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Bilateral “WTO-Plus†Free Trade Agreements : The WTO Trade Policy Review of Singapore 2004

Author

Listed:
  • S.M. Thangavelu

    (SCAPE)

  • Toh Mun Heng

Abstract

The World Trade Organisations 2004 Trade Policy Review of Singapore (WTO-TPR Singapore 2004) depicts the small and outward-oriented economy as one of the most open country to international trade and investment. The review highlights the benefits of the outward-oriented strategy that has enabled the Singapore economy to weather recent external shocks such as the Asian financial crisis to the SARS and to the recent unfavourable conditions in the Middle East. In particular, the report commended Singapores efforts on its liberalization of the services sector and its economic benefits to consumers and global trade. However, the WTO-TPR Singapore 2004 highlights several key areas of concerns : (a) the commitment to multilateral agreements with the rising number of bilateral free trade agreements signed by Singapore and (b) the lack of growth of total factor productivity, a key indicator for long-run efficiency of the economy. The paper addresses the above key concerns raised in the WTOs TPR of Singapore in terms of its commitment to global trade in terms of WTO-plus bilateral FTAs, which intends to support multilateral trading system, and its overall industrial strategies to raise its competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • S.M. Thangavelu & Toh Mun Heng, 2005. "Bilateral “WTO-Plus†Free Trade Agreements : The WTO Trade Policy Review of Singapore 2004," Trade Working Papers 22590, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:eab:tradew:22590
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    File URL: http://www.eaber.org/node/22590
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Fernald & Brent Neiman, 2011. "Growth Accounting with Misallocation: Or, Doing Less with More in Singapore," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 29-74, April.
    2. John Fernald & Brent Neiman, 2006. "Measuring the Miracle: Market Imperfections and Asia's Growth Experience," 2006 Meeting Papers 785, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. John Fernald & Brent Neiman, 2011. "Growth Accounting with Misallocation: Or, Doing Less with More in Singapore," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 29-74, April.
    4. Lee, Hiro, 2001. "General equilibrium evaluation of Japan-Singapore free trade agreement," MPRA Paper 82605, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Andrew Elek, 2003. "Beyond Free Trade Agreements: 21st Century Choices for East Asian Economic Cooperation," Asia Pacific Economic Papers 336, Australia-Japan Research Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    6. Linda Low, 2003. "Multilateralism, Regionalism, Bilateral and Crossregional Free Trade Arrangements: All Paved with Good Intentions for ASEAN?," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 65-86, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roy, Martin & Marchetti, Juan & Lim, Hoe, 2006. "Services liberalization in the new generation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs): How much further than the GATS?," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2006-07, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    2. Calum Brown & Dave Murray-Rust & Jasper van Vliet & Shah Jamal Alam & Peter H Verburg & Mark D Rounsevell, 2014. "Experiments in Globalisation, Food Security and Land Use Decision Making," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-24, December.
    3. Toh, Mun-Heng, 2012. "Internationalization of Tertiary Education Services in Singapore," ADBI Working Papers 388, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    4. Hsieh, Wen-jen, 2011. "The Global Economic Recession and Industrial Structure: Evidence from Four Asian Dragons," ADBI Working Papers 315, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    5. Shandre M. Thangavelu & Yik Wei Yong & Aekapol Chongvilaivan, 2009. "FDI, Growth and the Asian Financial Crisis: The Experience of Selected Asian Countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(10), pages 1461-1477, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    WTO-TPR Singapore 2004; WTO; Asian financial crisis; liberalization; bilateral free trade agreement; efficiency of the economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics
    • F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies

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