Concepts of Fairness in the Global Trading System

In this paper, we first discuss why fairness is a condition of the agreements among governments that form the global trading system. We then suggest that fairness can best be considered within the framework of two concepts: equality of opportunity and distributive equity. We observe that the efficiency criterion is not a primary yardstick of fairness, and though it is relevant in choosing among alternative ways of realizing fairness, it is not without its own limitations. We thereafter discuss what equality of opportunity and distributive equity mean when applied to the commitments that governments make in the global trading system. For this purpose, we divide these commitments into four categories: those relating directly to market access; those concerning supporting rules designed to prevent cheating in market access commitments or to facilitate trade flows; those relating to procedures for the settlement of disputes or the use of trade remedy measures; and those relating to governance of the system. (We say nothing in this paper about the issue of fairness in the context of the last category.) Finally, we make some comments about fairness in the Doha Development Round, first reviewing some proposals made by Stiglitz and Charlton, and then making some observations about the central issue of market access.

Issues of Fairness in International Trade Agreements

In this paper, we first describe the characteristics of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that are the basis of the framework of the multilateral trading system. We then provide an overview of concepts of fairness in trade agreements. Thereafter, we offer a critique of the efficiency criterion in assessing multilateral trade agreements, taking issue with T.N. Srinivasan’s (2006) analysis and then elaborate on our conception of fairness as reflected in agreements covering market access. We also address considerations of distributive justice, in contrast with Srinivasan’s contention that distributive justice has no role to play in the design and negotiation of multilateral trade agreements. Finally, we question bilateral trade agreements from the standpoint of fairness, drawing on the example of the U.S. bilateral FTA negotiated in 2005 with Central America and the Dominican Republic.Fairness, Equality of Opportunity, Distributive Equity

Global Market Integration and National Sovereignty

In this paper, we first trace the evolution of the global trading system from the 19th century to the present-day GATT/WTO arrangements, calling attention to the key roles of reciprocity and nondiscrimination, and we note how the system is now challenged by the new paradigm of global market integration. We then consider the recent plethora of free trade agreements (FTAs), including those between industrial and developing countries, and their uneasy relationship with a multilateral system based on non-discrimination.. Thereafter, we seek to identify the boundaries of the WTO and examine how the potential expansion of these boundaries extension and weakening of the effectiveness and influence of the WTO.Reciprocity, Non-Discrimination; Boundaries of WTO Regime

Fairness in the WTO Trading System

We first provide a brief critique of the utilitarian principle as a guide to fairness in the world trading system. We then turn to the alternative conception of fairness in terms of economic equity, exploring the meaning of its two components: equality of opportunity and distributive justice. We thereafter proceed to discuss the conditions of autonomy and reciprocity that have to be met in order to realize greater fairness in multilateral trade negotiations. Next, we comment on aspects of procedural justice that are necessary for the functioning of a fair trading system. Finally, we conclude with an overall assessment of the considerations of the fairness achieved in the Uruguay Round multilateral negotiations.Fairness, Equality of Opportunity, Distributive Justice, Global Trading System

What Are the Issues in Using Trade Agreements for Improving International Labor Standards?

This paper addresses the issues of whether the linking of core labor standards with multilateral or bilateral trade agreements is an effective way of promoting the improvement of labor standards. We review the determinants of core labor standards over time and conclude that efforts to improve these standards have to be tailored to the economic and social circumstances prevailing in a country at a specific time. Legalistic means to prod governments into revising their domestic laws or enforcing them will therefore be unsuccessful unless economic incentives can be changed to erode prevailing social norms and ease the way for the acceptance of new norms that will meet with public approval and be consonant with the distribution of political power. Moral suasion from both domestic and external sources may work more slowly than more legalistic means but is preferred because it contributes to altering the social norms that underlie and will reinforce the acceptance and effectiveness of labor standards.International labor standards, social norms, trade agreements

Thermochemical Generation of Hydrogen from Switchgrass

Thermochemical production of hydrogen is anticipated to be one of the most cost-effective means of producing hydrogen fuel. Switchgrass, a warm-season, perennial grass that is native to many areas of the United States, is an attractive feedstock for this purpose. The goal of this study is to convert switchgrass into hydrogen by the sequential processes of thermal gasification in a fluidized bed reactor, catalytic steam reforming of tars, and the use of water-gas shift catalysts to enhance the concentration of hydrogen. Air-blown gasification of switchgrass produced relatively low concentrations of hydrogen (about 8.5 vol-%). Steam reforming of tars and light hydrocarbons and reacting steam with carbon monoxide via the water-gas shift reaction increased the hydrogen content in the producer gas to 27.1 vol-%. The catalysts used in the steam reformer and water-gas shift reactors were examined at the end of the trials using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and BET analysis. These analyses showed changes in pore size and pore size distribution. Although not evident during the tests, eventual degradation of the catalysts can be expected as the result of deposition of coke, sulfur, and chlorine on the catalysts

Techniques for generative melodies inspired by music cognition

This article presents a series of algorithmic techniques for melody generation, inspired by models of music cognition. The techniques are designed for interactive composition, and so privilege brevity, simplicity, and flexibility over fidelity to the underlying models. The cognitive models canvassed span gestalt, preference rule, and statistical learning perspectives; this is a diverse collection with a common thread—the centrality of “expectations” to music cognition. We operationalize some recurrent themes across this collection as probabilistic descriptions of melodic tendency, codifying them as stochastic melody-generation techniques. The techniques are combined into a concise melody generator, with salient parameters exposed for ready manipulation in real time. These techniques may be especially relevant to algorithmic composers, the live-coding community, and to music psychologists and theorists interested in how computational interpretations of cognitive models “sound” in practice

Peak-Seeking Optimization of Trim for Reduced Fuel Consumption: Flight-Test Results

A peak-seeking control algorithm for real-time trim optimization for reduced fuel consumption has been developed by researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center to address the goals of the NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation project to reduce fuel burn and emissions. The peak-seeking control algorithm is based on a steepest-descent algorithm using a time-varying Kalman filter to estimate the gradient of a performance function of fuel flow versus control surface positions. In real-time operation, deflections of symmetric ailerons, trailing-edge flaps, and leading-edge flaps of an F/A-18 airplane (McDonnell Douglas, now The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois) are used for optimization of fuel flow. Results from six research flights are presented herein. The optimization algorithm found a trim configuration that required approximately 3 percent less fuel flow than the baseline trim at the same flight condition. The algorithm consistently rediscovered the solution from several initial conditions. These results show that the algorithm has good performance in a relevant environment

Herbicide impacts on exotic grasses and a population of the critically endangered herb "Calystegia affinis" (Convolvulaceae) on Lord Howe Island

Introduced perennial grasses are capable of altering the habitat of native species, causing reductions in population size and vigour, and potentially affecting life-history processes such as survival, pollination and seedling recruitment. We examined the utility of herbicide treatment on two exotic grasses, Pennisetum clandestinum (Kikuyu) and Stenotaphrum secundatum (Buffalo grass) to restore the habitat of Calystegia affinis, a critically endangered species endemic to Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Using two herbicides, Asset (designed to affect only grasses) and Glyphosate (a general herbicide), we compared effectiveness in reducing grass cover on a population of Calystegia affinis. We protected Calystegia plants from the herbicides by ensuring their leaves were covered by plastic bags during herbicide application. Both herbicides were similarly effective in reducing grass cover after four weeks and had no noticeable adverse affect on Calystegia (suggesting the plastic bag protection was effective). After 26 weeks, Glyphosate was more effective in maintaining a reduced grass cover. Plots treated with either herbicide had a greater relative increase in abundance of Calystegia stems compared to untreated controls. The Glyphosate treatment resulted in the greatest relative increase in stem abundance, but this was not significantly greater than in the Asset treatment. We consider that spraying with Glyphosate treatment, with follow-up monitoring and spot-spraying, will assist the recovery of the Calystegia affinis population. Ultimately, the maintenance of a weed-free zone at the forest edge will provide suitable habitat for additional recruitment of this and other native species