Economic research and trade policy analysis
Supply chains and SMEs
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) present an issue of significant political and economic interest as they create jobs and drive development in developing and advanced countries. However there is a perception that SMEs face a conundrum in the new realities brought about by globalisation. While supply chains present a portal for SMEs into international markets they also open up SME market niches to encroaching large-sized enterprises (LEs). The competitive capabilities imparted by supply chain management (SCM) literature is suggested here for SMEs to compete against LEs; a slingshot in the battle between David and Goliath. The literature however reveals a controversy over whether SCM in reality helps or hurts SMEs. Some of the reasoning points to the presence of an LE perspective bias and SMEs sometimes consider SCM as a threat not a solution. The recent literature is addressing this issue by taking up the SME perspective but the question of an SCM for SMEs is still in a very early stage of development. More effort will be required to gather data and build theory for SMEs in both developed and developing markets.
Resumen
el Informe sobre el Comercio Mundial 2009 se centra principalmente en ciertas medidas de contingencia a que pueden recurrir los Miembros de la OMC en el ámbito de la importación y exportación de mercancías. El marco jurídico de estas medidas está mucho menos desarrollado en el caso del comercio de servicios aunque este asunto también se analiza.
Quelques objectifs déclarés des subventions publiques
Dans cette section il sera question des principaux objectifs que les pouvoirs publics prétendent poursuivre au moyen des subventions tels que le développement industriel l’innovation le soutien de “champions“ nationaux la protection de l’environnement et la redistribution. Sous la rubrique générale de la “redistribution“ nous examinerons trois objectifs plus spécifiques: l’utilisation de subventions à des fins de politique régionale l’aide à l’ajustement pour les secteurs en déclin et les obligations de service universel. Ce choix ne prétend pas être exhaustif mais il couvre certains des principaux objectifs poursuivis par les gouvernements des pays en développement et des pays développés.
Domestic regulations in Malaysia’s higher education sector
The growth of private higher education institutions (PHEIs) in Malaysia is politically and economically motivated. Excess demand and the use of ethnic quotas in a limited number of public universities with the implementation of the New Economic Policy in 1970 had raised the potential for inter-ethnic conflicts in multi-ethnic Malaysia. The government therefore utilized private provision to supplement public supply thereby increasing access and reducing the possibility of inter-ethnic conflicts due to limited access. Over time the perennial deficit in services trade since independence in 1957 contributed to the idea of using private higher education to reduce student outflows and its negative impact on services trade and instead to increase export revenues through inflows of international students. This led to the aspiration to be a regional hub for higher education based on Malaysia’s comparative advantage in terms of costs and language via the use of English in transnational programmes offered in PHEIs with degrees awarded by parent institutions in developed countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom.
Trade and Poverty Reduction in the Asia-Pacific Region
This book explores the complex relationship between international trade and poverty reduction through a combination of research papers and contemporary case studies. Written mainly by developing country authors in consultation with local businesses and communities the case studies contribute to our understanding of the ways in which low-income communities are dealing with trade as a practical challenge especially in the Asia-Pacific region where approximately two thirds of the world’s poor live. While making it clear that there is no ‘one size fits all’ formula the research and stories highlight a number of necessary preconditions – such as political commitment and cooperation at all levels – if trade is to successfully reduce poverty. Openness to trade serious commitment to domestic reform trade-related capacity building a robust and responsible private sector and access to the markets of developed countries are all identified as powerful tools for building trade-related sustainable development.
Overview
The goal of this report is to improve the understanding of the impacts of trade and trade policy on gender equality and to provide policy makers with evidence on the benefits of trade for women and with potential policy solutions. The report uses a conceptual framework that illustrates the diverse transmission channels through which trade and trade policy can affect women according to three key economic roles they play: workers consumers and decision makers. The report also gathers and analyzes new data1 to show how trade and trade policy can affect women and men differentlyin wages consumption and welfare and in the quality and quantity of jobs available to them. New empirical analysis based on these data suggests that expanding trade can act as an impetus for countries to improve womens rights and boost female participation in the economy.
Foreword
In 2015 the World Bank and the World Trade Organization published a flagship report on the role of trade in the effort to end poverty by 2030. Over the past three years the two organizations have collaborated in various ways to advance that goal from supporting implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement; to assisting the poor including women and small-scale traders to take advantage of trade opportunities; to supporting trade reforms in the world’s poorest countries.
Conclusión
El presente informe ha puesto de manifiesto que es importante establecer una distinción entre las normas según su función. El marco teórico adoptado en el informe distingue las normas relativas a las externalidades de red a la información imperfecta y a las externalidades negativas de la producción o del consumo.
Afghanistan’s Accession: Challenged by Conflict
WTO membership has long been an integral part of the overall strategic objectives of Afghanistan. For a post-conflict landlocked and least-developed economy joining the WTO was perceived as an opportunity to achieve economic stability improve regional security and cooperation alleviate poverty and achieve peace. Afghanistan has been on an eleven-year journey to integrate into the multilateral trading system. Its WTO accession process described in this chapter was a learning experience in which Afghanistan’s governmental and academic institutions private sector and civil society all upgraded their capacity using this accession as a catalyst to accelerate structural reforms and strengthen market instruments. The enormous reforms accomplished in this process have allowed Afghanistan to build a more favourable trade and investment regime with effective laws and trade policies based on the WTO agreements. This chapter sheds light on the accession process and the accomplished domestic transformation and identifies ways forward to maximize the benefits of Afghanistan’s WTO membership as a tool for cementing its long-standing commitment to an open economy rule of law good governance and international cooperation.
Trade theory and natural resources
This section looks at key features of natural resources trade from a theoretical perspective. Does trade provide an efficient mechanism for ensuring access to natural resources? What is the impact of trade on finite or exhaustible resources including under conditions of “open access” where there is a common ownership of – and access to – a natural resource? Is there a relationship between trade and its impact on the environment? Does trade reinforce or reduce problems associated with resource dominance in certain economies? And how does trade affect resource price volatility? These broad questions are addressed by surveying the relevant theoretical literature on the determinants and effects of trade in natural resources.
Accession Protocols and the Private Sector
Although the private sector is not in most cases directly involved in negotiations for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) its needs and positions are addressed through consultative mechanisms organized at the national level by WTO members. These mechanisms represent a two-way information channel: the relevant authorities can obtain the foundations to formulate and defend national negotiating positions while the private sector has an avenue to present sectoral interests as well as any relevant trade concerns. In acknowledging the influence of the private sector the objective of this chapter is to examine the existing public-private consultation mechanisms in selected WTO members as well as the evidence of private sector interests in recent reports of accession working parties. The analysis suggests that the influence of the business sector is embedded in accession protocols. Accession agreements include results obtained through trade policy consultation mechanisms which vary in the degree of formality and sophistication. Ideally the consultation and outreach mechanisms established by acceding governments to promote support for WTO accession should be strengthened throughout the WTO membership. Such mechanisms should continue to function once accessions have been completed to support the implementation of commitments set further negotiating priorities and participate in trade policy reviews and dispute settlement. The support and contributions of the private sector were instrumental to successfully achieve recent multilateral results notably the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement.