Global Perspective on the Connections Between Immigrants and World Cities

Research and Event Summaries

Project Abstract

While an abundance of research has examined national and regional competition policy and antitrust regulation, there is significantly less in the literature regarding the globalization of such policies. Research on the costs and benefits of global competition policy and the impact of competition policy convergence on trade, investments, and economic prosperity is lacking because although there has been a drive to harmonize a whole series of standards by the more developed members of the World Trade Organization specially the European Union (EU) nations and the U.S.) no one has really investigated the consequences. The more important competition policy debated center around the following issues: international agreements, antitrust regulations, investment and distribution systems, intellectual property norms (e.g., source coding sharing), labor market and food processing safety (fps) standards, and technical barriers to trade.

Currently, national and regional competition policies still dominate world trade, however, increasing emphasis is being placed on globalization, i.e. harmonization of competition policies and antitrust regulations. Whereas the globalization of various trade, economic, and social policies has helped facilitate trade, investments and economic prosperity in many parts of the world (developed and less developed nations), this research hopes to determine whether a global competition policy is feasible and desirable (i.e., would a positive and fair outcome result if globalization of competition policy and antitrust regulations were to continue in its current tracks—towards a U.S. style model or whether it is more efficient and fair to continue to have regional policies and allow for the differences in corporate governance, levels of economic development and political and judicial sophistication?) This project will investigate six case studies which assist in assessing the pros and cons of globalization of competition policy and antitrust regulations (e.g. EU-US bananas; EU-Turkey Textiles, Kodak-Fuji, Microsoft). Methodology from the international trade, investment and economic growth literature will be used. In addition, the different competition policies of the U.S., EU, Japan and the WTO will be compared and discussed with the context of their impact on trade, corporate governance and public-private partnerships.

Faculty

Lisa Benton-Short, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, The George Washington University
Marie Price, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, The George Washington University
Samantha Friedman, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, The George Washington University

The GW Center for the Study of Globalization
2033 K Street, NW, Suite 230 • Washington, DC 20052 • Phone: (202) 994-5206 • Fax: (202) 994-5284
Email: gwcsg@gwu.edu • http://gstudynet.org/