The poverty of the Doha Round and the least developed countries

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What happened to Doha in Geneva? Re-engineering the WTO's image while missing key opportunities

This article offers an account and analysis of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 7th Ministerial Conference- a meeting that, although successfully concluded, failed to address a series of key issues in the increasingly moribund Doha Round of trade negotiations. We begin with an account of the meeting that offers an insight into the colour of these biennial gatherings. The article then identifies and explores the primary consequences of pursuing an agenda designed not to focus on the core issues in the Doha Round but instead to ensure that the meeting is a success. Here we draw attention to the increasingly problematic nature of the Round's development content, the thorny issue of agricultural liberalization and the problems posed for developing countries when their industrial counterparts pursue trade objectives through regional and bilateral means. In the concluding section, we consider the way forward for both the Doha Round and the WTO as an institution. © 2010 European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes

Trade, poverty, development: getting beyond the WTO's Doha deadlock

This work seeks to look beyond the seemingly endless deadlock in the WTO's Doha round of trade negotiations that began in November 2001 and were first scheduled to conclude by January 1, 2005. As well as offering an incisive analysis of the ills of the round, with particular attention directed at the poorest and least developed countries, the book expands on how the round could be moved forward elaborating on the Statement on the Doha Development Agenda that was negotiated in Johannesburg. The work as a whole provides the reader with a critical analysis of the implications of the negotiations for development and poverty reduction as well as proposals for moving beyond the current impasse. The volume brings together contributions from serving and former ambassadors to the WTO, key practitioners, and civil society representatives along with those of leading scholars. Each chapter explores an area of critical importance to the round; and together they stand as an important contribution to debates not only about the Doha round but also about the role of trade in the amelioration of poverty in the poorest countries. © 2013 selection and editorial matter, Rorden Wilkinson & James Scott

The poverty of the Doha Round and the least developed countries

Two distinct literatures have emerged on the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and its likely benefits for developing countries. One is built on the use of computable general and partial equilibrium simulations, while another explores the political economy of the negotiation process to explore the opportunities a concluded round will bring for developing countries. Both literatures generate important insights into the DDA, and both highlight that the deal on offer to developing countries is very weak. However, there has been little engagement between these two bodies of thought. This paper seeks to begin to redress this, fusing a review of the simulations of likely DDA gains with an examination of the passage of the Doha negotiations. It argues that through this process we can arrive at a fuller understanding of how limited, and problematic, the results of the DDA are likely to be for the less developed countries. If the DDA is to deliver on its mandate, a qualitative shift in the negotiations is required. © 2011 Southseries Inc

Developing country participation in the GATT: a reassessment

Two broad interpretations currently prevail in the literature on developing country participation in the GATT. The first suggests that developing countries spent most of their time in the GATT negotiating to be relieved of various commitments, focusing on the pursuit of industrialization through import substitution and/or free-riding on the commitments made by their industrial counterparts. The second interpretation suggests that developing countries spent the majority of their time in the GATT either as quiet bystanders lacking the expertise or political representation to participate fully, or else attempting to redress biases in the institution's design. The problem with both of these interpretations is that while each has merit neither offers a sufficiently rounded account of developing country participation. Our purpose in this paper is to offer an alternative account of developing country participation that shows more accurately the extent and variation of that participation. We argue that throughout the development of the GATT developing countries were active participants that consistently sought to have an impact on the nature and direction of the multilateral trading system. We also argue that while the energy of developing countries was often directed towards negotiating more favourable treatment for themselves, this was a result more of the asymmetrical manner in which the GATT was deployed and a consequence of their relative underdevelopment than of a desire to free-ride on the favourable trading conditions created by the concession exchanging activities of others. © Rorden Wilkinson and James Scott

China threat? Evidence from the WTO

The rise of China has elicited a voluminous response from scholars, business groups, journalists and beyond.Within this literature, a 'China Threat Theory' has emerged which portrays China as a destabilizing force within global politics and economics. Though originating in Realist accounts, this China Threat Theory has spread across to other approaches, and it increasingly forms the backdrop against which scholarly work positions itself. Our article contributes to this debate by examining China's role within the World Trade Organization (WTO). It assesses the extent to which China has been the disruptive power that it is often claimed to be. In particular, the article examines the change identified in Chinese diplomacy around 2008, and argues that this is attributable to the process of learning and socialization that China had to undergo as a new member, coupled with its elevation to a position of decision-making power. Contrary to the China Threat Theory, we find little to suggest that China has adopted an aggressive system challenging mode of behaviour. © 2013 Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

Relationship between service utilization for mental health (any consultation) and delusional-like experiences.

1<p> = Weighted frequency;</p>2<p>Model 1 = Adjusted for age and sex;</p>3<p>Model 2 = Adjusted for age and sex, migrant status, marital status, educational status, and employment status;</p>4<p>OR = Odds Ratio,</p>5<p>CI = 95% Confidence Interval;</p>*<p>significance: <i>p</i><0.001 (shown in bold);</p>$<p>‘Any practitioner’ refers to general practitioner, psychiatrist, psychologist or other health specialists.</p

Use of PoreXpert for the characterisation of shale pore-structure and pore-level transport

<p>Poster presented at the  Geomechanical and Petrophysical Properties of Mudrocks conference, organised by the Geological Society, 16-17  Nov. 2015</p

Scatterplots depicting associations between total danger scores for faces and (A) scores on the RCMAS, and (B) scores on the RADS.

<p>Scatterplots depicting associations between total danger scores for faces and (A) scores on the RCMAS, and (B) scores on the RADS.</p

Correlates of threat attributions.

<p><i>Note</i>, <i>WASI</i>: Wechsler’s Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; <i>RCMAS</i>: Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale; <i>RADS</i>: Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale; <i>SWLS</i>: Satisfaction With Life Scale.</p><p>*Denotes statistically significant, after applying Bonferroni correction.</p><p>Correlates of threat attributions.</p