IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jdevst/v48y2012i12p1828-1843.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Distributive Effects of Regional Trade Agreements on the ‘Small Trading Partners’: Mercosur and the Case of Uruguay and Paraguay

Author

Listed:
  • Fernando Borraz
  • Máximo Rossi
  • Daniel Ferres

Abstract

It is disputed whether trade liberalisation processes are sufficient for reducing poverty and inequality. We explore how ‘gains from trade’ have been distributed in the two minor trade partners of Mercosur, Uruguay and Paraguay, by analysing the impact of trade liberalisation on poverty and inequality through two main transmission channels: prices and income. In the case of Uruguay, trade liberalisation favoured a reduction in poverty indicators but had an almost zero effect on income inequality. In the case of Paraguay, trade liberalisation had a markedly negative impact in terms of poverty yet income distribution improved. We conclude that in the case of Mercosur, the effect of trade on poverty and income inequality varies per country and per region. In particular, we conclude that trade integration policies cannot be regarded as ‘poverty-alleviating’ per se.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando Borraz & Máximo Rossi & Daniel Ferres, 2012. "Distributive Effects of Regional Trade Agreements on the ‘Small Trading Partners’: Mercosur and the Case of Uruguay and Paraguay," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(12), pages 1828-1843, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:48:y:2012:i:12:p:1828-1843
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2012.682984
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00220388.2012.682984
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00220388.2012.682984?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marisa Bucheli & Máximo Rossi, 1994. "Distribución del ingreso en el Uruguay (1984-1992)," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1094, Department of Economics - dECON.
    2. Antoni Estevadeordal & Junichi Goto & Raul Saez, 2000. "The New Regionalism in the Americas: The Case of MERCOSUR," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9378, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Porto, Guido G., 2003. "Trade reforms, market access, and poverty in Argentina," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3135, The World Bank.
    4. -, 2003. "Empleo e ingreso del trabajo," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 31874, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    5. Galiano, Sebastian & Porto, Guido G., 2006. "Trends in tariff reforms and trends in wage inequality," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3905, The World Bank.
    6. Porto, Guido G., 2006. "Using survey data to assess the distributional effects of trade policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 140-160, September.
    7. Sanguinetti, Pablo & Traistaru, Iulia & Volpe Martincus, Christian, 2004. "Economic integration and location of manufacturing activities: Evidence from MERCOSUR," ZEI Working Papers B 11-2004, University of Bonn, ZEI - Center for European Integration Studies.
    8. Borraz Fernando & Lopez-Cordova Jose Ernesto, 2007. "Has Globalization Deepened Income Inequality in Mexico?," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-57, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elizabeth Jane Casabianca, 2016. "Distributional effects of multilateral and preferential trade liberalisation: The case of Paraguay," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 80-102, February.
    2. Elizabeth Jane Casabianca, 2012. "Distributional effects of preferential and multilateral trade liberalization: the case of Paraguay," FIW Working Paper series 083, FIW.
    3. Jaime DE MELO & Julie REGOLO, 2013. "Labor Markets in Regional Trade Agreements: What Do We Know ?," Working Papers P69, FERDI.
    4. Moncarz, Pedro & Barone, Sergio & Descalzi, Ricardo, 2018. "Shocks to the international prices of agricultural commodities and the effects on welfare and poverty. A simulation of the ex ante long-run effects for Uruguay," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 136-155.
    5. Moncarz Pedro Esteban, 2023. "Impactos de bienestar de los aranceles y las licencias no automáticas a las importaciones. Evidencia para Argentina durante el período 2002-2012," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4671, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    6. Huw Lloyd-Ellis & Ardyn Nordstrom, 2021. "Trade, poverty and food security: A survey of recent research and its implications for East Africa," Working Paper 1460, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    7. Pedro Moncarz & Sergio Barone & Germán Calfat & Ricardo Descalzi, 2017. "Poverty Impacts of Changes in the International Prices of Agricultural Commodities: Recent Evidence for Argentina (An Ex-Ante Analysis)," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(3), pages 375-395, March.
    8. Amelia U. Santos‐Paulino & Alisa DiCaprio & Maria V. Sokolova, 2019. "The development trinity: How regional integration impacts growth, inequality and poverty," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7), pages 1961-1993, July.
    9. Victoria Pistikou, 2020. "The Impact of CEFTA on Exports, Economic Growth and Development," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 13(3), pages 15-31, December.
    10. Antonio Martuscelli & Michael Gasiorek, 2019. "Regional Integration And Poverty: A Review Of The Transmission Channels And The Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 431-457, April.
    11. Paolo Giordano & Kun Li, 2012. "An Updated Assessment of the Trade and Poverty Nexus in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 79119, Inter-American Development Bank.
    12. Giordano, Paolo & Li, Kun, 2012. "An Updated Assessment of the Trade and Poverty Nexus in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4209, Inter-American Development Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:idb:brikps:72378 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Yoshimichi Murakami, 2021. "Trade liberalization and wage inequality: Evidence from Chile," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 407-438, April.
    3. Guido Porto, 2010. "International Market Access and Poverty in Argentina," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 396-407, May.
    4. Brian, McCaig, 2011. "Exporting out of poverty: Provincial poverty in Vietnam and U.S. market access," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 102-113, September.
    5. Louisiana Cavalcanti Teixeira, 2020. "Trade Liberalization, Income, and Multidimensional Deprivation in Brazil," Working Papers hal-02997100, HAL.
    6. Castilho, Marta & Menéndez, Marta & Sztulman, Aude, 2012. "Trade Liberalization, Inequality, and Poverty in Brazilian States," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 821-835.
    7. Gabriel Sánchez & Maria Laura Alzua & Inés Butler, 2010. "The Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade on Argentine Exports and Labor Markets," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas & Lyn Squire & T. N. Srinivasan (ed.), Global Exchange and Poverty, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Lucio Castro & Daniel Saslavsky, 2005. "Trade, Poverty and Employment: The Social Consequences of Integration with China," International Trade 0512017, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Thomas W. Hertel & Jeffrey J. Reimer, 2006. "Predicting the Poverty Impacts of Trade Reform," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 2, May.
    10. Pablo Sanguinetti & Iulia Traistaru & Christian Volpe Martincus, 2004. "Economic Integration and Location of Manufacturing Activities: Evidence from Mercosur," ERSA conference papers ersa04p609, European Regional Science Association.
    11. Volpe Martincus, Christian & Siedschlag, Iulia, 2010. "The Impact of South-South Preferential Trade Agreements on Industrial Development: An Empirical Test," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 25, pages 69-104.
    12. Ariel Barraud & German Calfat, 2008. "Poverty Effects from Trade Liberalisation in Argentina," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 365-383.
    13. Christopher M. Meissner & Jose Ernesto Lopez Cordova, 2005. "Globalization and Democracy, 1870-2000," 2005 Meeting Papers 112, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. J. Ernesto Lopez-Cordova & Christopher M. Meissner, 2005. "The Globalization of Trade and Democracy, 1870-2000," NBER Working Papers 11117, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Paolo Giordano & Kun Li, 2012. "An Updated Assessment of the Trade and Poverty Nexus in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 79119, Inter-American Development Bank.
    16. Volpe Martincus, Christian & Siedschlag, Iulia, 2010. "The Impact of South-South Preferential Trade Agreements on Industrial Development: An Empirical Test," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 25, pages 69-104.
    17. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2007. "The Effects of the Colombian Trade Liberalization on Urban Poverty," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization and Poverty, pages 241-290, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Elizabeth Jane Casabianca, 2012. "Distributional effects of preferential and multilateral trade liberalization: the case of Paraguay," FIW Working Paper series 083, FIW.
    19. Fernando Riosmena & Douglas S. Massey, 2012. "Pathways to El Norte: Origins, Destinations, and Characteristics of Mexican Migrants to the United States," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 3-36, March.
    20. Ural Marchand, Beyza, 2012. "Tariff pass-through and the distributional effects of trade liberalization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 265-281.
    21. Cong Minh Huynh & Nam Hoai Tran, 2023. "Financial development, income inequality, and institutional quality: A multi-dimensional analysis," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 2242128-224, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:48:y:2012:i:12:p:1828-1843. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/FJDS20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.