While membership in the World Trade Organization is extensive, not every country is a member. The following countries all have observer status in the World Trade Organization, meaning they are considering joining the organization. Choose one of the following countries and use the Stolper-Samuelson theory to analyze whether joining the World Trade Organization will be beneficial to that country.
Iran
Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lebanon
Ethiopia
Write a short (no more than four page) essay on your chosen country. Address the following questions:
What are the key economic sectors of the country, and how internationally competitive are these sectors?
How would joining the WTO influence the profitability of these sectors?
Which sectors would benefit from increased trade through the WTO, and which would lose?
Do the number of people in the country associated with the sector that would benefit outweigh the number of people associated with a losing sector?
Given your analysis, do you recommend the country join the WTO and liberalize its trade policies? Why or why not?
The sources used in your paper should be credible news sources (e.g. The New York Times, The Economist, Foreign Policy, BBC) and scholarly books and articles. You may also consult your country’s government webpage, and use the CU Boulder library to access more information.
Leave a Reply