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20 - Genetically modified foods, trade, and developing countries
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- By Chantal Pohl Nielsen, University of Aarhus, Denmark, Karen Thierfelder, US Naval Academy, Sherman Robinson, International Food Policy Research Institute
- Edited by Merlinda D. Ingco, The World Bank, L. Alan Winters, University of Sussex
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- Book:
- Agriculture and the New Trade Agenda
- Published online:
- 27 February 2010
- Print publication:
- 25 March 2004, pp 429-457
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Summary
Introduction
The current debate about the use of genetic engineering in agricultural production reveals substantial differences in perception of the risks and benefits associated with this new biotechnology. Farmers in North America and a few large developing countries such as Argentina, Mexico, and China are rapidly adopting the new genetically modified (GM) crop varieties as they become available, and citizens in these countries are generally accepting this development. Growing GM crop varieties provides farmers with a range of agronomic benefits, mainly in terms of lower input requirements and hence lower costs to consumers. However, in other parts of the world, especially Western Europe, people are concerned about the environmental impact of widespread cultivation of GM crops and the safety of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In response to the strong consumer reaction against GM foods in Western Europe, and to a certain extent also in Japan, separate production systems for GM and non-GM crops are emerging in the maize and soybean sectors. To the extent that GM-critical consumers are willing to pay a price premium for non-GM varieties there may be a viable market for these products alongside the new GM varieties.
Developing countries – regardless of whether they are exporters or importers of agricultural crops – will be affected by changing consumer attitudes toward genetic modification in the developed world. Some developing countries are highly dependent on exporting particular primary agricultural products to GM-critical regions.
14 - Trade and Labor Market Behavior
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- By Karen E. Thierfelder, U.S. Naval Academy, Clinton R. Shiells, International Monetary Fund
- Edited by Joseph F. Francois, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Kenneth A. Reinert, George Mason University, Virginia
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- Book:
- Applied Methods for Trade Policy Analysis
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 13 October 1997, pp 435-478
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Summary
Introduction
It is difficult to reconcile inter-industry wage differentials, which are very persistent empirically, with the neoclassical structure of computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. Studies show that the wage differentials persist even after accounting for the obvious explanations such as differences in human capital or job hazard. This raises an important question for the applied modeler – what is the best way to incorporate the observed wage differentials into a model to represent the base data accurately? In the CGE literature, two approaches have been adopted. Ballard et al. (1985) adjust tax and depreciation rates to equalize factor returns across all sectors in CGE models of tax analysis. Dervis et al. (1982) hold intersectoral wage differentials constant in counterfactual policy simulations. This approach is common in CGE models for analysis of tax and trade policy in developing countries and trade policy analysis generally. In the latter class of models, the wage differentials are exogenous, suggesting that factors acquire sector-specific skills upon entry into the sector and lose those skills upon exit.
In this chapter, we examine the welfare implications of trade and tax policies when there are sector-specific wage differentials. Furthermore, we explicitly model the behavior that can generate the observed wage differentials. In our analysis, the wage differentials are endogenous and reflect optimizing behavior in the labor market. We consider two types of labor behavior – the need to pay either efficiency wages or a union premium. For comparison, we maintain a version of the model with exogenous wage differentials.
7 - Wage Changes in a U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Area: Migration Versus Stolper-Samuelson Effects
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- By Mary E. Burfisher, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Sherman Robinson, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Karen E. Thierfelder, Economics Department, U.S. Naval Academy
- Edited by Joseph F. Francois, General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade, Clinton R. Shiells
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- Book:
- Modeling Trade Policy
- Published online:
- 25 March 2010
- Print publication:
- 24 June 1994, pp 195-222
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Summary
Introduction
A major issue concerning the establishment of a North American free trade agreement (NAFTA) is its impact on wages in Mexico and the United States. One argument is that the agreement will result in higher wages for unskilled labor in Mexico but lower wages for unskilled labor in the United States. This view can be derived from the Stolper–Samuelson theorem, which links changes in wages and profits to the changes in product prices caused by trade liberalization. Mexico is abundant in unskilled labor relative to the United States, and trade reform will increase Mexico's relative price of manufactured goods that it exports to the United States. According to the theorem, unskilled wages will fall in the United States and rise in Mexico as Mexican exports displace U.S. production of labor-intensive goods.
There are a number of difficulties in applying the Stolper–Samuelson theorem to the case of NAFTA. First and foremost is that the two countries are linked by more than trade in commodities. In particular, there is a long history of labor migration between Mexico and the United States, and one would expect that such migration would be sensitive to wage changes brought about by NAFTA. When using the Stolper–Samuelson theorem, one assumes that aggregate factor supplies are constant and that shifts in labor demand curves determine wage changes. However, the effects of trade liberalization on wages can be ambiguous when there is international labor mobility, which shifts the labor supply curve as well.