The demand for accountability in "Aid-for-Trade" (AFT) is increasing but monitoring has focused on case-studies and impressionistic narratives. The paper reviews recent evidence from a wide range of studies, recognizing that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to learn what works and what...

This paper evaluates the effects of the FAMEX export promotion program in Tunisia on the performance of beneficiary firms. While most studies assess only the short-term impact of such programs, we consider also the longer-term impact. Estimates suggest that beneficiaries initially saw both...

To become operational, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) must harmonize Rules of Origin (ROO) across Africa's Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) along two dimensions: regime-wide rules and product-specific rules. This paper describes and evaluates these ROO across the major...

Rules of origin are critical components of preferential trade agreements designed to stop products coming in under insufficient transformation or through the partner that applies the lowest tariff. But in practice, these rules are often needlessly complex, undoing the benefits of market access...

Avec une croissance soutenue, une vague d'investissements directs étrangers sans précédent, et un net recul de la pauvreté, le bilan des quinze dernières années est largement positif pour l'Afrique sub-saharienne. Ce regain de croissance, qui s'est accompagné de réformes économiques...

Using the influence-driven approach to endogenous trade-policy determination, we show how a free-trade agreement (FTA) with rules of origin can work as a device to compensate losers from trade liberalization. The FTA constructed in this paper is characterized by external tariff structures that...

This paper is built on Venables (2011) theoretical predictions which show that gains from regional integration are unevenly distributed between resource rich and poor countries. We explore the effects of different integration schemes in Middle East and North Africa. Results suggest that within...

Compared to most countries, China's value-added tax (VAT) system is not neutral and makes it less advantageous to export a product than to sell it domestically, as exporters may not receive a complete refund on the domestic VAT they have paid on their inputs. However, the large and frequent...