It is notoriously difficult to economically model the benefits of FTAs and Special Economic Zones with respect to their impact on the domestic regulatory position.
Author of major works on trade, competition, and the danger of market distortions
Category: Issues
There are many who suggest that we now have a tripolar world: the three poles being the US, EU and China. These poles are all equivalent – or so the thinking goes – equivalent morally and in terms of economic impact and importance.
‘Singapore on Thames’ has become a pejorative term in certain circles, but there is much that Britain and the rest of the world can learn from the city-state’s economic miracle.
This paper was originally published on Global Economies – click here to access the full document In the first of series of briefings, we identify some of the key transformative processes and features that have elevated Singapore from a low-income port city state to a dynamic, high income node within a premier league of global cities, including London, New York, Dubai and Hong Kong. A key argument we make is that incumbency and status as a global city is not guaranteed, Aspiring cities – a future Singapore for instance – can attain premier league status within a relatively short space…
This paper was originally published on Global Economies This paper looks at how the pressing questions of global economic outlook have moved from the stagnating nature of global trade to the resilience and recovery of economies in the face of the pandemic. This enquiry is more applicable to high- income, leading economies that are forecast to see a return to pre-crisis levels of output much later than their developing and lower income counterparts. To download a copy of the paper, please click here.
Integrating Foreign Policy, Development Policy and Human Rights Objectives The UK Foreign Office and the Department of International Development have merged. This results from a UK government initiative to ensure that its foreign and development policy goals are aligned. This is very important because the UK is a development superpower as the third largest provider of Overseas Development Assistance in the world. If the UK’s development priorities are inconsistent with or worse, in opposition to the rest of its foreign policy including its foreign trade policy, then this will send conflicting signals to its partners and make it less likely…
There is a huge misunderstanding about the nature of freedom. In particular, this misunderstanding extends to the nature of economic freedom and the role of government to regulate mankind. These are the epic issues, not only of our time but of all time. These are the primordial struggles which man has faced since he emerged from the cave. These struggles have summoned our greatest ideas, our greatest thinking and our greatest contributions to the fundamental questions of why we are here. Sometimes we call this work philosophy, sometimes economics, and sometimes it is far broader than both of these. The…
Improving US Competitiveness: Eliminating Anti-Competitive Market Distortions This paper examines what we believe to be a major challenge in global trade and the ability of the U.S. economy to grow. We believe the issues discussed in this paper constitute a national economic security issue and, if not dealt with, an existential threat to the United States. These issues have been variously described as state capitalism, regulatory protection and state-led economic development. We examine these issues under a more economic-focused paradigm – anti-competitive market distortions (“ACMDs”). To read the full paper, please click here
Now that President Buhari has won the election in Nigeria, there are real opportunities to improve the Nigerian economy, attract new foreign investment to Nigeria, and signal a new direction for economic policy. These opportunities need to be urgently undertaken. There is always an opportunity at the beginning of the term of a new administration for creative ideas to take effect. We have laid out how this might be achieved and some key areas where Nigeria could make improvements. You can read the full paper, with a Foreword by Home Secretary of the UK Priti Patel, here – below is…
Centuries of countless efforts to reduce poverty have made little progress, particularly in developing countries. Moreover, attempts to resolve long-festering political disputes peacefully have been unsuccessful in these countries. Both issues come together in tragically torn areas like the Palestinian territories, the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Kashmir and northern Sri Lanka, plus numerous other nations in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. It is our belief, based on six decades’ commercial and trade experience in developing countries, that a liberal, free-market economic development model can contribute significantly to political conflict resolution at the same time as it socially and…
