The World Economy

This volume is the third in an annual series in which top economists provide a concise and accessible evaluation of major developments in trade and trade policy. Each annual volume examines key issues pertinent to the multilateral trading system, as well as regional trade arrangements and policy developments at the national level. Each volume also provides assessments of several of the World Trade Organization's current Trade Policy Reviews.This year's volume contains an evaluation of the World Trade Organization and its role in the evolving global trade regime; a review of developments in the treatment of intellectual property rights, and an analysis of globalization and its implications. In the area of regional trade arrangements, the volume features assessments of Mercosur; of open regionalism in APEC; and of proposal for a Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Area. Among current Trade Policy Reviews, those for Brazil, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand and Uganda are examined.