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...

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...

This paper briefly reviews new indices of trade restrictiveness and trade facilitation that have been developed at the World Bank. The paper also compares the trade impact of different types of trade restrictions applied at the border with the effects of domestic policies that affect trade...

Trade policy literature has for many years emphasized open policies positive impact on economic growth and development. While these results generally hold when measured on averages, empirical evidence suggests that trade liberalization is unlikely to produce beneficial results across all...