Trade Policy, Trade Conflicts, Determinants, and Consequences of Protectionism

In this dissertation, I try to continue the strand of the literature on international trade. Theoretical modelling accompanied with econometrics analysis using available data assist this thesis to provide explanations on trade policy determinants and its implications. The first chapter investigates the impact of corruption on trade protectionism and trade openness as a major institutional determinant discussed in the literature. In the second chapter, a theoretical framework on welfare analysis of a prohibitive non-tariff measure (NTM) is illustrated. NTMs that have attracted global attention after drop of tariffs via international agreements such as GATT and WTO regulations are discussed in details with the special focus on technical barriers to trade (TBT). In the third chapter, quality of traded products is analyzed through various types of NTMs. In the fourth chapter, the trade disputes on TBTs are investigated as major trade conflicts in the context of WTO dispute settlement mechanism. Moreover, the determinants of these trade conflicts are analyzed using appropriate econometrics techniques and applying new data on specific trade concerns raise on TBTs. In the fifth chapter, trade frictions in services within the European Union (EU) are studied. While EU directives are regulated to provide a frictionless environment to smoothen trade between member states, tariff equivalents of trade in rail transport services are estimated. Finally, in the sixth chapter of this dissertation, detailed effects of four types of NTMs are analyzed. Using an augmented gravity framework, importerproduct-specific ad-valorem equivalents (AVEs) of NTMs are calculated.