Untitled Flashcards Set

comparative advantage – "The ability of a country or firm to produce a particular good or service more efficiently than the other goods or services that it can produce, such that its resources are most efficiently employed in this activity. The comparison is to the efficiency of other economic activities that the actor might undertake, given all the products it can produce—not to the efficiency of other countries or firms."

absolute advantage – "The ability of a country or firm to produce more of a particular good or service than other countries or firms do with the same amount of effort and resources."

Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory – "The theory that a country will export goods that make intensive use of the factors of production in which it is well endowed. For example, a labor-rich country will export goods that make intensive use of labor."

protectionism – "The imposition of barriers to restrict imports."

trade barriers – "Government limitations on the international exchange of goods. Examples include tariffs, quantitative restrictions (quotas), import licenses, requirements that governments buy only domestically produced goods, and health and safety standards that discriminate against foreign goods."

tariff – "A tax imposed on imports. Tariffs raise the domestic price of the imported good and may be applied for the purpose of protecting domestic producers from foreign competition."

quantitative restriction (quota) – "A limit placed on the amount of a particular good that is allowed to be imported."

nontariff barriers to trade – "Obstacles to imports other than tariffs (trade taxes). Examples include restrictions on the number of products that can be imported (quantitative restrictions, or quotas); regulations that favor domestic over imported products; and other measures that discriminate against foreign goods or services."

Stolper-Samuelson theorem – "The theorem that protection benefits the scarce factor of production. This view flows from the Heckscher-Ohlin theory: if a country imports goods that make intensive use of its scarce factor, then limiting imports will help that factor. So in a labor-scarce country, labor benefits from protection and loses from trade liberalization."

Ricardo-Viner (specific-factors) model – "A model of trade relations that emphasizes the sector in which factors of production are employed rather than the nature of the factor itself."

reciprocity – "In international trade relations, a mutual agreement to lower tariffs and other barriers to trade. Reciprocity involves an implicit or explicit arrangement for one government to exchange trade-policy concessions with another."

most-favored nation (MFN) status – "A status established by most modern trade agreements guaranteeing that the signatories will extend to each other any favorable trading terms offered in agreements with third parties."

World Trade Organization (WTO) – "The most important international institution in commercial relations, which succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO, which opened its doors in 1995, is more structured, more formal, and more encompassing than the GATT, although its goal is very similar: to encourage the expansion of an open international trading system."

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) – "Created in 1947 as one of the original Bretton Woods institutions, GATT oversaw a dramatic liberalization of trade relations, in particular among developed countries, for more than 40 years. It was succeeded by the WTO in 1995."

regional trade agreements (RTAs) – "Agreements among three or more countries in a region to reduce barriers to trade among themselves."

less developed countries (LDCs) – "Countries at a relatively low level of economic development."

infrastructure – "Basic structures necessary for social activity, such as transportation and telecommunications networks, and power and water supply."

primary products – "Raw materials and agricultural products, typically unprocessed or only slightly processed. The primary sectors are distinguished from secondary sectors (industry) and tertiary sectors (services)."

oligopoly – "A situation in which a market or industry is dominated by a few firms."

terms of trade – "The relationship between a country’s export prices and its import prices."

import-substituting industrialization (ISI) – "A set of policies, pursued by most developing countries from the 1930s through the 1980s, to reduce imports and encourage domestic manufacturing."

export-oriented industrialization (EOI) – "A set of policies, originally pursued starting in the late 1960s by several East Asian countries, to spur manufacturing for export."

Washington Consensus – "An array of policy recommendations generally advocated by developed-country economists and policymakers starting in the 1980s."

Group of 77 – "A coalition of developing countries in the United Nations, formed in 1964 with 77 members; it has grown to over 130 but retains the original name."

commodity cartels – "Associations of producers of commodities that restrict world supply and thereby cause the price of the goods to rise."

human rights – "The rights possessed by all individuals by virtue of being human."

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – "A declaration, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, that defines a 'common standard of achievement for all peoples' and forms the foundation of modern human rights law."

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – "The agreement completed in 1966 and in force from 1976 that details the basic civil and political rights of individuals and nations."

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – "The agreement completed in 1966 and in force from 1976 that specifies the basic economic, social, and cultural rights of individuals and nations."

International Bill of Rights – "The UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR collectively."

nonderogable rights – "Rights that cannot be suspended for any reason, including at times of public emergency."

prisoners of conscience (POCs) – "Individuals imprisoned solely because of the peaceful expression of their beliefs."

individual petition – "A right that permits individuals to petition appropriate international legal bodies directly if they believe a state has violated their rights."

International Criminal Court (ICC) – "A court of last resort for human rights cases that possesses jurisdiction only if the accused is a national of a state party."

global climate change – "Human-induced change in the environment, especially from the emissions of greenhouse gases, leading to higher temperatures around the globe."

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – "A 1992 international agreement that provided an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts on climate change."

Paris Agreement – "An agreement negotiated under the UNFCCC in 2015 and in force since 2016, that aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature increases."

tragedy of the commons – "A problem that occurs when a resource is open to all, without limit."

public goods – "Products that are nonexcludable and nonrival in consumption, such as clean air or water."

common-pool resources – "Goods that are available to everyone, such as open ocean fisheries."

nonexcludable goods – "Goods that, if available to one actor, cannot be denied to others."

nonrival goods – "Goods for which consumption by one actor does not diminish the quantity available to others."

Kyoto Protocol – "An amendment to the UNFCCC, adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005."

Vienna Convention – "A framework convention adopted in 1985 to regulate activities, especially emissions of CFCs, that damage the ozone layer."

Montreal Protocol – "An international treaty, signed in 1989, that is designed to protect the ozone layer."