Achieving the Millennium Development Goal to halve global poverty by 2015 looks increasingly likely, although many countries may fall far short of this goal. This study compares socio-economic characteristics of twenty-five countries that have posted exceptional progress in reducing poverty to...

This report applies a cost-benefit analysis to quantify the economic effects of non-tariff measures in the agri-food sector. Three case studies are presented to demonstrate how such analysis can help identify least-cost solutions of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) designed to ensure that imported...

World trade and production are increasingly structured around “global value chains” (GVCs). The last few years have witnessed a growing number of case studies describing at the product level how production is internationally fragmented, but there is little evidence at the aggregate level on...

This study provides data on the costs and challenges of implementing trade facilitation measures currently under negotiation in the WTO. It updates an earlier study undertaken in 2005, presenting data and insights from nine additional developing countries. The study confirms earlier findings...

Export restrictions can be problematic if trading partners question either their conformity with international obligations or their possibly unintended negative impacts on others. Regulatory transparency can help. This paper examines how three multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)...

Trade logistics facilitate trade. Quality logistics services play an important role in facilitating the transportation of international trade in goods: inefficient logistics services impede trade by imposing an extra cost in terms of time as well as money. As developed nations shift from...

Lack of regulatory transparency is a major and recurrent obstacle for businesses seeking to trade internationally. This study finds that transparency mechanisms applied at different stages of the design, finalisation and implementation of domestic regulation have allowed countries to reduce...

Dynamic gains from trade can be an important conduit for increased firm-level innovation and productivity, both key components of economic growth. This paper builds on previous research on the dynamic gains from trade by moving beyond a single country basis to examine impacts on firm-level...

The pattern of trade analysed from a factor content perspective reflects the relative factor endowments of the countries examined. Although some large economies, such as the United States, seem to exhibit counter-intuitive behaviour, this is reversed when intermediate trade is taken into...

Agricultural policies have undergone reforms in most OECD countries, each choosing a different path to replace policies historically based on market price support with other forms of support deemed superior in achieving differing policy objectives. This report looks at the results of this reform...