Tariff Reform: Some Pre-strategic Considerations

We consider the implications of improving on GATT/WTO tariff negotiations both the most-favoured-nation (MFN) clause and the twin Paretian rules (that negotiations leave the trading world on its efficiency locus and each participating country in a preferred position). It is shown that the set of tariff reforms that satisfy both rules (a) is always non-empty, (b) might include no reforms that end in world-wide free trade, (c) always includes reforms that are incompatible with free trade and (d) might include reforms that support a Pareto-optimal and Pareto-improving allocation but also support other allocations with neither of those characteristics.

Lumpsum versus Non-lumpsum Redistribution: A Second Glance

It has been argued by Turunen-Red and Woodland that, on only mild empirical assumptions, any system of non-distorting international transfers can be replaced by an "equivalent set" of distorting national tariffs without disturbing the international allocation of resources. This remarkable claim is disputed on the ground that the assumptions required for equivalence are not mild, that in particular they rule out quite plausible models of Arrow-Debreu type, and on the further ground that, in a context of non-uniqueness, a set of tariffs which supports an initial transferridden equilibrium might also support several quite different equilibria. An alternative proposition is proposed.

Recovery of atmospheric refractivity profiles from simulated satellite-to-satellite tracking data

Techniques for recovering atmospheric refractivity profiles from simulated satellite-to-satellite tracking data are documented. Examples are given using the geometric configuration of the ATS-6/NIMBUS-6 Tracking Experiment. The underlying refractivity model for the lower atmosphere has the spherically symmetric form N = exp P(s) where P(s) is a polynomial in the normalized height s. For the simulation used, the Herglotz-Wiechert technique recovered values which were 0.4% and 40% different from the input values at the surface and at a height of 33 kilometers, respectively. Using the same input data, the model fitting technique recovered refractivity values 0.05% and 1% different from the input values at the surface and at a height of 50 kilometers, respectively. It is also shown that if ionospheric and water vapor effects can be properly modelled or effectively removed from the data, pressure and temperature distributions can be obtained

IMPACT OF LOCALIZED CUTBACKS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ON A STATE ECONOMY

This study examines the effects that a cutback in production by Texas agricultural producers would have on the economic well-being of all producers and consumers in the stateÂ’s economy. To do this, a quadratic input-output model incorporating econometric estimates of final demand was developed for the Texas economy. The output of the agricultural production sectors was constrained to reflect the cutback in production. The results show that agricultural producers would be economically worse off than before only if the producers of raw agricultural products in Texas imported their input needs from other geographical areas.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Production Economics,