This paper develops a simple small-country model to explain why the World Trade Organization (WTO) prohibits export subsidies but allows import tariffs. Governments choose protection rates (import tariffs/export subsidies) to maximize a weighted sum of social welfare and lobbying contributions....

Trade costs matter, in particular for small island developing countries, such as Pacific island Countries (PICs), given their economic size and remoteness from the world markets. This paper examines whether PICs' performance in cross-border trade costs is informed by the extent of their...

The e-commerce sector is rapidly growing globally with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 58 per cent of global retail e-commerce in 2022, and India, Singapore, China, and Japan leading this growth. The discussion on e-commerce and trade at the global level began in 1998 with the...

Globally, healthcare is a key sector for the overall well-being of a country and its population. By 2030, at least 60 percent of the global population will be living in Asia, and one in four will be over 60 years of age. As the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of the sector, it also...

Food loss remains one of the central points of collective action around the world, as reflected in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, but this issue is far more concerning for the developing countries. Several studies highlight the level and stages of food losses. However, there is limited...

The COVID-19 pandemic re-emphasized the role of vaccines in prevention and control of outbreaks and infectious diseases, but not all countries are able to produce them. Limited domestic capacities combined with other bottlenecks have often resulted in vaccine stockouts in many countries. In this...

The global health crisis that came to be known as the COVID-19 pandemic and started to sweep across the world in early 2020 revealed many vulnerabilities in the economic, social, and political fabric underpinning what much of the world had come to accept as normal. In ways that we are still...

Timely and equitable access to vaccines and other health technologies is vital in effectively responding to pandemics and treating other communicable diseases. This paper shows how countries might overcome real or purported intellectual property (IP) barriers to regional COVID-19 vaccine...

Rules on digital trade are rapidly taking shape as countries in Asia-Pacific and beyond strive to secure the benefits associated with e-commerce and the digitalization of trade in goods and services. At the multilateral level, the WTO holds promise to reach a plurilateral agreement on core...

Sri Lanka's development strategy has long emphasized enhancing trade competitiveness, with agriculture playing a significant role in its economy. This study addresses the critical yet often overlooked issue of food losses at the country's borders, which undermine its trade competitiveness. From...