One consequence of the proliferation of preferential trade agreements is that an increasing share of international trade is not subject to most favored nation tariffs, but rather enters markets through preferential access. The objective of this paper is to better investigate to what extent...

Despite some progress in the last decade, Sub-Saharan Africa’s participation in the global economy remains generally limited and poorly diversified. Among the various reasons behind the lack of competitiveness of Sub-Saharan Africa exports, this paper analyzes whether changes in market access...

This paper investigates the importance of exchange rates on international trade by analyzing the impact that exchange rate volatility and misalignment have on trade and then by exploring whether exchange rate misalignments affect governments' decisions regarding trade policies. The methodology...

Motivated by the standard Heckscher-Ohlin theory, we investigate whether comparative advantage affects the duration of exports from least developed countries (LDCs). To do so, we first calculate each exported product’s distance from the country’s comparative advantage. Then we estimate a...

The exchange rate plays an important role in a country’s trade performance. Whether determined by exogenous shocks or by policy, the relative valuations of currencies and their volatility often have important repercussions on international trade, the balance of payments and overall economic...

Over the last three decades, global supply chains (GSCs) have increasingly gained importance in linking developing countries to international markets. Today a substantial share of the production processes of GSCs is taking place in developing countries. For developing countries and their...

This paper examines the impact of market access conditions as a determinant of exports from sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis focuses on tariffs and considers both direct market access (the tariffs faced by exports from sub-Saharan Africa) and relative market access conditions (the preferential...

El objetivo de este trabajo es estimar el potencial sesgo pro-pobre en la actual estructura de protección en seis países de África Sub-Sahariana (ASS), es decir, si redistribuye ingresos de los hogares ricos a los pobres. También exploramos la medida en que las barreras que enfrentan los...

The proliferation of preferential trade agreements has resulted in a complex system of preferences in which market access conditions are often discriminatory. In this paper we investigate how market access conditions have evolved between 2000 and 2009, and how this has affected international...