Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Publication
    A new approach to evaluating trade reform
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 1988-07) ;
    Dual methods are awkward to use for quota reform analysis. This paper develops a distance function concept (Deaton (1979)) relevant to trade distortions: the Distorted Trade Distance Function. It has the great advantage of being a minimum value function, permitting the use of standard techniques for easy achievement of general positive and normative results in the evaluation of trade reform. Quotas are the predominant means of protection in developed countries and distance function methods are the natural method for their analysis. We also define an operational general equilibrium distance measure, the coefficient of trade utilization.
      162
  • Publication
    A new approach to evaluating trade policy
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 1991-11-25) ;
    This paper introduces a new measure, the Trade Restrictiveness Index, which measures the restrictiveness of a system of trade protection. The index is a general equilibrium application of the distance function and answers the question: `What uniform set of trade restrictions is equivalent (in welfare terms) to the initial protective structure?' The index is applicable to both tariffs and quotas and allows international and intertemporal comparisons. The index is operational and we provide an empirical example to illustrate its applicability and to show its superiority to commonly used measures.
      508