Trade-Liberalization Strategies What Could Southeastern Europe Learn from Cefta and Bfta?
32 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2006
Date Written: December 2003
Abstract
This paper explores the effectiveness of the Central European Free Trade Area (CEFTA) and the Baltic Free Trade Area (BFTA). Estimates from a gravity model and bilateral trade data support the view that both CEFTA and BFTA helped expand regional trade and limit the emergence of a "hub-and-spoke" relationship between the CEECs and the European Union (EU). These empirical conclusions carry some important policy implications for the "second wave" of prospective EU members among Southeastern European Countries (SEECs). The paper argues that the SEECs should reconsider their bilateral approach to trade liberalization and move towards a multilateral free-trade area as exemplified by both the CEFTA and BFTA.
Keywords: Trade liberalization gravity models stability pact CEFTA BFTA
JEL Classification: F15 F13 C23 P5
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
One Money, One Market: Estimating the Effect of Common Currencies on Trade
-
Determinants of Bilateral Trade: Does Gravity Work in a Neoclassical World?
-
Does a Currency Union Affect Trade? The Time Series Evidence
By Reuven Glick and Andrew Kenan Rose
-
Does a Currency Union Affect Trade? The Time Series Evidence
By Reuven Glick and Andrew Kenan Rose
-
On Theories Explaining the Success of the Gravity Equation
By Simon J. Evenett and Wolfgang Keller
-
Estimating Trade Flows: Trading Partners and Trading Volumes
By Elhanan Helpman, Marc J. Melitz, ...
-
An Estimate of the Effect of Common Currencies on Trade and Income