"Regional agreements on standards have been largely ignored by economists and unconditionally blessed by multilateral trade rules. Chen and Mattoo find, theoretically and empirically, that such agreements increase trade between participating countries but not necessarily with the rest of the...

These Standard Bidding Documents (SBD) have been prepared by the World Bank for use by borrowers and their implementing agencies in the procurement of goods through International Competitive Bidding (ICB). The procedures and practices presented in this document have been developed through broad...

Deforestation and forest degradation are the second leading cause of global warming. Forest loss disrupts ecosystem services, depletes biodiversity, and ultimately undermines the fulfillment of basic human rights. The mining sector is the fourth largest driver of deforestation after agriculture,...

"Product standards can have a dual impact on production and trade costs. Standards may impose additional costs on exporters as it may be necessary to adapt products for specific markets (cost-effect). In contrast, standards can reduce exporters' information costs if they convey information on...

The purpose of this report is to gain an understanding of the governance arrangements and procedures for setting accounting and financial reporting standards in a jurisdiction, covering: (a) the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) where applicable, and (b) national...

To a great extent, the quality of financial reporting depends on the quality of the Accounting and Auditing standards on which the reporting and auditing requirements are based. The objective of the auditing standards analysis is to compare the national standards used to conduct audits of...