China and Brazil: Economic impacts of a growing relationship

The paper analyses the economic impacts of China's re-emergence on Brazil, looking at both the direct effects of China on Brazil in terms of bilateral trade and investment flows and the indirect effects through increased competition in export markets for manufactured goods and higher world prices for primary commodities. Despite a surge in Chinese FDI in Brazil in 2010, the main driver of bilateral relations is trade. While bilateral trade has grown rapidly, the pattern that has emerged has given rise to concern because Brazil's exports are concentrated in a small number of primary products while imports from China are almost entirely of manufactured goods that are becoming more technologically sophisticated over time. Brazil has benefitted in the short term from the high prices of primary commodities (partly caused by growing Chinese demand), but has lost export markets to China in manufactures, contributing to the "primarization" of the country's export basket

China?s Global Growth and Latin American Exports

China?s global expansion has led to concerns amongst other developing country exporters that they will be displaced by Chinese competition in their export markets. The paper develops a new index to measure the extent of the competitive threat which countries face from China, which is then applied to empirical data on US imports from China and 18 Latin American countries. It also presents new estimates of the impact of China on the value of Latin American exports to the US over the past decade, using an extension of constant market share analysis. It finds that, contrary to many previous studies, China has had a significant impact on the exports of a number of Latin American countries and that this has increased since China joined the WTO in 2001.China, Latin America, USA, exports, competitiveness

Globalization, Production and Poverty

globalization, employment, poverty, value chains, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam, textiles, garments, horticulture

Measuring the Competitive Threat from China

In recent years there has been a growing literature that analyses the threat which Chinese exports pose to the exports of other developing countries. The paper provides a critique of the standard measures of export similarity which have been used to estimate the threat from China in these studies. Two alternative indices, the static and the dynamic index of competitive threat, are developed and estimated for 18 developing countries and compared with estimates for the standard measures. It is shown that the latter tend to underestimate the extent to which countries are threatened by China. They also distort both the rankings of countries according to the extent to which they face competition from China and the direction of change in the competitive threat over time.China, competition, export similarity, exports, trade

CSR, tax and development

This article explores and critically examines the connections between tax and development on the one hand and tax and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the other. It does so because, while there is increasing recognition of the importance of taxation to efforts to resource the state and to finance ways of tackling poverty, there is a surprising lack of attention to tax avoidance and evasion as a CSR issue for transnational corporations operating in the South, even among those companies that pride themselves on being CSR leaders. We review evidence of these trends, provide an empirical analysis of how leading firms deal with tax in their corporate reporting and make the case for including taxation as a new frontier in progressive CSR

Bargaining and the Multinational Corporation: Lessons from Chilean Experience

SUMMARY If neo?classical theories of foreign investment are rejected then approaches to direct foreign investment bargaining, as a form of planning, have a special importance. The assumptions on which the neo?classical theories concerned are based are reviewed and strategic considerations for negotiations with multinationals identified. The Chilean motor industry negotiations are reviewed as a pioneer example. RESUME Les Negociations sur L'investissement et les Sociétés Multinationales: Lecons de L'expérience Chilienne Si on rejète les théories néo?classiques de l'investissement à l'étranger, alors prend une importance spéciale la façon d'aborder les négociations directes sur l'investissement à l'étranger, en tant que forme de planification. On passe en revue les suppositions sur lesquelles sont basées les théories néo?classiques concernées, et on définit des considérations stratégiques portant sur les négociations avec les sociétés multinationales. Celles de l'Industrie Automobile Chilienne sont analysées en tant qu'exemple pionnier. RESUMEN Negociaciones y Corporaciones Multinacionales : Lecciones de la Experiencia Chilena Si se rechazan las teorías neo?clásicas de la inversión extranjera, los enfoques que ven las negociaciones sobre inversión extranjera directa como una forma de planificación adquieren importancia especial. El articulo revisa los supuestos en que se basan las teorias neo?clásicas correspondientes e identifica las consideraciones estratégicas para las negociaciones con corporaciones multinacionales. Como ejemplo pionero se revisan las negociaciones en la industria automotriz chilena

Codes of Conduct: Self Regulation in a Global Economy

Program paper that details changes in corporate regulation and assesses their significance. Explores the drivers that account for the growth of corporate codes of conduct and the different stakeholders and interest groups involved. The focus is primarily on labour standards

The impact of China on Latin America and the Caribbean

The rapid growth of China and its increased integration with the global economy is having both direct and indirect effects on the Latin American and Caribbean region. This report identifies the main channels through which China’s growth is affecting the region and undertakes a preliminary analysis of the impacts that it is having on development. The direct effects are the result of the growth of bilateral trade which increased more than five-fold in five years and, on a much more limited scale, the increase in flows of foreign direct investment between China and the region. Indirect effects have arisen from the competition which Latin America faces from Chinese exports to third markets, possible diversion of FDI from the region to China, and the impact of China on the terms of trade between primary commodities and manufactures. The growth of China represents both opportunities and challenges for the Latin American and Caribbean economies and the paper suggests where, in terms of both countries and sectors, these are concentrated. Research on the impacts of China on other developing countries is still at an early stage and there remain a number of key areas where current knowledge is limited and these are identified. Preliminary results are presented to indicate the potential impacts on growth and the balance of payments of the Latin American countries, and the possible implications for poverty reduction. Finally the paper discusses the challenges facing policymakers both in the region and in China. Keywords: China; Latin America; terms of trade; povert