Domestic institutions can have profound effects on international trade. This chapter reviews the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of this insight. Particular attention is paid to contracting institutions and to comparative advantage, where the bulk of the research has been concentrated....

Since institutional quality can either create or destroy incentives for individuals to engage in trade, it has become a source of worry to policymakers, as it can limit both intra- and extra-regional trade. Based on this, we empirically analyzed the extent to which national institutional quality...

In light of Kazakhstan's interest to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), this paper investigates the impact of the WTO accession on trade flows by using a standard gravity model. It argues that accession to the WTO involves a short run benefit from further reducing tariff and non-tariff...