargaining, Coalitions and Fairness

Bargaining is ubiquitous in real-life. It is a major dimension of political and business activities. It appears at the international level, when governments negotiate on matters ranging from economic issues (such as the removal of trade barriers), to global security (such as fighting against terrorism) to environmental and related issues (e.g. climate change control). What factors determine the outcome of negotiations such as those mentioned above? What strategies can help reach an agreement? How should the parties involved divide the gains from cooperation? With whom will one make alliances? This paper addresses these questions by focusing on a non-cooperative approach to negotiations, which is particularly relevant for the study of international negotiations. By reviewing non-cooperative bargaining theory, non-cooperative coalition theory, and the theory of fair division, this paper will try to identify the connection among these different facets of the same problem in an attempt to facilitate the progress towards a unified framework.Negotiation theory, Bargaining, Coalitions, Fairness, Agreements

Theorizing EU trade politics

This special issue aims to take the first step towards an inter-paradigmatic debate in the study of European Union trade politics

Mapping Preferential Trade in Asia and the Pacific: Introducing the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment

The paper addresses preferential trade agreements in Asia and the Pacific with the objective of identifying their characteristics, which can be useful in assessing the effects of their implementation. The paper relies mostly on the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Agreement Database (APTIAD) in sourcing data and information for analysis. On 26 February 2007 APTIAD was tracking 125 preferential trade agreements one party of which was a member of ESCAP. Eighty seven of those agreements of various types are in force, 62 of them being bilateral agreements, 11 regional trade agreements (RTAs), and 11 agreements between country and bloc (the residual is made up of agreements of different scope, e.g. global, and country-plurilateral, etc.). The paper utilizes factual information on membership and coverage of agreements as well as statistical data on goods trade flows in discussing selected important aspects of preferential trade in Asia and the Pacific. (a) the rapid proliferation of preferential trade and revealed preference for bilateral links; (b) strong tolerance for an engagement in multiple trade agreements with the same trading partner; and (c) reluctance to commit to full and quick liberalization in merchandise trade, and expose other trade areas apart from goods to preferential liberalization. Penultimate section discusses ways in which PTAs could be harnessed to work as complementary with the multilateral trade regime. Paper offers some policy recommendations in area of preferential trade negotiation.preferential trade, multilateral liberalization, bilateral trade agreements, regional trade agreements, Asia, Pacific, APTIAD