ABSTRACT

With contributions from well-regarded scholars of international economic law, this book sets out the case for an innovative solution to extreme poverty which utilizes international trade and its legal framework to relieve populations of the poorest countries around the world of extreme poverty. "Microtrade" is international trade on a small scale, based primarily on manually produced products using small amounts of capital and low levels of technology available at a local level in lesser developed countries.

This book explores the theory, application, and legal framework for microtrade. In the first part of the book the architect of the microtrade theory, Yong-Shik Lee, offers a theoretical framework for microtrade including its basic elements, product demand and operational issues, legal issues, and the global management and facilitation of microtrade. The book then goes on to look at issues including the structure and financing of microtrade, e-commerce, government procurement, and the fair trade movement’s possible relationship with microtrade. . The final part of the book considers empirical case studies of microtrade with agricultural products. The book shows how microtrade, if effectively administered on a global scale, can do much to end extreme poverty.

part I|54 pages

Theory and elements of microtrade

chapter 1|15 pages

Conceptual framework 1

chapter 3|18 pages

Management of microtrade

Networking and pairing, legal framework

part II|81 pages

Further issues of microtrade

chapter 4|24 pages

Review of the microtrade regime

Structure and financing

chapter 5|26 pages

Microtrade and fair trade

part III|47 pages

Applications of microtrade

chapter 7|16 pages

Application model

E-commerce and government procurement 1

chapter 9|7 pages

Conclusion

Trade more than aid