DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TRADING SYSTEM (1) (ILS 217)

Professor Moshe Hirsch

This course focuses on several major topics regarding economic development and the position of developing countries in the contemporary trading system. The course would address the principal dimensions and measurement of "underdevelopment" (GDP, GNI and the Human Development Index), the major approaches to development (the modernization, dependency, developmental state, neo-liberal and neo-institutional approaches). Following a very brief overview of the central principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), special emphasis will be placed on the special position of developing countries in the WTO system. Thus, for instance, we will explore certain reciprocal and non-reciprocal elements of the GATT/WTO regime, trade in agricultural and textile products, and bilateral agreements between developing and developed countries.