The availability of trade finance has become an increasingly important issue in the past few years. As international banks have become less willing to provide trade finance guarantees, particularly in developing countries, this has reduced the capacity of local banks to provide credit to...

The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty looks at the complex relationships between economic growth, poverty reduction and trade, and examines the challenges that poor people face in benefiting from trade opportunities. Written jointly by the World Bank Group and the WTO, the publication examines how...

Global trade has contributed strongly to reducing poverty but important challenges remain in making trade work for the poorest. This publication presents eight case studies to reveal how trade can help to reduce poverty in developing countries. It focuses on four constraints faced by the...

Global value chains (GVCs) break up the production process so at different steps can be carried out in different countries. Today’s official statistical information systems, designed to measure economic activity in a pre-GVC world, have struggled to keep pace with these changes. Conventional...

Trade can dramatically improve women's lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choices, and increasing women's bargaining power in society. It can also lead to job losses and a concentration of work in low-skilled employment. Given the complexity and specificity of the relationship between...