• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.41-49
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• 2016

Since World War II nations have formed alliances for reasons of security and trade. Countries have seen international integration as an appropriate approach to resolving domestic and international political issues, improving their welfare by both transforming their infrastructures and increasing their foreign trade. While the majority of these relationships are straightforward d Turkey's relationship with the European Union is more complex due to differences in religion and, at times, political ideology from other Union members. As a candidate country Turkey has made advances towards the full membership of the European Union with the customs union being the most significant. The impact of customs union membership is discussed and the effects of the customs union on Turkey's trade and economy are examined from a perspective of different economic theories.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.339-363
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• 2016

This paper analyzes why the global financial crisis in 2008 severely affected Asia's trade. Asia has been suffering from the falls in export demand from developed countries. However the abrupt trade declines in Asia are not fully explained by reactions to this as in previous experiences. The question is why the financial crisis in 2008 brought about the abrupt and deep collapse in world trade, while other world-wide recessions had more moderate effects on world trade. This paper shows that the dynamic relationship between trade and trade finance is one important factor in explaining this question. This paper also applies the Granger (causality) test to uncover different relationships in the developed and developing economies and show different results for different countries in Asia. We employ a Markov-Switching FAVAR (Factor Augmented VAR) to show that global liquidity shocks are important factors in explaining the huge and abrupt trade drops in Asia.

• Clean Technology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.24-34
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• 1998

Eco-labelling programs contributed to the promotion of international trade of environmentally friendly products. However, it has potential trade implications. From the WTO's point of view, environmental measures relevant to eco-labelling should not discriminate between home produced goods and imported goods. Transparency should be guaranteed in preparation, adoption and application of eco-labelling. Developed countries address that eco-labelling of non-product PPM criteria is included in the provisions of TBT of WTO. However, there are more general afraids that non-product PPM-based eco-labelling can be unfairly discriminately trade measures without transparency Thus, transparency of procedures of eco-labelling, harmonization and mutual recognition of eco-labelling criteria, and technical assistance should be recommended in order to reduce trade-discriminating effects of eco-labelling.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.41-60
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• 2022

Purpose - The policy implications of free trade agreements have traditionally been a matter of debate among economists. The official signing of the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement provides economists with a quasi-natural experiment to analyze the FTA's policy effects. This article aims to more accurately understand the impact of Korea's FTA accession on the macro economy. Design/methodology - This study adopts the counterfactual method based on panel data to find common factors in the generation process of macro data to fit the counterfactual path, to accurately evaluate the effect of the macro policy. Findings - Our research results show that the signing of the Korea-China FTA has a relatively significant short-term positive effect on Korea's economic growth. On average, Korea's real GDP growth rate has increased by 2.1%. This study finds evidence in support of FTA signing not having a significant impact on Korea's GDP growth in the long run. Additionally, we evaluated the impact of the FTA on Korea's imports and exports and found that it had a significant positive impact in the short term, but the trade effect of the FTA is significantly affected by the external macro-environment. Originality/value - First, this study uses macro panel data at the national level to examine the impact of the Korea-China FTA on Korea, and more accurately describes the policy effect of the FTA. Second, our empirical results show that the Korea-China FTA policy impact is subject to occasional changes in the external environment, such as the geopolitical conflict (crisis) between Korea and China, and the US-China trade war. Finally, the analysis shows that the short-term effect of FTA is significant but the long-term is uncertain, which provides empirical evidence for the debate on whether joining FTA can promote national economic growth.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.279-291
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• 2015

Fair trade is international trade that pays just wages, supplies stable and eco-friendly products, and supports the sustainable development of economies. This study examined consumers 'cognition of fair trade, product intention of fair trade products, and consumer demand for fair trade education. We compare these variables between Korean and Chinese consumers and explored variables that affect consumers' cognition, purchase intentions and consumer education demand. This study randomly targeted 428 adult consumers in Seoul (219) and Beijing (209) to grasp the demand of customer education and a purchasing intention for fair trade products. The results of this study are as follows. First, participants showed a low cognition of fair trade and purchase intention, while consumer demand for fair trade education on concept, campaign and effect had a comparatively higher level. Chinese consumers showed a higher level of purchase intention, but a lower level of consumer education demand for fair trade concepts. Second, a higher education level resulted in a higher cognition of fair trade by Korean consumers and more experienced Chinese consumers had a higher cognition. Third, the cognition of fair trade affected the purchase intentions positively for both in Korean and Chinese consumers. Finally, cognition and purchase intention showed positive effects of the consumer demand for fair trade education on concept, campaign, and effect.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.88-107
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• 2021

Purpose - Using a model that highlights Ricardian comparative advantage and Cournot competition, I derive theoretical predictions on how bilateral measures of trade intensity, specialization, and intra-industry are interrelated, and how Ricardian productivity differences affect these measures. We test the predictions using trade and production data, and confirm them. Design/methodology - A simple two-country general equilibrium model is constructed to derive theory-based bilateral indexes. We then test the relationships among them using panel data for 35 countries and 14 industries between 1996 and 2008. Findings - Bilateral trade intensity is increasing in specialization, as in the classical trade theory, and in intra-industry trade, as in the new trade theory. However, productivity differences positively affect specialization, and negatively affect intra-industry trade. These effects cancel each other; thus productivity differences have little impact on trade intensity. Originality/value - This paper provides a comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding the relationship among trade intensity, specialization, intra-industry trade, and productivity differences. We derive theory-consistent measures of specialization, intra-industry trade, and productivity differences. Moreover, we reevaluate the empirical relevance of these variables for the study of gravity equations. This paper is also an effort to capture oligopolistic competition in a general equilibrium framework, interests in which recently resurged.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.257-267
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• 2017

This study investigated the effects of values towards Korea fair trade coffee consumers upon attitudes and behavioral intentions and verified the moderating effects of ethical consumption consciousness between relationships among values, attitudes and behavioral intentions. A total of 283 data were analyzed for consumers of fair trade coffee residing in Seoul. Structural equation models were used to identify the relationship between the variables. As a result of the analysis, Schwartz (1994)'s 30 value items were factored into four areas: openness to change, self-enhancement, conservation, and self-transcendence. The value of 'self-transcendence' showed a significant positive impact on attitudes toward fair trade coffee, whereas 'openness to change' had a significant negative impact. Positive attitude toward fair trade coffee showed a significant impact on intentions to buy fair trade coffee. In addition, a moderating effect of ethical consumption consciousness between attitude and behavioral intention was found. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.127-137
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• 2021

Mainland China area has been a long-term, major trade rival and partner of Taiwan, accounting for more than 40% of Taiwan's total annual trade exports, and so Sino-US trade friction is expected to have a significant impact on Taiwan's economy in the future. This study focuses on major bad news of Sino-US trade frictions and how it generates short-term shocks for Taiwan's equity market and fear sentiment. It further explores the mutual interpretation relationship between price changes such as VIX, Taiwan's stock market index, and the VIX ETF to identify which factors have information leadership as leading indicators. The study period covers 750 trading days from 2017/1/3 to 2020/1/31. This study finds that, when a policy news is announced, the stock market index falls significantly, the change in the trading price (net value) of the VIX ETF rises significantly, and the overprice rate significantly drops, but VIX does not, showing that fear sentiment exists in the Taiwan's market. The net value of the VIX ETF shows an information advantage as a leading indicator. This study suggests that, when the world's two largest economies clash over trade, the impact on Taiwan's equity market is inevitable, and that short-term fear effects will arise.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.3-35
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• 2016

This paper analyses the new discipline on state-owned enterprises contained in the recently concluded Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, and evaluates various factors that influenced the shaping of its specific rules. The new discipline consolidates and strengthens related provisions in current trade regimes, reflects various aspects of trade disputes between China and the US, and adopts, as its general underlying rationale, the principle of competitive neutrality. The new discipline contains elements that may challenge the multilateral trade regime, and may serve as a role model in regulating state-owned enterprises, including subsidies in services trade in other on-going trade negotiations. The new regime makes us think hard about fundamental issues regarding enforcement of competition policy against state-owned enterprises, treatment of non-market economies, and how to deal with effects of subsidies in international trade, bringing competition issues back on the trade agenda.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.25-45
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• 2010

The objective of this paper is to review the mechanics of how global e-trade practices can affect a firm's performance. It is well known that the introduction of global e-trade systems can save transaction costs at the macro level. However this study is extended at micro level by determining whether global trade transaction costs influence positively or negatively in exporting firms performances at firm level. A theoretical framework is suggested for determining the usage and performance of global e-trade with the global e-trade barriers. An empirical analysis of South Korean exporting firms has been undertaken. This paper concludes that the global e-trade has yet to overcome the barriers resulting from the transaction costs and asset specificity. In this regard, appropriate action like intensive education and training program should be implemented in order to make South Korea's global e-trade more matured.