Institutional Permeability and Cross-Border Transmission: Evidence from Uzbekistan’s 2017 Liberalization
by Aaron Williams Lam Abstract While standard diffusion frameworks predict that liberalizing reforms generate positive spillovers in geographically proximate regions, borders are not frictionless membranes. Even observable connectivity may fail to translate into cross-border economic co-movement when institutional frictions govern whether interaction activates transmission. Using Uzbekistan’s 2017 exchange-rate unification as a natural experiment, this paper […]
Vertical Specialization, Trade Diversion, and the 2018-2019 US-China Trade War
by Mariam Hasina Gulamhusein Abstract This thesis examines the impacts of the 2018–2019 US-China trade war, focusing on trade diversion and changes in vertical specialization (VS). Using US imports data and OECD Trade in Value Added (TiVA) data, this thesis estimates country-level tariff elasticities and changes in VS ratios in response to the Section 301 […]
Government Allocation of Import Quota Slots to US Films in China’s Cinematic Movie Market
By Sabrina McCutchan The Chinese government implements a complex regulatory system to decrease the market share of imported Hollywood films for theatrical release. The import quota, censorship, and competitive release-scheduling policies in particular severely limit Hollywood’s access to the Chinese market. However, because the government has a monopoly on film distribution and receives nearly half […]
