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Bilateral versus Multilateral Free Trade Agreements: A Welfare Analysis

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  • Demet Yilmazkuday
  • Hakan Yilmazkuday

Abstract

Why is a proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) between certain types of countries observed instead of progress in attaining global free trade through a multilateral FTA? This paper answers this question by exploring the enforceability of different types of FTAs through comparing minimum discount factors that are necessary to sustain them in an infinitely repeated game framework. The authors search for the globally welfare maximizing trade agreements that are sustainable under different conditions. The results depict that transportation costs, differences in country sizes and comparative advantages are all obstacles for having a multilateral FTA. Accordingly, international development policies conducted for the removal of such obstacles should be the main goal toward achieving a multilateral FTA, which is shown to be the first-best solution to the maximization problem of global welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Demet Yilmazkuday & Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2014. "Bilateral versus Multilateral Free Trade Agreements: A Welfare Analysis," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 513-535, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:reviec:v:22:y:2014:i:3:p:513-535
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/roie.12131
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Bilateral versus Multilateral Free Trade Agreements: A Welfare Analysis
      by Hakan Yilmazkuday in Hakan Yilmazkuday's Blog on 2016-12-15 07:32:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Beckman, Jayson & Ivanic, Maros & Shaik, Saleem, 2022. "How Bilateral Trade Deals Get in the Way of Multilateral Agreements," Conference papers 333437, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    2. Jayson Beckman & Maros Ivanic & Jeremy Jelliffe & Shawn Arita, 2022. "Adopt or not adopt? Mirror clauses and the European Green Deal," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 2014-2033, December.
    3. Yoon Heo & Nguyen Khanh Doanh, 2020. "Is NAFTA Trade‐Creating or Trade‐Diverting? A System GMM Approach," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 39(3), pages 222-238, September.
    4. Yulin Hou & Yun Wang & Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2023. "Gravity channels in trade," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 37-65, January.
    5. Lim, Eun Son & Breuer, Janice Boucher, 2019. "Free trade agreements and market integration: Evidence from South Korea," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 241-256.
    6. Irina Busygina & Mikhail Filippov, 2018. "Russia And The Eurasian Economic Union: Conflicting Incentives For An Institutional Compromise," HSE Working papers WP BRP 31/IR/2018, National Research University Higher School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

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