The evolution of the trading system : the effects of rising preferential trade agreements
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Over the last 40 years, there has been a proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) that vary in terms of their content and design. This dissertation examines the impetus for the expansion in the scope of these PTAs, and then the implications of these mini-lateral agreements on the more general multilateral trade regime. To gain a better understanding of the micro foundations of specific rules, this study examines both domestic sources of PTA variation and then once enacted, the behavioral implications of the agreement, focusing on ex post litigation. The comparison of the ex ante interests, and then the ex post behavior of domestic groups focuses on one key institutional feature of all bilateral PTAs: dispute settlement mechanisms (DSMs). On the surface, the design of DSMs looks very similar across bilateral PTAs, but a closer look at the details suggests important differences, including the statutory time frame of the dispute settlement process. This thesis argues that governments vary the content of PTA dispute settlement mechanisms to garner domestic support for trade liberalization. In order to assure passage of a treaty that opens up trade flows, governments incorporate design features at the behest of powerful domestic actors. Once agreed to, however, these differences in PTA design do not create a "spaghetti bowl" of conflicting and incoherent rules that undermine the trading system. PTAs do not exist in a vacuum but rather, they are part of a larger set of economic transactions that occur among nations. Relative differences in economic wealth will have behavioral implications on how governments use these agreed upon rules. Instead of turning to the bilateral treaty to deal with a trading issue between the two states, the weaker party always chooses to resolve the dispute through the WTO. To justify their choice of forum, governments use rhetoric to build and sustain the legitimacy of the WTO system as the focal point for dispute settlement. The dissertation concludes with a more optimistic view on the future of the trading order than is common today. PTAs re-enforce the WTO multilateral trading system, given that there is shared consensus on the fundamental goal of international coordination on trade under the WTO's leadership
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource |
| Extent | 1 online resource |
| Place | California |
| Place | [Stanford, California] |
| Publisher | [Stanford University] |
| Copyright date | 2022; ©2022 |
| Publication date | 2022; 2022 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Kim, Sŭng-mi |
|---|---|
| Degree supervisor | Goldstein, Judith |
| Thesis advisor | Goldstein, Judith |
| Thesis advisor | Kennard, Amanda (Amanda Helen) |
| Thesis advisor | Krasner, Stephen D, 1942- |
| Degree committee member | Kennard, Amanda (Amanda Helen) |
| Degree committee member | Krasner, Stephen D, 1942- |
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Political Science |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|---|
| Genre | Text |
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Sung Mi Kim |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Political Science |
| Thesis | Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2022 |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/mc499sp2005 |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2022 by Sung Mi Kim
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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