Developing Countries and the Multilateral Trading System after Doha

The Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, launched a new round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) and a work programme (WP) for the WTO involving the negotiating agenda and steps for meeting the challenges facing the multilateral trading system. The paper evaluates the WP, in particular, whether it would redress the unfavourable balance between benefits and costs to developing countries DCs of the agreement that concluded the previous (Uruguay) round of MTN. It discusses the failure of the third session in Seattle to launch a new round in December 1999, and also documents the unfavourable balance. While concluding that with adequate preparation, the negotiators could reach an agreement in the new round yielding substantial gains to DCs, the paper also suggests possible negotiating points for DCs.World Trade Organization (WTO), Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Developing Countries, Antidumping, Trade Related Intellectual Property Services (TRIPS), Trade and Labour Standards, Trade and Environment, Preferential Trade Agreements

Privatisation, Regulation, and Competition in South Asia

Privatisation has begun to accelerate in India and Pakistan. However, it is not clear that a change in ownership per se will contribute significantly to a more rapid, efficient, and equitable growth unless policies that ensure competition for these enterprises and remove distortions in factor markets also are undertaken at the same time or prior to privatisation. After a brief discussion of the transition from state-led development to more market-oriented policies and gradual opening to world markets, this paper reviews some of the analytical literature on privatisation and regulation. The translation of these theories into concrete policy suggestions is difficult for countries such as Pakistan and India, where many of the assumptions behind the theories do not hold. However, the results of empirical studies on past privatisations around the world do hold lessons for South Asia. Similarly, theories of regulation offer only broad recommendations, most notably (for South Asia) that regulation is not the best way to redistribute resources. The final section of the paper reviews India’s and Pakistan’s experience with privatisation thus far. Attempted privatisation of electricity in India serves as an example of the need for more attention to regulation, while the transfer of ownership has led to better service at lower cost in the telecommunications sector. Pakistan’s privatisation programme appears to have had similarly mixed results, though it is difficult to come to firm conclusions with the evidence at hand.