Export Cartels and Economic Development
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Export cartels and economic development Peerapat Chokesuwattanaskul Advisor: Dr. Ha-Joon Chang University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Wolfson College March 2018 I would like to dedicate this thesis to my loving family . Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. This dissertation contains fewer than 80,000 words including appendices, bibliography, footnotes, tables and equations and has fewer than 150 figures. Peerapat Chokesuwattanaskul March 2018 Acknowledgements I truly believe that, without a great amount of helps provided by a number of people through- out my journey, I, myself, alone can never come this far. I am thankful for what I become and would not have it changed even a tiny bit. Please note that the following topics are by no means ordered by their importance. People in my life To those people whom I met, in whichever context or circumstance, during an invaluable time in Cambridge, each of you is at the heart of this transformative period of mine. I believe that a man is merely a unique composition of people around him. So whatever is good about thesis, I owe it to all of you. I thank you indeed for being in my life. The same fully applies to those who came into my life before I left for Cambridge. From the kindergarten level to my first doctoral degree, I have been fortunate enough to get to know over hundreds of you whose names could never be put in an exhaustive list. But if you see this message and we know each other, you are already in that list. I wholeheartedly thank you as well. Our lives will keep moving forward and there will be times at which our paths may cross and I hope I will be able to return them a favour, should my services ever be needed at all. viii Dr. Ha-Joon Chang These four years (five years, if master’s degree is included) have been a transformative period of my life and my supervisor, Dr Ha-Joon Chang, is at the heart of it. It was clear to me since I was applying to pursue my further studies in Economics that University of Cambridge is at the top of my wish list and it was mainly because Cambridge has a faculty member called Ha-Joon Chang. Therefore, having an opportunity to study under his supervision is nothing short of a dream come true. I made one of the best decisions in my life when I asked to meet him at the beginning of my MPhil year in order to state my intention to work under his supervision in the PhD level. I personally believe that my strong intention was one of the main reasons why he later on took me on as his PhD student. Being his advisee, I have learnt how one professor can inspire and change a life of his student completely. Hands down, he is one of the kindest and most influential persons I have ever been fortunate to meet. His influences on how I look at the world and, particularly, the field of Economics are unmeasurable and will last indefinitely. I would like to use this space to take a note about how working with Dr. Chang is like. Dr. Chang is famous among his students for his ’red-ink’ comments, which could be found everywhere on almost every single page of his students’ works. My experience is not an exception. I remember that the amount of comments literally threw me into a panic at first. I could barely sleep properly for a day or two after getting his comments for the first time, worrying if I had some serious flaws in my writing skill. It took me quite a while to start to realise how lucky I am for what he has done for me. I am so lucky to be trained by the world-class economist with a world-class standard. Gemstone cutting and polishing are difficult and time-consuming but tremendously necessary. Without them, a gemstone is crude and worthless. I clearly remember talking to him one day during the early stage of my PhD asking if my work disappointed him, as I still got so many red-ink comments after several revisions. He told me that he tried to be as critical as possible so that, after I have revised ix my work in accordance with his comments, it will be tremendously difficult for anyone in the world to easily turn down my ideas. A few years after I started my PhD saw myself enthusiastically taking his feedback off the folder and looking at these red-ink comments with a wide smile on my face. My attitude towards his comments has been entirely changed. Going through his comments one by one, I can barely hide my gratitude towards the amount of efforts he put on examining my work. Eventually, the outcome speaks for itself. This thesis would have been far worse or even unfinished without those countless lessons and thoughts he has given me in the past four years. I will humbly take him as a role model when I become a lecturer in the future. The word ’thank you’ can never be enough to return how much I owe to him. My life without Dr Chang’s teachings would have been completely different. Quite certainly, it would have been a much worse one indeed. I owe him greatly for the rest of my life. My family I would have achieved virtually nothing without a never-ending support from my family. It was during these five years away from home that I truly realised the value of being together as a family. A month or two at home per year could never been enough. Through countless ups and downs, they have always been there for me. To me, there is nothing in the universe (or multiverse) that can substitute my Dae and Ma (Dad and Mom), not even close. I still remember well what Ma told me at the airport when I left for Cambridge for the first time in 2012. She said ’Do not be worried about me. Please do whatever benefits your future the most. Only a short call to let me know that you are fine is enough.’ That short sentence from her has taught me what an unconditional love is. Her love has provided me the strength and courage to face any constraints or difficulties. Dae also gave me an incredible amount of support. It is him who always has faith in my potentials when no one including x myself does not. Without those little pushes from him, I would never have made it thus far. Whenever I told him and Ma about my achievement, their voices would be excitingly shaking. Such a moment always put a wide smile on my face. It is one of the most important purposes of my life. I remember that, even though I gave them a call everyday in the past five years, they usually asked to hang up after just a minute or less because they were afraid that they would disturb my study time. Dae and Ma have been tremendously understanding. They respected all the choices no matter right or wrong I have made in my life. They always let me know that, if I ever make a mistake, they will always be there for me. I hope this little step of my life will make them proud. I love you Dae and Ma, and I will always do. As the youngest boy, my elder brother and sister, Dr. Ronpichai (Yang) and Dr. Susama (Yin) Chokesuwattanaskul, have been someone to whom I always look up. Both of them are also at the heart of all the achievements I have acquired and will acquire in my life. I hope our family will keep being a great support to each other into the future. My wife One of the biggest days in my life happened shortly after the viva examination date. I got married to the most beautiful, the most charming, and the smartest girl with whom I fell in love during the final year of my PhD. Her name is Pim (Dr Anthipa Chokesuwattanaskul, previously Busagornruangrat). Our wedding was on March 3, 2018. I dedicate all my efforts put in this thesis to her and let this thesis be a witness of our everlasting love. Examiners I would like to explicitly express my gratitude to Professor Robert (Bob) Rowthorn and Dr Antonio Andreoni for their time and effort in reading and examining this thesis. xi Proofreaders I would like to explicitly show my gratitude to Dr. Julian Lewis and Mr. Tony Dye for proofreading this thesis at different stages. The losses Along my journey, sadly, I lost two PhD mates who passed away much too soon.