A formal estimation of the effect of the MFA on clothing exports from LDCs

This paper establishes a simple general equilibrium trade model to estimate the effects of the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) on world trade in clothing, especially on exports from developing countries. The MFA greatly affects developing countries because the MFA restrictions are imposed discriminatively on the exports from developing countries. In 1988 Trela and Whalley estimated the welfare cost of the MFA to developing countries by using a rigorous general equilibrium framework. They showed that if the MFA were removed, the developing countries as a whole would gain by more than 3 billion dollars. In some sense the present paper is an extension of the Trela/Whalley paper, the main differences being : 1) the present paper incorporates in the model the additional realities like underutilization of quotas, 2) the emphasis of the present paper is placed on effects on trade and not on the effect of welfare, 3) the model developed in the present paper is much simpler than in the Trela Whalley one, and 4) product differentiation is more emphasized in the present paper.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT

Economic Preconditions for Monetary Integration in East Asia

Asian Financial Crisis gave a devastating impact on East Asian countries, which had been enjoying good economic performance. As a result, there emerged various initiatives for monetary cooperation in order to avoid the next crisis in the region. However, there are pros and cons on the regional financial integration and cooperation in Asia. Some argue that in order to avoid the next Asian Financial Crisis, Asian countries must closely united with each other, and others argues that regional attempts, whether financial cooperation or trading arrangement, may undermine the global efforts. In view of the above, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether East Asian countries (or subset of them) constitute a preferable grouping for monetary cooperation and integration. I examine the degree of interdependence of East Asia in terms of trade, labor and macroeconomic variables. The results of the examination suggest that economic preconditions for monetary integration are met, and there is indeed a case for financial integration and cooperation in East Asia.

Effects of the multifibre arrangement on developing countries : a survey

The purpose of this paper is to review the major findings of existing studies on the Multifibre Arrangement's (MFA) effect, with emphasis on the effects to LDCs, and to suggest the directions for further studies that are needed for a better understanding of the MFA. The paper is composed of six sections. Following the introduction, section 2 examines the dominant features of textile and clothing (T&C)exports from the LDCs. In section 3, the essence of the MFA provisions and their actual development is briefly summarized. These two sections provide a background to the discussion in the later part of the paper. Section 4 surveys the effects of the MFA on importing countries. The effects of the MFA on exporting LDCs are discussed in section 5. Finally, in section 6, a summary and conclusions are given, as well as the directions for further studies which are needed on the subject.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Trade Policy,Development Economics&Aid Effectiveness

Effects of the multifibre arrangement on developing countries'trade : an empirical investigation

This paper addresses two issues: (i) the extent of the restrictiveness/effectiveness of the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) with respect to the developing country suppliers of textile products during the 1980s, and (ii) the extent to which these restrictions yield trade gains for the less established developing suppliers. After analyzing data, the author's made the following conclusions. Rather than ease up, the MFA became more restrictive. Proportionately more shipments were subject to quotas and volume generally grew less where quotas were binding. The unit value of shipments subject to binding quotas also increased substantially more than the unit value of unconstrained items. Developing countries that were new exporters of textile products also hoped to capture a larger share of the textile market as a result of quotas for other developing countries. However, the needy countries have benefited little from the MFA, and countries whose exports grow soon find themselves on the restricted list. Finally, domestic producers in the United States have benefited most from the MFA.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT

Latin Americans of the Japanese Origin (Nikkeijin) Working in Japan --- A survey

Since the revision of the Japanese immigration law in 1990, there has been a dramatic influx of the Latin American, mostly Brazilian, of Japanese origin (Nikkeijin) working in Japan because these people are now allowed to do whatever activities in Japan, including an unskilled work. In spite of their importance, their detailed characteristics and the prospect for future migration and remittances are not well known. In view of this, the major purpose of the present paper is to examine policy, migration and remittance issues pertaining to Nikkeijin working in Japan. Although the main focus of the paper is placed on Nikkeijin Workers in Japan, I will include some discussions of migrant workers in general and the discussion of the history of Japanese emigration to Latin America (mostly Brazil), in order to better understand Nikkeiji workers in Japan. Nikkeijin workers in early years (i.e., in early 1990s) were mostly temporary guest workers, who intended to return home in a few years with a big money earned in Japan. However, as time goes by, they have become settlers in Japan with their family. Since Nikkeijin are clustered in certain cities, (e.g., Hamamatsu, Toyota, Toyoshashi, Oizumi etc.), the social and economic impacts of Nikkeijin workers on these cities are enormous. Therefore, governments, as well as NGOs, are making various efforts to create harmonious living of Nikkeijin workers in Japanese communities. While current amount of remittances by Nikkeijin is huge, its future prospect might not rosy, because the amount of remittances tends to decline as the degree of settling of these workers in the host country increases.

Regional economic integration and agricultural trade

The author analyzes the economic impact of regional integration on agricultural trade. Using a simple Krugman-type model with product differentiation, he derives two propositions about regionalism's impact on trade flows: 1) The higher the degree of pre-integration protection, the greater the impact of regional integration. 2) The lower the degree of product differentiation, the greater the impact of regional integration. Taken together, the two propositions predict that regionalism has more impact on agricultural trade than on manufacturing, because the initial level of protection is higher and the degree of product differentiation is lower for agricultural products. He tests these propositions against actual data for two incidents of European Community expansion: Greece's admission to the EC in 1981 and that of Spain and Portugal in 1986. The data generally support the theory. After the theoretical and ex post analysis, the author applies the model to examine the possible ex ante impact of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) free trade agreement on Japanese rice imports, an issue on which (despite heated emotional debates) there have been no major studies. It is the popular belief in Japan that when the Japanese rice market is liberalized, Japanese rice production will be wiped out. The author's simulation results suggest that the impact of partial liberalization of Japan's rice market would be relatively minor, but total liberalization would have a profound impact on Japanese rice production.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Rules of Origin,Trade Policy,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Rules of Origin,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems

Latin Americans of Japanese origin (Nikkeijin) working in Japan : a survey

Since the revision of the Japanese immigration law in 1990, there has been a dramatic influx of Latin Americans, mostly Brazilians, of Japanese origin (Nikkeijin) working in Japan. This is because the revision has basically allowed Nikkeijin to enter Japan legally even as unskilled workers, while the Japanese law, in principle, prohibits foreigners from taking unskilled jobs in the country. In response, the number of these Latin American migrants has increased from practically zero to more than 250,000. The migration of Nikkeijin is likely to have a significant impact on both the Brazilian and the Japanese economies, given the substantial amount of remittances they send to Brazil. The impact is likely to be felt especially in the Nikkeijin community in Brazil. In spite of their importance, the detailed characteristics of Nikkei migrants and the prospect for future migration and remittancesare under-researched. The purpose of this paper is therefore to provide a more comprehensive account of the migration of Nikkeijin workers to Japan. The paper contains a brief review of the history of Japanese emigration to Latin America (mostly Brazil), a study of the characteristics of Nikkeijin workers in Japan and their current living conditions, and a discussion on trends and issues regarding immigration in Japan and migration policy. The final part of the paper briefly notes the limitation of existing studies and describes the Brazil Nikkei Household Survey, which is being conducted by the World Bank's Development Research Group at the time of writing this paper. The availability of the survey data will contribute to a better understanding of the Japan-Brazil migration and remittance corridor.Population Policies,Labor Markets,Human Migrations&Resettlements,Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement,Skills Development and Labor Force Training

Women in "Japan Incorporated": Outsiders or Catalysts for Change?

Although Japan is much richer than Latin America and income distribution in Japan generally is much more equitable than in Latin America, the Japanese gender gap is one of the worst in the world, much worse than that of many Latin American countries. Using various data, I have tried in the present paper to explain the apparent paradox of the existence of a huge gender gap in an egalitarian society. The most probable explanation seems to be that women are often kept away from the mainstream system of Japan Incorporated, mainly due to career interruption for marriage and/or childbearing. Possible prescriptions for narrowing the gender gap in Japan seem to be twofold: (i) measures to include women within the mainstream system of Japan Incorporated and (ii) measures to make Japan Incorporated more humane to everyone, both men and women. Although the data presented in the paper are mainly Japanese data, there are many important lessons here for Latin America as well.Social Development :: Women, Labor :: Training & Development, Women in Japan Incorporated Outsiders or Catalysts for Change?