The paper develops a method to map global networks of production sharing and processing trade. Relying on highly detailed bilateral trade data across a matrix of 75 countries, a network index gauges countries interdependence according to the extent of trade in parts and components for further...

The Asian Development Outlook (ADO) provides growth and inflation forecasts for more than 40 economies in the region. This paper assesses the accuracy of those forecasts against actual outcomes for the years from 2008 to 2011. The World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecasts by the International...

This paper derives a Frankel-Romer instrument from a global trade matrix of 157 countries over the period 1990-2007, and deploys it to assess the relationship between international trade, domestic market potential, and income for the case of developing Asia, compared to the world average. The...

This is done in relation to the benchmark of World Economic Outlook (WEO) projections by the International Monetary Fund. Amid much heterogeneity across countries and years, it has been found that ADO and WEO projections overlap quite closely. Both are inaccurate, especially during crisis years,...

The book reviews the legal and economic framework governing international trade in tobacco. It assesses the export potential of a select group of developing countries through an analysis of their production structures and manufacturing capacities. Further, it analyzes countries' support of their...

The study assesses the factors underlying commodity price volatility, its impact on households welfare, and the implications for macroeconomic and fiscal policy. It finds that: (i) low-income countries are highly vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices; (ii) financial speculation has...

We analyze the relationship between food security and trade focusing on food importers' exposure to sudden market failures from relying on a narrow range of international suppliers. We compute a bilateral import penetration index (BIPI), which gauges the degree to which a country depends on...

The paper assesses the Singapore issues on economic welfare grounds. It finds that most arguments in favour of a Multilateral Investment Framework (MIF) are not compelling. Further international accords are largely unsubstantiated on economic grounds, with the important exception of the...

We use a newly developed indicator of production sharing and processing trade to investigate the determinants of such trade in the context of a gravity model. The Network Trade Index measures countries' interdependence through the extent of trade in parts and components for further processing...