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The study carried out in the chapter aims to determine trade drivers that can successfully intensify mutual trade in products of mineral origin between members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The authors applied the methods of correlation and comparative analysis to identify the main ways to increase foreign trade flows between integration countries under the conditions of foreign trade barriers. After using the analysis of the correlation relationship between the mutual foreign trade turnover of the EAEU countries, covering the commodity group “mineral products”, and other main statistical indicators, the authors identified the main drivers of mutual trade in mineral products. Among such methods of enhancing mutual merchandise trade are GDP growth, strengthening of revealed comparative advantages, cargo tracking mechanisms, the quality of logistics services and the level of organisation of international shipments. Transport infrastructure, timeliness of delivery and the share of domestic R&D expenditures in GDP have a less positive impact on the mutual trade of integration countries, while geographical distance and customs checks, on the contrary, have a negative impact on trade flows. The obtained results of the analytical work can help to form guidelines on which the Eurasian integration community needs to rely to achieve unhindered mutual foreign trade activities.

The aim of this chapter is to develop a strong research base for the academia and the industry to understand the importance of data analytics in International Trade. This chapter focuses on the case of cotton trade from India and explores different methodologies developed by the World Bank and International Trade Center to analyze the Big Data available on export and import. Through Big Data analysis, this chapter attempts to find out the export performance, market demand, export potential, and attractive markets for Indian cotton. This chapter also explores the trade competitiveness of Indian cotton over the years. The data through appropriate analysis can address some simple yet complicated questions in trade like what export potential the commodity holds, if the commodity is competitive or not in international market, what are new markets to look up to, and other similar questions. In other words, this information could make huge difference in decision-making of traders and policymakers directly, and farmers indirectly.

Using an original product level database, this article analyzes the nature and dynamics of Swiss specializations during the “first globalization” (1850–1913). I study the comparative advantages, as well as the evolution of the trade structure, in order to understand economic performance differences between Switzerland and France. Despite differences in terms of market size, some common trends are identified. I also argue that Switzerland's skilled labor force, along with an intelligent choice of economic policy, allowed this country to adapt its specialization structure to global demand and enjoy rapid economic growth.

This paper investigates how relative environmental regulation influences the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), and thereby assesses the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH). In this field, conflicting results exist, partly due to the mere consideration of absolute environmental regulation or the inadequate consideration of endogeneity. Concerning these, we study China’s inward FDI from 26 developed countries and 12 developing countries over 1996–2009, and collect four different environmental regulation indicators at relative values of CO₂, SO₂, PM10, and an environmental regulation index. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find strong PHH evidence no matter for the subsample of FDI from developed countries or the one from developing countries. Moreover, we show how such results can be masked if failing to consider the endogeneity.

The study of markets encompasses a number of disciplines – including anthropology, economics, history, and sociology – and a larger number of theoretical frameworks (see Plattner, 1989; Reddy, 1984; Smelser & Swedberg, 1994). Despite this disciplinary and theoretical diversity, scholarship on markets tends toward either realist or constructionist accounts (Dobbin, 1994; Dowd & Dobbin, forthcoming).¹ Realist accounts treat markets as extant arenas that mostly (or should) conform to a singular ideal-type. Realists thus take the existence of markets as given and examine factors that supposedly shape all markets in a similar fashion. When explaining market outcomes, they tout such factors as competition, demand, and technology; moreover, they can treat the impact of these factors as little influenced by context. Constructionist accounts treat markets as emergent arenas that result in a remarkable variety of types. They problematize the existence of markets and examine how contextual factors contribute to this variety. When explaining market outcomes, some show that social relations and/or cultural assumptions found in a particular setting can qualify the impact of competition (Uzzi, 1997), demand (Peiss, 1998), and technology (Fischer, 1992). Constructionists thus stress the contingent, rather than universal, processes that shape markets.