The Efficacy of Regional Trade Agreements, 1958–2006: The Effect of Institution Creation on Market Expansion

This article examines the efficacy of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in promoting bilateral trade through a sociological lens that stresses institutional underpinnings of the market. Most RTAs are driven by economic neoliberalism and mainly focus on “negative integration” (direct removal of trade barriers such as tariffs and other regulations). Not all RTAs incorporate elements of “positive integration” (deliberate establishment of institutions supporting new markets). Using a large data set on international bilateral trade from 1958 through 2006, this study finds that incorporation of positive integration in an RTA increases its actual efficacy in promoting bilateral trade. It further distinguishes two major types of positive integration: (1) establishment of market institutions that directly regulate cross‐border markets and (2) establishment of social institutions that deal with social consequences of market expansion. Both types promote bilateral trade. The higher the level of positive integration, the more effective the RTA is in promoting bilateral trade. Overall, this study lends support to the sociological insight that creation of necessary institutions is essential for market expansion across borders. It also implies that positive integration has the potential to reconcile the seemingly contradictory goals of trade expansion and social protection.     

Bilateral Investment Treaties and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence of Asymmetric Effects on Vertical and Horizontal Investments

Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are legal instruments used by developing and transition countries to provide investor protection and, by extension, promote higher levels of inward foreign direct investment (FDI). While the link between BITs and FDI has been extensively studied, little is known about the impact of the treaties on different forms of investment. Motivated by this observation, we examine the effects of BITs on vertical and horizontal FDI. We find that BITs are more positively related to vertical than to horizontal FDI. We also find that BITs tend to act as stronger substitutes for better institutions in the case of vertical relative to horizontal investments. The findings inform BIT strategies that are compatible with development objectives in developing and transition countries.     

Losing Control: Policy Space to Prevent and Mitigate Financial Crises in Trade and Investment Agreements

This article examines the extent to which measures to mitigate the current financial crisis and prevent future crises are permissible under a variety of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and investment agreements. US trade and investment agreements, and, to a lesser extent, the World Trade Organization, leave little room to manoeuvre with capital controls, despite increasing evidence that certain controls can prevent or mitigate crises. Investment rules under the treaties of most capital‐exporting nations allow for at least the use of temporary controls as a safeguard measure. The article offers a range of policies that could be deployed to improve US investment rules.     

Post-Brexit Trade Policy Autonomy as Pyrrhic Victory: Being a Middle Power in a Contested Trade Regime

The Leave camp and prominent Brexiteers typically present regaining political control over international trade policy after Brexit as one advantage of leaving the European Union. A newly autonomous UK government, so the argument goes, will be free to negotiate wide-reaching and ambitious trade agreements with the world and will not be restricted by the compromise-culture inherent in supranational, Brussels-based deliberations. In the absence of clear formulations of Britain’s post-Brexit trade political agenda, much of the debate remains hypothetical at this point. Yet, from a global governance perspective, it is clear that the institutional and legal architecture for international trade cooperation is currently fragmented. Given WTO negotiating deadlocks, the institutional strain resulting from parallel country-by-country negotiations, regulatory clash in the existing network of preferential trade agreements, and the UK’s new position as a middle power in the trade regime, this essay argues that Britain may find it more difficult to push its own trade agenda internationally than is currently conceded in the debate. With the global trade regime currently shifting back towards more power-based forms of international interactions, regaining trade policy autonomy post-Brexit may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory for the new trade middle power Britain.     

美国双边投资框架协议（2012）研究

美国2012年双边投资协定范本是目前美国双边投资谈判的依据。这一范本在2004年范本的基础上主要修改了4个方面的内容。以美国2012年双边投资协定范本为基础,中美双边投资协定谈判关注的重要问题聚焦了中美双方的主要利益分歧。该范本的公布,以及中方承诺采用准入前国民待遇和负面清单,有望推动中美BIT谈判进入实质性阶段,这将影响中国经济和全球经济,也对中国下一步的谈判有所启示。     

Predicting Participation in Environmental Treaties: A World-System Analysis*

Which countries tend to sign international environmental treaties and why? This study tests the ability of quantitative cross-national political and economic analysis to predict participation in international environmental agreements over the period 1963–1987. Cross-sectional ordinary least squares regressions suggest that poor, highly indebted countries that are dependent on very few trading partners and that have repres-sive regimes are far more likely to be nonsignatories. The results suggest strategies for increasing the likelihood that nations will ratify hture environmental treaties.     

Substitution and Stratification: The Interplay between Dyadic and Systemic Proximity in Global Trade, 1993–2005

This article examines the interplay of homophily (similarity breeds connection) at two levels in international trade—dyadic similarity (geographic, political, and cultural proximity) and systemic similarity (structural equivalence and world‐system status). First, there is a substitution effect between dyadic homophily and systemic homophily from structural equivalence. Both types of homophily generate favorable social structure that facilitates international trade. The existence of structural equivalence lessens the dependence of bilateral trade on dyadic homophily. Second, there is a stratification effect of world‐system status on dyadic homophily. Geographic homophily matters the most for bilateral trade between two noncore countries, while political and cultural homophily is the most influential for trade between a core country and a noncore country. These two findings have important implications. The substitution effect of structural equivalence prevents international trade from complete fragmentation along geographic, political, and cultural lines, while the stratification effect of world‐system status reveals unequal capacity across countries to overcome the structural constraints imposed by dyadic homophily.     

The evolution of structural resilience of global oil and gas resources trade network

This paper establishes anetwork resilience evaluation framework of the global oil and gas resourcetrade network in 2010, 2015 and 2020. The results are as follows: The links of the oil trade network present a gradually shrinking trend, and the gas tradenetwork presents a trend of close connection first and then reduced. In termsof network density, network centrality, network connectivity and network size, the structural resilience of the oil and gas resource trade network displays ashrinking trend, and the gas trade network is superior. Concerninginvulnerability and recovery, the resilience of the oil trade network issuperior to the natural gas trade network. In simulated attacks, the oil tradenetwork reveals a higher resilience towards intentional attacks, and the gastrade network shows a higher resilience towards random attacks. The Strait ofHormuz and the Strait of Malacca are critical chokepoints in the networks.     

Network models for social selection processes

We present network models for social selection processes, based on the p¹ class of models. Social selection occurs when individuals form social relationships on the basis of certain characteristics they possess. Similarity is a common hypothesis for selection processes, but one that is usually framed dyadically. Structural balance approaches move beyond dyadic conceptualizations and require more sophisticated modeling. The two-block chain graph approach of p¹ social influence models is adapted to allow individual attribute variables to be predictors of network ties. Using a range of dependence assumptions, we present a hierarchy of increasingly complex selection models, including models for continuous attribute measures, which in their simplest form may be assumed to be linear. The models have scope, however, for more complex functional formulations so that more specific hypotheses may be investigated by postulating a particular functional form. Our empirical examples illustrate how dyadic selection may be transmuted into structural effects, and how the absence of dyadic selection may still mask a subtle higher order selection effect as individuals “position” themselves within a wider social environment. In conclusion, we discuss the links between social influence and social selection models.     

FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS AS DYNAMIC FARSIGHTED NETWORKS

In the presence of multilateral negotiations, are Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) necessary for, or will they prevent, global free trade? I answer this question using a dynamic farsighted model of network formation among asymmetric countries. Ultimately, FTAs prevent global free trade when there are two larger countries and one smaller country but FTAs can be necessary for global free trade when there are two smaller countries and one larger country. The model provides insights into the dynamics of recent real‐world negotiations and recent results in the literature on the empirical determinants of trade agreements. (JEL C71, F12, F13)     

Characteristics and Allowed Behaviors of Gay Male Couples’ Sexual Agreements

Research has shown that gay male couples’ sexual agreements may affect their risk for HIV. Few U.S. studies have collected dyadic data nationally from gay male couples to assess what sexual behaviors they allow to occur by agreement type and the sequence of when certain behaviors occur within their relationships. In our cross-sectional study, dyadic data from a convenience sample of 361 male couples were collected electronically throughout the United States by using paid Facebook ads. Findings revealed that couples discussed their HIV status before having unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) but established their agreement some time after having UAI. About half of the couples (N = 207) concurred about having an agreement. Among these couples, 58% concurred about explicitly discussing their agreement, 84% concurred about having the same type of agreement, and 54% had both men adhering to it. A variety of sexual behaviors were endorsed and varied by agreement type. Concordance about aspects of couples’ agreements varied, suggesting the need to engage couples to be more explicit and detailed when establishing and communicating about their agreements. The allowed behaviors and primary reasons for establishing and breaking sexual agreements further highlight the need to bolster HIV prevention for gay male couples.     

Micro-structural foundations of network inequality: Evidence from a field experiment in professional networking

Sociological accounts of network inequality typically rely on the logic of preferential attachment, holding that individuals in a social network prefer to form ties with central rather than peripheral actors. We develop an alternative explanation for the growth of network inequality that does not require actors to have knowledge about the social position of others or to hold explicit preferences for partners based on such knowledge. Instead, we theorize that central actors benefit from being exposed to more opportunities for triadic closure, which confounds a quality- or popularity-based signal that their greater connectedness might also send. We test this prediction an observational study and a field experiment across multiple professional conferences. In the field experiment, we test whether network centrality is predictive of tie formation if the benefits that central actors receive through their disproportional exposure to second-order network neighbors are randomly suppressed. The findings demonstrate that for the same level of exposure to opportunities for triadic closure, central actors and less central actors are equally likely to be selected as network partners. We discuss how the proposed mechanism may be used to rectify social capital disadvantages among disadvantaged groups.     

Sexual Portrait of Couples Seeking Relationship Therapy

This study sought to provide information about the sexual well‐being of 298 mixed‐sex couples seeking relationship therapy and determined the extent to which problems with sexual functioning and dyadic adjustment of both partners are associated with sexual satisfaction. Partners completed measures of dyadic adjustment, sexual satisfaction, and sexual functioning. Thirty percent of couples reported a clinically significant sexual problem. Compared to their male partners, the women were more likely to report a sexual problem as well as lower dyadic adjustment, sexual satisfaction, and overall sexual functioning. Path analysis indicated that relationship adjustment uniquely predicted individuals' own sexual satisfaction; problems in sexual functioning uniquely predicted own and partner sexual satisfaction. Findings underscore the need to address sexual problems in relationship therapy.     

Further understanding the systemic effects of childhood sexual abuse: a comparison of two groups of clinical couples

This study addressed the impact of traumatic experiences on dyadic relationships by comparing general stress and trauma symptoms and relationship impairment measures between two clinical groups: female childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors (n=15) and their male partners, and a control group of couples who reported no CSA (n=17). Both female CSA survivors and their partners reported higher symptoms of stress, suggesting support for the theory of secondary traumatic stress. Relationship impairment results did not support the hypothesis that CSA would negatively impact the dyadic functioning of couples. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are provided.     

Wages,Skills, and Integration in Poland,Hungary and the Czech Republic: an Industry-level Analysis

This paper analyzes the manufacturing sector of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic between 1993 and 2001 and provides a set of stylized facts regarding the changes occurring in the skill composition of the workforce and in the earning structure by skills, on one hand, and in trade flows and foreign presence through direct investment, on the other hand. All three countries have experienced sharp increases in earning inequality which have concerned almost all manufacturing industries; relative skilled employment has, instead, decreased in almost all Hungarian and Czech industrial branches, while showing the opposite trend in the Polish counterparts. At the same time, the three countries have reoriented and expanded their trade flows and modified the merchandise composition of both exports and imports in favour of high-tech and capital-intensive sectors and against more traditional industries. Foreign direct investment has acquired progressively more importance in the three economies and the high-tech sector – as well as chemicals and machineries – has significantly gained relevance on total stocks. Correlation analysis comes in favour of a prevalently vertical nature of multinational enterprises; moreover, trade flows are in general negatively correlated with relative wages and employment, whereas the sign of the relation between foreign direct investments and earning inequality is clearly positive in Poland only.     

Differences Between Partners From Heterosexual,Gay, and Lesbian Cohabiting Couples

Partners from four types of couples without children (gay unmarried, lesbian unmarried, heterosexual unmarried, and heterosexual married, Ns=1,412, 1,310, 1,036, and 1,728, respectively) were compared to partners from heterosexual married couples with children (N =3,116) on mean levels of variables from a model of relationship adjustment as well as on the strength of links posited by the model. Although 82% of the mean‐level comparisons were significant, only 36% of the comparisons had effect sizes that were at least small in strength. Type of couple affected links between variables in only 33% of the instances, with effect sizes trivial in strength. Findings support the view that despite variability in structure, close dyadic relationships work in similar ways.     

Overlapping crime: Stability and specialization of co-offending relationships

Dyadic analyses of relationships between criminals have mostly ignored the multiplex nature of criminal ties. This study attempts to provide a more complete assessment of co-offending networks by incorporating the different types of crime that relate individuals with each other. Drawing on a large dataset of arrests in Quebec between 2003 and 2009, we focus on co-offending stability and specialization and illustrate how co-offending networks based on different types of criminal activities overlap. We portray a pattern of co-offending, which extends debate of criminal specialization/versatility to the dyadic level. Our study illustrates the ways in which the frequency and spectrum of crime include a relational component. More generally, the article emphasizes the need to consider the semantics of network ties, and further, the association between different types of networks, which ultimately offers a reassessment of social structure.     

Hubs and Authorities in the Koch Brothers Network

The empirical focus is centered on the large social movement network created by the Koch Brothers to further their aims of transforming the US. The network was obtained by using the VOSON web crawler given a starting set of known allies of the Koch Brothers. This produced a large directed network with links between units. We propose using the idea of hubs and authorities as another way of considering the roles played by the units within this network. These roles may be more complex than has been realized. We have included an analysis of the core interests for the members of this network.     

Freud,Grafenberg, and the neglected vagina: Thoughts concerning an historical omission in sexology

Because similarity between partners has been thought to be related to relationship quality, this study assessed similarities between partners in 44 married, 35 heterosexual cohabiting, 50 gay, and 56 lesbian couples on demographic characteristics, appraisals of relationship quality, and factors predictive of relationship quality. With regard to demographic characteristics: Partners' age was correlated for each type of couple; partners' income, education, and job prestige were correlated only for heterosexual cohabiting couples; and gay partners had the largest discrepancies in age, income, and education. With regard to appraisals of relationship quality: Partners' scores were correlated for each type of couple on relationship satisfaction but for only gay and lesbian couples on love for partner; partners across all couples differed in their assessments of relationship quality. With regard to the predictors of relationship quality: Partner scores were correlated for each type of couple only on shared decision making; these predictor scores were most frequently correlated for lesbian partners; differences between partners were least for lesbian couples on attractions to the relationship and perceived family support and greatest for cohabiting couples on dyadic attachment. Relationship quality was not related to discrepancies between partners' demographic variables but was negatively related to discrepancies in partners' dyadic attachment. In conclusion, partner homogamy was most pervasive in lesbian couples, and for all couples homogamy on dyadic attachment was related to relationship quality.     

Attachment,Parenting, and Obesogenic Behavior: A Dyadic Perspective

Pediatric obesity is a growing health concern afflicting the United States. The treatment for pediatric obesity, as a health epidemic, costs billions of dollars to our nation, leaving providers and researchers searching for effective and sustainable ways to better manage the biological, psychological, and social health of individuals and families. While many assessments and interventions continue to emerge, researchers have predominately focused on intra-individual concerns among white non-Hispanic populations. This quantitative study was grounded in a relational theory (attachment theory), with a dyadic and primarily Hispanic sample. Evidence from our study supported that child attachment predicted child obesogenic behavior and that this relationship was mediated by child self-regulation. Children with insecure attachments had more obesogenic behaviors and lower self-regulation of eating than those with secure attachments. Family therapists should be on the frontlines of relational research and clinical interventions that interface with biopsychosocial health across diverse cultures and families