Unilateralism in a Multilateral World

Wilfred Ethier ()

Economic Journal, 2002, vol. 112, issue 479, 266-292

Abstract: This paper addresses the interplay between unilateralism and multilateralism. I describe their stylised facts and present a simple, multi-country model with high initial tariffs and features that have always been of paramount concern to policy makers, and allow governments to negotiate multilateral agreements. I then find a role for a system with features remarkably similar to contemporary unilateralism. The relationships between multilateralism and unilateralism are subtle: Unilateralism has the properties it has because the world is multilateral (the "insurance" "triangle"); useful unilateralism requires a "multilateral" "component" resulting from a "compatibility problem" between those who negotiate multilaterally and those who establish unilateralism. Copyright 2002 Royal Economic Society

Date: 2002
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