Intra-industry trade is driven by product differentiation and economies of scale. Business services are important for developing and marketing new varieties. Yet, their role for product differentiation has attracted little attention in the literature. This paper contributes to filling this gap...

Vertical specialisation (VS) and outsourcing have gained prominence in international trade recently and could represent an entry point for developing countries into world markets as well as a channel for technology transfer. However, entry into international supply chains often requires...

This study seeks to clarify what vertical specialization/fragmented production/production sharing is, how widespread it is, how it is organized, its driving forces, and what the policy implications are. It presents six country case studies ( USA, Japan, Germany, Brazil, China and South Africa )...

This paper analyses to which extent domestic institutions affect trade flows. We use two complementary approaches, one focusing on the size of total trade flows and one focusing on bilateral trade patterns (gravity equation). Besides, we control for two other domestic policy variables: trade...

This paper explores the role that quality of infrastructure has on a country's trade performance, estimating a gravity model that incorporates bilateral tariffs and a number of indicators for the quality of infrastructure. The paper looks at the impact of the quality of infrastructure (road,...

This paper discusses how information and communication technology (ICT) affects the quality and reach of consumer services. These services need to be provided locally, but consist of several components, some of which can be digitised and transmitted over long distances. A general equilibrium...

This paper analyses how trade affects women's job opportunities and earnings through five case studies: Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. It is found that women's share of the labour force has increased over time and the wage gap between men and women has narrowed. It is...

This paper explores the role of producer services and ICT on international outsourcing. The motivation for outsourcing is to focus on core business and improve efficiency and outsourcing companies usually outsource a number of functions and the efficiency gains depend on the ability for the...

This paper explores the impact of vertical specialization on world trade within the framework of the O-ring theory of production. Within such a framework there is little scope for substituting quantity for quality or for gaining market shares by undercutting established suppliers purely on cost....