Maurice Schiff

Bio

Maurice Schiff is a Lead Economist in the International Trade Unit, Development Research Group (DECRG-TR) at the World Bank.  He obtained a B.A. and M.A. from the Hebrew University and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1983. Before joining the World Bank, he was Research Director in the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Concepcion, Chile. He is currently doing research on various international economics issues, including co-directing a research program on regional integration which has generated a large number of published papers, a World Bank Policy Research Report entitled "Trade Blocs" and a forthcoming book-length volume entitled "Trade Blocs and Development". Other research issues include the role of knowledge spillovers on growth performance, regionalism and the terms of trade, the welfare implications of trade and migration policies in the presence of social capital, and the link between agriculture and the macro-economy. His work has included policy analysis and advice in the Dominican Republic, Mauritius, Morocco, Nicaragua, Tunisia, Uzbekistan and other countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, in the areas of trade policy, migration, and agriculture.

Academic Background

  • B.A. and M.A. from the Hebrew University

  • Ph.D., Univ. of Chicago (1983)

Areas of Expertise

  • International Trade

  • Regional Integration

  • Agriculture

  • Migration

Present Position (s)

  • Lead Economist in the International Trade Unit, Development Research Group (DECRG-TR) at the World Bank.

Previous Position (s)

Other Activities and Memberships

Academic Experience

  • Research Director, University of Concepción, 1981-83

  • Visiting Professor, University of Namur, Belgium, and University of Auvergue, France

Recent Publications

  • On the Geography of Trade: Distance is Alive and Well.  World Bank Working Paper No. 3206 January, 2004.

  • On the Quantity and Quality of Knowledge: The Impact of Openness and Foreign Research and Development on North-North and North-South Technology Spillovers.  With Y. Wang.  World Bank Working Paper No. 3190. January, 2004

  • Regional Integration and Technology Diffusion: The Case of the North America Free Trade Agreement.  World Bank Working Paper No. 3132. August, 2003.

  • "Market Presence, Contestability, and the Terms-of-Trade Effects of Regional Integration". With W. Chang. World Bank Working Paper No. 2532.  January, 2002.

  • "Love Thy Neighbor: Social Capital, Trade and Optimal Migration Policy".  World Bank Working Paper.  May, 8, 2000.

  • "Will the Real 'Natural Trading Partner' Please Stand Up?" June 2001. Journal
    of Economic Integration

  • "Regional Groupings among Microstates", Feb. 2001, Review of International
    Economics (with S. Andriamananjara)

  • "North-South Migration and Trade: A Survey and Policy Implications".2000/3
    (September). Revue d'economie du developpement

  • Trade Blocs (a World Bank Policy Research Report), Oxford University Press,
    July 2000 (with P. Collier, A. J. Venables and L. A. Winters)

  • "Political Integration, Labor Mobility and Welfare: The Impact of Social
    Capital." 1999/3 (September). Revue d'economie du developpement. A Symposium on the Politics and Dynamics of Regionalism, May 1998, World Bank Economic Review (with L. Alan Winters)

  • "Migration and the Skill Composition of the Labor Force: The Impact of Trade Liberalization in LDCs", May 1998, Canadian Journal of Economics (with R. Lopez)

Current Research Projects

  • "North-South and South-South Trade-Related R&D Spillovers: An Industry Level
    Analysis" with Yanling Wang and Marcelo Olarreaga

Recommended Links

Areas of Interest

  • Regional integration

  • Trade and growth

  • Social capital