This book looks at rules of origin in preferential trading agreements and their growing importance in trade negotiations. The book's message is that rules of origin can act as powerful barriers to trade and have been deliberately used as such.

RULES OF ORIGIN: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES; RULES OF ORIGIN IN REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD; THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF RULES OF ORIGIN; MEASURING THE IMPACT OF RULES OF ORIGIN; RULES OF ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

`Review from previous edition One cannot understand today's multilateral trading system without understanding its web of Preferential Trade Agreements. And one cannot understand these agreements without understanding their Rules of Origin. This collection of original theoretical and empirical papers sheds considerable light on what may well be the most important instrument of trade policy of our times. ' Gene Grossman, Professor of Economics, Princeton University `Rules of origin are among the least understood and most important elements of free trade agreements. This well organized study presents both a technical and political analysis of their uses and impacts and is a "must read" for anyone responsible for developing, negotiating, or implementing these rules. ' Carla A. Hills, Former US Trade Representative `This book by some of the world's leading experts in the field is a state-of-the-art analysis of a complex and oft-neglected aspect of trade policy. With the growth of regionalism, rules of origin become more significant by the day, yet remain poorly understood. The present work goes a long way in remedying this deficiency. It comprises an enticing blend of economic theory and empirical study, together with political economy and development analysis. ' Patrick Low, Director of Economic Research and Statistics, WTO Secretariat

First book of its kind to address the growing importance of rules of origin in international trade Original essays combine state-of-the-art economic theory and a wealth of fresh factual information with rigorous econometric analysis of the evidence

Olivier Cadot is Professor of Economics at the University of Lausanne and Director of the Institut d´Economie Appliquée (Créa). He was previously Associate Professor at INSEAD and has held visiting positions at UCLA and McGill. He holds a Ph.D in Economics from Princeton University and a Master´s in Economic History from McGill University. He is a fellow of the CEPR and an associate scholar of the CERDI and CEPREMAP. He also serves on the editorial board of the Revue d´Economie du Développement. Thierry Verdier is Director of DELTA, Senior Civil Engineer and Research Director at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, EHESS) in Paris. He is also the Co-director of the International Trade Programme at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London. His master and doctoral degrees were received from Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées and EHESS. Antoni Estevadeordal is a Principal Trade Economist and Research Coordinator at the Integration, Trade and Hemispheric Issues Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Before joining the IDB he taught at the University of Barcelona and Harvard University. He has published widely in major journals, most recently in American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of International Economics, Journal of Economic Integration, Economia and the Journal of World Trade. He holds a PhD and MA in Economics from Harvard University and a BA in Economics from the University of Barcelona. Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann is an Economist at INRA, National Institute for Agricultural Research, France. She is Director of Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée, on the Paris-Jourdan campus. She teaches Development Economics at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales PhD programme and ENSAE, Paris. Her graduate and doctoral degrees were received from Ecole Normale Supérieure and EHESS. She worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the OECD Development Centre.

First book of its kind to address the growing importance of rules of origin in international trade Original essays combine state-of-the-art economic theory and a wealth of fresh factual information with rigorous econometric analysis of the evidence