Quantitative analysis in WTO dispute settlement

Abstract

From the experience to date in dispute settlement system WTO, a number of lessons may be drawn on how quantitative economic analysis can assist the dispute settlement process. Obviously, quantitative economic analysis helps to inform legal reasoning and avoid misinterpretation when economic rationality is counter intuitive and less than obvious, although pertinent to the substance or direction of legal reasoning. But economic analysis plays a supporting role to legal reasoning and can’t determine dispute settlement outcomes. On the negative side, quantitative analysis is frequently beset inherent methodological difficulties, the existing of competing approaches of apparently equal validity but that yield different results. Despite this, the use of quantitative economics will intensify in the future as cases seem to become more complex and fact-intensive. Moreover, in context of certain legal provisions, quantitative economic analysis maybe called for the future, where so far this has not been so. All in all, there is no reason to believe that economic analysis could not make a bigger contribution to an effective functioning of the dispute settlement process.