Suchergebnisse

Käesoleva magistritöö eesmärgiks oli analüüsida Eesti lihatoodete ekspordi konkurentsivõimet ilmutatud suhtelise eelise meetodil veiselihaga kauplemise näitel aastatel 2002-2013. Vastavalt uurimustöö eesmärgile ja ülesehitusele keskenduti vähese töötlusastmega ekspordiartiklitele, mis võimaldas hinnata just kohalike veiseliha esmatootjate rahvusvahelist konkurentsivõimet antud toodetega kauplemisel. Esimeseks uurimisülesandeks oli määratleda konkurentsivõime mõiste, anda ülevaade konkurentsivõime avaldumise tasanditest ning samuti ka varasematest lihatööstussektori konkurentsivõimet käsitlenud uuringutest. Töös jõuti järeldusele, et konkurentsivõime määratlemiseks puudub üks kindel definitsioon, mis oleks majandusteadlaste ja majanduspoliitika kujundajate poolt kokku lepitud. Rõhutatakse erinevaid aspekte nagu tootlikkus, suhteline eelis, ekspordivõime ning edukus väliskaubanduses. Konkurentsivõime avaldub ainult subjektide võrdluses, milleks on ettevõte, majandusharu ja riik. Töö eesmärgist lähtuvalt keskenduti suuremalt jaolt majandusharu ja riigi konkurentsivõime avaldumise tasanditele. Varasemalt teostatud uuringutest selgus, et lihatööstussektor tervikuna ei olnud enne (1998-2001) Euroopa Liiduga liitumist konkurentsivõimeline. Kuid analüüsides madala ja kõrge töötlusastmega lihatooteid eraldi gruppidena, siis ilmnes, et kahel viimasel aastal (2000 ja 2001) oli Eesti lihatööstus kõrge töötlusastmega lihatoodete osas konkurentsivõimeline. Konkurentsieelis saavutati avatud turgudel ehk Lätis, Leedus ja Ukrainas. Elussigade eksporti käsitlevast uurimustööst selgus, et Eesti seakasvatajatel oli tugev suhteline eelis oma toodangu eksportimisel Venemaa turule. Lisaks rõhutati, et kuna Venemaa ei ole suutnud saavutada täielikku isevarustatuse taset sealiha osas, siis on see turg olnud aastaid Eesti seakasvatajatele atraktiivseks eksportturuks.Teiseks uurimisülesandeks oli tuua välja erinevad konkurentsivõime hindamise võimalused ning selgitada välja lihatootmise seisukohast olulised konkurentsivõimet kujundavad tegurid. Töös anti ülevaade neljast konkurentsivõime hindamise indeksist: hinnaeelisel baseeruvad indeksid, ühiskulude analüüsil baseeruvad indeksid, turuosa analüüsil baseeruvad näitajad ning väliskaubandust analüüsivad näitajad. Peamiselt keskenduti väliskaubandust analüüsivatele näitajatele, sest need olid olulised töö empiirilise osa seisukohalt. Need näitajad hõlmasid erinevaid väliskaubanduse konkurentsivõimet analüüsivaid indekseid nagu RCA, RMP ja RTA, mida rakendati magistritöö analüütilises osas. Lihatootmise seisukohast olulisi konkurentsivõimet kujundavaid tegureid analüüsides selgus, et tähtsaimad neist olid toote hind ja kvaliteet. Hinnaeelis on otseselt seotud kulueelisega, mis saavutatakse suuresti tänu tootmisprotsessi ja tootmiskulude optimeerimisele. Seega olid ka tootmiskulud kulueelise aspektist väga oluliseks konkurentsivõimet kujundavaks teguriks. Kolmandaks uurimisülesandeks oli anda ülevaade Eesti veiselihasektorist, tuues lisaks tootmisnäitajatele välja ka kaubandusnäitajad. Analüüsi tulemusena selgus, et Eestis on liha isevarustatuse tase keskmiselt 80%, mis tähendab, et tarbimine ületab tootmist. Veiseliha osakaal moodustas ligikaudu veerandi kogu Eesti lihatoodangust. Absoluutmahtudena vaadates oli veiseliha tootmine töös vaadeldaval perioodil langustrendis, jäädes viimasel kolmel aastal (2011-2013) koguni alla 13 000 tonni. Selle põhjuseks oli veiste arvukuse vähenemine, kuid see olukord on pärast kaheksa aastast langustrendi taas paranemas. Positiivselt on mõjunud ammlehma toetus. Kuigi veiseliha kokkuostu absoluutmaht on vähenenud ning see omakorda on tõstnud veiseliha kokkuostu keskmist hinda, ei suuda kohalik hind konkureerida Euroopa Liidu keskmise kokkuostu hinnaga, mis on ligikaudu 35% kõrgem. Selline suur hinnavahe sunnib kohalikke veiseliha esmatootjaid müüma oma toodangut välisturgudel. Veiselihasektori väliskaubandust analüüsides selgus, et import oli suurem kui eksport, mis muutis väliskaubandusbilansi negatiivseks. Kuid jagades veiseliha kahte eraldi gruppi (elusveised ning värske või jahutatud või külmutatud veiseliha), on erinevused küllaltki suured. Esimesel juhul oli väliskaubandusbilanss alates 2005. aastast positiivne ning ekspordimahud suurenesid vaadeldava perioodi jooksul mitmekordselt (kuni 14-kordne tõus).Teisel juhul oli see näitaja kogu perioodi vältel negatiivne. Elusveiste peamised eksportturud olid Holland (55%), Venemaa (14%), Poola (11%) ja Läti (10%). Värske, jahutatud või külmutatud veiseliha eksporditi peamiselt Soome (44%), Rootsi (24%), Hollandisse (18%) ja Lätti (10%). Neljandaks uurimisülesandeks oli hinnata Eesti veiselihatoodete rahvusvahelist konkurentsivõimet ilmutatud suhtelise eelise meetodil. Analüüsi tulemusena selgus, et alates 2008. aastast tekkis Eestil elusveistega kauplemisel suhteline eelis, mis on säilinud kuni vaadeldava perioodi lõpuni. Värske või jahutatud veiselihaga kauplemisel oli Eestil kogu vaatlusaluse perioodil suhteline mahajäämus ehk Eesti ekspordi edukus oli väiksem kui teistel Euroopa Liidu liikmesriikidel. Külmutatud veiselihaga kauplemisel oli Eestil kogu perioodi jooksul (v.a. 2010) suhteline mahajäämus, kuna indeksite väärtus jäi alla nõutud normi. Kuid vaadates nende indeksite väärtuste põhjal joonistunud tõusvat trendijoont, siis saab prognoosida, et lähiaastatel muutub Eesti suhteline mahajäämus antud toote osas suhteliseks eeliseks. Viiendaks uurimisülesandeks oli analüüsida Eesti veiselihatoodete ilmutatud suhtelise eelise muutumise põhjuseid. Teostatud regressioonanalüüside tulemusena selgus, et elusveiste RCA-indeksi ja kogutootlikkuse (lisandväärtuse alusel) vahel oli positiivne seos. Kui kogutootlikkus suurenes ühe ühiku võrra, siis elusveiste RCA-indeksi väärtus suurenes 1,75 ühiku võrra. Samuti oli positiivne seos elusveiste RCA-indeksi ning keskmise kokkuostu hinna vahel. Kui veiseliha keskmine kokkuostu hind suurenes 1% võrra, siis elusveiste ilmutatud suhteline eelis suurenes 5,83% võrra. Samad regressioonanalüüsid teostati ka värske või jahutatud veiseliha ning külmutatud veiseliha puhul. Seega saab väita et kogutootlikkuse näitaja ning veiseliha keskmine kokkuostuhind olid olulisteks suhtelise eelise muutumise põhjusteks. Kokkuvõtvalt saab öelda, et Eestil oli kõige suurem konkurentsieelis elusveistega kauplemisel, mille osas oli ekspordiedukus suurem kui Euroopa Liidu vastav näitaja. Värske või jahutatud veiseliha puhul konkurentsieelis täielikult puudus, kuna töös rakendatud väliskaubandust analüüsivate indeksite väärtused jäid alla nõutud normi. Samuti külmutatud veiselihaga kauplemisel oli Eestil suhteline mahajäämus, kuid vaadates indeksite väärtuste põhjal joonistunud tõusva suunaga trendijoont, siis saab prognoosida, et lähiaastatel muutub Eesti suhteline mahajäämus antud toote osas suhteliseks eeliseks. ; The aim of the present master thesis was to analyse the competitiveness of Estonian export of meat products on the basis of bovine meat (beef) trade in 2002–2013, using the Revealed Comparative Advantage method. In view of the aim of the thesis and its structure, the focus was set on little processed export articles which, in particular, allowed us to evaluate international competitiveness of local primary beef producers in the trade with these products. The first task was to define the concept of competitiveness, give an overview of the levels of its manifestation as well as of earlier studies on the competitiveness of the meat industry. It came to the conclusion that there is no single definition of competitiveness agreed upon by economists and economic policy makers. Different aspects have been emphasised, such as productivity, comparative advantage, export capacity and success in foreign trade. Competitiveness manifests itself only in the comparison of subjects such as companies, industry and country. Due to the aim of the study the main focus was on the manifestation of competitiveness at the industry and country level. It emerged from earlier studies that the meat industry as a whole was not competitive before Estonia's accession to the European Union (1998–2001). However, analysing separately little processed meat products and highly processed meat products, it appeared that in the last two years (2000 and 2001) Estonian meat industry was competitive as regards products with high level of processing. The competitive advantage was gained on open markets such as Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. A study on the export of live pigs indicated that Estonian pig farmers had a strong comparative advantage in exporting their produce to the Russian market. In addition it was emphasised that as Russia has not achieved full self-sufficiency in regard of pork, Russia has been an attractive export market for Estonian pig farmers for years. The second task involved pointing out different possibilities for evaluating competitiveness and identifying factors that are relevant for the competitiveness of meat production. The study gives an overview of four competitiveness evaluation indices, which are based on price advantage, analysis of common costs, analysis of the market share and analysis of foreign trade. The main emphasis is on indicators related to the analysis of foreign trade, as these were important for the empirical part of the study. These indicators covered various indices (such as RCA, RMP and RTA) used for analysing the competitiveness of foreign trade, which were used in the analytical part of the present master thesis. The analysis of competitiveness factors relevant for meat production revealed price and quality of products to be the most important. The price advantage is directly related to the cost advantage which is achieved mostly through the optimisation of the production process and production costs. Thus, production costs were also an essential competitiveness factor from the aspect of cost advantage. The third task was to give an overview of the Estonian beef sector, providing trade indicators in addition to production figures. The analysis showed that Estonia's level of self-sufficiency in meat is 80% on average, which means that consumption surpasses production. The share of beef amounted to approximately one quarter of the total meat production in Estonia. In absolute terms, beef production was on the decline in the period covered and in the last three years (2011–2013) it even dropped below 13 000 tonnes. This was caused by the decline in the number of cattle, although after a downward trend of eight years the situation is now improving. Here the suckler cow premium has had a positive impact. Although the buying-in of beef has decreased in absolute terms and this in turn has increased the average purchasing price, local prices cannot compete with the European Union average purchasing price, which is approximately 35% higher. Such a significant price difference forces the local primary beef producers to sell their produce on foreign markets. Analysis of the foreign trade of the beef sector indicated that imports exceed imports, which made the foreign trade balance negative. But there are remarkable differences when beef is divided into two separate groups (live bovine animals and fresh, chilled or frozen bovine meat). In the first case the foreign trade balance has been positive since 2005 and export volumes have multiplied (up to 14 times) over the period examined. In the second case the balance was negative throughout the period covered. The main export markets for live bovine animals were the Netherlands (55%), Russia (14%), Poland (11%) and Latvia (10%). Fresh, chilled or frozen bovine meat was mainly exported to Finland (44%), Sweden (24%), the Netherlands (18%) and Latvia (10%).The fourth task was to evaluate international competitiveness of Estonian beef products by using the revealed comparative advantage method. Analysis showed that from 2008 onwards Estonia developed a relative advantage in live bovine animals trade, which continued until the end of the period examined. In fresh or chilled bovine meat trade Estonia had a relative disadvantage throughout the period or, in other words, Estonian export was less successful than that of other EU member states. Estonia's trade in frozen bovine meat had a relative disadvantage throughout the period under examination (with the exception of 2010) as the value of the indices was below the required level. However, looking at the upward trend drawn on the basis of those indices, one could predict that in the near future Estonia's relative disadvantage as regards frozen bovine meat is going to turn into a relative advantage. The fifth task was to analyse the reasons for changes in the revealed comparative advantage of Estonian beef products. The regression analyses carried out showed a positive correlation between the RCA index of live bovine animals and total productivity (on value added basis). When total productivity increased by one unit the value of the RCA index increased by 1.75 units. A positive correlation was also seen between the RCA index of live bovine animals and the average purchasing price. When the average purchasing price of beef increased by 1% the revealed comparative advantage of live bovine animals increased by 5.83%. Similar regression analyses were conducted for fresh or chilled bovine meat and for frozen bovine meat. Thus, it can be stated that the total productivity indicator and the average purchasing price of beef were important causes for changes in the comparative advantage. In conclusion it can be said that Estonia has the biggest competitive advantage in live bovine animals trade where export was more successful than the respective indicator for the European Union. In the case of fresh or chilled bovine meat the competitive advantage was non-existent as the values of indices used to analyse foreign trade were below the required level. In frozen bovine meat trade Estonia had a relative disadvantage as well but, looking at the upward trend formed on the basis of the indices, one could predict that in the near future Estonia's relative disadvantage as regards frozen bovine meat is going to turn into a relative advantage.

[SPA] La contaminación de las aguas por nitratos es un fenómeno cada vez más acusado, que se manifiesta en un aumento de su concentración en las aguas superficiales y subterráneas, así como en la eutrofización de los embalses, estuarios y aguas litorales. Con el fin de solucionar este problema, se publicó la Directiva 91/676/CEE, de 12 de diciembre, relativa a la protección de las aguas contra la contaminación producida por nitratos de origen agrario. Su fin es establecer las medidas necesarias para prevenir y siempre que sea posible, aminorar o eliminar la contaminación de las aguas subterráneas, evitando el uso inadecuado de abonos nitrogenados, ya sea por excesos en las cantidades aportadas o por épocas inadecuadas de aplicación. El aumento de la superficie de regadío en la Comarca del Campo de Cartagena, que pasó desde las 10.000 ha en los años 80 hasta las 42.000 en la actualidad, ha generado un notable aumento de la entrada de nitrógeno y fósforo de origen agrícola al Mar Menor en las últimas décadas. El auge de las desalobradoras, que vierten salmueras ricas en estos nutrientes, por el problema de fondo de escasez crónica de recursos hídricos en la zona, no ha hecho más que agravar el problema. Todo ello justifica, la necesidad de optimizar las dosis de fertilizantes y fitosanitarios en la Comarca del Campo de Cartagena para minimizar el impacto medioambiental, evitando daños socio-económicos y manteniendo la productividad de los cultivos, lo que constituye la base de los ensayos de la tesis. Se escogió el cultivo de pimiento bajo invernadero por su importancia en la zona. Para el desarrollo de los ensayos se acondicionó un invernadero situado en el Centro Integrado de Formación y Experiencias Agrarias de Torre-Pacheco (Murcia), tipo multicapilla, de dimensiones externas 12 x 36 m, que se dividió en dos bloques paralelos, separados por un foso central de recogida de lixiviados, construyendo en cada uno de los bloques cuatro lixímetros de 40 m3 cada uno, que corresponden a las parcelas elementales de los ensayos. El diseño experimental durante las ocho campañas de cultivo consistió en cuatro ensayos diferentes. Durante los años 1999, 2000 y 2001 se aplicaron los siguientes tratamientos de abonado mineral nitrogenado: 0 g/m2 (T-1); 15 g/m2 (T-2); 30 g/m2 (T-3), y 45 g/m2 (T-4). Durante el año 2002 se aplicó el mismo abonado a todas las parcelas, con una dosis de abonado mineral nitrogenado considerada óptima según los cálculos del Código de Buenas Prácticas Agrarias de la Región de Murcia (C.B.P.A.) de 13 gN/m2. Durante los años 2003, 2004 y 2005 los tratamientos consistieron en ensayar los tres tipos de cultivo existentes en la Comarca: ecológico (0 g/m2 de nitrógeno mineral), integrado (~15 gN/m2) y convencional (~30 gN/m2). El año 2006 el ensayo consistió en realizar solo los dos tipos de cultivo con mejores resultados agroambientales: el ecológico (0 g/m2 de nitrógeno mineral) y el integrado (~15 gN/m2), ya que el cultivo convencional dio niveles más altos de lixiviación de nitratos. Se obtuvieron las siguientes conclusiones: • Programar el riego por el método de la FAO con datos obtenidos de la cubeta en el interior del invernadero permite un 15-20% de agua. • La m.o. incorporada al suelo como parte de la preparación del terreno y la biofumigación fue la responsable de gran parte de la lixiviación de nitratos. La media de nitrato lixiviado para el conjunto de tratamientos asciende a 145,55 kg/ha. • La metodología de discriminación isotópica es válida para detectar la adición de abonos nitrogenados en cultivos ecológicos • La concentración de nitrógeno en frutos puede ser un buen indicador del exceso de abonado nitrogenado. • La variable producción comercializable y lixiviación de nitratos correlacionan negativamente. • Hay un punto óptimo de aplicación de abonado nitrogenado para el cual se obtiene más producción comercializable, por encima y por debajo del cual esta disminuye • El cultivo ecológico fue el que mejores resultados dio de producción y menor lixiviación de nitratos. • El aumento de la dosis de fertilizantes minerales estimuló el crecimiento vegetativo en detrimento de la producción de frutos, dando menores producciones los tratamientos con más abonado nitrogenado. • El C.B.P.A. y la Orden de 16 de junio de 2016, de la Consejería de Agua, Agricultura y Medio Ambiente son buenos indicadores de la dosis de abonado mineral N a aportar en el cultivo, pero tomados los cálculos como valor máximo. • Una reducción en las dosis de N del 50% podría suponer un ahorro anual en torno a 780 €/ha (1 200 000 € en la Región de Murcia ). Por todo ello, los estudios derivados de esta tesis, permiten dar a conocer a los agricultores cómo una reducción a unos determinados niveles en el abonado nitrogenado no supone una reducción en la cantidad y calidad de las cosechas y si en cambio un ahorro en el consumo de fertilizantes, lo que conllevaría una menor lixiviación de nitratos. Los cosecheros se beneficiarán aplicando las recomendaciones derivadas de esta tesis, de una reducción en sus costes de producción y, por su parte, el consumidor se beneficiará de una mayor seguridad del producto, manteniendo la calidad y al mismo tiempo, con estas prácticas, se favorecerá el objetivo medioambiental de reducir la lixiviación de nitratos en la Comarca del Campo de Cartagena, tan importante para la preservación de la laguna del Mar Menor. [ENG] The incorporation of fertilizers into agriculture has been one of the main factors that have increased agricultural production, but currently the excess of chemical fertilization is the main cause of the contamination of aquifers and groundwater. This effect is caused by nitrate, which is not retained in the soil and is affected by strong leaching processes. These processes result in its transfer to underground aquifers, with the consequent contamination and risk to human health. Therefore, in the efficient management of N in agricultural systems there is a challenge: namely, to maintain the rate of growth in productivity while ensuring the sustainability of the environment. Water pollution by nitrate is an increasing phenomenon, since there has been an increase in its concentration in surface and groundwater, as well as in the eutrophication of reservoirs, estuaries, and coastal waters. Therefore, in order to solve this problem and address the growing concern for the environment, the Directive 91/676/EEC was published on 12 December in relation to the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrate from agricultural sources. The purpose of this Directive is to establish the measures necessary to prevent and, when possible, to reduce or eliminate groundwater contamination, by avoiding the inadequate use - due to either excess quantities or inappropriate application periods - of nitrogen fertilizers. The Directive considers that the main cause of pollution from the diffuse sources which affect waters of the European Union is nitrate from agricultural sources, and therefore it is necessary to reduce these sources. Moreover, it is important to take measures concerning the application to the soil of all nitrogen compounds. Thus, by promoting good agricultural practices, Member States can provide, for all waters, a general level of protection against future pollution. Also, those areas that discharge or drain into waters vulnerable to pollution require special protection. The Directive imposes a number of obligations on Member States, including the implementation of action programs to reduce water pollution due to nitrogen compounds in vulnerable areas and the inclusion of measures to limit the application to the soil of all nitrogen-containing fertilizers, an aspect that is part of this thesis. Within this theme, one of the critical points of the Strategic Plan for Development of the Region of Murcia (2007-2013) considers minimizing the nutrient and phytosanitary discharges to the Mar Menor Lagoon, caused by the development of the agriculture in its basin. This Plan also promotes lines of research that prioritize the main environmental problems in the Region, including an increase in the monitoring and control of fertilizer discharges to the environment, as well as the dissemination of information to the farmers. The growth in the area of irrigated land in the Campo de Cartagena zone, which has increased from 10,000 ha in the 1980s to 42,000 ha today, has led to a notable increase in the entry into the Mar Menor of nitrogen and phosphorus of agricultural origin, in recent decades. The rise in the number of desalination plants, which release brines rich in these nutrients, due to the underlying problem of chronic shortage of water resources in the area, has only aggravated the problem. All the factors pointed out above justify the necessity to optimize the doses of fertilizers and phytosanitary products in the Campo de Cartagena, in order to minimize the environmental impact, avoiding socio-economic damages while maintaining crop productivity. This is the basis for the experimental approach described in this thesis. For this study, the crop chosen was sweet pepper grown under greenhouse conditions, because it is a typical example of the new productive orientations of the commercial agriculture in the Region of Murcia and the south of the Province of Alicante. In these areas, agriculture is highly technical and with an eminently social character. This crop occupied 2,500 ha in 2006, with a progressive reduction to 1,224 ha by 2012. It is cultivated with three management systems which are studied in this Thesis: ecological, integrated, and conventional cultivation. The conventional cultivation is of great interest in the Region of Murcia, and occupies the greatest area within the greenhouses of the Campo de Cartagena, where the experiments were carried out. With these studies, the aim is to demonstrate for the pepper crop under greenhouse conditions, in the Campo de Cartagena, the hypothesis that a surplus of nitrogen fertilizers does not always contribute to an increase in yields, but does increase the risk of diffuse contamination of the groundwater by leaching (Pratt, 1984). Moreover, this leaching will be quantified according to the dose of fertilizer, and the agricultural practices in this crop that can reduce the losses of nitrate into the aquifers will be evaluated. This thesis aims to expand the scientific/technical knowledge of nitrate leaching in the greenhouse cultivation of pepper by systematizing and analyzing the results of three research projects: Project I.N.I.A. SC-99-042, Regional Project RTA-Positivo-03-3, and Project I.N.I.A. RTA-04-035. The duration of our study in this crop (1999-2007), the singular experimental set up with large drainage lysimeters in greenhouse, and the multidisciplinary team involved in this research (from the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, IMIDA, UPCT, CIFEA, LAYMA, SYNGENTA, and KOPPERT) provided an overview of all the important aspects of crop sustainability, irrigation, and leaching over an eight-year period. The findings form the basis of this thesis. Therefore, the idea was to determine the influence of different doses of nitrogen fertilizer (from 0 to 45 g N/m2) and different agricultural practices (organic, integrated, and conventional cultivation) on the leaching of nitrate and on yield, with the aim of establishing the basis of the impact of the greenhouse pepper crop in this zone. Thus, the aim was to develop techniques that minimize the risks of contamination due to excess nitrogen fertilizer, with the consequent environmental, social, and economic benefits. ; Escuela Internacional de Doctorado de la Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena ; Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena ; Programa de Doctorado Técnicas Avanzadas en Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario

Coastal countries have traditionally relied on the existing marine resources (e.g., fishing, food, transport, recreation, and tourism) as well as tried to support new economic endeavors (ocean energy, desalination for water supply, and seabed mining). Modern societies and lifestyle resulted in an increased demand for dietary diversity, better health and well-being, new biomedicines, natural cosmeceuticals, environmental conservation, and sustainable energy sources. These societal needs stimulated the interest of researchers on the diverse and underexplored marine environments as promising and sustainable sources of biomolecules and biomass, and they are addressed by the emerging field of marine (blue) biotechnology. Blue biotechnology provides opportunities for a wide range of initiatives of commercial interest for the pharmaceutical, biomedical, cosmetic, nutraceutical, food, feed, agricultural, and related industries. This article synthesizes the essence, opportunities, responsibilities, and challenges encountered in marine biotechnology and outlines the attainment and valorization of directly derived or bio-inspired products from marine organisms. First, the concept of bioeconomy is introduced. Then, the diversity of marine bioresources including an overview of the most prominent marine organisms and their potential for biotechnological uses are described. This is followed by introducing methodologies for exploration of these resources and the main use case scenarios in energy, food and feed, agronomy, bioremediation and climate change, cosmeceuticals, bio-inspired materials, healthcare, and well-being sectors. The key aspects in the fields of legislation and funding are provided, with the emphasis on the importance of communication and stakeholder engagement at all levels of biotechnology development. Finally, vital overarching concepts, such as the quadruple helix and Responsible Research and Innovation principle are highlighted as important to follow within the marine biotechnology field. The authors of this review are collaborating under the European Commission-funded Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action Ocean4Biotech – European transdisciplinary networking platform for marine biotechnology and focus the study on the European state of affairs. ; This publication is based upon work from COST Action CA18238 (Ocean4Biotech), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) program.AR, KK, and TR: the publication is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 774499 – GoJelly project. AR and KK: this research was funded by the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding P1-0245 and P1-0237). AR: this publication has been produced with financial assistance of the Interreg MED Programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (Project No. 7032, internal ref. 8MED20_4.1_SP_001) – B-Blue project. AB: acknowledges the support from the Research Council of Norway through the grant 267474 from the HAVBRUK2 program. MLC: acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UIDB/04326/2020), the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (MAR2020 OSTEOMAR/16-02-01-FMP-0057 and ALGASOLE/16.02.01-FMP-0058), the European Regional Development Fund (Atlantic Area BLUEHUMAN/EAPA/151/2016 and INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal ALGARED+), and the European Commision (H2020-MSCA-ITN BIOMEDAQU/766347). MFC: wishes to acknowledge the funding from CEEC program supported by FCT/MCTES (CEECIND/02968/2017); ACTINODEEPSEA project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031045) co-financed by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020, ERDF and FCT; Strategic Funding UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 through national funds provided by FCT and ERDF. MC: financial support from the Programme of the Institute of Oceanology, PAS (grant no. II.3) and National Science Centre in Poland (project number NCN 2016/21/B/NZ9/02304). MCu: acknowledges the funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain (SAF2009-0839 and RTA 2015-00010-C03-02) and INTERREG-MAC2/1.1b/279 (AHIDAGRO). AD-M: acknowledge financial support from INTERREG-MAC/1.1b/042 (BIOTRANSFER2) and Agustín de Betancourt Programme (Cabildo de Tenerife and Universidad de La Laguna). AD: work has been supported by the ERDF Activity 1.1.1.2 "Post-doctoral Research Aid" of the Specific Aid Objective 1.1.1, Operational Programme "Growth and Employment" (No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/048). RJF: funding for this research was provided under the Marine Research Programme 2014–2020, through the Marine Institute of Ireland under grant PBA/MB/16/01 "A National Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory of Ireland (NMBLI)" and through the Food Institutional Research Measure, administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Ireland under grant issue 17/F/260 (MaraBioActive). SG: this work was supported by the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit-UCIBIO which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UID/Multi/04378/2019). SG thanks financial support provided by FCT/MCTES through grant IF/00700/2014 and OceanTresaures project PTDC/QUIQUI/119116/2010. NID: wishes to acknowledge the funding from the Croatian Science Foundation Project CELLSTRESS (IP-2018-01-5840). MMa and TD: we wish to acknowledge funding from the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under grant no. 239 (SPINAQUA project). AM-G: acknowledges the financial contribution from the project BYTHOS funded by the European Union's Interreg V-A Italia-Malta Programme under project code C1-1.1-9. HM-M: financial support from National Science Centre in Poland 2016/21/B/NZ9/02304 and 2017/25/B/NZ9/00202. MMe: this work has been supported by the French Government, through the UCAJEDI Investments in the Future project managed by the National Research Agency (ANR) with the reference number ANR-15-IDEX-01. MMe: thanks the Canceropôle Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region for the financial support provided to the MetaboCell project. DO: supported by the Doctorate Study program in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Marine Research Institute, Klaipėda University, Lithuania. CR: we gratefully acknowledge the Research Council of Norway, the Møre and Romsdal County Council and Møreforsking AS for their financial contributions through the PROMAC (244244; www.promac.no), the Norwegian Seaweed Biorefinery Platform (294946; http://seaweedplatform.no/), and the Blå-Grønn (55031) projects. ER: this work benefited from financial support from the PACA Canceropôle, the National Cancer Institute, the PACA Regional Council and the French Government, managed by the National Research Agency as part of the Université Côte d'AzurJEDI Investissement d'Avenir project (ANR-15-IDEX-01). JS: work was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (P4-0127 and J4-1771). IS: financial support from Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_048/0007323). XT: the tool "RRI Roadmap" was developed as part of the European Horizon 2020 project MARINA "Marine Knowledge Sharing Platform for Federating Responsible Research and Innovation Communities" under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 710566 (2016–2019). OT: his contribution is carried out with the support of the Marine Institute and is funded under the Marine Research Programme by the Irish Government (Grant-Aid Agreement No. PBA/MB/16/01). ; Peer reviewed

Käesoleva magistritöö eesmärgiks oli hinnata Eesti piimatoodete konkurentsivõimet ilmutatud suhtelise eelise meetodil Euroopa Liidus aastatel 2000-2011. Uurimistöö alguses püstitatud hüpotees, et piimatöötlemine on Eesti toiduainetööstuses rahvusvaheliselt konkurentsivõimeline valdkond, leidis kinnitust töö analüütilises osas. Konkurentsivõime määratlemisel samastati konkurentsivõimet tootlikkuse ja oskustega, ning ekspordivõimega ehk laiemalt eduga väliskaubanduses. Käesoleva töö empiirilises osas keskenduti majandusharu ja riigi tasandile. Tootlikkuse ja oskuste puhul vaadeldi töös piimalehmade produktiivsust, toodangumahtu, toorpiima kvaliteeti jne. Väliskaubanduse puhul analüüsiti väliskaubandusbilansi, ekspordistruktuuri ja ekspordipartnerite muutumist. Konkurentsivõimet hinnati ilmutatud suhtelise eelise meetodil tuues välja vastavad kaubanduse edukust mõõtvad indeksid. Viimastel aastatel on lehmade arv Eestis vähenenud alla 100 000 isendi, mille tulemusena on hakanud langema ka piimatoodang. Kui suudetakse piimalehmade arvu vähenemine peatada või arvukust mõnevõrra suurendada, siis on eeldust oodata ka mõningast piimatoodangu kasvu. Paralleelselt piimalehmade arvu vähenemisega on piimatoodang lehma kohta pidevalt suurenenud läbi investeeringute uute ja vanade karjalautade rekonstrueerimisse, seadmetesse ning põlluharimistehnikasse, samuti on hakatud rohkem tähelepanu pöörama loomade pidamis- ja söötmistehnoloogiale. Seega on oluline pöörata tähelepanu investeeringutoetustele ning teadus- ja arendustegevusele. Kogu Eestis toodetud piim vastab praktiliselt tervenisti EL-i nõuetele, piima kokkuostuhinnad on perioodil 2003-2011 kokkuvõttes tõusnud, kuid seda suhteliselt ebastabiilselt. Hetkel on piima kokkuostuhinnad tõusnud kõigi aegade kõrgeimale tasemele. Piimatööstuse osakaal on 2010. aastal töötlevas tööstuses ja toiduainetööstuses väärtuseliselt tõusnud, kuid kogu vaadeldava perioodi jooksul (2005-2010) langenud. Sama on toimunud piimatoodete osakaaluga töötleva tööstuse toodangu ekspordis ja piimatoodete osakaaluga toiduainete ekspordis. Koguseliselt tähtsamateks toodetavateks piimatoodeteks olid 2010. aastal joogipiim, jogurt ja juust. Eestis toodetakse piima rohkem, kui ise suudetakse tarbida, mis muudab võimalikuks piimatoodete ekspordi. Seetõttu on piimandussektor Eesti toiduainetööstuses kõige rohkem orienteeritud ekspordile. Eesti siseturul on piimatoodete tarbimine ühe elaniku kohta järjepidevalt vähenenud. Eesti piimatoodete väliskaubandusbilanss on positiivne, mida on suurendanud viimastel aastatel piimatoodete ekspordi väärtuse kasv seoses piimatoodete hindade tõusuga maailmaturul. Perioodil 2000-2011 on piimatoodete ekspordikasv ületanud impordikasvu kolmekordselt. Seega on piimatööstusel täita tähtis roll Eesti majanduse jätkusuutlikkuse tagamisel. Kuna piimatoodete eksport on suurenenud, tuleks senisest enam tähelepanu pöörata turuarendustoetustele ning ekspordigarantiidele. Tähtsamad ekspordiartiklid rahalises väärtuses 2011. aastal olid juust ja kohupiim ning kontsentreerimata piimatooted. Ka koguseliselt eksporditi kõige enam konsentreerimata piimatooteid, teiste piimatoodete osas on ekspordimahud püsinud enam-vähem samal tasemel. Eesti piimatoodete väliskaubanduspartneritest moodustavad 2/3 EL-i riigid ning 1/3 kolmandad riigid. EL-i riikidest olid peamisteks piimatoodete kaubanduspartneriteks Leedu, Soome, Läti ja Itaalia; kolmandatest riikidest moodustas enamuse piimatoodete eksport Venemaale. Kuna Venemaa on selline riik, kus vaatamata erinevatele rakendatud meetmetele pole suudetud kohalikku piimandussektorit madalseisust üle aidata, siis on Venemaa erinevate prognooside kohaselt keskpikas perspektiivis endiselt piimatooteid importiv riik. Seda peaks Eesti kindlasti tulevikus rohkem ära kasutama. Ilmutatud suhtelise eelise indeksi (RCA) põhjal on Eesti konkurentsieelis vähenenud piimapulbri ning või ja muude piimrasvade osas – konkurentsivõime on langenud mahtkaupade puhul, mille lisandväärtus on madal. Kõrgema lisandväärtusega piimatoodete eksport ja konkurentsivõime Eestis suureneb. Suhtelise impordi asendamise indeksi (RMP) analüüsi tulemuste põhjal saab väita, et EL-iga liitumise järgselt on paljude piimatoodete puhul saavutatud konkurentsieelis, mis on jäänud enamike piimatoodete osas ka püsima. Konkurentsieelis on vähenenud madalama lisandväärtusega piimatoodete osas. Kaubavahetuse suhtelise eelise indeksi (RTA) alusel omab Eesti enamike piimatoodete puhul suhtelist eelist. Konkurentsivõime on puudunud vaid mõne väiksema piimatoote kaubagrupi osas. Terviklikult omab Eesti konkurentsieelist kõigi kolme suurema piimatoodete kaubagrupi lõikes, milledeks on: (1) piim, koor ja muud piimatooted; (2) või ja muud piimrasvad; (3) juust ja kohupiim. Konkurentsivõime puudub vaid kolme kitsama tootegrupi puhul: (1) petipiim, keefir, kalgendatud piim ja koor; (2) sulajuust; (3) sinihallitusjuust. Eesti konkurentsivõime on oluliselt suurenenud piima ja koore, jogurtite, jäätiste, vadaku ja riivjuustude tootmisel. Eelnevalt loetletud toodete konkurentsivõime suurenemine on toimunud piimapulbrite, või ja muude piimrasvade konkurentsivõime vähenemise arvelt. Põhiliselt on konkurentsivõime suurenemine toimunud mahtkaupadelt kõrgemat lisandväärtust omavate piimatoodete suunas. Seega võib väita, et pikemas perspektiivis on Eesti majandusele kasulikum väärindada kogu Eestis toodetav piima kohapeal ning eksportida väärindatud tooteid. Autori arvates tuleb piimandussektori puhul Eestil olla konkreetne, jätkata ühtset põllumajanduspoliitikat ja määratleda nii missioon kui ka visioon tulevikuks. Tuleb propageerida kodumaiste piimatoodete tarbimist, ettevõtete omavahelist koostööd, parandada tööviljakust, mis tagaks sektori stabiilsuse. Seetõttu on autori arvates viimaste aastate ainuõige samm olnud Eesti piimanduse strateegia väljatöötamine, kus on konkreetselt määraltletud kuhu ja kuidas tahetakse jõuda. Eesti riigil peab olema selge nägemus piimandussektori tulevikust, sest piimatöötlemine on hetkel Eesti toiduainetööstuses rahvusvaheliselt üks konkurentsivõimelisemaid valdkondi. ; The present MA thesis has been written in Estonian. The thesis consists of 87 pages and includes 30 figures and 4 tables. A total of 84 literary sources were used in the compilation of the thesis. The focus of the thesis is a topical issue due to the fact that dairy products constitute approximately one third of the total production of the food industry and more milk is produced than consumed in Estonia, which in turn makes the export of dairy products possible. Therefore, the dairy industry has an important role to play in providing the sustainable development of the Estonian economy. This also highlights the importance of estimating the competitiveness of dairy products as well as making suggestions in order to enhance it. The aim of the present MA thesis is to estimate the competitiveness of Estonian dairy products in the European Union during the years 2000-2011 using revealed comparative advantage. The thesis presents the hypothesis that dairy processing within Estonian food industry is an internationally competitive sphere. The hypothesis is proved to be correct in the analytical section of the thesis. During recent years, the number of cows in Estonia has fallen below 100 000, resulting in a gradual decrease in milk production as well. However, milk production per cow has continuously grown due to an increase in productivity and effectiveness. Milk produced in Estonia conforms to the requirements by the European Union almost entirely; the purchase prices of milk have increased during the observed period of time, yet in a relatively unstable manner. The purchase prices of milk have currently reached their absolute peak. In terms of its monetary value, the dairy industry has increased its proportion in both the manufacturing and the food industry in 2010; however, during the entire period under observation (2005-2010), the proportion has decreased. This is also the case with the proportion of dairy products in the export of the manufacturing as well as the food industry. In 2010, the most important dairy products in terms of the production amount were milk, yogurt, and cheese. Estonia's foreign trade balance of dairy products is positive due to an increase in the export of dairy products in recent years, which, in turn, has been influenced by the rising prices of dairy products in the global market. During 2000-2011, the export growth of dairy products was three times bigger than the import growth, suggesting that the dairy industry has an important role in providing the sustainable development of the Estonian economy. In 2011, the most important export goods in terms of monetary value were cheese, curd, and non-concentrated dairy products. The latter was the most important also in terms of quantity. The export quantity of other dairy products has roughly remained the same. Members of the European Union constitute 2/3 of Estonia's foreign trading partners in terms of dairy products, whereas 1/3 is held by third countries. The main trading partners within the European Union were Lithuania, Finland, Latvia, and Italy; out of the third countries, the majority of dairy products were exported to Russia. Comparing the previous two years, the export of dairy products to Russia has decreased; instead, Estonia has increased its export to Lithuania, Finland, Italy, and to other EU and third countries. The analysis showed that Estonia has a competitive advantage in all three major product groups: milk, cream and other milk products; butter and other fats and oils derived from milk; cheese and curd. However, Estonia is not competetive in three narrow product groups: buttermilk, kephir, curdled milk and cream; processed cheese and blue-veined cheese. Estonia's competitiveness has substantially increased in the production of milk and cream, yogurt, ice cream, whey and grated cheese. However, this has resulted in a decrease in Estonia's competitiveness in the production of milk powder, butter and other fats and oils derived from milk. The results show that Estonia's competitiveness has decreased in the production of low value-added products. Instead, the focus is on the production and export of dairy products which have higher added value. Estonia is facing important decisions on several issues: it needs to choose certain product groups in which the country wants to enhance competitiveness as well as find a way to enhance the competitiveness of the entire dairy industry to its maximum extent. As far as the dairy industry is concerned, Estonia needs to continue firmly with its uniform agricultural policy. A clear mission and vision for the future should be stated. In addition, Estonia should propagate the consumption of domestic dairy products and cooperation between enterprises. It is also important to enhance labour productivity and ensure the stability of the industry. An important step has been the compilation of the "Estonian Dairying Strategy 2012-2020", which states the future goals of the country. Estonia needs to have a clear vision of the future of its dairy industry. Furthermore, active support should be provided for the industry, because dairy processing is currently one of the most internationally competitive spheres of the Estonian food industry

Cette thèse comporte trois essais traitant des problématiques relatives aux effets des accords commerciaux régionaux et des effets frontières sur les flux commerciaux et le bien-être des populations des pays membres et non membres. Elle adapte et développe des méthodes écnométriques de dernières générations pour analyser empiriquement des hypothèses relatives à la distribution hétérogènedes gains de création de commerce et les effets frontières. Le premier chapitre analyse l'asymétrie des effets de création de commerce en considérant tant à l'intérieur d'accord spécifique qu'entre les types des accords d'une part et d'autre part en décomposant les facteurs explicatifs contribuant à l'hétérogénéité. Le deuxième chapitre s'intéresse à l'analyse en équilibre général de la pertinence de la dynamique d'intégration profonde dans une perspective hypothétique en étudiant le cas de la Zone de libre-échange continentale africaine. Le troisième chapitre porte sur l'hétérogénéité des effets frontières en regardant les effets selon les types d'accords commerciaux regionaux. Dans le chapitre 1, nous partons du constat que le niveau d'intégration et la taille des ACRs peuvent ne pas convenir à tous les membres de la même manière et on pourrait s'attendre à ce que les avantages de l'intégration soient répartis de manière asymétrique entre les pays membres. Les petits pays profitent généralement davantage de la libéralisation des échanges parce qu'ils bénéficient d'une amélioration plus importante des termes de l'échange et de la réduction des coûts du commerce parce que leurs consommateurs consacrent une part plus importante de leurs revenus aux biens importés. Les ACRs éliminent l'incertitude concernant l'accès aux marchés en rendant plus difficile pour les grands pays d'adopter un comportement opportuniste. Outre la taille des pays, les avantages des ACRs sont susceptibles de varier d'un pays à l'autre en raison des politiques commerciales initiales, des institutions, des infrastructures et des déterminants géographiques. Étant donné qu'une intégration plus profonde entraîne des pertes plus importantes en termes de flexibilité politique, on pourrait s'attendre à ce que la sélection des membres soit plus stricte pour les ACRs plus profonds et à ce que les gains commerciaux soient distribués de manière plus symétrique entre les membres de ces ACRs. Nous nous s'inspirons de l'approche écnométrique à deux étapes de Baier et al. (2019). Nos résultats montrent qu'il existe une grande hétérogénéité dans la distribution des gains commerciaux au sein des ACRs, certains pays subissant même des pertes, ce qui met en évidence la nature de second choix des ACRs. Plus précisément, nous obtenons que les effets directionnels par paire d'une ZLE sont plus hétérogènes que les effets directionnels par paire de l'UD qui, à leur tour, sont moins hétérogènes que ceux pour les MCs et les UMs. Cela signifie que les pays membres d'ACRs plus profonds ont tendance à bénéficier d'un effet de création de commerce similaire. Notre conclusion est conforme à nos attentes théoriques. Par ailleurs, nous constatons que de nombreux facteurs contribuent positivement ou négativement à l'hétérogénéïté dans la création de commerce entre une paire de pays appartenant à un type d'ACR avec des différences en termes d'ampleur. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous utilisons un modèle de gravité structurel en équilibre général pour générer dans une perspective hypothétique quatre scénarios pour la mise en œuvre de la ZLECAf. Le premier scénario concerne les effets de la ZLECAf en tant qu'une ZLE. Dans le deuxième scénario, nous supposons que la ZLECAf devient une UD avec un tarif extérieur commun. Le troisième scénario concerne le statut de MC et la quatrième expérience concerne le statut UM de la ZLECAf en lien avec le premier objectif général de l'article 3 des textes de la ZLECAf. Dans les quatre scénarios, nous sommes en mesure de stimuler l'incidence des quatre types d'ACRs sur les pays membres et leurs principaux partenaires commerciaux sur les flux commerciaux, les indices de résistance multilatérale, les prix à l'usine et le bien-être des populations. Nos résultats indiquent que les pays gagnent différemment selon le niveau d'intégration. Certains pays atteignent leur niveau optimal d'intégration dans l'UD. D'autres pays maximisent leurs gains commerciaux lorsque la ZLECAf est un MC. Nos résultats montrent également une situation non monotone pour un groupe de pays, notamment la majorité des pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Nous avons utilisé des produits manufacturés et considéré que la production est à élasticité nulle. Des recherches plus approfondies pourraient mener des analyses avec plusieurs secteurs en considérant une endogénéité de la production. Dans le chapitre 3, nous faisons une extension de l'approche économétique de Larch et al (2019)pour investiguer empiriquement sur les incitations des gouvernements à procéder à des ajustements des tarifs extérieurs après la conclusion de différents types d'accords commerciaux. L'économie du régionalisme fournit des explications sur les baisses et les hausses des tarifs extérieurs induites par la participation à un accord commercial. Les UD et les formes d'intégration plus poussées amènent les membres à fixer des tarifs extérieurs communs. C'est certainement vrai pour les membres de l'Union européenne, mais des écarts par rapport à cette règle sont observés dans d'autres cas. En faisant abstraction de la possibilité de déviations, la coordination a des implications importantes qui distinguent clairement les UD, les MC et les UM des ZLE. Les membres des ZLE peuvent fixer des tarifs extérieurs différents en raison des règles d'origine. Une application faible et/ou un contenu national faible encourageraient les membres de la ZLE à fixer des tarifs extérieurs assez similaires. Dans le cas contraire, les pays dont les tarifs extérieurs sont les plus élevés perdraient des recettes tarifaires sur le commerce extérieur au profit des membres de la ZLE dont les tarifs extérieurs sont les plus bas, lorsque les coûts de transport entre les membres de la ZLE sont faibles. Ainsi, la manière dont l'épaisseur de la frontière s'ajuste après la mise en œuvre de différents types d'ACR est une question empirique. Nos résultats montrent qu'en moyenne, les importateurs d'une ZLE imposent 19,52% de barrières supplémentaires aux non-membres, tandis que ceux d'une UD imposent 56,54% de barrières supplémentaires. Ce résultat semble refléter une certaine réalité puisque les membres de l'UD ont tendance à imposer davantage de barrières (tarifs extérieurs et mesures non tarifaires) aux non-membres. Les importateurs d'un MC ont tendance à faciliter environ 27,63% de barrières en moins pour les pays non-membres. Ce résultat pourrait s'expliquer par l'effet de taille dû à la présence des 26 pays membres de l'UE. Lorsque le nombre de membres augmente, le tarif commun a tendance à diminuer. Les pays importateurs membres de l'UM ont tendance à imposer 26,41% de barrières en plus aux pays non-membres. ; This thesis consists of three essays dealing with issues related to the effects of regional trade agreements and border effects on trade flows and welfare in member and non-member countries. It adapts and develops econometric methods to empirically analyse hypotheses on the heterogeneous distribution of trade creation gains, welfare and border effects. The first chapter analyses the asymmetry of trade creation effects by considering both within-agreement and between-agreement types on the one hand and by decomposing the explanatory factors contributing to the heterogeneity on the other. The second chapter focuses on the general equilibrium analysis of the relevance of deep integration dynamics in a hypothetical perspective by studying the case of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The third chapter focuses on the heterogeneity of border effects by looking at the effects of different types of regional trade agreements. In Chapter 1, we start from the observation that the level of integration and the size of RTAs may not suit all members equally and one would expect the benefits of integration to be distributed asymmetrically across member countries. Smaller countries generally benefit more from trade liberalisation because they enjoy a greater improvement in the terms of trade and lower trade costs because their consumers spend a greater share of their income on imported goods. RTAs remove uncertainty about market access by making it more difficult for large countries to engage in opportunistic behaviour. In addition to country size, the benefits of RTAs are likely to vary from country to country due to initial trade policies, institutions, infrastructure and geographical determinants. Given that deeper integration entails greater losses in policy flexibility, one would expect membership selection to be stricter for deeper RTAs and trade gains to be distributed more symmetrically among the members of these RTAs. We draw on the two-stage econometric approach of Baier et al. (2019). Our results show that there is considerable heterogeneity in the distribution of trade gains within RTAs, with some countries even experiencing losses, highlighting the second-best nature of RTAs. Specifically, we find that the pairwise directional effects of an FTA are more heterogeneous than the pairwise directional effects of CUs, which in turn are less heterogeneous than those for MCs and MUs. This means that countries in deeper RTAs tend to experience more similar trade creation effects. Our conclusion is consistent with our theoretical expectations. Furthermore, we find that many factors explains heterogeneity in trade creation between pairs of countries belonging to a given RTA. In the second chapter, we use a general equilibrium structural gravity model to generate four scenarios for the implementation of the AfCFTA from a hypothetical perspective. The first scenario concerns the effects of the AfCFTA as an FTA. In the second scenario, we assume that the AfCFTA becomes a CU with a common external tariff. The third scenario concerns the CM status and the fourth experiment is about of MU status of AfCFTA in relation to the first general objective of Article 3 of the AfCFTA texts. In all four scenarios, we are able to stimulate the impact of the four types of RTAs on member countries and their main trading partners on trade flows, multilateral resistance indices, factory prices and welfare. Our findings indicate that countries gain differently depending on the level of integration. Some countries reach their optimal level of integration in CU. Other countries maximise their trade gains when AfCFTA is a CM. Our results also show a non-monotonic situation for a group of countries, notably the majority of West African countries. We have used manufactured goods and considered that production has zero elasticity. Further research could carry out analyses with several sectors considering endogeneity of output. In Chapter 3, we extend the econometric approach of Larch et al. (2019) to investigate empirically the incentives of governments to make adjustments in external tariffs after different types of trade agreements. The economics of regionalism provides explanations for the decreases and increases in external tariffs induced by participation in a trade agreement. DUs and deeper forms of integration lead members to set common external tariffs. This is certainly true for EU members, but deviations from this rule are observed in other cases. Leaving aside the possibility of deviations, coordination has important implications that clearly distinguish CUs, CMs and MUs from FTAs. FTA members may set different external tariffs due to rules of origin. Weak enforcement and/or low domestic content would encourage FTA members to set fairly similar external tariffs. Otherwise, countries with higher external tariffs would lose tariff revenues on external trade to FTA members with lower external tariffs, when transport costs between FTA members are low. Thus, how the thickness of the border adjusts after the implementation of different types of RTAs is an empirical question. Our results show that, on average, importers in an FTA impose 19.52% additional barriers on non-members, while those in a DU impose 56.54% additional barriers. This result seems to reflect a certain reality since DU members tend to impose more barriers (external tariffs and non-tariff measures) on non-members. Importers from a MC tend to facilitate about 27.63% worth of barriers for non-members. This result could be explained by the size effect due to the presence of the 26 EU member countries. As the number of members increases, the common tariff tends to decrease. Importing countries that are members of the CU tend to impose 26.41%more barriers on non-members.