IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecinqu/v57y2019i3p1284-1301.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International Agreements On Product Standards Under Consumption Externalities: National Treatment Versus Mutual Recognition

Author

Listed:
  • Difei Geng

Abstract

This paper provides a comparative analysis of product standards agreements between heterogeneous countries. A simple model of vertical standards is developed where countries have heterogeneous preferences for a negative or positive consumption externality. I compare two major types of standards agreements, those based on national treatment (NT) and mutual recognition (MR). Unlike NT, MR can induce a mismatch of standards between countries, a problem that tends to get worse as country preferences diverge. Due to this mismatch problem, NT tends to become relatively more welfare‐enhancing than MR for countries with more dissimilar preferences. These findings explain why the World Trade Organization, the Trans‐Pacific Partnership, and the European Union choose different types of standards agreements. The paper also sheds new light on the desirability of international harmonization of product standards. (JEL F13, F18, O24)

Suggested Citation

  • Difei Geng, 2019. "International Agreements On Product Standards Under Consumption Externalities: National Treatment Versus Mutual Recognition," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(3), pages 1284-1301, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:57:y:2019:i:3:p:1284-1301
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12785
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12785
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ecin.12785?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mikhail Klimenko & Jingwen Qu, 2023. "Global digital platforms, technology transfer and foreign direct investment policies in two‐sided markets," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(3), pages 584-604, July.
    2. Gene M. Grossman & Phillip McCalman & Robert W. Staiger, 2021. "The “New” Economics of Trade Agreements: From Trade Liberalization to Regulatory Convergence?," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(1), pages 215-249, January.
    3. Difei Geng, 2024. "Tariffs, product standards, and national treatment at the WTO," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(3), pages 1105-1133, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • O24 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Trade Policy; Factor Movement; Foreign Exchange Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:57:y:2019:i:3:p:1284-1301. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/weaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.