Joseph Pelzman

Biography

Joseph Pelzman is Professor of Economics, International Affairs and Law. Professor Pelzman received his B.A. in economics from Boston College and began his MA in Soviet Studies at Harvard University. His Ph.D. in Economics was completed at Boston College in 1976. After 20 years as an economics faculty member, Professor Pelzman entered George Washington Law School and completed his JD in 1998. He is admitted to practice in the State of Maryland. He came to George Washington University in September 1980, after completing a year as a Brookings Economic Policy Fellow during the Carter Administration. During that year, he worked on the Tokyo Round tariff cutting exercise and along with his Bureau of International Affairs colleagues wrote the Report on US Competitiveness for the Carter White House. He previously served as Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of South Carolina. Professor Pelzman has held appointments at Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Israel) as Fulbright Senior Scholar (1995-96); Visiting Professor of Law and Economics at Catholic University Law School (2001-05); Visiting Professor of Law at the Radzyner School Of Law, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel (2001); Research Associate, The Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel (1988-97); Visiting Scholar and Fellow, The Russian Research Center, Harvard University (1991-92); and Visiting Professor of Economics and Lady Davis Fellow, Department of Economics and Soviet and East European Research Center, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1984-85). Professor Pelzman has published articles in a number of leading economics journals, including the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, European Economic Review, and Southern Economic Journal. His primary professional interests are in the areas of international trade, international trade law and law and economics. Although he has conducted research on a variety of trade topics, including the trade potential of former Soviet economies, the People's Republic of China, Vietnam and Israel, he has focused on the economic impact of trade distortions, enforcement rules for dispute settlements and regional arrangements. He has also written extensively on the US textile and apparel industry and on the trade in quota instruments. His current work centers on terror and its economic impact: an econometric approach measuring volatility, delinking tariff liberalization and domestic tax reforms; deconstructing economic development in the Middle East — Israel's experience as the standard; post-MFA textile and apparel competition; and the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding: enforcement and revision issues. Professor Pelzman currently teaches graduate seminars on International Trade Theory; International Trade Law; Law and Economics and the Economics of the Middle East. As part of his outreach program, Professor Pelzman serves as Chair of the International Academic Board of the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET), Tbilisi Georgia, (2006-present); and as a Member of International Advisory Board at the Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine, (2002-present). He also serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Trade, Aid and Security Coalition (TASC), Global Works Foundation, Washington DC. (2006-present); and as a Member of Board of Directors and Secretary/Treasurer of the Partnership for Economics Education and Research Foundation (PEER), Washington DC.

Research Interest

International trade and finance; law and economics and economies in transition