This thesis investigates the political effect of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act, a non-reciprocal trade agreement granting eligible Sub-Saharan African states tariff free...Show moreThis thesis investigates the political effect of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act, a non-reciprocal trade agreement granting eligible Sub-Saharan African states tariff free access to the US-American market. In both the scholarly literature and real-world politics, the threat of AGOA suspension seems to spook African leaders. The exclusion mechanism is highly exploitable and political compliance therefore important to stay included in the agreement. The economic impact of AGOA is however highly limited. This thesis tackles the puzzle of why an agreement with no major economic impact leads to political compliance to the US by its member states. My argument is the limitation of AGOA’s utilization to a capacity-abundant elite, which can afford to overcome the utilization barriers (high transportation costs, permits, etc.) and earn the agreements benefits. Following the elite theory, this benefitting elite is then able to influence its government to comply with US policies, in order for AGOA benefits to retain.Show less
It is often said that Brexit has given rise to numerous disruptions in the supply chains of goods, as well as to additional costs in the supply chain, especially when it comes to fast-moving...Show moreIt is often said that Brexit has given rise to numerous disruptions in the supply chains of goods, as well as to additional costs in the supply chain, especially when it comes to fast-moving consumer goods. Although previous research has established that due to Brexit the costs for logistics have increased enormously over the past years, previous research has been unable to establish the consequences of Brexit for the costs of road haulage. This is primarily because most of it was either speculative or non-specific (Long, 2022). The research for this thesis uses the expertise of traders and logistic experts to establish the increases in costs due to Brexit and its requirements as well as their significance as of January 1, 2020. The findings are that the increase in the costs is significant due to Brexit, and that increase in transaction costs affects the people of the United Kingdom and the European Union negatively in several ways. It also shows that the FTA which was negotiated post-Brexit is a dysfunctional international economic institution since it has not reduced transaction costs, even though that is one of the main targets of international institutions (Mattli, 1999; Guzman, 2013). As a result, Brexit also forms a break with the trend in the existing literature on economic institutions.Show less
