Preferential Liberalization and Its Economy-Wide Effects in Honduras [electronic resource] / Medvedev, Denis

By: Medvedev, DenisContributor(s): Medvedev, DenisMaterial type: TextTextPublication details: Washington, D.C., The World Bank, 2008Description: 1 online resource (58 p.)Subject(s): Bilateral trade | Comparative advantage | Currencies and Exchange Rates | Debt Markets | Economic implications | Economic Theory and Research | Emerging Markets | Finance and Financial Sector Development | Free Trade | Income | International Economics & Trade | Macroeconomics and Economic Growth | Open economy | Private Sector Development | Productivity | Safety nets | Trade liberalization | Trade policyAdditional physical formats: Medvedev, Denis.: Preferential Liberalization and Its Economy-Wide Effects in Honduras.Online resources: Click here to access online Abstract: This paper quantifies the likely benefits of trade and investment liberalization in a small, poor, open economy, using the accession of Honduras to the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement as a case study. The results show that bilateral trade liberalization with the United States is likely to have almost no effect on welfare in Honduras, while the reciprocal removal of protection vis-a-vis the rest of Central America would lead to significantly larger gains. Potential gains from increased net foreign direct investment inflows overwhelm those expected from trade reform alone, particularly if the new foreign direct investment generates productivity spillovers. However, if it is to replace Honduran investment rather than complement domestic capital formation, growth performance is unlikely to improve and may even suffer. The paper's results identify several areas for policy attention by Honduran policy makers to make the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement more development-friendly. These include carefully considering the budgetary implications of trade reform, widening social safety nets to counter the trends toward increasing income inequality, and sequencing the reforms to ensure a close alignment of Honduras' comparative advantage on the regional and global markets.
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
No physical items for this record

This paper quantifies the likely benefits of trade and investment liberalization in a small, poor, open economy, using the accession of Honduras to the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement as a case study. The results show that bilateral trade liberalization with the United States is likely to have almost no effect on welfare in Honduras, while the reciprocal removal of protection vis-a-vis the rest of Central America would lead to significantly larger gains. Potential gains from increased net foreign direct investment inflows overwhelm those expected from trade reform alone, particularly if the new foreign direct investment generates productivity spillovers. However, if it is to replace Honduran investment rather than complement domestic capital formation, growth performance is unlikely to improve and may even suffer. The paper's results identify several areas for policy attention by Honduran policy makers to make the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement more development-friendly. These include carefully considering the budgetary implications of trade reform, widening social safety nets to counter the trends toward increasing income inequality, and sequencing the reforms to ensure a close alignment of Honduras' comparative advantage on the regional and global markets.

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.

Powered by Koha