The trade performance of countries in South Asia over the past two decades has been poor relative to other regions. Exports from South Asia have doubled over the past 20 years to approximately USD 100 billion. In contrast, East Asia's exports grew ten times over the same period. The low level of...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to discuss the progress and challenges of South Asia in trade liberalization and facilitation, and to quantitatively demonstrate the potential benefits of trade facilitation in South Asia. Design/methodology/approach – The quantitative study simulates...

We introduce a standards restrictiveness index to analyze the impact that food safety standards have on international exports of agricultural products. Our new measure of standards restrictiveness is created using maximum residue levels of pesticides for 61 importing countries and 66 different...

The authors create a standards restrictiveness index using newly available data on maximum residue levels of pesticides for 61 importing countries. The paper analyzes the impact that food safety standards have on international trade of agricultural products. The findings suggest that more...