Student Research

Digital Economy Issues in WTO’s Trade Policy Reviews

Shan He, MSBA '20
Anum Kanjani, MSF '20
Makoto Sakuwa, Accelerated MA '20

This paper analyzes the coverage of digital economy and e-commerce issues in current Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs) of the World Trade Organization WTO. Based on the analysis and regulatory environment of digital trade in different countries, the report identifies and discusses key digital policy areas to be comprehensively reviewed in a separate e-commerce section, at least for the digitally advanced countries. While some of these policy areas include new topics in digital trade, such as telemedicine and online education services, the paper also highlights some of the existing policies that must be reviewed from a digital trade perspective.

Goods Trade Under Siege: Early Indications of Industry Shifts in Global Sourcing During the U.S.-China Trade War

Zhiyu Guo, MA '20
Muneeb Ahmad Naseem, MA '20
Maneesh Ramanadham, MA '20
Luisa Reyes, BA/MA '21

Using the earliest available data, this report researches contemporaneous shifts in global sourcing during the U.S.-China Trade war in six high-volume trade industries. In addition to U.S.-China trade destruction and trade diversion, our analysis found that the apparel and footwear industries accelerated a “China plus one” sourcing strategy, whereas the communications, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices sectors doubled-down on growth in Chinese markets and long-term investment instead of shifting sourcing. Differential industry responses are contextualized through business case studies including Huawei, Medtronic, and Gap.

Health and Gender Inequality: Case Studies of Peru, Indonesia and the Philippines

Elidaurys Martinez Catano, MA '20
Sayed Masihullah Fakhri, MA '20
Tobias Reynolds, BA/MA '20
Brandon Stanaway, BA/MA '20

This project is a pilot study that analyzes the early determinants of women’s agency among APEC countries, specifically in Peru, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Agency. The authors categorize women’s agency in three dimensions (Physical, Cognitive and Economic), defined as functions of a person’s family, upbringing, and other social factors. The empirical analysis uses micro data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and develops a series of OLS and logit regressions for 2007-2008 and 2012-2013. Results are mixed across all three economies and many of the observed relationships persist through time.