International Economics
Download 7.1 Mb. Pdf ko'rish
|
Dominick-Salvatore-International-Economics
alizing World
We have seen in Section 9.3 that since the mid-1970s, there has been a rapid pro- liferation of nontariff trade barriers (NTBs) to the point where they now represent the most serious threat to the postwar trading system and the world’s welfare. By interfering with the flow of international trade, rising protectionism leads to a misal- location of resources internationally, a slowdown in structural adjustments in mature economies and growth in developing economies, and it raises the specter of trade wars. The problem has been rendered more complex by the breakup of the world into three major trading blocs: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico); the European bloc or European Union (EU); and a much less defined and looser Asian bloc (see Section 10.6). The successful completion of the Uruguay Round in December 1993 went a long way toward reducing or at least putting an end to increased protectionism in the world today. As pointed out in Section 9.7b, however, many serious trade problems remain. Some sectors (such as insurance) were not included in the agreement, agricultural subsidies remain high, patent protection for pharmaceuticals is disappointing, and trade in computer chips is still subject to tariffs. Although tightened, antidumping action and safeguards are still possible, and so the potential for serious trade disputes remains. These problems were to be addressed in a new round of multilateral trade negotiations (the Doha Round) launched in November 2011 in Doha, Qatar (which, however, all but failed). Regional trade agreements are no substitute for true multilateralism. Technological change, globalization, and increased competition from the manu- factured exports of emerging economies, especially China, are held responsible for widespread firm downsizing, job insecurity, and stagnant wages in the United States and other advanced countries. The solution to these problems is not to restrict trade and reduce international competition but to increase job training and create a labor force more skilled and prepared for the new information-age jobs that open up in telecom- munications, computers, biomedical, and other high-tech fields. But this requires that workers in the United States and other advanced economies continuously upgrade their skills to meet the needs of the new high-tech jobs that open up, that they are willing to move to where the jobs are created, and accept more skilled immigrants will the United States and other advanced economies remain internationally competitive. This is the price that workers in rich countries have to pay for the higher productivity, wages, and standards of living that the “new economy” brings. 3. Structural Imbalances in Advanced Economies and Insufficient Restructuring in Tran- sition Economies Today, many advanced economies face deep structural problems that hamper their growth. The United States faces deep structural imbalances in the form of excessive spending and inadequate national saving. This means that the United States is living beyond its means by borrowing excessively abroad. The result is huge and unsustain- able trade deficits, a depreciated dollar, and unstable financial conditions (see Case Study 21-5). Being such a huge economy, U.S. economic problems quickly become global economic problems in our interdependent world. The United States needs to cut its spending deeply and sharply increase its savings rate in order to overcome its serious structural imbalance. While this cannot be easily or quickly accomplished, the United States does not seem to be trying sufficiently hard to resolve its problems. Salvatore c21.tex V2 - 11/07/2012 10:29 A.M. Page 716 716 The International Monetary System: Past, Present, and Future ■ CASE STUDY 21-5 Trade Imbalances of the Leading Industrial Nations One of the most serious global imbalances fac- ing the world economy today is the large and chronic trade deficits of the United States and the United Kingdom and surplus of Germany (among advanced nations). Table 21.6 shows that the U.S. trade deficit increased from $25.5 billion in 1980 to $110.3 billion in 1990, $443.9 billion in 2000, to a high of $832.9 billion in 2006 (not shown in the table), and it was $735.2 billion in 2011. Germany’s trade surplus rose from $2.1 billion in 1960 to the all-time high of $273.5 billion in 2007 (not shown in the table), and it was $214.6 bil- lion in 2011. In 2011, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy had trade deficits, respectively, of $20.6 billion, $159.8 billion, $102.3 billion, and ■ TABLE 21.6. Trade Imbalances of the Leading Industrial Countries, 1960–2011, Selected Years (in billions of U.S. dollars) Country 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2011 United States 4 Download 7.1 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
Ma'lumotlar bazasi mualliflik huquqi bilan himoyalangan ©fayllar.org 2024
ma'muriyatiga murojaat qiling
ma'muriyatiga murojaat qiling