exam time Flashcards
what are the 4 schools of thought about IPE?
traditional: 1. mercantilist schools 2. liberal school 3. marxist school modern: 4. interests and institutions
what are the mercantilist school’s main arguments regarding:
- the most important actor?
- the role of the state
- image of IPE
- proper objective
most important actor: state
role of the state: intervene to allocate resources
image of IPE: conflict between states over trade
proper objective: enhance national power
what are the liberal school’s main arguments regarding:
- the most important actor?
- the role of the state
- image of IPE
- proper objective
most important actor: individuals
role of the state: property rights
image of IPE: harmony
proper objective: enhance aggregate social welfare
what are the marxist school’s main arguments regarding:
- the most important actor?
- the role of the state
- image of IPE
- proper objective
most important actor: capitalist class
role of the state: protect the capitalist system
image of IPE: exploitation of labour
proper objective: promote equal income distribution
what are the interest and institutions approach’s main arguments regarding:
- the most important actor?
- the role of the state
- image of IPE
- proper objective
most important actor: winners and losers of the poltiical economy
role of the state: survive in office (politicians)
image of IPE: mix of conflict and cooperation
proper objective: politically constrained efficiency (best policies given political constraints)
what is the main arguments of interests and institutions approach
the interests that matter differ based on the question you want to answer:
- material (societal) interests: what increases my welfare?
- political (institutional) interests: what will keep me in office?
What did the dark leviathan article suggest
- the need for IPE (pure market is extremely difficult)
- irony that by trying to create a market without a government (libertarian) control failed -> ended up needing to be the government
why is trade beneficial?
specialization -> exploit comparative advantage
- net public good
what are types of trade protection?
- tariffs
- quotas
- non-tariff barriers
what are types of non-tariff barriers to trade?
e.g. subsidies, protection laws, health standards, environemntal standards
what prevents successful bargaining?
- info problems
- ability to commit to agreement
- outside options
How can you resolve the problems to successful bargaining?
- less states
- information (monitoring compliance)
- repeated interaction (punish, reciprocation, long-term gains)
- international institutions (linking issues)
what are 3 elements that define the WTO?
- establishes common principles and rules
a. market liberalism
b. non-discrimination -> MFN + prohibits non-tariff barriers - intergov bargaining process
- dispute settlement mechanism (legal reciprocation of victim states)
What are the exceptions to the MFN of the WTO?
- RTAs: free trade areas and customs union
2. developing countries can apply lower tariffs (Generalized System of Preferences)
How is the dispute settlement procedure in the WTO different from the GATT’s?
GATT: defendant could block all actions throughout the dispute settlement mechanism -> meaningless mechanism
WTO: not anymore
How does the WTO aid cooperation?
- providing forum for barganing
- monitoring behaviour
- enforcement mechanism through institutional reciprocity
Why has WTO progress been stalled recently?
due to diverse interests and domestic politics
What incentivises states to participating in the WTO?
- gains of trade -> tying trade relationships to many
- easy to shift blame from politicians to the WTO
- WTO flexibility - lots of exceptions
what are arguments that the WTO works to increase trade?
- members do engage in more trade
2. might act as a deterrent to impose trade barriers
what are arguments that the WTO doesn’t work to increase trade?
- unclear if states would’ve just liberalized unilaterally
- states bring very little cases to the WTO
- don’t eliminate power politics
What is a threat to the WTO lasting?
Trump undermining WTO - e.g. vetoing the appointment of appellate judges & trying to find bilateral agreements outside WTO
What trend have we seen regarding regional trade agreements (RTAs) recently?
increasing amount of RTAs in past 20 years
what are types of RTAs?
- free trade areas (FTAs) (most RTAs)
- custom unions
- bilateral courts
what are free trade areas (FTAs)
- eliminate tariffs among members
- seperate trade policies with non-members
- e.g. NAFTA