Is the World Trade Organization Attractive Enough for Emerging Economies?

ZDENEK DRABEK was a Senior Adviser at the World Trade Organization. Previously, he was a founder and chairman of Department of Economics at the University of Buckingham and co-founder of Joint Vienna Institute, a training institute of the World Bank, IMF, BIS, OECD, WTO and EBRD. He taught at other academic institutions including the University of Oxford and the University of British Columbia and is presently a member of the Academic Advisory Board in the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University. He served as Chief International Trade and Finance Negotiator for the Czechoslovak Government (the Europe Agreements with the EU and in the Uruguay Round of GATT). Prior to his government appointment, he worked as a senior economist in the World Bank. He has been published widely in major professional economics journals and authored or co-authored 11 books. His latest books are Globalization under Threat and Can Regional Trade Agreements Enforce Trade Discipline?

Preface Introduction PART I WTO AGREEMENTS - A DEVELOPMENT-FRIENDLY POLICY INSTRUMENT? Development Implications of WTO Accession Procedures Toward a Development-Friendly International Regulatory Framework for Foreign Direct Investment The WTO: A Sweet or Sour Chinese Banquet? PART II WTO MEMBERSHIP AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION (ACCESSION AND IMPACT ON POLICIES) Effects of WTO Accession on Policymaking in Sovereign States: Lessons from Transition Countries Policy Anchors: Do Free Trade Agreements Serve as Vehicles for Developing-Country Policy Reform? Regional Trading Arrangements and WTO Membership: Substitutes or Complements? PART III IMPACT OF THE WTO ON TRADE FLOWS OF GOODS The Effect of Membership in the GATT/WTO on Trade: Where Do We Stand? Does WTO Membership Make a Difference at the Extensive Margin of World Trade? PART IV BROADER COSTS AND BENEFITS OF WTO MEMBERSHIP Who Should Join the WTO and Why?: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of WTO Membership Uneven Benefits from the Dispute Settlement Mechanism Costs of Implementation of WTO Agreements Index