Trade and investment in the face of declining international cooperation. This project aims to investigate the impact and policy implications of trade and investment policies in a world trade system facing increasing uncertainty. The project intends to gain an improved understanding of investment regulations like Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) agreements and their impact on trade and foreign direct investment. Expected outcomes include new theories for the breakdown of international agr ....Trade and investment in the face of declining international cooperation. This project aims to investigate the impact and policy implications of trade and investment policies in a world trade system facing increasing uncertainty. The project intends to gain an improved understanding of investment regulations like Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) agreements and their impact on trade and foreign direct investment. Expected outcomes include new theories for the breakdown of international agreements and their effects on third world countries as well as empirical methods that allow for a quantification of the welfare and employment effects of investment policies like ISDS. This project should provide benefits by informing government policy makers to improve Australia’s trade and investment policies.Read moreRead less
Trade policy, firm entry and welfare. This project aims to quantify the effects of global tariff cuts on international trade volumes, firm entry and consumer welfare. Tariffs have fallen significantly globally. The project will incorporate international-trade theory into a parsimonious quantitative model of international trade including almost all countries. The project will also compile a comprehensive international database on tariff barriers. The project expects to refine international trade ....Trade policy, firm entry and welfare. This project aims to quantify the effects of global tariff cuts on international trade volumes, firm entry and consumer welfare. Tariffs have fallen significantly globally. The project will incorporate international-trade theory into a parsimonious quantitative model of international trade including almost all countries. The project will also compile a comprehensive international database on tariff barriers. The project expects to refine international trade theory on the effects of tariff reductions on firm entry into markets; estimate the effects of actual multilateral and preferential tariff reductions; create a tool for evaluating trade and industrial policy; and disseminate international tariff databases.Read moreRead less
International Trade, Income Distribution and Welfare. In an era of growing international integration, the measurement of aggregate gains from globalization and their distribution is a major policy concern. While it is natural to think of policy makers as designing policy in response to the distribution of income, the fact that firms may also want to exploit the same information has received less attention. This omission is important since firms routinely utilise such information when designing p ....International Trade, Income Distribution and Welfare. In an era of growing international integration, the measurement of aggregate gains from globalization and their distribution is a major policy concern. While it is natural to think of policy makers as designing policy in response to the distribution of income, the fact that firms may also want to exploit the same information has received less attention. This omission is important since firms routinely utilise such information when designing products and setting prices, resulting in very different welfare outcomes across income groups. This project develops a framework that incorporates this aspect of firm behaviour to re-evaluate the implications of globalization, especially how it affects the distribution of gains and losses. Read moreRead less
Economic Diplomacy and National Prosperity. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of economic diplomacy in contributing to Australia’s exports and inflow of foreign investment. The government’s economic diplomacy agenda guides a substantial portion of the activity of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). With the collaboration of DFAT, the project will develop a dataset to capture characteristics of Australia’s diplomatic sector, export and foreign di ....Economic Diplomacy and National Prosperity. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of economic diplomacy in contributing to Australia’s exports and inflow of foreign investment. The government’s economic diplomacy agenda guides a substantial portion of the activity of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). With the collaboration of DFAT, the project will develop a dataset to capture characteristics of Australia’s diplomatic sector, export and foreign direct investment ; use a gravity model to identify the determinants of trade and investment through diplomacy for Australia; and estimate the benefits to specific export industries. The project aims to also inform DFAT’s resource allocation, risk management and to assist advocacy in the public domain on trade and investment issues.Read moreRead less
International Trade, Climate Change and Economic Policy. The research project addresses the role of, and interactions between, environmental and international trade policies within the context of a global economy with increasingly open economies whose production and consumption activities generate emissions of greenhouse gases that accumulate in the atmosphere and have potentially adverse effects on the world’s climate, which then impacts the environment, production and households. The objective ....International Trade, Climate Change and Economic Policy. The research project addresses the role of, and interactions between, environmental and international trade policies within the context of a global economy with increasingly open economies whose production and consumption activities generate emissions of greenhouse gases that accumulate in the atmosphere and have potentially adverse effects on the world’s climate, which then impacts the environment, production and households. The objective is to develop better understanding of the nexus between the international economy, climate change through the environment, and international trade and environmental policies. It will achieve this objective by analyses of multi-country models of international trade, climate change and policy design.Read moreRead less
A Neo-Heckscher-Ohlin Model of Trade with Endogenous Production Patterns. The ongoing debate regarding the expected benefits of the recent trade agreement with the United States exemplifies that few aspects of international trade are well understood. Using inframarginal analysis, an approach developed by co-investigator 1, we expect to be able to advance our understanding in this field by producing what is arguably the most generalised model of trade. This will constitute an important accomplish ....A Neo-Heckscher-Ohlin Model of Trade with Endogenous Production Patterns. The ongoing debate regarding the expected benefits of the recent trade agreement with the United States exemplifies that few aspects of international trade are well understood. Using inframarginal analysis, an approach developed by co-investigator 1, we expect to be able to advance our understanding in this field by producing what is arguably the most generalised model of trade. This will constitute an important accomplishment that is likely to attract both international academic interest and international research funds to Australian research. In addition, as our model will be calibrated on the basis of our domestic production characteristics, our work will shed light on the socially optimum trade policy directions for Australia.Read moreRead less
China's Exports and Growth and Major East Asia Summit Economies - Exploring Regional Impact and Policy Responses. The project benefits Australia's current long-term economic priorities and engagement with Asia in five ways. It provides: (1) collaborative research with East Asia Summit (EAS) networked experts on topics of mutual interest, (2) a new perspective on the effects of China on EAS4 trade and growth, (3) substantive improved findings on EAS4 economic and trade policy options, (4) signifi ....China's Exports and Growth and Major East Asia Summit Economies - Exploring Regional Impact and Policy Responses. The project benefits Australia's current long-term economic priorities and engagement with Asia in five ways. It provides: (1) collaborative research with East Asia Summit (EAS) networked experts on topics of mutual interest, (2) a new perspective on the effects of China on EAS4 trade and growth, (3) substantive improved findings on EAS4 economic and trade policy options, (4) significant inputs to analysis, debates and negotiations in the recently proposed EAS free trade agreement (FTA), and (5) useful applications to Australia's similar bilateral FTAs under negotiation (e.g., Australia-Korea and Japan FTAs).Read moreRead less
Globalization, WTO and sustainable development: new challenges, opportunities and implications for Australia. Australia is benefiting greatly from opening its economy and encouraging the same in its trading partners, particularly through the World Trade Organization (WTO). A major new challenge is to ensure that the WTO continues to enhance economic welfare by responding to recent criticisms levelled at it by anti-globalization groups. This project will analyse those groups' claims about the eff ....Globalization, WTO and sustainable development: new challenges, opportunities and implications for Australia. Australia is benefiting greatly from opening its economy and encouraging the same in its trading partners, particularly through the World Trade Organization (WTO). A major new challenge is to ensure that the WTO continues to enhance economic welfare by responding to recent criticisms levelled at it by anti-globalization groups. This project will analyse those groups' claims about the effects of trade and investment policy reforms, and of WTO rules and other contributors to globalization, by going beyond the traditional economic effects to examine effects on income distribution, poverty alleviation, the environment, labour, and food safety and security.Read moreRead less
An Economic Analysis of Migration Patterns in a Regionally Integrated World. Australia, among other countries, is pursuing a discriminatory free trade (i.e. RTA) agenda. The slow progress of WTO multilateral talks will exacerbate this trend. At the same time, the level of migration to developed countries, like Australia, has been growing. What are the implications of RTAs for immigration policy in Australia? How will RTAs, whether they include or exclude Australia, influence migration flows to a ....An Economic Analysis of Migration Patterns in a Regionally Integrated World. Australia, among other countries, is pursuing a discriminatory free trade (i.e. RTA) agenda. The slow progress of WTO multilateral talks will exacerbate this trend. At the same time, the level of migration to developed countries, like Australia, has been growing. What are the implications of RTAs for immigration policy in Australia? How will RTAs, whether they include or exclude Australia, influence migration flows to and from this country? Among other things, this project helps clarify the relationship between Australia's discriminatory trade liberalisation strategy and migration patterns. The underlying theme of this research is that trade policy should be designed so that it is consistent with the aims of migration policy.Read moreRead less
The impact of globalisation on inequality in a small regional economy: South Australia 1845-1925. The impact of globalisation on income inequality is currently of great concern to many. Globalisation, however, is not a new phenomenon. This study examines the effect of global forces on wage and personal wealth inequality in South Australia in the 19th and early 20th century. While other studies have examined the impact of trade on inequality at an aggregate level, using questionable comparisons, ....The impact of globalisation on inequality in a small regional economy: South Australia 1845-1925. The impact of globalisation on income inequality is currently of great concern to many. Globalisation, however, is not a new phenomenon. This study examines the effect of global forces on wage and personal wealth inequality in South Australia in the 19th and early 20th century. While other studies have examined the impact of trade on inequality at an aggregate level, using questionable comparisons, this study represents a conceptual leap forward by directly estimating changes in income and wealth inequality, and their association with changes in wages, commodity and asset prices over an extended period in a small regional economy.Read moreRead less